28. “As, Anuruddha, I was abiding diligent, ardent, and resolute, I perceived light but I did not see forms; I saw forms but I did not perceive light, even for a whole night or a whole day or a whole day and night. I thought: ‘What is the cause and condition for this?’ Then I considered thus: ‘On the occasion when I do not attend to the sign of forms but attend to the sign of light, I then perceive light but do not see forms. On the occasion when I do not attend to the sign of light but attend to the sign of forms, I then see forms but do not perceive light, even for a whole night or a whole day or a whole day and night.’
29. “As, Anuruddha, I was abiding diligent, ardent, and resolute, I perceived limited light and saw limited forms; I perceived immeasurable light and saw immeasurable forms, even for a whole night or a whole day or a whole day and night. I thought: ‘What is the cause and condition for this?’ Then I considered thus: ‘On the occasion when concentration is limited, my vision is limited, and with limited vision I perceive limited light and limited forms. But on the occasion when concentration is immeasurable, my vision is immeasurable, and with immeasurable vision I perceive immeasurable light and see immeasurable forms, even for a whole night or a whole day or a whole day and night.’
30. “When, [162] Anuruddha, I understood that doubt is an imperfection of the mind and had abandoned doubt, an imperfection of the mind; when I understood that inattention is an imperfection of the mind and had abandoned inattention… abandoned sloth and torpor…abandoned fear…abandoned elation... abandoned inertia...abandoned excess of energy... abandoned deficiency of energy...abandoned longing…abandoned perception of diversity…abandoned excessive meditation upon forms, an imperfection of the mind; then I thought: ‘I have abandoned those imperfections of the mind. Let me now develop concentration in three ways.’1195
31. “Thereupon, Anuruddha, I developed concentration with applied thought and sustained thought; I developed concentration without applied thought but with sustained thought only; I developed concentration without applied thought and without sustained thought; I developed concentration with rapture; I developed concentration without rapture; I developed concentration accompanied by enjoyment; I developed concentration accompanied by equanimity.1196
32. “When, Anuruddha, I had developed concentration with applied thought and sustained thought…when I had developed concentration accompanied by equanimity, the knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My deliverance is unshakeable; this is my last birth; now there is no renewal of being.’”1197
That is what the Blessed One said. The venerable Anuruddha was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Bālapaṇḍita Sutta
Fools and Wise Men
[163] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at S̄āvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus.”—“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Blessed One said this:
(THE FOOL)
2. “Bhikkhus, there are these three characteristics of a fool, signs of a fool, attributes of a fool. What three? Here a fool is one who thinks bad thoughts, speaks bad words, and does bad deeds. If a fool were not so, how would the wise know him thus: ‘This person is a fool, an untrue man’? But because a fool is one who thinks bad thoughts, speaks bad words, and does bad deeds, the wise know him thus: ‘This person is a fool, an untrue man.’
3. “A fool feels pain and grief here and now in three ways. If a fool is seated in an assembly or along a street or in a square and people there are discussing certain pertinent and relevant matters, then, if the fool is one who kills living beings, takes what is not given, misconducts himself in sensual pleasures, speaks falsehood, and indulges in wine, liquor, and intoxicants, which are the basis of negligence, he thinks: ‘These people are discussing certain pertinent and relevant matters; these things are found in me, and I am seen engaging in those things.’ This is the first kind of pain and grief that a fool feels here and now.
4. “Again, when a robber culprit is caught, a fool sees kings having many kinds of torture inflicted on him:1198 [164] having him flogged with whips, beaten with canes, beaten with clubs; having his hands cut off, his feet cut off, his hands and feet cut off; his ears cut off, his nose cut off, his ears and nose cut off; having him subjected to the ‘porridge pot,’ to the ‘polished-shell shave,’ to the ‘Rāhu’s mouth,’ to the ‘fiery wreath,’ to the ‘flaming hand,’ to the ‘blades of grass,’ to the ‘bark dress,’ to the ‘antelope,’ to the ‘meat hooks,’ to the ‘coins,’ to the ‘lye pickling, ’ to the ‘pivoting pin,’ to the ‘rolled-up palliasse’; and having him splashed with boiling oil, and having him thrown to be devoured by dogs, and having him impaled alive on stakes, and having his head cut off with a sword. Then the fool thinks thus: ‘Because of such evil actions as those, when a robber culprit is caught, kings have many kinds of tortures inflicted on him: they have him flogged with whips…and have his head cut off with a sword. Those things are found in me, and I am seen engaging in those things.’ This is the second kind of pain and grief that a fool feels here and now.
