← Volver a la ficha del textoTEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA
The
Middle Length
Discourses
oj the
Buddha
A New Translation of the
Majjhima Nikaya
Translated by
Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi
V
r 41
i
-■V
A Neu> Translation of the
Majjhima Nikaya
Translated from the Pali
Original translation
by
Bhikkhu Nanamoli
Translation edited and revised
by
Bhikkhu Bodhi
Buddhist Publicat ion Society
Kandy, Sri Lanka
First published in 1995
Wisdom Publications
361 Newbury Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115 USA
Published in Asia by
Buddhist Publication Society
P.O. Box 61
54, Sangharaja Mawatha, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Copies of this publication are for sale in Asia only.
© 1995 Bhikkhu Bodhi
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tipitaka. Sutcapitaka. Majjhimanikaya. English
The middle length discourses of the Buddha : a new translation of
the Mnjjhima Nikaya / original translation by Bhikkhu Nanamoli ;
translation edited and revised by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
p. cm. — (Teachings of the Buddha)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-86171-072-X
I. Nanamoli, Bhikkhu, d. I960. II. Bodhi, Bhikkhu.
III. Series.
BQ1312.E5N36 1995
294.3'823— dc20 94-37636
CIP
ISBN 955-24-0121-6
00 99 98 97 96
6 5 4 3 2
Designed by : Lj-SAWLit'
Set in DPalatino 10 on 12.4 point by John Bullitt and L.J.Sawlit
This book is printed on acid-free paper and meets the guidelines
for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Preface 13
Introduction 19
Summary of the 152 Suttas 61
PART one: the root FIFTY discourses ( Mulapannasapali )
1 THE DIVISION OF THE DISCOURSE ON THE ROOT
(Mu lapariyayavagga)
1 Mulapariyaya Sutta: The Root of All Things 83
2 Sabbasava Sutta: All the Taints 91
3 Dhammadaynda Sutta: Heirs in Dhamma 97
4 Bhayabherava Sutta: Fear and Dread 102
5 Anangana Sutta: Without Blemishes 108
6 Akankheyya Sutta: If a Bhikkhu Should Wish 115
7 Vatthiipama Sutta: The Simile of the Cloth 118
8 Sallekha Sutta: Effacement 123
9 Sammaditthi Sutta: Right View 132
10 Satipatthana Sutta: The Foundations of Mindfulness 145
2 the division of the lion's roar ( Slhanadavagga )
11 Culasihanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on
the Lion's Roar 159
12 MaMsJhanUda Sutta: The Greater Discourse on
the Lion's Roar 164
13 Mahadukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Mass of Suffering 179
14 CuladukkhakkhandJm Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Mass of Suffering 186
5
6
The Majjhima Nikaya
Table of Contents 7
15 Anum&na Sutta : Inference 190
16 Cetokhila Sutta: The Wilderness in the Heart 194
17 Vanapattha Sutta: Jungle Thickets 198
18 Madhupindika Sutta : The Honey Ball 201
19 Dvedhitvitakka Sutta : Two Kinds of Thought 207
20 Vitakkasanthana Sutta: The Removal of Distracting
Thoughts 211
3 the third division ( Tatiyavagga )
21 Kakacupama Sutta: The Simile of the Saw 217
22 AlagaddUpama Sutta: The Simile of the Snake 224
23 Vammika Sutta: The Ant-hill 237
24 Rathavinita Sutta: The Relay Chariots 240
25 Nivdpa Sutta: The Bait 246
26 Ariyapariyesand Sutta: The Noble Search 253
27 Culahatthipadopama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Simile of the Elephant's Footprint 269
28 Mahdhatthipadopama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Simile of the Elephant's Footprint 278
29 Mahdsdropama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Simile
of the Heartwood 286
30 Culasdropama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of
the Heartwood 291
4 the great division of Pairs ( Mahdyamakavagga )
31 Culagosinga Sutta: The Shorter Discourse in Gosinga 301
32 Mahdgosinga Sutta: The Greater Discourse in Gosinga 307
33 Mahdgopdlaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Cowherd 313
34 CUlagopdlaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Cowherd 319
35 Culasaccaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Saccaka 322
36 Mahdsaccaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Saccaka 332
37 Culatanhasankhaya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Destruction of Craving 344
38 Mahdtan hdsan khaya Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Destruction of Craving 349
39 Mahd-Assapura Sutta: The Greater Discourse at
Assapura 362
40 Cula-Assapura Sutta: The Shorter Discourse at
Assapura 372
5 the shorter division of pairs ( Culayamakavagga )
41 Sdleyyaka Sutta: The Brahmins of Sala 379
42 Verahjaka Sutta: The Brahmins of Veranja 386
43 Mahdvedalla Sutta: The Greater Series of Questions and
Answers 387
44 Culavedalla Sutta: The Shorter Series of Questions and
Answers 396
45 Culadhammasamadana Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on
Ways of Undertaking Things 405
46 Mahddhammasamdddna Sutta: The Greater Discourse on
Ways of Undertaking Things 408
47 Vlmamsaka Sutta: The Inquirer 415
48 Kosambiya Sutta: The Kosambians 419
49 Brahmanimantanika Sutta: The Invitation of a Brahma 424
50 Maratajjariiya Sutta: The Rebuke to Mara 431
part two: the middle fifty discourses ( Majjhimapannasapali )
1 the division on householders ( Gahapativagga )
51 Kandaraka Sutta: To Kandaraka 443
52 Atthakanagara Sutta: The Man from Atthakanagara 454
53 Sekha Sutta: The Disciple in Higher Training 460
54 Potaliya Sutta: To Potaliya 466
55 Jivaka Sutta: To Jlvaka 474
56 Updli Sutta: To Upali 477
57 Kukkuravatika Sutta: The Dog-duty Ascetic 493
58 Abhayarajakuniara Sutta: To Prince Abhaya 498
59 Bahuvedantya Sutta: The Many Kinds of Feeling 502
60 Apannaka Sutta: The Incontrovertible Teaching 506
2 the division on bhikkhus ( Bhikkhuvagga )
61 Ambalatthikarahulovada Sutta: Advice to Rahula at
• *
Ambalatthika 523
62 Maharahidovada Sutta: The Greater Discourse of Advice to
Rahula 527
8
The Majjhima Nikaya
Table of Contents 9
63 Cularnalunkya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to
Malunkyaputta 533
64 Mahdmdlunkya Sutta : The Greater Discourse to
Malunkyaputta 537
65 Bhaddali Sutta : To Bhaddali 542
66 Latukikopama Sutta: The Simile of the Quail 551
67 Ccttumd Sutta : At Catuma 560
68 Nalakapfina Sutta: At Nalakapana 566
69 Gulissani Sutta: Gulissani 572
70 Kltdgiri Sutta : At Kltagiri 577
3 THE DIVISION ON wanderers (Paribbajakavagga)
71 Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on the Threefold
True Knowledge 587
72 Aggivacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on Fire 590
73 Mahavacchagotta Sutta: The Greater Discourse to
Vacchagotta 595
74 Dlghanakha Sutta: To Dlghanakha 603
75 Magandiya Sutta: To Magandiya 607
76 Sandaka Sutta: To Sandaka 618
77 Mahasakuludayi Sutta: The Greater Discourse to
Sakuludayin 629
78 Samanamandika Sutta: Samanamandikaputta 648
79 Culasakuludayi Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to
Sakuludayin 654
80 Vekhanassa Sutta: To Vekhanassa 663
4 the division on kings ( Rajavagga )
81 GhatikHra Sutta: Ghatlkara the Potter 669
• ■
82 Ratthapala Sutta: On Ratthapala 677
83 Makhadeva Sutta: King Makhadeva 692
84 Madhura Sutta: At Madhura 698
85 Bodhirajakunulra Sutta: To Prince Bodhi 704
86 Angulimdla Sutta: On Angulimala 710
87 Piyajatika Sutta: Bom from Those Who Are Dear 718
88 Bnhitika Sutta: The Cloak 723
89 Dhammacetiya Sutta: Monuments to the Dhamma 728
90 Kannakatthala Sutta: At Kannakatthala 734
• * I •
5 the division on brahmins {Brahmanavagga)
91 Brahmayu Sutta: Brahmayu 743
92 Sela Sutta: To Sela 755
93 Assalayana Sutta: To Assalayana 763
94 Ghotamukha Sutta: To Ghotamukha 771
► «
95 Canki Sutta: With CankI 775
96 EsukarT Sutta: To Esukarl 786
97 Dhananjdni Sutta: To Dhananjani 791
98 Vasettha Sutta: To Vasettha 798
• f ■ «
99 Subha Sutta: To Subha 808
100 Sangarava Sutta: To Sangarava 819
part three: the final fifty discourses ( Uparipammsapali )
1 the division at devadaha ( Devadahavagga )
101 Devadaha Sutta: At Devadaha 827
102 Pahcattaya Sutta: The Five and Three 839
103 Kinti Sutta: What Do You Think About Me? 847
104 Sdmagama Sutta: At Samagama 853
105 Sunakkhatta Sutta: To Sunakkhatta 861
106 Anehjasappaya Sutta: The Way to the Imperturbable 869
107 Ganakamoggallana Sutta: To Ganaka Moggallana 874
108 Gopakamoggallnna Sutta: With Gopaka Moggallana 880
109 Mahapunnama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Full-moon Night 887
110 Culapunnama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Full-moon Night 892
2 the division of one by one ( Anupadavagga )
111 Anupada Sutta: One by One As They Occurred 899
112 Chabbisodhana Sutta: The Sixfold Purity 903
113 Sappurisa Sutta: The True Man 909
114 Sevitabbnsevitabba Sutta: To Be Cultivated and Not To Be
Cultivated 913
115 Bahudhdtuka Sutta: The Many Kinds of Elements 925
116 Isigili Sutta: Isigili: The Gullet of the Seers 931
117 MahdcattarJsaka Sutta: The Great Forty 934
10 The Majjhima Nikaya
Table of Contents 1 1
118 Andpanasati Sutta : Mindfulness of Breathing 941
119 Kdyagatasati Sutta : Mindfulness of the Body 949
120 Sankharupapatti Sutta: Reappearance by Aspiration 959
3 the division on voidness {, SuMatavagga )
121 Culasunnata Sutta : The Shorter Discourse on
Voidness 965
122 Mahdsuhhata Sutta : Hie Greater Discourse on
Voidness 971
123 Acchariya-abbhuta Sutta : Wonderful and Marvellous 979
124 Bakkula Sutta : Bakkula 985
125 Dantabhumi Sutta: The Grade of the Tamed 989
126 Bhumija Sutta: Bhumija 997
127 Anuruddha Sutta: Anuruddha 1002
128 Upakkilesa Sutta: Imperfections 1008
129 Balapandita Sutta: Fools and Wise Men 1016
130 Devaduta Sutta: The Divine Messengers 1029
4 THE division OF expositions ( Vibhangavagga )
131 Bhaddekaratta Sutta: One Fortunate Attachment 1039
132 Anandabhaddekaratta Sutta: Ananda and One Fortunate
Attachment 1042
133 Mahakaccanabhaddekaratta Sutta: Maha Kaccana and One
Fortunate Attachment 1044
134 Lomasakangiyabhaddekaratta Sutta: Lomasakangiya and One
Fortunate Attachment 1050
135 Culakamnwvibhanga Sutta: The Shorter Exposition of
Action 1053
136 Mahakammavibhanga Sutta: The Greater Exposition of
Action 1058
137 Saldyatanavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Sixfold
Base 1066
138 Uddesavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of a Summary 1074
139 Aranavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Non-conflict 1080
140 Dhatuvibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the
Elements 1087
141 Saccavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Truths 1097
142 Dakkhinavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Offerings 1102
5 the division of the sixfold base (, Saldyatanavagga )
143 Anathapindikov&da Sutta: Advice to Anathapindika 1109
144 Channovada Sutta: Advice to Channa 1114
145 Punnovdda Sutta: Advice to Punna 1117
146 Natidakovada Sutta: Advice from Nandaka 1120
147 Cularahulovtida Sutta: The Shorter Discourse of Advice to
Rahula 1126
148 Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sets of Six 1129
149 Mahasaldyatanika Sutta: The Great Sixfold Base 1137
150 Nagaravindeyya Sutta: To the Nagaravindans 1140
151 PindapStaparisuddhi Sutta: The Purification of
Almsfood 1143
152 hidriyabhavana Sutta: The Development of the
Faculties 1147
Bibliography 1155
List of Abbreviations 1159
Notes 1161
Pali-English Glossary 1361
Index of Subjects 1377
Index of Proper Names 1401
Index of Similes 1407
Index of Pali Terms Discussed in Introduction
and Notes 1411
Preface
The present work offers a complete translation of the Majjhima
Nikttya, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, one of the
major collections in the Sutta Pitaka or "Basket of Discourses"
belonging to the Pali Canon. This vast body of scriptures,
recorded in the ancient Indian language now known as Pali, is
regarded by the Theravada school of Buddhism as the definitive
recension of the Buddha-word, and among scholars too it is gen-
erally considered our most reliable source for the original teach-
ings of the historical Buddha Gotama.
