The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
Page 73
22. “What do you think, Udāyin? On an occasion when he abandons the killing of living beings and abstains from killing living beings, does his self then feel only pleasure or both pleasure and pain?”
“Both pleasure and pain, venerable sir.”
“What do you think, Udāyin? On an occasion when he abandons the taking of what is not given and abstains from taking what is not given…when he abandons misconduct in sensual pleasures and abstains from misconduct in sensual pleasures… when he abandons false speech and abstains from false speech, does his self then feel only pleasure or both pleasure and pain?”
“Both pleasure and pain, venerable sir.”
“What do you think, Udāyin? On an occasion when he undertakes and practises some kind of asceticism, does his self then feel only pleasure or both pleasure and pain?”
“Both pleasure and pain, venerable sir.”
“What do you think, Udāyin? Does the realisation of an exclusively pleasant world come about by following a way of mixed pleasure and pain?”
23. “The Blessed One has terminated the discussion; the Sublime One has terminated the discussion.”
“But, Udāyin, why do you say that?”
“Venerable sir, it is taught in our own teachers’ doctrine: ‘There is an exclusively pleasant world; there is a practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world.’ But on being pressed and questioned and cross-questioned about our own teachers’ doctrine by the Blessed One, we are found empty, hollow, and mistaken. But how is it, venerable sir, is there an exclusively pleasant world? Is there a practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world?” [37]
24. “There is an exclusively pleasant world, Udāyin; there is a practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world.”
“Venerable sir, what is that practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world?”
25. “Here, Udāyin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna…With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhāna…in the third jhāna…This is the practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world.”
“Venerable sir, that is not the practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world; at that point an exclusively pleasant world has already been realised.”
“Udāyin, at that point an exclusively pleasant world has not yet been realised; that is only the practical way to realise an exclusively pleasant world.” 26. When this was said, the wanderer Sakuludāyin’s assembly made an uproar, saying very loudly and noisily: “We are lost along with our own teachers’ doctrines! We are lost along with our own teachers’ doctrines! We know nothing higher than that!”784
Then the wanderer Sakuludāyin quieted those wanderers and asked the Blessed One:
27. “Venerable sir, at what point is an exclusively pleasant world realised?”
“Here, Udāyin, 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 dwells with those deities who have arisen in an entirely pleasant world and he talks with them and enters into conversation with them.785 It is at this point that an exclusively pleasant world has been realised.”
28. “Venerable sir, surely it is for the sake of realising that exclusively pleasant world that bhikkhus lead the holy life under the Blessed One.”
“It is not for the sake of realising that exclusively pleasant world that bhikkhus lead the holy life under me. There are other states, Udāyin, higher and more sublime [than that] and it is for the sake of realising them that bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.” [38]
“What are those higher and more sublime states, venerable sir, for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under the Blessed One?”
29–36. “Here, Udāyin, a Tathāgata appears in the world, accomplished, fully enlightened...(as Sutta 51, §§12–19)...he purifies his mind from doubt.
37. “Having thus abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna…This, Udāyin, is a higher and more sublime state for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.
38–40. “Again, with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhāna…the third jhāna…the fourth jhāna. This too, Udāyin, is a higher and more sublime state for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.
41. “When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the recollection of past lives. He recollects his manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births...(as Sutta 51, §24)...Thus with their aspects and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives. This too, Udāyin, is a higher and more sublime state for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.
42. “When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the passing away and reappearance of beings...(as Sutta 51, §25)... Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions. This too, Udāyin, is a higher and more sublime state for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.
43. “When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the destruction of the taints. He understands as it actually is: ‘This is suffering’...(as Sutta 51, §26) [39]…He understands as it actually is: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of the taints.’
44. “When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’ This too, Udāyin, is a higher and more sublime state for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.
“These, Udāyin, are those higher and more sublime states for the sake of realising which bhikkhus lead the holy life under me.”
45. When this was said, the wanderer Sakuludāyin said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, venerable sir! Magnificent, venerable sir! The Blessed One has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to the Blessed One for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. I would receive the going forth under the Blessed One, venerable sir, I would receive the full admission.”
46. When this was said, the wanderer Sakuludāyin’s assembly addressed him thus: “Do not lead the holy life under the recluse Gotama, Master Udāyin. Having been a teacher, Master Udāyin, do not live as a pupil. For Master Udāyin to do so would be as if a water jug were to become a pitcher. Do not lead the holy life under the recluse Gotama, Master Udāyin. Having been a teacher, Master Udāyin, do not live as a pupil.”
That is how the wanderer Sakuludāyin’s assembly obstructed him from leading the holy life under the Blessed One.786
Vekhanassa Sutta
To Vekhanassa
[40] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.
2. Then the wande
rer Vekhanassa went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him.787 When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he stood at one side and in the Blessed One’s presence he uttered this exclamation:
“This is the perfect splendour, this is the perfect splendour!”
“But, Kaccāna, why do you say: ‘This is the perfect splendour, this is the perfect splendour!’? What is that perfect splendour?”
“Master Gotama, that splendour is the perfect splendour which is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime.”
“But, Kaccāna, what is that splendour that is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime?”
“Master Gotama, that splendour is the perfect splendour that is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime.”
3–11. “Kaccāna, you might continue for a long time in this way...(as Sutta 79, §§10–18)...[41, 42] yet you do not indicate what that splendour is.
12. “Kaccāna, there are these five cords of sensual pleasure.788 What five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. Sounds cognizable by the ear…Odours cognizable by the nose…Flavours cognizable by the tongue… Tangibles cognizable by the body [43] that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. These are the five cords of sensual pleasure.