5. “Again, when a fool is on his chair or on his bed or resting on the ground, then the evil actions that he did in the past—his bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct—cover him, overspread him, and envelop him. Just as the shadow of a great mountain peak in the evening covers, overspreads, and envelops the earth, so too, when a fool is on his chair or on his bed or resting on the ground, [165] then the evil actions that he did in the past—his bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct—cover him, overspread him, and envelop him. Then the fool thinks: ‘I have not done what is good, I have not done what is wholesome, I have not made myself a shelter from anguish. I have done what is evil, I have done what is cruel, I have done what is wicked. When I pass away, I shall go to the destination of those who have not done what is good…who have done what is wicked.’ He sorrows, grieves, and laments, he weeps beating his breast and becomes distraught. This is the third kind of pain and grief that a fool feels here and now.
6. “A fool who has given himself over to misconduct of body, speech, and mind, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, even in hell.
(HELL)
7. “Were it rightly speaking to be said of anything: ‘That is utterly unwished for, utterly undesired, utterly disagreeable,’ it is of hell that, rightly speaking, this should be said, so much so that it is hard to find a simile for the suffering in hell.”
When this was said, a bhikkhu asked the Blessed One: “But, venerable sir, can a simile be given?”
8. “It can, bhikkhu,” the Blessed One said.1199 “Bhikkhus, suppose men caught a robber culprit and presented him to the king, saying: ‘Sire, here is a robber culprit. Order what punishment you will for him.’ Then the king said: ‘Go and strike this man in the morning with a hundred spears.’ And they struck him in the morning with a hundred spears. Then at noon the king asked: ‘How is that man?’—‘Sire, he is still alive.’ Then the king said: ‘Go and strike that man at noon with a hundred spears.’ And they struck him at noon with a hundred spears. Then in the evening the king asked: ‘How is that man?’—‘Sire, he is still alive.’ Then the king said: ‘Go and strike that man in the evening with a hundred spears.’ And they struck him in the evening with a hundred spears. [166] What do you think, bhikkhus? Would that man experience pain and grief because of being struck with the three hundred spears?”
“Venerable sir, that man would experience pain and grief because of being struck with even one spear, let alone three hundred.”
9. Then, taking a small stone the size of his hand, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “What do you think, bhikkhus? Which is the greater, this small stone that I have taken, the size of my hand, or Himalaya, the king of mountains?”
“Venerable sir, the small stone that the Blessed One has taken, the size of his hand, does not count beside Himalaya, the king of mountains
; it is not even a fraction, there is no comparison.”
“So too, bhikkhus, the pain and grief that the man would experience because of being struck with the three hundred spears does not count beside the suffering of hell; it is not even a fraction, there is no comparison.
10. “Now the wardens of hell torture him with the fivefold transfixing. They drive a red-hot iron stake through one hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the other hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through one foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the other foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake in the middle through his breast. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
11. “Next the wardens of hell throw him down and pare him with axes. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
12. “Next the wardens of hell set him with his feet up and his head down and pare him with adzes. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
13. “Next the wardens of hell harness him to a chariot and drive him back and forth across ground that is burning, blazing, and glowing. [167] There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
14. “Next the wardens of hell make him climb up and down a great mound of coals that are burning, blazing, and glowing. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
15. “Next the wardens of hell take him feet up and head down and plunge him into a red-hot metal cauldron that is burning, blazing, and glowing. He is cooked there in a swirl of froth. And as he is being cooked there in a swirl of froth, he is swept now up, now down, and now across. There he feels painful, racking, piercing feelings. Yet he does not die so long as that evil action has not exhausted its result.
16. “Next the wardens of hell throw him into the Great Hell. Now as to that Great Hell, bhikkhus:It has four corners and is built
With four doors, one set in each side,
Walled up with iron and all around
And shut in with an iron roof.
Its floor as well is made of iron
And heated till it glows with fire.
The range is a full hundred leagues
Which it covers all-pervasively.
17. “Bhikkhus, I could tell you in many ways about hell.1200 So much so that it is hard to finish describing the suffering in hell.
(THE ANIMAL KINGDOM)
18. “Bhikkhus, there are animals that feed on grass. They eat by cropping fresh or dried grass with their teeth. And what animals feed on grass? Horses, cattle, donkeys, goats, and deer, and any other such animals. A fool who formerly delighted in tastes here and did evil actions here, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in the company of animals that feed on grass.
19. “There are animals that feed on dung. They smell dung from a distance and run to it, thinking: ‘We can eat, we can eat!’ Just as brahmins run to the smell of a sacrifice, thinking: ‘We can eat here, we can eat here!’ so too these animals that feed on dung [168] smell dung from a distance and run to it, thinking: ‘We can eat here, we can eat here!’ And what animals feed on dung? Fowls, pigs, dogs, and jackals, and any other such animals. A fool who formerly delighted in tastes here and did evil actions here, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in the company of animals that feed on dung.