This translation is an extensively revised version of an original
draft translation made by the distinguished English scholar-
monk, Bhikkhu Nanamoli (1905-1960). During his eleven years'
life in the Buddhist Order, passed entirely at the Island
Hermitage in south Sri Lanka, Ven. Nanamoli had rendered into
English some of the most difficult and intricate texts of Pali
Buddhism, among them the encyclopaedic Visuddhimagga.
Following his premature death at the age of 55, three thick
hand-bound notebooks containing a handwritten translation of
the entire Majjhima Nikaya were found among his effects.
However, although all 152 suttas of the Majjhima had been trans-
lated, the work was obviously still in an ongoing process of revi-
sion, with numerous crosscuts and overwritings and a fair num-
ber of unresolved inconsistencies. Tire translation also employed
an experimental scheme of highly original renderings for Pali
doctrinal terms that Ven. Nanamoli had come to prefer to his ear-
lier scheme and had overwritten into the notebooks. He had used
this new set of renderings in several of his final publications,
offering an explanation for his choices in an appendix to The
13
14 The Majjhima Nikaya
Preface 15
Minor Readings and The Illustrator of Ultimate Meaning, his transla-
tion of the Khuddakapatha and its commentary.
In 1976 Bhikkhu Khantipalo made a selection of ninety suttas
from the notebooks, which he edited into a fairly consistent and
readable version rearranged according to a topical sequence he
himself devised. This was published in Thailand in three vol-
umes under the title A Treasury of the Buddha's Words. In this
edition Ven. Khantipalo had endeavoured to make as few
changes as possible in the original translation by Ven.
Nanamoli, though he inevitably found it desirable to replace
some of the latter's innovative renderings with better-known
equivalents, generally choosing the terminology that Ven.
Nanamoli had used in The Path of Purification, his excellent
translation of the Visuddhimagga.
The present work contains finished translations of all 152
suttas. In editing the ninety suttas selected by Ven. Khantipalo,
I have worked from the version found in A Treasury of the
Buddha's Words, referring to Ven. Nanamoli's notebooks when-
ever questions arose or problematic passages were encountered.
The other sixty-two suttas had to be freshly edited from the
notebooks. The translations of all 152 suttas have been checked
against the original Pali texts and I hope that all errors and
omissions have been rectified.
My aim in editing and revising this material, I must frankly
state, has not been to reconstruct the suttas in a way that would
conform as closely as possible to the intentions of the original
translator. My aim has been, rather, to turn out a translation of
the Majjhima Nikaya that simultaneously approaches two
ideals: first, fidelity to the intended meaning of the texts them-
selves; and second, the expression of that meaning in an idiom
that would be intelligible to a modem reader seeking in the Pali
suttas personal guidance in the proper understanding and con-
duct of life. Terminological exactitude and internal consistency
have been important guidelines underlying the endeavour to
achieve those ideals, but care has been taken that their pursuit
should leave the translation transparent as to the meaning.
To produce a translation of the Majjhima Nikaya that is both
technically precise and lucid in expression required numerous
revisions in the manuscript version. Most were quite minor but
a few were substantial. Numerous alterations were made in the
rendering of Pali doctrinal terms, most of Ven. Khantipalo's
changes having been incorporated. In place of Ven. Nanamoli's
novel renderings I have in most cases returned to the clearer and
better established terminology he employed in The Path of
Purification. When doubts arose I always turned for help to Ven.
Nyanaponika Mahathera, whose wise advice helped to steer
this translation closer towards its two guiding ideals. The han-
dling of several important technical terms is discussed at the
end of the Introduction, to which is attached a list showing the
terminological changes that were made for this edition. By con-
sulting the list the reader can obtain some idea of how the man-
uscript translation read. A glossary in the back gives the
English renderings used for the major Pali doctrinal terms
found in the Majjhima Nikaya as well as Pali words and mean-
ings not included in the Pali Text Society's Pali-English
Dictionary. The subject index also includes, for most entries, the
Pali term after its chosen English rendering. Botanical names
that could not be easily rendered by familiar English equiva-
lents have been left untranslated.
Ven. Nanamoli's translation was based primarily on the Pali
Text Society's roman-script edition of the Majjhima Nikaya,
published in three volumes, the first edited by V. Trenckner
(1888), the second two by Robert Chalmers (1898, 1899). This
edition was also used to check the translation, but on problemat-
ic passages I consulted as well two other editions: the Burmese
Buddhasasana Samiti's Sixth Buddhist Council edition in
Burmese script and the Sinhala-script Buddha Jayanti edition
published in Sri Lanka. Instances are not unusual where the
reading in one or the other of these editions was preferred to
that of the PTS edition, though only occasionally are these men-
tioned in the notes. Seldom too do the notes refer to I. B.
Horner's long-standing English translation of the Majjhima
Nikaya, The Collection of the Middle Length Sayings, with which I
sometimes compared Ven. Nanamoli's translation. Since the first
volume of that translation was published in 1954, and the next
two in 1957 and 1959, while Ven. Nanamoli's manuscript indi-
cates that he did his revised translation between 1953 and 1956,
it seems unlikely that he had consulted Horner's version in
preparing his own; at most, he might have had access to the first
volume after he had completed his first volume.
16 The Majjhima Nikaya
Preface 17
The text of the translation is divided into numerical sections.
These divisions were introduced by Ven. Nanamoli into his
manuscript version of the suttas and are not found in the PTS
edition of the Majjhima Nikaya. Sometimes, when logic seemed
to dictate it, I have made minor alterations in the divisions. The
section numbers are included in the sutta references in the
Introduction, Notes, and Indexes. Thus, for example, a reference
to MN 26.18 means Majjhima Sutta No. 26, section 18.
The numbers at the top of the pages refer to the volume and
page number of the PTS edition of the Majjhima Nikaya, as do
the bracketed numbers embedded in the text (except for MN 92
and MN 98, wherein the numbers refer to the PTS edition of the
Sutta Nipata).
The Introduction aims to provide the reader with a thorough
study guide to the Majjhima Nikaya by systematically surveying
the principal teachings of the Buddha contained in this collec-
tion along with references to the suttas where fuller expositions
of those teachings can be fotmd. More elementary information
on the Pali Canon and on Pali Buddhism in general will be
found in Maurice Walshe's introduction to his recent translation
of the complete Dlgha Nikaya, Thus Have I Heard, which the pre-
sent publication is intended to parallel. As a way of easing the
reader's entrance into the canonical texts themselves, a sum-
mary of the Majjhima 's 152 suttas follows the Introduction.
To clarify difficult passages in the suttas and to shed addition-
al light on passages whose meaning is richer than appears at
first sight, a copious set of back notes has been provided. Many
of these notes are drawn from the commentaries on the
Majjhima, of which there are two. One is the commentary prop-
er, the Majjhima Nikaya Atthakatha, also known as the
Papancasudanl. This was composed in the fifth century by the
great Buddhist commentator, Acariya Buddhaghosa, who based
it on the ancient commentaries (no longer extant) that had been
preserved for centuries by the Sangha of the Mahavihara at
Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. The commentary is of value not
only for elucidating the meaning of the texts but also for filling
in the background of events that led to the promulgation of the
discourses. The other commentarial work is the subcommen-
tary, the Majjhima Nikaya Tika, ascribed to Acariya Dhammapala,
who probably lived and worked in South India a century or
more later than Acariya Buddhaghosa. The main purpose of the
Tika is to clear up obscure or difficult points in the Atthakatha,
but in doing so the author often sheds additional light on the
meaning of the canonical text. In order to keep the notes as con-
cise as possible, almost always the commentaries have been
paraphrased rather than quoted directly.
