The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
Page 71
26. “Again, with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhāna, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. He makes the rapture and pleasure born of concentration drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of concentration. Just as though there were a lake whose waters welled up from below and it had no inflow from east, west, north, or south [16] and would not be replenished from time to time by showers of rain, then the cool fount of water welling up in the lake would make the cool water drench, steep, fill, and pervade the lake, so that there would be no part of the whole lake unpervaded by cool water; so too, a bhikkhu makes the rapture and pleasure born of concentration drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of concentration.
27. “Again, with the fading away as well of rapture, a bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna, on account of which noble ones announce: ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.’ He makes the pleasure divested of rapture drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the pleasure divested of rapture. Just as in a pond of blue or red or white lotuses, some lotuses that are born and grow in the water thrive immersed in the water without rising out of it, and cool water drenches, steeps, fills, and pervades them to their tips and their roots, so that there is no part of all those lotuses unpervaded by cool water; so too, a bhikkhu makes the pleasure divested of rapture drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the pleasure divested of rapture.
28. “Again, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. He sits pervading this body with a pure bright mind, so that there is no part of his whole body unpervaded by the pure bright mind. Just as though a man were sitting covered from the head down with a white cloth, so that there would be no part of his whole body not covered by the white cloth; so too, a bhikkhu sits pervading this body with a pure bright mind, so that there is no part of his whole body [17] unpervaded by the pure bright mind. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(12. Insight Knowledge)
29. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to understand thus :770 ‘This body of mine, made of material form, consisting of the four great elements, procreated by a mother and father, and built up out of boiled rice and porridge, is subject to impermanence, to being worn and rubbed away, to dissolution and disintegration, and this consciousness of mine is supported by it and bound up with it.’ Suppose there were a beautiful beryl gem of purest water, eight-faceted, well cut, clear and limpid, possessed of all good qualities, and through it a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread would be strung. Then a man with good sight, taking it in his hand, might review it thus: ‘This is a beautiful beryl gem of purest water, eight-faceted, well cut, clear and limpid, possessed of all good qualities, and through it is strung a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread.’ So too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to understand thus: ‘This body of mine…is subject to impermanence, to being worn and rubbed away, to dissolution and disintegration, and this consciousness of mine is supported by it and bound up with it.’ And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(13. The Mind-Made Body)
30. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to create from this body another body having form, mind-made, with all its limbs, lacking no faculty. Just as though a man were to pull out a reed from its sheath and think thus: ‘This is the sheath, this is the reed; the sheath is one, the reed is another; it is from the sheath that the reed has been pulled out’; or just as though a man were to pull out a sword from its scabbard and think thus: ‘This is the sword, this is the scabbard; the sword is one, the scabbard another; it is from the scabbard that the sword has been pulled out’; [18] or just as though a man were to pull a snake out of its slough and think thus: ‘This is the snake, this is the slough; the snake is one, the slough another; it is from the slough that the snake has been pulled out.’ So too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to create from this body another body having form, mind-made, with all its limbs, lacking no faculty. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(14. The Kinds of Supernormal Power)
31. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to wield the various kinds of supernormal power: having been one, they become many; having been many, they become one; they appear and vanish; they go unhindered through walls, through enclosures, through mountains, as though through space; they dive in and out of the earth as though it were water; they walk on water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-legged, they travel in space like birds; with their hands they touch and stroke the moon and sun so powerful and mighty; they wield bodily mastery even as far as the Brahma-world. Just as a skilled potter or his apprentice might create and fashion out of well-prepared clay any shape of pot he wished; or just as a skilled ivory-worker or his apprentice might create and fashion out of well-prepared ivory any ivory work of art he wished; or just as a skilled goldsmith or his apprentice might create and fashion out of well-prepared gold any gold work of art he wished; so too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to wield the various kinds of supernormal power…[19]…they wield bodily mastery even as far as the Brahma-world. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(15. The Divine Ear Element)
32. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, they hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and the human, those that are far as well as near. Just as a vigorous trumpeter might make himself heard without difficulty in the four quarters; so too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the divine ear element…far as well as near. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(16. Understanding the Minds of Others)
33. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to understand the minds of other beings, of other persons, having encompassed them with their own minds. They understand a mind affected by lust as affected by lust and a mind unaffected by lust as unaffected by lust; they understand a mind affected by hate as affected by hate and a mind unaffected by hate as unaffected by hate; they understand a mind affected by delusion as affected by delusion and a mind unaffected by delusion as unaffected by delusion; they understand a contracted mind as contracted and a distracted mind as distracted; they understand an exalted mind as exalted and an unexalted mind as unexalted; they understand a surpassed mind as surpassed and an unsurpassed mind as unsurpassed; they understand a concentrated mind as concentrated and an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; they understand a liberated mind as liberated and an unliberated mind as unliberated. Just as a man or a woman—young, youthful, and fond of ornaments—on viewing the image of his or her own face in a clean bright mirror or in a bowl of clear water, would know if there were a spot thus: ‘There is a spot,’ [20] or would know if there were no spot thus: ‘There is no spot’; so too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to understand…an unliberated mind as unliberated. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(17. The Recollection
of Past Lives)
34. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to recollect their manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many aeons of world-contraction, many aeons of world-expansion, many aeons of world-contraction and expansion: ‘There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-term; and passing away from there, I reappeared elsewhere; and there too I was so named…and passing away from there, I reappeared here.’ Thus with their aspects and particulars they recollect their manifold past lives. Just as a man might go from his own village to another village and then back again to his own village. He might think: ‘I went from my own village to that village, and there I stood in such a way, sat in such a way, spoke in such a way, kept silent in such a way; and from that village I went to that other village and there [21] I stood in such a way…kept silent in such a way; and from that village I came back again to my own village.’ So too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to recollect their manifold lives…Thus with their aspects and particulars they recollect their manifold past lives. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
(18. The Divine Eye)
35. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, they see beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate. They understand how beings pass on according to their actions thus: ‘These worthy beings who were ill conducted in body, speech, and mind, revilers of noble ones, wrong in their views, giving effect to wrong view in their actions, on the dissolution of the body, after death, have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell; but these worthy beings who were well conducted in body, speech, and mind, not revilers of noble ones, right in their views, giving effect to right view in their actions, on the dissolution of the body, after death, have reappeared in a good destination, even in the heavenly world.’ Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, they see beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and they understand how beings pass on according to their actions. Just as though there were two houses with doors and a man with good sight standing there between them saw people entering the houses and coming out and passing to and fro. So too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby with the divine eye…They understand how beings pass on according to their actions. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge. [22]
(19. The Destruction of the Taints)
36. “Again, Udāyin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby by realising for themselves with direct knowledge, they here and now enter upon and abide in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints. Just as if there were a lake in a mountain recess, clear, limpid, and undisturbed, so that a man with good sight standing on the bank could see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting. He might think: ‘There is this lake, clear, limpid, and undisturbed, and there are these shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also these shoals of fish swimming about and resting.’ So too, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way whereby by realising for themselves with direct knowledge, they here and now enter upon and abide in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints. And thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge.
37. “This, Udāyin, is the fifth quality because of which my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.
38. “These, Udāyin, are the five qualities because of which my disciples honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, and live in dependence on me, honouring and respecting me.”
That is what the Blessed One said. The wanderer Udāyin was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Samaṇamaṇḍikā Sutta
Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Now on that occasion the wanderer Uggāhamāna Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta was staying in Mallikā’s Park, the single-halled Tinduka plantation for philosophical debates,771 [23] together with a large following of wanderers, with as many as three hundred wanderers.
2. The carpenter Pañcakanga went out from Sāvatthī at midday in order to see the Blessed One. Then he thought: “It is not the right time to see the Blessed One; he is still in retreat. And it is not the right time to see bhikkhus worthy of esteem; they are still in retreat. Suppose I went to Mallikā’s Park, to the wanderer Uggāhamaā̄na Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta?” And he went to Mallikā’s Park.
3. Now on that occasion the wanderer Uggāhamāna was seated with a large assembly of wanderers who were making an uproar, loudly and noisily talking many kinds of pointless talk, such as talk of kings...(as Sutta 76, §4)...whether things are so or are not so.