13. “Now, Kaccāna, the pleasure and joy that arise dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasure. Thus sensual pleasure [arises] through sensual pleasures, but beyond sensual pleasure there is a pleasure at the peak of the sensual, and that is declared to be the highest among them.”789
14. When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa said: “It is wonderful, Master Gotama, it is marvellous, how well that has been expressed by Master Gotama: ‘Thus sensual pleasure [arises] through sensual pleasures, but beyond sensual pleasure there is a pleasure at the peak of the sensual, and that is declared to be the highest among them.’”
“Kaccāna, for you who are of another view, who accept another teaching, who approve of another teaching, who pursue a different training, who follow a different teacher, it is hard to know what sensuality is, or what sensual pleasure is, or what the pleasure at the peak of the sensual is. But those bhikkhus who are arahants with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge—it is they who would know what sensuality is, what sensual pleasure is, or what the pleasure at the peak of the sensual is.”
15. When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa was angry and displeased, and he reviled, disparaged, and censured the Blessed One, saying: “The recluse Gotama will be worsted.” He then said to the Blessed One: “So then there are some recluses and brahmins here who, without knowing the past and without seeing the future, yet claim: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’ What they say turns out to be ridiculous; it turns out to be mere words, empty and hollow.”
16. “If any recluses and brahmins [44], without knowing the past and without seeing the future, yet claim: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being,’ they can be reasonably confuted. Rather, let the past be, Kaccāna, and let the future be. Let a wise man come, one who is honest and sincere, a man of rectitude. I instruct him, I teach him the Dhamma in such a way that by practising as instructed he will soon know and see for himself: ‘Thus, indeed, there rightly comes to be liberation from the bond, that is, from the bond of ignorance.’ Suppose, Kaccāna, there were a young tender infant lying prone, bound by stout bonds [at the four limbs] with the fifth at the neck; and later on, as a result of his growth and the maturing of his faculties, those bonds loosened, then he would know ‘I am free’ and there would be no more bondage. So too, let a wise man come…‘Thus, indeed, there rightly comes to be liberation from the bond, that is, from the bond of ignorance.’”
17. When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear...(as Sutta 74, §19)...for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. From today let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.”
4
The Division on Kings (Rājavagga)
Ghaṭīkāra Sutta
Ghaṭīkāra the Potter
[45] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was wandering among the Kosalans together with a large Sangha of bhikkhus.
2. Then the Blessed One left the main road and, at a certain place, he smiled. It occurred to the venerable Ānanda: “What is the reason, what is the cause, for the Blessed One’s smile? Tathāgatas do not smile for no reason.” So he arranged his upper robe on one shoulder, and extending his hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, asked him: “Venerable sir, what is the reason, what is the cause, for the Blessed One’s smile? Tathāgatas do not smile for no reason.”
3. “Once, Ānanda, in this place there was a prosperous and busy market town called Vebhalinga, with many inhabitants and crowded with people. Now the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, lived near the market town Vebhalinga. It was here, in fact, that the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, had his monastery; it was here, in fact, that the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, sat and advised the Sangha of bhikkhus.”
4. Then the venerable Ānanda folded his patchwork cloak in four, and spreading it out, said to the Blessed One: “Then, venerable sir, let the Blessed One be seated. Thus this place will have been used by two Accomplished Ones, Fully Enlightened Ones.”
The Blessed One sat down on the seat that had been made ready and addressed the venerable Ānanda thus:
5. “Once, Ānanda, in this place there was a prosperous and busy market town called Vebhalinga, with many inhabitants and crowded with people. Now the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, lived near the market town Vebhalinga. It was here, in fact, that the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, had his monastery; it was here, in fact, that the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, sat [46] and advised the Sangha of bhikkhus.
6. “In Vebhalinga the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, had as a supporter, as his chief supporter, a potter named Ghaṭīkāra. Ghaṭīkāra the potter had as a friend, as his close friend, a brahmin student named Jotipāla.790
“One day the potter Ghaṭīkāra addressed the brahmin student Jotipāla thus: ‘My dear Jotipāla, let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened. I hold that it is good to see that Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened. ’ The brahmin student Jotipāla replied: ‘Enough, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, what is the use of seeing that bald-pated recluse?’791
“A second and third time the potter Ghaṭīkāra said: ‘My dear Jotipāla, let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened. I hold that it is good to see that Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened.’ And a second and a third time the brahmin student Jotipāla replied: ‘Enough, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, what is the use of seeing that bald-pated recluse?’—‘Then, my dear Jotipāla, let us take a loofah and bath powder and go to the river to bathe.’—‘Very well,’ Jotipāla replied.
7. “So the potter Ghaṭīkāra and the brahmin student Jotipāla took a loofah and bath powder and went to the river to bathe. Then Ghaṭīkāra said to Jotipāla: ‘My dear Jotipāla, there is the monastery of the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, quite nearby. Let us go and see the B
lessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened. I hold that it is good to see that Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened. ’ Jotipāla replied: ‘Enough, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, what is [47] the use of seeing that bald-pated recluse?’
“A second and a third time Ghaṭīkāra said: ‘My dear Jotipāla, there is the monastery of the Blessed One Kassapa…’ And a second and a third time the brahmin student Jotipāla replied: ‘Enough, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, what is the use of seeing that bald-pated recluse?’
8. “Then the potter Ghaṭīkāra seized the brahmin student Jotipāla by the belt and said: ‘My dear Jotipāla, there is the monastery of the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, quite nearby. Let us go and see the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened. I hold that it is good to see that Blessed One, accomplished and fully enlightened. ’ Then the brahmin student Jotipāla undid his belt and said: ‘Enough, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, what is the use of seeing that bald-pated recluse?’