I am aware that the Notes sometimes repeat things already
explained in the Introduction, but in a work of this nature such
repetitions can be of use, particularly as novel ideas briefly treat-
ed in the Introduction may slip the reader's memory at the time
of reading a sutta to which they pertain.
In conclusion I want to mention the contributions that others
have made to the completion of this project.
First, I wish to thank Ven. Nyanaponika Mahathera for first
encouraging me to take up this task, which seemed so daunting
at the outset, and then for providing valuable advice at every
crucial turn along the way. Not only was he always ready to dis-
cuss difficult points, but despite deteriorating vision, which
drastically reduced the time he had available for reading, he still
read through the Introduction, the Notes, and the knottier sut-
tas, offering helpful suggestions.
Second, I thank Ven. Khantipalo (now Laurence Mills) for per-
mission to use his versions of the ninety suttas in A Treasury of
the Buddha's Words as the working basis for this edition. The
work he did on those suttas almost two decades ago greatly
facilitated the preparation of this volume.
Third, I must mention the tremendous help received from
Ayya Nyanasirl, who subedited the initial draft, made numer-
ous suggestions for minor improvements, and typed out the
entire manuscript. Even though, as my conception of the
editorial task changed, several suttas had to be typed a second
time, and a few a third time, this was always done with patience
and understanding.
Fourth, I thank two fellow bhikkhus, Ven. Thanissaro (U.S.A.)
and Ven. Dhammaviharl (Sri Lanka), for reading portions of the
manuscript and suggesting minor, improvements.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to Dr. Nicholas
Ribush for his encouragement and helpfulness and to Wisdom
18 The Majjhima Nikaya
Publications for doing such a fine job of production. T am par-
ticularly grateful to John Bullitt for his careful and precise
management of this project.
For any errors or defects that remain, I myself am fully
responsible.
BHIKKHU BODHI
Forest Hermitage
Kandy, Sri Lanka
Introduction
THE MAJJHIMA NIKAYA AS A COLLECTION
The Majjhima NikAya is the second collection of the Buddha's
discourses found in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pali Canon. Its title
means literally the Middle Collection, and it is so called because
the suttas it contains are generally of middle length, compared
with the longer suttas of the Dlgha Nikaya, which precedes it,
and the shorter suttas making up the two major collections that
follow it, the Samyutta Nikaya and the Anguttara Nikaya.
The Majjhima Nikaya consists of 152 suttas. These are divided
into three parts called Sets of Fifty (pannUsa), though the last set
actually contains fifty-two suttas. Within each part the suttas are
further grouped into chapters or divisions (vagga) of ten suttas
each, the next to the last division containing twelve suttas. The
names assigned to these divisions are often derived solely from
the titles of their opening sutta (or, in some cases, pair of suttas)
and thus are scarcely indicative of the material found within the
divisions themselves. A partial exception is the Middle Fifty,
where the division titles usually refer to the principal type of
interlocutor or key figure in each of the suttas they contain.
Even then the connection between the title and the contents is
sometimes tenuous. The entire system of classification appears
to have been devised more for the purpose of convenience than
because of any essential homogeneity of subject matter in the
suttas comprised under a single division.
There is also no particular pedagogical sequence in the suttas,
no unfolding development of thought. Thus while different suttas
illuminate each other and one will fill in ideas merely suggested
by another, virtually any sutta may be taken up for individual
20 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 21
study and will be found comprehensible on its own. Of course,
the study of the entire compilation will naturally yield the richest
harvest of understanding.
If the Majjhima Nikaya were to be characterised by a single
phrase to distinguish it from among the other books of the Pali
Canon, this might be done by describing it as the collection that
combines the richest variety of contextual settings with the
deepest and most comprehensive assortment of teachings. Like
the Dlgha Nikaya, the Majjhima is replete with drama and nar-
rative, while lacking much of its predecessor's tendency
towards imaginative embellishment and profusion of legend.
Like the Samyutta, it contains some of the profoundest discourses
ill the Canon, disclosing the Buddha's radical insights into the
nature of existence; and like the Anguttara, it covers a wide
range of topics of practical applicability. In contrast to those two
Nikayas, however, the Majjhima sets forth this material not in
the form of short, self-contained utterances, but in the context of
a fascinating procession of scenarios that exhibit the Buddha's
resplendence of wisdom, his skill in adapting his teachings to
the needs and proclivities of his interlocutors, his wit and gentle
humour, his majestic sublimity, and his compassionate humanity.
Naturally the greatest number of discourses in the Majjhima
are addressed to the bhikkhus - the monks - since they lived in
closest proximity to the Master and had followed him into
homelessness to take upon themselves his complete course of
training. But in the Majjhima we do not meet the Buddha only in
his role as head of the Order. Repeatedly we see him engaged in
living dialogue with people from the many different strata of
ancient Indian society - with kings and princes, with brahmins
and ascetics, with simple villagers and erudite philosophers,
with earnest seekers and vain disputants. It is perhaps in this
scripture above all others that the Buddha emerges in the role
ascribed to him in the canonical verse of homage to the Blessed
One as "the incomparable leader of persons to be tamed, the
teacher of gods and humans."
It is not the Buddha alone who appears in the Majjhima in the
role of teacher. The work also introduces us to the accomplished
disciples he produced who carried on the transmission of his
teaching. Of the 152 suttas in the collection, nine are spoken by
the venerable Sariputta, the General of the Dhamma; three of
these (MN 9, MN 28, MN 141) have become basic texts for the
study of Buddhist doctrine in monastic schools throughout the
Theravada Buddhist world. The venerable Ananda, the
Buddha's personal attendant during the last twenty-five years of
his life, delivers seven suttas and participates in many more.
Four suttas are spoken by the venerable Maha Kaccana, who
excelled in elaborating upon the brief but enigmatic sayings of
the Master, and two by the second chief disciple, the venerable
Maha Moggallana, one of which (MN 15) has been recommended
for a monk's daily reflections. A dialogue between the venerable
Sariputta and the venerable Punna Mantaniputta (MN 24)
explores a scheme of seven stages of purification that was to
form the outline for Acariya Buddhaghosa's great treatise on the
Buddhist path, the Visuddhimagga. Another dialogue (MN 44)
introduces the bhikkhuni Dhammadinna, whose replies to a
series of probing questions were so adroit that the Buddha
sealed them for posterity with the words "I would have
explained it to you in the same way."
The formats of the suttas are also highly variegated. The
majority take the form of discourses proper, expositions of the
teaching that pour forth uninterrupted from the mouth of the
Enlightened One. A few among these are delivered in a series of
unadorned instructional propositions or guidelines to practice,
but most are interlaced with striking similes and parables,
which flash through and light up the dense mass of doctrine in
ways that impress it deeply upon the mind. Other suttas unfold
in dialogue and discussion, and in some the dramatic or narra-
tive element predominates. Perhaps the best known and most
widely appreciated among these is the Angulimala Sutta
(MN 86), which relates how the Buddha subdued the notorious
bandit Angulimala and transformed him into an enlightened
saint. Equally moving, though in a different way, is the story of
Ratthapala (MN 82), the youth of wealthy family whose preco-
cious insight into the universality of suffering was so compelling
that he was prepared to die rather than accept his parents'
refusal to permit him to go forth into homelessness. Several sut-
tas centre upon debate, and these highlight the Buddha's wit
and delicate sense of irony as. well as his dialectical skills.
Particular mention might be made of MN 35 and MN 56, with
their subtle humour leavening the seriousness of their contents.
22 The Majjhima Niknya
Introduction 23
In a class of its own is the Brahnmnimantanika Sutta (MN 49), in
which the Buddha visits the Brahma-world to detach a deluded
deity from his illusions of grandeur and soon finds himself
locked in a gripping contest with Mara the Evil One - an incon-
ceivable alliance of Divinity and Devil defending the sanctity of
being against the Buddha's call for deliverance into Nibbana,
the cessation of being.
THE BUDDHA IN THE MAJJHIMA NIKAYA
Biographical information for its own sake was never an overrid-
ing concern of the redactors of the Pali Canon, and thus the data
the Majjhima provides on the life of the Buddha is scanty and
uncoordinated, included principally because of the light it sheds
on the Buddha as the ideal exemplar of the spiritual quest and
the fully qualified teacher. Nevertheless, though it subordinates
biography to other concerns, the Majjhima does give us the
fullest canonical account of the Master's early life as a
Bodhisatta, a seeker of enlightenment. With the Digha it shares
the miraculous story of his conception and birth (MN 123), but
its version of his great renunciation has been stripped to bare
essentials and related in the stark terms of existential realism. In
his youth, having seen through the sensual delights to which his
princely status entitled him (MN 75.10), the Bodhisatta decided
that it was futile to pursue things subject like himself to ageing
and death and thus, with his parents weeping, he left the home
life and went in search of the ageless and deathless, Nibbana
(MN 26.13). MN 26 tells of his discipleship under two accom-
plished meditation teachers of the day, his mastery of their sys-
tems, and his consequent disillusionment. MN 12 and MN 36
describe his ascetic practices during his six hard years of striv-
ing, a path he pursued almost to the point of death. MN 26 and
MN 36 both relate in lean and unembellished terms his attain-
ment of enlightenment, which they view from different angles,
while MN 26 takes us past the enlightenment to the decision to
teach and the instruction of his first disciples. From that point
on connected biography breaks off in the Majjhima and can only
be reconstructed partially and hypothetically.