20. “There are animals that are born, age, and die in darkness. And what animals are born, age, and die in darkness? Moths, maggots, and earthworms, and any other such animals. A fool who formerly delighted in tastes here and did evil actions here, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in the company of animals that are born, age, and die in darkness.
21. “There are animals that are born, age, and die in water. And what animals are born, age, and die in water? Fish, turtles, and crocodiles, and any other such animals. A fool who formerly delighted in tastes here and did evil actions here, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in the company of animals that are born, age, and die in water.
22. “There are animals that are born, age, and die in filth. And what animals are born, age, and die in filth? Those animals that are born, age, and die in a rotten fish or in a rotten corpse or in rotten porridge or in a cesspit or in a sewer. [169] A fool who formerly delighted in tastes here and did evil actions here, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in the company of animals that are born, age, and die in filth.
23. “Bhikkhus, I could tell you in many ways about the animal kingdom, so much so that it is hard to finish describing the suffering in the animal kingdom.
24. “Suppose a man threw into the sea a yoke with one hole in it, and the east wind carried it to the west, and the west wind carried it to the east, and the north wind carried it to the south, and the south wind carried it to the north. Suppose there were a blind turtle that came up once at the end of each century. What do you think, bhikkhus? Would that blind turtle put his neck into that yoke with one hole in it?”
“He might, venerable sir, sometime or other at the end of a long period.”
“Bhikkhus, the blind turtle would sooner put his neck into that yoke with a single hole in it than a fool, once gone to perdition, would take to regain the human state, I say. Why is that? Because there is no practising of the Dhamma there, no practising of what is righteous, no doing of what is wholesome, no performance of merit. There mutual devouring prevails, and the slaughter of the weak.
25. “If, sometime or other, at the end of a long period, that fool comes back to the human state, it is into a low family that he is reborn—into a family of outcasts or hunters or bamboo-workers or cartwrights or scavengers—one that is poor with little to eat and drink, surviving with difficulty, where he scarcely finds food and clothing; and he is ugly, unsightly, and misshapen, sickly, blind, cripple-handed, lame, or paralysed; he gets no food, drink, clothes, [170] vehicles, garlands, scents and unguents, bed, lodging, and light; he misconducts himself in body, speech, and mind, and having done that, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, even in hell.
26. “Bhikkhus, suppose a gambler at the very first unlucky throw loses his child and his wife and all his property and furthermore goes into bondage himself, yet an unlucky throw such as that is negligible; it is a far more unlucky throw when a fool who misconducts himself in body, speech, and mind, on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappears in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, even in hell. This is the complete perfection of the fool’s grade.1201
(THE WISE MAN)
27. “Bhikkhus, there are these three characteristics of a wise man, signs of a wise man, attributes of a wise man. What three? Here a wise man is one who thinks good thoughts, speaks good words, and does good deeds. If a wise man were not so, how would the wise know him thus: ‘This person is a wise man, a true man’? But because a wise man is one who thinks good thoughts, speaks good words, and does good deeds, the wise know him thus: ‘This person is a wise man, a true man.’
28. “A wise man feels pleasure and joy here and now in three ways. If a wise man is seated in an assembly or along a street or in a square and people there are discussing certain pertinent and relevant matters, then, if the wise man is one who abstains from killing living beings, from taking what is not given, from misconduct in sensual pleasures, [171] from false speech, from wine, liquor, and intoxicants, which are the basis of negligence, he thinks: ‘These people are discussing certain pertinent and relevant matters; those things are not found in me, and I am not seen engaging in them.’1202 This is the first kind of pleasure and joy that a wise man feels here and now.
29. “Again, when a r
obber culprit is caught, a wise man sees kings having many kinds of torture inflicted on him... (as in §4)...Then the wise man thinks thus: ‘Because of such evil actions as those, when a robber culprit is caught, kings have many kinds of tortures inflicted on him. Those things are not found in me, and I am not seen engaging in those things.’ This is the second kind of pleasure and joy that a wise man feels here and now.
30. “Again, when a wise man is on his chair or on his bed or resting on the ground, then the good actions that he did in the past—his good bodily, verbal, and mental conduct—cover him, overspread him, and envelop him. Just as the shadow of a great mountain peak in the evening covers, overspreads, and envelops the earth, so too, when a wise man is on his chair or on his bed or resting on the ground, then the good actions that he did in the past—his good bodily, verbal, and mental conduct—cover him, overspread him, and envelop him. Then the wise man thinks: ‘I have not done what is evil, I have not done what is cruel, I have not done what is wicked. I have done what is good, I have done what is wholesome, I have made myself a shelter from anguish. When I pass away, I shall go to the destination of those who have not done what is evil…who have made themselves a shelter from anguish.’ He does not sorrow, grieve, and lament, he does not weep beating his breast and become distraught. This is the third kind of pleasure and joy that a wise man feels here and now.
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha Page 112