The wanderer Uggāhamāna Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta saw the carpenter Pañcakanga coming in the distance. Seeing him, he quieted his own assembly thus: “Sirs, be quiet; sirs make no noise. Here comes the carpenter Pañcakanga, a disciple of the recluse Gotama, one of the recluse Gotama’s white-clothed lay disciples staying at Sāvatthī. These venerable ones like quiet; they are disciplined in quiet; they commend quiet. Perhaps if he finds our assembly a quiet one, he will think to join us.” Then the wanderers became silent.
4. The carpenter Pañcakanga went to the wanderer Uggāhamāna and exchanged greetings with him. [24] When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he sat down at one side. The wanderer Uggāhamāna then said to him:
5. “Carpenter, when a man possesses four qualities, I describe him as accomplished in what is wholesome, perfected in what is wholesome, an ascetic invincible attained to the supreme attainment. What are the four? Here he does no evil bodily actions, he utters no evil speech, he has no evil intentions, and he does not make his living by any evil livelihood. When a man possesses these four qualities, I describe him as accomplished in what is wholesome, perfected in what is wholesome, an ascetic invincible attained to the supreme attainment.”
6. Then the carpenter Pañcakanga neither approved nor disapproved of the wanderer Uggāhamāna’s words. Without doing either he rose from his seat and went away, thinking: “I shall learn the meaning of this statement in the presence of the Blessed One.”
7. Then he went to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and reported to the Blessed One his entire conversation with the wanderer Uggāhamāna. Thereupon the Blessed One said:
8. “If that were so, carpenter, then a young tender infant lying prone is accomplished in what is wholesome, perfected in what is wholesome, an ascetic invincible attained to the supreme attainment, according to the wanderer Uggāhamāna’s statement. For a young tender infant lying prone does not even have the notion ‘body,’ so how should he do an evil bodily action beyond mere wriggling? A young tender infant lying prone does not even have the notion ‘speech,’ so how should he utter evil speech beyond mere whining? A young tender infant lying prone does not even have the notion ‘intention,’ so how should he have evil intentions beyond mere sulking? A young tender infant lying prone does not even have the notion ‘livelihood,’ so how [25] should he make his living by evil livelihood beyond being suckled at his mother’s breast? If that were so, carpenter, then a young tender infant lying prone is accomplished in what is wholesome…according to the wanderer Uggāhamāna’s statement.
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“When a man possesses four qualities, carpenter, I describe him, not as accomplished in what is wholesome or perfected in what is wholesome or an ascetic invincible attained to the supreme attainment, but as one who stands in the same category as the young tender infant lying prone. What are the four? Here he does no evil bodily actions, he utters no evil speech, he has no evil intentions, and he does not make his living by any evil livelihood. When a man possesses these four qualities, I describe him, not as accomplished…but as one who stands in the same category as the young tender infant lying prone.
9. “When a man possesses ten qualities, carpenter, I describe him as accomplished in what is wholesome, perfected in what is wholesome, an ascetic invincible attained to the supreme attainment. [But first of all] I say, it must be understood thus:772 ‘These are unwholesome habits,’ and thus: ‘Unwholesome habits originate from this,’ and thus: ‘Unwholesome habits cease without remainder here,’ and thus: ‘One practising in this way is practising the way to the cessation of unwholesome habits.’ And I say, it must be understood thus: ‘These are wholesome habits,’ and thus: ‘Wholesome habits originate from this,’ and thus: ‘Wholesome habits cease without remainder here,’ and thus: ‘One practising in this way is practising the way to the cessation of wholesome habits.’ And I say, it must be understood thus: ‘These are unwholesome intentions,’ and thus: ‘Unwholesome intentions originate from this,’ [26] and thus: ‘Unwholesome intentions cease without remainder here,’ and thus: ‘One practising in this way is practising the way to the cessation of unwholesome intentions.’ And I say, it must be understood thus: ‘These are wholesome intentions,’ and thus: ‘Wholesome intentions originate from this,’ and thus: ‘Wholesome intentions cease without remainder here,’ and thus: ‘One practising in this way is practising the way to the cessation of wholesome intentions.’