Again, despite the absence of any systematic account, the
Majjhima offers a sufficient number of cameo portraits of the
Buddha for us to obtain, with the aid of information provided
by other sources, a fairly satisfactory picture of his daily activi-
ties and annual routine during the forty-five years of his min-
istry. A commentarial text shows the Buddha's daily schedule
as having been divided between periods of instructing the
bhikkhus, giving discourses to the laity, and secluded medita-
tion, during which he usually dwelt either in the "abode of
voidness" (MN 121.3, MN 122.6) or in the attainment of great
compassion. The day's single meal was always taken in the
forenoon, either received by invitation or collected on alms-
round, and his sleep was restricted to a few hours per night,
except ill the summer, when he rested briefly during the middle
of the day (MN 36.46). The annual routine was determined by
the Indian climate, which divided the year into three seasons -
a cold season from November through February, a hot season
from March through June, and a rainy season from July
through October. As was customary among the ascetics of
ancient India, the Buddha and his monastic community would
remain at a fixed residence during the rainy season, when tor-
rential rains and swollen rivers made travel almost impossible.
During the rest of the year he would wander through the
Ganges Valley expounding his teachings to all who were pre-
pared to listen.
The Buddha's main seats of residence for the rains retreat
(vassa) were located at Savatthl in the state of Kosala and Raja-
gaha in the state of Magadha. At Savatthl he would usually stay
at Jeta's Grove, a park offered to him by the wealthy merchant
Anathapindika, and accordingly a great number of Majjhima
discourses are recorded as having been given there.
Occasionally at Savatthl he would reside instead at the Eastern
Park, offered by the devout lay-woman Visakha, also known as
"Migara's mother." In Rajagaha he often stayed at the Bamboo
Grove, offered by the king of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisara, or for
greater seclusion, on Vulture Peak outside the city. His wander-
ings, during which he was usually accompanied by a large ret-
inue of bhikkhus, ranged from the Angan country (close to
modern West Bengal) to the Himalayan foothills and the Kuru
country (modem Delhi). Occasionally, when he saw that a spe-
cial case required his individual attention, he would leave the
Sangha and travel alone (see MN 75, MN 86, MN 140).
Introduction 25
24 The Majjhima Nikaya
Although the Canon is precise and reliable in affording such
details, for the early Buddhist community interest focuses upon
the Buddha not so much in his concrete historical particularity
as in his archetypal significance. Whereas outsiders might view
him as merely one among the many spiritual teachers of the
day - as "the recluse Gotama" - to his disciples ' he is vision, he
is knowledge, he is the Dhamma, he is the holy one,... the giver
of the Deathless, the lord of the Dhamma, the Tathagata"
(MN 18.12). The last term in this series is the epithet the Buddha
uses most often when referring to himself and it underscores his
significance as the Great Arrival who brings to fulfilment a cos-
mic, repetitive pattern of events. The Pali commentators explain
the word as meaning "thus come" (tatha agata ) and thus gone
(tatha gata ), that is, the one who comes into our midst bearing the
message of deathlessness to which he has gone by his own prac-
tice of the path. As the Tathagata he possesses the ten powers of
knowledge and the four intrepidities, which enable him to roar
his "lion's roar" in the assemblies (MN 12.9-20). He is not merely
a wise sage or a benevolent moralist but the latest in the line of
Fully Enlightened Ones, each of whom arises singly in an age of
spiritual darkness, discovers the deepest truths about the nature
of existence, and establishes a Dispensation ( sSsana ) through
which the path to deliverance again becomes accessible to the
world. Even those of his disciples who have attained unsurpass-
able vision, practice, and deliverance still honour and venerate
the Tathagata as one who, enlightened himself, teaches others
for the sake of their enlightenment (MN 35.26). Looking back at
him following his demise, the first generation of monks could
say: "The Blessed One was the arouser of the unarisen path, the
producer of the unproduced path, the declarer of the undeclared
path; he was the knower of the path, the finder of the path, the
one skilled in the path," which is followed by and attained to
afterwards by his disciples (MN 108.5).
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Buddha's teaching is called the Dhamma, a word that can
signify both the truth transmitted by the teaching and the con-
ceptual-verbal medium by which that truth is expressed in order
that it can be communicated and made comprehensible. The
Dhamma is not a body of immutable dogmas or a system of
speculative thought. It is essentially a means, a raft for crossing
over from the "near shore" of ignorance, craving, and suffering
to the "far shore" of transcendental peace and freedom
(MN 22.13). Because his aim in setting forth his teaching is a
pragmatic one - deliverance from suffering - the Buddha can
dismiss the whole gamut of metaphysical speculation as a futile
endeavour. Those committed to it he compares to a man struck
by a poisoned arrow who refuses the surgeon's help until he
knows the details about his assailant and his weaponry
(MN 63.5). Being struck by the arrow of craving, afflicted by
ageing and death, humanity is in urgent need of help. The rem-
edy the Buddha brings as the surgeon for the world (MN 105.27)
is the Dhamma, which discloses both the truth of our existential
plight and the means by which we can heal our wounds.
The Dhamma that the Buddha discovered and taught consists
at its core in Four Noble Truths:
• the noble truth of suffering ( dukkJia )
• the noble truth of the origin of suffering (dukkhasamudaya)
• the noble truth of the cessation of suffering ( dukkhanirodha )
• the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffer-
ing (dukkhanirodhagdmim patipada)
It is these four truths that the Buddha awakened to on the night
of his enlightenment (MN 4.31, MN 36.42), made known to the
world when he set rolling the matchless Wheel of the Dhamma
at Benares (MN 141.2), and held aloft through the forty-five
years of his ministry as "the teaching special to the Buddhas"
(MN 56.18). In the Majjhima Nikaya the Four Noble Truths are
expounded concisely at MN 9.14-18 and in detail in MN 141,
while in MN 28 the venerable Sariputta develops an original
exposition of the truths unique to that sutta. Yet, though they
may be brought forth explicitly only on occasion, the Four
Noble Truths structure the entire teaching of the Buddha, con-
taining its many other principles just as the elephant's footprint
contains the footprints of all other animals (MN 28.2).
The pivotal notion around which the truths revolve is that of
dukkha, translated here as "suffering." The Pali word originally
meant simply pain and suffering, a meaning it retains in the
texts when it is used as a quality of feeling: in these cases it has
26 The Majjhima Nikclya
Introduction 27
been rendered as "pain” or "painful." As the first noble truth,
however, dukkha has a far wider significance, reflective of a
comprehensive philosophical vision. While it draws its affective
colouring from its connection with pain and suffering, and cer-
tainly includes these, it points beyond such restrictive meanings
to the inherent unsatisfactoriness of everything conditioned.
This unsatisfactoriness of the conditioned is due to its imperma-
nence, its vulnerability to pain, and its inability to provide com-
plete and lasting satisfaction.
The notion of impermanence (aniccata) forms the bedrock for
the Buddha's teaching, having been the initial insight that
impelled the Bodhisatta to leave the palace in search of a path to
enlightenment. Impermanence, in the Buddhist view, comprises
the totality of conditioned existence, ranging in scale from the
cosmic to the microscopic. At the far end of the spectrum the
Buddha's vision reveals a universe of immense dimensions
evolving and disintegrating in repetitive cycles throughout
beginningless time - "many aeons of world-contraction, many
aeons of world-expansion, many aeons of world-contraction and
expansion" (MN 4.27). In the middle range the mark of imper-
manence comes to manifestation in our inescapable mortality,
our condition of being bound to ageing, sickness, and death
(MN 26.5), of possessing a body that is subject "to being worn
and rubbed away, to dissolution and disintegration" (MN 74.9).
And at the close end of the spectrum, the Buddha's teaching dis-
closes the radical impermanence uncovered only by sustained
attention to experience in its living immediacy: the fact that all
the constituents of our being, bodily and mental, are in constant
process, arising and passing away in rapid succession from
moment to moment without any persistent underlying sub-
stance. In the very act of observation they are undergoing
"destruction, vanishing, fading away, and ceasing" (MN 74.11).
This characteristic of impermanence that marks everything
conditioned leads directly to the recognition of the universality
of dukkha or suffering. The Buddha underscores this all-
pervasive aspect of dukkha when, in his explanation of the first
noble truth, he says, "In short, the five aggregates affected by
clinging are suffering." The five aggregates affected by clinging
( pane' upadanakkhandha ) are a classificatory scheme that the
Buddha had devised for demonstrating the composite nature of
personality. The scheme comprises every possible type of condi-
tioned state, which it distributes into five categories - material
form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
The aggregate of material form (rupa) includes the physical body
with its sense faculties as well as external material objects. The
aggregate of feeling ( vedand ) is the affective element in experi-
ence, either pleasant, painful, or neutral. Perception ( sahhd ), the
third aggregate, is the factor responsible for noting the qualities
of things and also accounts for recognition and memory. The
formations aggregate ( sankhara ) is an umbrella term that
includes all volitional, emotive, and intellective aspects of men-
tal life. And consciousness ( vihhana ), the fifth aggregate, is the
basic awareness of an object indispensable to all cognition. As
the venerable Sariputta shows in his masterly analysis of the
first noble truth, representatives of all five aggregates are pre-
sent on every occasion of experience, arising in connection with
each of the six sense faculties and their objects (MN 28.28).
The Buddha's statement that the five aggregates are dukkha
thus reveals that the very firings we identify with and hold to as
the basis for happiness, rightly seen, are the basis for the suffer-
ing that we dread. Even when we feel ourselves comfortable
and secure, the instability of the aggregates is itself a source of
oppression and keeps us perpetually exposed to suffering in its
more blatant forms. The whole situation becomes multiplied
further to dimensions beyond calculation when we take into
account the Buddha's disclosure of the fact of rebirth. All beings
in whom ignorance and craving remain present wander on in
the cycle of repeated existence, samsara, in which each turn
brings them the suffering of new birth, ageing, illness, and
death. All states of existence within samsara, being necessarily
transitory and subject to change, are incapable of providing last-
ing security. Life in any world is unstable, it is swept away, it
has no shelter and protector, nothing of its own (MN 82.36).
THE TEACHING OF NON-SELF
Inextricably tied up with impermanence and suffering is a third
principle intrinsic to all phenomena of existence. This is the
characteristic of non-self ( anattd ), and the three together are
called the three marks or characteristics ( tilakkhana ). The Buddha
28 The Majjhima Nikaya
teaches, contrary to our most cherished beliefs, that our person-
ality - the five aggregates - cannot be identified as self, as an
enduring and substantial ground of personal identity. The notion
of self has only a conventional validity, as a convenient short-
hand device for denoting a composite insubstantial situation. It
does not signify any ultimate immutable entity subsisting at the
core of our being. The bodily and mental factors are transitory
phenomena, constantly arising and passing away, processes cre-
ating the appearance of selfhood through their causal continuity
and interdependent functioning. Nor does the Buddha posit a
self outside and beyond the five aggregates. The notion of self-
hood, treated as an ultimate, he regards as a product of igno-
rance, and all the diverse attempts to substantiate this notion by
identifying it with some aspect of the personality he describes as
"clinging to a doctrine of self."
In several suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha gives
forceful expression to his repudiation of views of self. In
MN 102 he undertakes a far-reaching survey of the various
propositions put forth about the self, declaring them all to be
"conditioned and gross." In MN 2.8 six views of self are branded
as "the thicket of views, the wilderness of views, the contortion
of views, the vacillation of views, the fetter of views." In MN 11
he compares his teaching point by point with those of other
recluses and brahmins and shows that beneath their apparent
similarities, they finally diverge on just this one crucial point -
the rejection of views of self - which undermines the agree-
ments. MN 22 offers a series of arguments against the view of
self, culminating in the Buddha's declaration that he does not see
any doctrine of self that would not lead to sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief, and despair. In his map of the steps to liberation,
personality view ( sakkayaditthi ), the positing of a self in relation
to the five aggregates, is held to be the first fetter to be broken
with the arising of the "vision of the Dhamma."
The principle of non-self is shown in the suttas to follow logi-
cally from the two marks of impermanence and suffering. The
standard formula states that what is impermanent is pain or suf-
fering, and what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to
change cannot be regarded as mine, I, or self (MN 22.26,
MN 35.20, etc.). Other passages highlight the relationship
among the three characteristics from different angles. MN 28
Introduction 29
points out that when the external physical elements - earth,
water, fire, and air — vast as they are, are periodically destroyed
in cosmic cataclysms, there can be no considering this transitory
body as self. MN 148 demonstrates by a reductio ad absurdum
argument that impermanence implies non-self: when all the fac-
tors of being are clearly subject to rise and fall, to identify any-
thing among them with self is to be left with the untenable thesis
that self is subject to rise and fall. MN 35.19 connects the mark of
non-self with that of dukkha by arguing that because we cannot
bend the five aggregates to our will, they cannot be taken as
mine, I, or self.
THE ORIGIN AND CESSATION OF SUFFERING
The second of the Four Noble Truths makes known the origin or
cause of suffering, which the Buddha identifies as craving
(tanha) in its three aspects: craving for sensual pleasures; craving
for being, that is, for continued existence; and craving for non-
being, that is, for personal annihilation. The third truth states the
converse of the second truth, that with the elimination of crav-
ing the suffering that originates from it will cease without
remainder.
The Buddha's discovery of the causal link between craving
and suffering accounts for the apparent "pessimistic" streak that
emerges in several suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya: in MN 13
with its disquisition on the dangers in sensual pleasures, form,
and feeling; in MN 10 and MN 119 with their cemetery medita-
tions, in MN 22, MN 54, and MN 75 with their shocking similes
for sensual pleasures. Such teachings are part of the Buddha's
tactical approach to guiding his disciples to liberation. By its
own inherent nature craving springs up and thrives wherever it
finds something that appears pleasant and delightful. It prolifer-
ates through mistaken perception - the perception of sense
objects as enjoyable - and thus to break the grip of craving on
the mind, exhortation is often not enough. The Buddha must
make people see that the things they yearn for and frantically
pursue are really suffering, and he does this by exposing the
dangers concealed beneath their sweet and charming exteriors.
Although the second and third noble truths have an immedi-
ate psychological validity, they also have a deeper aspect
Introduction 31
30 The Majjhima Nikaya
brought to light in the suttas. The middle two truths as stated in
the general formulation of the Four Noble Truths are actually
telescoped versions of a longer formulation that discloses the
origin and cessation of bondage in samsara. The doctrine in
which this expanded version of the two truths is set forth is
called paticca samuppada, dependent origination. In its fullest
statement the doctrine spells out the origination and cessation of
suffering in terms of twelve factors connected together in eleven
propositions. This formulation, laid down schematically, will be
found at MN 38.17 in its order of arising and at MN 38.20 in its
order of ceasing. MN 115.11 includes both sequences together
preceded by a statement of the general principle of conditionality
that underlies the applied doctrine. A more elaborate version
giving a factorial analysis of each term in the series is presented
at MN 9.21-66, and a version exemplified in the course of an
individual life at MN 38.26-40. Condensed versions are also
found, notably at MN 1.171, MN 11.16, and MN 75.24-25. The
venerable Sariputta quotes the Buddha as saying that one who
sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma and one who sees
the Dhamma sees dependent origination (MN 28.28).
According to the usual interpretation, the series of twelve fac-
tors extends over three lives and divides into causal and resul-
tant phases. The gist of it can be briefly explained as follows.
Because of ignorance ( avijja ) - defined as non-knowledge of the
Four Noble Truths - a person engages in volitional actions or
kamma, which may be bodily, verbal, or mental, wholesome or
unwholesome. These kammic actions are the formations
{sankhara), and they ripen in states of consciousness (vinhana) -
first as the rebirth-consciousness at the moment of conception
and thereafter as the passive states of consciousness resulting
from kamma that matures in the course of a lifetime. Along with
consciousness there arises mentality-materiality ( mmarupa ), the
psychophysical organism, which is equipped with the sixfold
base ( salayatana ), the five physical sense faculties and mind as
the faculty of the higher cognitive functions. Via the sense facul-
ties contact ( phassa ) takes place between consciousness and its
objects, and contact conditions feeling ( vedana ). The links from
consciousness through feeling are the products of past kamma,
of the causal phase represented by ignorance and formations.
With the next link the kammically active phase of the present
life begins, productive of a new existence in the future.
Conditioned by feeling, craving ( tanha ) arises, this being the sec-
ond noble truth. When craving intensifies it gives rise to cling-
ing ( upadana ), through which one again engages in volitional
actions pregnant with a renewal of existence ( bhava ). The new
existence begins with birth ( jati ), which inevitably leads to ageing
and death {jaramarana ).
The teaching of dependent origination also shows how the
round of existence can be broken. With the arising of true
knowledge, full penetration of the Four Noble Truths, ignorance
is eradicated. Consequently the mind no longer indulges in
craving and clinging, action loses its potential to generate
rebirth, and deprived thus of its fuel, the round comes to an end.
This marks the goal of the teaching signalled by the third noble
truth, the cessation of suffering.
NIBBANA
The state that supervenes when ignorance and craving have
been uprooted is called Nibbana (Sanskrit, Nirvana ), and no con-
ception in the Buddha's teaching has proved so refractory to
conceptual pinning down as this one. In a way such elusiveness
is only to be expected, since Nibbana is described precisely as
"profound, hard to see and hard to understand,... unattainable
by mere reasoning" (MN 26.19). Yet in this same passage the
Buddha also says that Nibbana is to be experienced by the wise
and in the suttas he gives enough indications of its nature to
convey some idea of its desirability.
The Pali Canon offers sufficient evidence to dispense with the
opinion of some interpreters that Nibbana is sheer annihilation;
even the more sophisticated view that Nibbana is merely the
destruction of defilements and the extinction of existence cannot
stand up under scrutiny. Probably the most compelling testi-
mony against that view is the well-known passage from the
Udam that declares with reference to Nibbana that "there is an
unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned," the existence of
which makes possible "escape from the born, become, made,
and conditioned" (Ud 8:3/80). The Majjhima Nikaya characteris-
es Nibbana in similar ways. It is "the unborn, unageing, unail-
ing, deathless, sorrowless, undefiled supreme security from
32 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 33
bondage/' which the Buddha attained to on the night of his
enlightenment (MN 26.18). Its pre-eminent reality is affirmed by
the Buddha when he calls Nibbana the supreme foundation of
truth, whose nature is undeceptive and which ranks as the
supreme noble truth (MN 140.26). Nibbana cannot be perceived
by those who live in lust and hate, but it can be seen with the
arising of spiritual vision, and by fixing the mind upon it in the
depths of meditation, the disciple can attain the destruction of
the taints (MN 26.19, MN 75.24, MN 64.9).
The Buddha does not devote many words to a philosophical
definition of Nibbana. One reason is that Nibbana, being uncon-
ditioned, transcendent, and supramundane, does not easily lend
itself to definition in terms of concepts that are inescapably tied
to the conditioned, manifest, and mundane. Another is that the
Buddha's objective is the practical one of leading beings to
release from suffering, and thus his principal approach to the
characterisation of Nibbana is to inspire the incentive to attain it
and to show what must be done to accomplish this. To show
Nibbana as desirable, as the aim of striving, he describes it as
the highest bliss, as the supreme state of sublime peace, as the
ageless, deathless, and sorrowless, as the supreme security from
bondage. To show what must be done to attain Nibbana, to indi-
cate that the goal implies a definite task, he describes it as the
stilling of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments,
the destruction of craving, dispassion (MN 26.19). Above all,
Nibbana is the cessation of suffering, and for those who seek an
end to suffering such a designation is enough to beckon them
towards the path.
THE WAY TO THE CESSATION OF SUFFERING
The fourth noble truth completes the pattern established by
the first three truths by revealing the means to eliminate crav-
ing and thereby bring an end to suffering. This truth teaches
the "Middle Way" discovered by the Buddha, the Noble
Eightfold Path:
1. right view (samma ditthi )
2. right intention ( sammd sankappa)
3. right speech ( samma vaca)
4. right action ( samma kammanta)
5. right livelihood ( samma ajiva)
6. right effort ( samma vayama)
7. right mindfulness ( samma sati )
8. right concentration ( samma samadhi)
Mentioned countless times throughout the Majjhima Nikaya,
the Noble Eightfold Path is explained in detail in two full suttas.
MN 141 gives a factorial analysis of the eight components of the
path using the definitions that are standard in the Pali Canon;
MN 117 expounds the path from a different angle under the
rubric of "noble right concentration with its supports and its
requisites." The Buddha there makes the important distinction
between the mundane and supramundane stages of the path,
defines the first five factors for both stages, and shows how the
path factors function in unison in the common task of providing
an outlet from suffering. Other suttas explore in greater detail
individual components of the path. Thus MN 9 provides an in-
depth exposition of right view, MN 10 of right mindfulness,
MN 19 of right intention. MN 44.11 explains that the eight fac-
tors can be incorporated into three "aggregates" of training.
Right speech, right action, and right livelihood make up the
aggregate of virtue or moral discipline (si/a); right effort, right
mindfulness, and right concentration make up the aggregate of
concentration (samadhi); and right view and right intention make
up the aggregate of understanding or wisdom (pahhn). This
threefold sequence in turn serves as the basic outline for the
gradual training, to be discussed later.
In the Pali Canon the practices conducing to Nibbana are often
elaborated into a more complex set comprising seven groups
of intersecting factors. The later tradition designates them the
thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment ( bodhipakkhiya dhamma ),
but the Buddha himself simply speaks of them without a collec-
tive name as "the things that I have taught you after directly
knowing them" (MN 103.3, MN 104.5). Towards the end of his
life he stressed to the Sangha that the long duration of his teach-
ing in the world depends upon the accurate preservation of
these factors and their being practised by his followers in har-
mony, free from contention.
34 The M ajjhima Nikaya
The constituents of this set are as follows:
. the four foundations of mindfulness {satipafthdm)
. the four right kinds of striving ( sammap padhona)
. the four bases for spiritual power (iddhipada)
• the five faculties {indriya)
• the five powers ( bala )
. the seven enlightenment factors ( bojjhanga )
. the Noble Eightfold Path {ariya atthangika magga)
Each group is defined in full at MN 77.15-21. A ^ xa "°" r
will show, most of these groups are sl “ p1 ^ high-
rearrangements of factors of the eightfold path made to h g
light different aspects of the practice. Thus, or examp ' dfuJ
foundations of mindfulness are an elabora on g
ness- the four right kinds of striving, an elaboration of ngh
effort. The development of the groups is
not sequential. MN 118, for example, shows h 0 "* 6 p f
the four foundations of mindfuiness on e
the seven enlightenment factors, and MN 1 • turitv
engaged in insight meditation on the senses brmgs to matunty
all thirty-seven requisites of enlightenment. en li e hten-
Factorial analysis of the thirty-seven requisites of enhgh en
ment brings to light the central importance of four factors
among them - energy, mindfulness, concentrahon ^d wisd
From this a clear picture of the essential practoce can^
sketched. One begins with a conceptua un e ^ th
Dhamma and an intention to achieve the goa ,
factors. Then, out of faith o^e
lating speech, action, and livelihood, wi foundations
energetically applies the mind to cultivating e ou d
of mindfulness. As mindfulness matures it issue
concentration, and the concentrated mind, bymvest^aUo ,
arrives at wisdom, a penetrative understanding P
originally grasped only conceptually.
THE GRADUAL TRAINING
In the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha often
of the path as a gradual training (enupulite^l. which —d
in stages from the first step to the final goal. This gradual training
Introduction 35
is a finer subdivision of the threefold division of the path into
virtue, concentration, and wisdom. Invariably in the suttas the
sequence on the gradual training is shown to start with the going
forth into homelessness and the adoption of the lifestyle of a
bhikkhu, a Buddhist monk. This immediately calls attention to
the importance of the monastic life in the Buddha's Dispensation.
In principle the entire practice of the Noble Eightfold Path is
open to people from any mode of life, monastic or lay, and the
Buddha confirms that many among his lay followers were
accomplished in the Dhamma and had attained the first three of
the four supramundane stages (MN 68.18-23; MN 73.9-22; the
Theravadin position is that lay followers can also attain the
fourth stage, arahantship, but having done so they immediately
seek the going forth or pass away). However, the fact remains
that the household life inevitably tends to impede the single-
hearted quest for deliverance by fostering a multitude of worldly
concerns and personal attachments. Hence the Buddha himself
went forth into homelessness as the preliminary step in his own
noble quest, and after his enlightenment he established the
Sangha, the order of bhikkhus and bhikkhurus, as the resort for
those who wish to devote themselves fully to the practice of his
teaching undeflected by the cares of household life.
The main paradigm for the gradual training found in the
Majjhima Nikaya is that laid out in MN 27 and MN 51; alterna-
tive versions are found at MN 38, MN 39, MN 53, MN 107, and
MN 125, and some of the more important variations will be
briefly noted. The sequence opens with the appearance of a
Tathagata in the world and his exposition of the Dhamma, hear-
ing which the disciple acquires faith and follows the Teacher
into homelessness. Having gone forth, he undertakes and
observes the rules of discipline that promote the purification of
conduct and livelihood. The next three steps - contentment,
restraint of the sense faculties, and mindfulness and full aware-
ness - are intended to internalise the process of purification and
thereby bridge the transition from virtue to concentration.
Alternative versions (MN 39, MN 53, MN 107, MN 125) insert
two additional steps here, moderation in eating and devotion to
wakefulness.
The direct training in concentration comes to prominence in
the section on the abandonment of the five hindrances. The five
36 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 37
hindrances - sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restless-
ness and remorse, and doubt - are the primary obstacles to med-
itative development and their removal is therefore essential for
the mind to be brought to a state of calm and unification. In the
sequence on the gradual training the overcoming of the hin-
drances is treated only schematically; other parts of the Canon
provide more practical instruction, amplified still more in the
commentaries. The passage on the hindrances is graced in
MN 39 by a series of similes illustrating the contrast between the
bondage imposed by the hindrances and the joyful sense of free-
dom that is won when they are abandoned.
The next stage in the sequence describes the attainment of the
jhanas, profound states of concentration in which the mind
becomes fully absorbed in its object. The Buddha enumerates
four jhanas, named simply after their numerical position in the
series, each more refined and elevated than its predecessor. The
jhanas are always described by the same formulas, which in sev-
eral suttas (MN 39, MN 77, MN 119) are augmented by similes
of great beauty. Although in the Theravada tradition the jhanas
are not regarded as indispensable to the attainment of enlighten-
ment, the Buddha invariably includes them in the full gradual
training because of the contribution they make to the intrinsic
perfection of the path and because the deep concentration they
induce provides a solid base for the cultivation of insight. While
still mundane the jhanas are the "footsteps of the Tathagata"
(MN 27.19-22) and foretokens of the bliss of Nibbana that lies at
the training's end.
From the fourth jhana three alternative lines of further devel-
opment become possible, hr a number of passages outside the
sequence on the gradual training (MN 8, MN 25, MN 26, MN 66,
etc.) the Buddha mentions four meditative states that continue
the mental unification established by the jhanas. These states,
described as "the liberations that are peaceful and immaterial,"
are, like the jhanas, also mundane. Distinguished from the jhanas
by their transcendence of the subtle mental image that forms the
object in the jhanas, they are named after their own exalted
objects: tire base of infinite space, the base of infinite conscious-
ness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither-perception-
nor-non-perception. In the Pali commentaries these states came
to be called the immaterial or formless jhanas (arupaj jhana).
A second line of development disclosed by the suttas is the
acquisition of supernormal knowledge. The Buddha frequently
mentions six types as a group, which come to be called the six
kinds of direct knowledge ( chalabhinm ; the expression does not
occur in the Majjhima). Tire last of these, the knowledge of the
destruction of the taints, is supramundane and thus properly
belongs to the third line of development. But the other five are
all mundane, products of the extraordinarily powerful degree of
mental concentration achieved in the fourth jhana: the super-
normal powers, the divine ear, the ability to read the minds of
others, the recollection of past lives, and the divine eye (MN 6,
MN 73, MN 77, MN 108).
The jhanas and the mundane types of direct knowledge by
themselves do not issue in enlightenment and liberation. As
lofty and peaceful as these attainments are, they can only sup-
press the defilements that sustain the round of rebirths but cannot
eradicate them. To uproot the defilements at the most fundamen-
tal level, and thereby yield the fruits of enlightenment and
deliverance, the meditative process must be redirected along a
third line of development, one which does not necessarily pre-
suppose the former two. This is the contemplation of "things as
they actually are," which results in increasingly deeper insights
into the nature of existence and culminates in the final goal, the
attainment of arahantship.
This line of development is the one the Buddha pursues in the
sequence on the gradual training, though he precedes it by
descriptions of two of the direct knowledges, the recollection of
past lives and the divine eye. The three together, which figured
prominently in the Buddha's own enlightenment (MN 4.27-30),
are collectively called the three true knowledges ( tevijja ).
Although the first two among these are not essential to the reali-
sation of arahantship, we may assume that the Buddha includes
them here because they reveal the truly vast and profound
dimensions of suffering in samsara and thereby prepare the
mind for the penetration of the Four Noble Truths, in which that
suffering is diagnosed and surmounted.
The process of contemplation by which the meditator devel-
ops insight is not explicitly shown as such in the sequence on
the gradual training. It is only implied by the exhibiting of its
final fruit, here called the knowledge of the destruction of the
38 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 39
taints. The Rsavcis or taints are a classification of defilements con-
sidered in their role of sustaining the samsaric round. The
commentaries derive the word from a root su meaning "to
flow." Scholars differ as to whether the flow implied by the pre-
fix a is inward or outward; hence some have rendered it as
"influxes" or "influences," others as "outflows" or "effluents."
A stock passage in the suttas indicates the term's real signifi-
cance independently of etymology when it describes the asavas
as states "that defile, bring renewal of being, give trouble, ripen
in suffering, and lead to future birth, ageing, and death"
(MN 36.47, etc.). Thus other translators, bypassing the literal
meaning, have rendered it "cankers," "corruptions," or "taints,"
the latter being the choice of Ven. Nanamoli. The three taints
mentioned in the suttas are virtual synonyms for craving for
sensual pleasures, craving for being, and the ignorance that
appears at the head of the formula for dependent origination.
When the disciple's mind has been liberated from the taints by
the completion of the path of arahantship, he reviews his newly
won freedom and roars his lion's roar: "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."
APPROACHES TO MEDITATION
The methods of meditation taught by the Buddha in the Pali
Canon fall into two broad systems. One is the development of
serenity ( samatha ), which aims at concentration ( samadhi ); the
other is the development of insight ( vipassand ), which aims at
understanding or wisdom ( pahhd ). In the Buddha's system of
mental training the role of serenity is subordinated to that of
insight because the latter is the crucial instrument needed to
uproot the ignorance at the bottom of samsaric bondage. The
attainments possible through serenity meditation were known
to Indian contemplatives long before the advent of the Buddha.
The Buddha himself mastered the two highest stages under his
early teachers but found that they only led to higher planes of
rebirth, not to genuine enlightenment (MN 26.15-16). However,
because the unification of mind induced by the practice of con-
centration contributes to clear understanding, the Buddha incor-
porated the techniques of serenity meditation and the resulting
levels of absorption into his own system, treating them as a
foundation and preparation for insight and as a "pleasant abid-
ing here and now."
The attainments reached by the practice of serenity meditation
are, as mentioned in the preceding section, the eight absorptions
- the four jhanas and the four immaterial states - each of which
serves as the basis for the next. Strangely, the suttas do not
explicitly prescribe specific meditation subjects as the means for
attaining the jhanas, but the commentarial literature such as the
Visuddhimagga enables us to make the connections. Among the
meditation topics enumerated in the suttas, eight of the ten
kasinas (MN 77.24) are recognised as suitable for attaining all four
jhanas, the last two being the respective supports for the first two
immaterial attainments. The eight bases for transcendence seem
to be a more finely differentiated treatment of meditation on the
colour kasinas, as are the first three of the eight liberations
(MN 77.22-23). Mindfulness of breathing, to which the Buddha
devotes an entire sutta (MN 118), provides an ever accessible
meditation subject that can be pursued through all four jhanas
and also used to develop insight. Another method for attaining
the jhanas mentioned in the suttas is the four divine abodes
(brahmavihdra) - boundless loving-kindness, compassion, appre-
ciative joy (i.e., gladness at others' success), and equanimity
(MN 7, MN 40, etc.). Tradition holds the first three to be capable
of leading to the three lower jhanas, the last of inducing the
fourth jhana. The immaterial attainments are to be reached by
fixing the mind on the specific object of each attainment - infinite
space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and the state that can
only be described as neither percipient nor as non-percipient.
Whereas in serenity meditation the meditator attempts to
focus upon a single uniform object abstracted from actual expe-
rience, in insight meditation the endeavour is made to contem-
plate, from a position of detached observation, the ever-shifting
flux of experience itself in order to penetrate through to the
essential nature of bodily and mental phenomena. The Buddha
teaches that the craving and clinging that hold us in bondage are
sustained by a network of "conceivings" ( mahhita ) - deluded
views, conceits, and suppositions that the mind fabricates by an
internal process of mental commentary or "proliferation"
(papahca) and then projects out upon the world, taking them to
40 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 41
possess objective validity. The task of insight meditation is to
sever our attachments by enabling us to pierce through this net
of conceptual projections in order to see things as they really are.
To see things as they really are means to see them in terms of
the three characteristics - as impermanent, as painful or suffer-
ing, and as not self. Since the three characteristics are closely
interlinked, any one of them can be made the main portal for
entering the domain of insight, but the Buddha's usual
approach is to show all three together - impermanence implying
suffering and the two in conjunction implying the absence of
self. When the noble disciple sees all the factors of being as
stamped with these three marks, he no longer identifies with
them, no longer appropriates them by taking them to be mine, I,
or self. Seeing thus, he becomes disenchanted with all forma-
tions. When he becomes disenchanted, his lust and attachment
fade a way and his mind is liberated from the taints.
Instructions for the development of insight in the Majjhima
Nikaya, though concise, are many and diverse. The single most
important lesson on the practice conducing to insight is the
Satipatthnna Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations of
Mindfulness (MN 10; also found in the Dlgha Nikaya with an
amplified section on the Four Noble Truths). The sutta sets forth
a comprehensive system called satipatthnna designed to train the
mind to see with microscopic precision the true nature of the
body, feelings, states of mind, and mental objects. The system is
sometimes taken to be the paradigm for the practice of "bare
insight" - the direct contemplation of mental and bodily phe-
nomena without a prior foundation of jhana - and, while several
exercises described in the sutta can also lead to the jhanas, the
arousing of insight is clearly the intent of the method.
Other suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya describe approaches to
developing insight that either elaborate upon the satipatthnna
contemplations or reach them from a different starting point.
Thus MN 118 shows how the practice of mindfulness of breath-
ing fulfils all four foundations of mindfulness, not the first alone
as shown in MN 10. Several suttas - MN 28, MN 62, MN 140 -
present more detailed instructions on the contemplation of the
elements. MN 37, MN 74, and MN 140 contain illuminating pas-
sages on the contemplation of feeling. In some suttas the
Buddha uses the five aggregates as the groundwork for insight
contemplation (e.g., MN 22, MN 109); in some, the six sense
bases (e.g., MN 137, MN 148, MN 149); in some, the two com-
bined (MN 147). MN 112 has sections dealing with insight based
on the five aggregates, the six elements, and the six sense bases,
and as resulting from the gradual training. MN 52 and MN 64
show that insight can also be aroused with the jhanas, the imma-
terial attainments, and the divine abodes as its objects: the disci-
ple enters any of these states and contemplates its constituent
factors as subject to the three characteristics.
Several sequences of meditative states mentioned in the
Majjhima culminate in an attainment called the cessation of per-
ception and feeling ( sahhavedayitanirodha ). Although this state
always follows the last immaterial attainment, it is not, as may be
supposed, merely one higher step in the scale of concentration.
Strictly speaking, the attainment of cessation pertains neither to
serenity nor to insight. It is a state reached by the combined pow-
ers of serenity and insight in which all mental processes are tem-
porarily suspended. Tire attainment is said to be accessible only
to non-returners and arahants who have also mastered the
jhanas and immaterial states. Detailed canonical discussions of it
are found in MN 43 and MN 44.
THE FOUR PLANES OF LIBERATION
The practice of the Buddhist path evolves in two distinct stages,
a mundane ( lokiya ) or preparatory stage and a supramundane
( lokuttara ) or consummate stage. The mundane path is devel-
oped when the disciple undertakes the gradual training in
virtue, concentration, and wisdom. This reaches its peak in the
practice of insight meditation, which deepens direct experience
of the three characteristics of existence. When the practitioner's
faculties have arrived at an adequate degree of maturity, the
mundane path gives birth to the supramundane path, so called
because it leads directly and infallibly out of ( nttara ) the world
(loka) comprising the three realms of existence to the attainment
of "the deathless element," Nibbana.
Progress along the supramundane path is marked by four
major breakthroughs, each of which ushers the disciple through
two subordinate phases called the path (magga) and its fruit
( phala ). The phase of path has the special function of eliminating
42 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 43
a determinate number of defilements to which it is directly
opposed, the mental impediments that hold us in bondage to
the round of rebirths. When the work of the path has been com-
pleted, the disciple realises its corresponding fruit, the degree of
liberation made accessible by that particular path. The canonical
formula of homage to the Sangha refers obliquely to these four
planes of liberation - each with its phase of path and fruit -
when it extols the Blessed One's community of noble disciples
as comprising "the four pairs of persons, the eight types of indi-
viduals" (MN 7.7). These four pairs are obtained by taking, for
each stage, the one who has entered upon the way to realisation
of the fruit and the one who has attained the fruit.
In the suttas the Buddha highlights the specific characteristics
of each supramundane stage in two ways: by mentioning the
defilements that are abandoned on each plane and the conse-
quences its attainment bears on the process of rebirth (see, e.g.,
MN 6.11-13, 19; MN 22.42-45, etc.). He handles the elimination of
the defilements by classifying these into a tenfold group called
the ten fetters ( samyojana ). The disciple enters upon the first
supramundane path either as a Dhamma-follower
{dhammanusariri) or as a faith-follower (saddhanu sarin); the former
is one in whom wisdom is the dominant faculty, the latter one
who progresses by the impetus of faith. This path, the path of
stream-entry, has tire task of eradicating the grossest three fetters:
personality view, i.e., the view of a self among the five aggre-
gates; doubt in the Buddha and Iris teaching; and adherence to
external rules and observances, either ritualistic or ascetic, in the
belief that they can bring purification. When the disciple realises
the fruit of this path he becomes a stream-enterer ( sotapanm ), who
has entered the "stream" of the Noble Eightfold Path that will
carry him irreversibly to Nibbana. The stream-enterer is bound to
reach final liberation in a maximum of seven more births, which
all occur either in tire human world or in the heavenly realms.
The second supramundane path attenuates to a still greater
degree the root defilements of lust, hatred, and delusion, though
without yet eradicating them. On realising the fruit of this path
the disciple becomes a once-retumer ( sakadagamin ), who is due
to return to this world (i.e., the sense-sphere realm) only one
more time and then make an end of suffering. The third path
eradicates the next two fetters, sensual desire and ill will; it
issues in the fruit of the non-returner ( anagamin ), who is due to
reappear by spontaneous birth in one of the special celestial
realms called the Pure Abodes, and there attain final Nibbana
without ever returning from that world.
The fourth and last supramundane path is the path of ara-
hantship. This path eradicates the five higher fetters: desire for
rebirth in the fine-material realm and in the immaterial realm,
conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. By realisation of the fruit of
this path the practitioner becomes an arahant, a fully liberated
one, who "here and now enters upon and abides in the deliver-
ance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with
the destruction of the taints." The arahant will be discussed fur-
ther in the next section.
The commentaries (often referred to in the notes to this trans-
lation) develop an interpretation of the paths and fruits based
upon the systemisation of the Buddha's teachings known as the
Abhidhamma. Drawing upon the Abhidhamma depiction of the
mind as a sequence of discrete momentary acts of conscious-
ness, called cittas, the commentaries understand each supra-
mundane path to be a single occasion of consciousness arising at
the climax of a series of insights into the Dhamma. Each of the
four momentary path cittas eliminates its own fixed set of defile-
ments, to be followed immediately by its fruition, which consists
of a string of momentary cittas that enjoy the bliss of Nibbana
made accessible by the breakthrough of the path. Though this
conception of the paths and fruits is regularly employed by the
commentators as an hermeneutical tool for interpreting the sut-
tas, it is not explicitly formulated as such in the old Nikayas and
at times there even appears to be a tension between the two (for
example, in the passage at MN 142.5 describing the four persons
on the path as distinct recipients of offerings).
THE ARAHANT
The ideal figure of the Majjhima Nikaya, as of the Pali Canon as
a whole, is the arahant. The word "arahant" itself derives from a
root meaning "to be worthy." Ven. Nanamoli renders it "accom-
plished" and "Accomplished One" when it is used as an epithet
of the Buddha, probably to be consistent with his practice of
translating all the Buddha's epithets. In its other occurrences he
Introduction 45
44 The Majjhima Nikaya
leaves it untranslated. The word seems to have been of pre-
Buddhist coinage but was taken over by the Buddha to desig-
nate the individual who has reached the final fruit of the path.
The suttas employ a stock description of the arahant that
summarises his accomplishments: he is "one with taints
destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be
done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed
the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final
knowledge" (MN 1.51, etc.). Variant descriptions emphasise dif-
ferent aspects of the arahant's attainment. Thus one sutta offers
a series of metaphorical epithets that the Buddha himself inter-
prets as representing the arahant's abandoning of ignorance,
craving, and conceit, his eradication of fetters, and his freedom
from the round of births (MN 22.30-35). Elsewhere the Buddha
ascribes a different set of epithets to the arahant — several of
brahmanical currency - deriving these terms by imaginative ety-
mology from the arahant's elimination of all evil unwholesome
states (MN 39.22-29).
The Majjhima records differences of type among the arahants,
which are ascribed to the diversity in their faculties. In MN 70
the Buddha introduces a basic distinction between those ara-
hants who are "liberated-in-both-ways" and those who are
"liberated-by-wisdom": whereas the former are capable of abid-
ing in the immaterial attainments, the latter lack that capacity.
Arahants are further distinguished as those who possess,
besides the knowledge of the destruction of the taints necessary
to all arahants, all three of the true knowledges and all six of the
direct knowledges. In MN 108 the venerable Ananda indicates
that those arahants who possessed the six direct knowledges
were accorded special veneration and authority in the Sangha
following the Buddha's passing away.
Beneath these incidental differences, however, all arahants
alike share the same essential accomplishments - the destruction
of all defilements and the freedom from future rebirths. They
possess three unsurpassable qualities - unsurpassable vision,
unsurpassable practice of the way, and unsurpassable deliver-
ance (MN 35.26). They are endowed with the ten factors of one
beyond training - the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path
augmented by right knowledge and right deliverance
(MN 65.34, MN 78.14). They possess the four foundations - the
foundations of wisdom, of truth, of relinquishment, and of
peace (MN 140.11). And by the eradication of lust, hate, and
delusion all arahants have access to a unique meditative
attainment called the fruition attainment of arahantship,
described as the unshakeable deliverance of mind, the immea-
surable deliverance of mind, the void deliverance of mind, the
deliverance of mind through nothingness, and the signless
deliverance of mind (MN 43.35-37).
KAMMA AND REBIRTH
According to the Buddha's teaching, all beings except the ara-
hants are subject to "renewal of being in the future" ( punabbhava ),
that is, to rebirth. Rebirth, in the Buddhist conception, is not the
transmigration of a self or soul but the continuation of a process,
a flux of becoming in which successive lives are linked together
by causal transmission of influence rather than by substantial
identity. The basic causal pattern underlying the process is that
defined by the teaching of dependent origination (see above,
pp. 30-31), which also demonstrates how rebirth is possible
without a reincarnating self.
The process of rebirth, the Buddha teaches, exhibits a definite
lawfulness essentially ethical in character. This ethical character
is established by the fundamental dynamism that determines
the states into which beings are reborn and the circumstances
they encounter in the course of their lives. That dynamism is
kamma, volitional action of body, speech, and mind. Those
beings who engage in bad actions - actions motivated by the
three unwholesome roots of greed, hate, and delusion - generate
unwholesome kamma that leads them to rebirth into lower
states of existence and, if it ripens in the human world, brings
them pain and misfortune. Those beings who engage in good
actions - actions motivated by the three wholesome roots of
non-greed, non-hate, and non-delusion - generate wholesome
kamma that leads them to higher states of existence and ripens
in the human world as pleasure and good fortune. Because the
deeds a person performs in the course of a single life can be
extremely varied, the type of rebirth that lies ahead of him can
be very unpredictable, as the Buddha shows in MN 136. But
despite this empirical variability, an invariable law governs the
46 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 47
direct relationship between types of actions and the types of
results they yield, the basic correlations being sketched by the
Buddha in MN 57 and laid out in greater detail in MN 135.
In several suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya the Buddha refers to
various planes of existence into which rebirth can occur and he
also gives some indication of the types of kamma that lead to
those planes. This cosmological typography is not, from the
Buddhist standpoint, the product of conjecture or fantasy but a
matter directly known to the Buddha through his "Tathagata s
powers of knowledge" (MN 12.36); to some extent the process is
also verifiable by those who gain the divine eye (e.g., MN 39.20).
A brief overview may be given here of the planes of rebirth recog-
nised in Buddhist cosmology and of their kammic antecedents, as
systematised in the developed Theravada tradition.
The Buddhist cosmos is divided into three broad realms - the
sense-sphere realm, the fine-material realm, and the immaterial
realm. Each of these comprises a range of subsidiary planes,
amounting to a total of thirty-one planes of existence.
The sense-sphere realm, so called because sensual desire pre-
dominates there, consists of eleven planes divided into two
groups, the bad destinations and the good destinations. The bad
destinations or "states of deprivation" {apaya) are four in num-
ber: the hells, which are states of intense torment as described in
MN 129 and MN 130; the animal kingdom; the sphere of ghosts
(j peta ), beings afflicted with incessant hunger and thirst; and the
sphere of titans ( asura ), beings involved in constant combat (not
mentioned as a separate plane in the Majjhima). The courses of
kamma leading to rebirth into these planes are classified into a
set of ten - three of body, four of speech, and three of mind.
These are enumerated briefly at MN 9.4 and explicated in
MN 41 . Gradations in the gravity of the evil intentions responsi-
ble for these deeds account for specific differences in the mode
of rebirth resulting from such actions.
The good destinations in the sense-sphere realm are the
human world and the heavenly planes. The latter are sixfold: the
gods under the Four Great Kings; the gods of the Thirty-three
( tavatimsa ), who are presided over by Sakka, a Buddhist meta-
morphosis of Indra, depicted as a devotee of the Buddha, faith-
ful, but prone to negligence (MN 37); the Yama gods; the gods of
the Tusita heaven, the abode of the Bodhisatta before his final
birth (MN 123); the gods who delight in creating; and the gods
who wield power over others' creations. The last is said to be
the abode of Mara, the Tempter in Buddhism, who besides being
a symbol for Desire and Death, is also regarded as a powerful
deity with evil designs, keen to prevent beings from escaping the
net of samsara. The kammic cause for rebirth into the good
destinations of the sense-sphere realm is the practice of the ten
courses of wholesome action, defined at MN 9.8 and in MN 41.
In the fine-material realm the grosser types of matter are
absent and the bliss, power, luminosity, and vitality of its
denizens are far superior to those in the sense-sphere realm. The
fine-material realm consists of sixteen planes, which are the
objective counterparts of the four jhanas. Attainment of the first
jhana leads to rebirth among Brahma's Assembly, the Ministers
of Brahma and the Maha Brahmas, according to whether it is
developed to an inferior, middling, or superior degree. Baka the
Brahma (MN 49) and Brahma Sahampati (MN 26, MN 67) seem
to be residents of the last-named plane. The suttas mention espe-
cially the divine abodes as the path to the company of Brahma
(MN 99.24-27). Attainment of the second jhana in the same three
degrees leads respectively to rebirth among the gods of Limited
Radiance, of Immeasurable Radiance, and of Streaming
Radiance; the third jhana to rebirth among the gods of Limited
Glory, of Immeasurable Glory, and of Refulgent Glory. The
fourth jhana ordinarily leads to rebirth among the gods of Great
Fruit, but if it is developed with a desire to attain an insentient
mode of existence, it will conduce to rebirth among the non-
percipient beings, for whom consciousness is temporarily sus-
pended. The fine-material realm also contains five special planes
that are exclusively for the rebirth of non-returners. These are
the Pure Abodes - the Aviha, the Atappa, the Sudassa, the
SudassT, and the Akanittha. In each of these planes in the fine-
material realm the lifespan is said to be of enormous duration
and to increase significantly in each higher plane.
The third realm of being is the immaterial realm, where
matter has become non-existent and only mental processes
exist. This realm consists of four planes, which are the objective
counterparts of the four immaterial meditative attainments,
from which they result and whose names they share: the
bases of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness.
48 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 49
and neither-perception-nor-non-perception. The lifespans
ascribed to them are respectively 20,000; 40,000; 60,000; and
84,000 great aeons.
In Buddhist cosmology existence in every realm, being the
product of a kamma with a finite potency, is necessarily imper-
manent. Beings take rebirth in accordance with their deeds,
experience the good or bad results, and then, when the genera-
tive kamma has spent its force, they pass away to take rebirth
elsewhere as determined by still another kamma that has found
the opportunity to ripen. Hence the torments of hell as well as
the bliss of heaven, no matter how long they may last, are bound
to pass. For this reason the Buddha does not locate the final goal
of his teaching anywhere within the conditioned world. He
guides those whose spiritual faculties are still tender to aspire
for a heavenly rebirth and teaches them the lines of conduct that
conduce to the fulfilment of their aspirations (MN 41, MN 120).
But for those whose faculties are mature and who can grasp the
unsatisfactory nature of everything conditioned, he urges deter-
mined effort to put an end to wandering in sarhsara and to reach
Nibbana, which transcends all planes of being.
THE BUDDHA AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES
The Middle Country of India in which the Buddha lived and
taught in the fifth century B.C. teemed with a luxuriant variety
of religious and philosophical beliefs propagated by teachers
equally varied in their ways of life. The main division was into
the brahmins and the non-brahmanic ascetics, the samanas or
"recluses." The brahmins were the hereditary priesthood of
India, the custodians of the ancient orthodoxy. They accepted
the authority of the Vedas, which they studied, chanted at
countless rituals, sacrifices, arid ceremonies, and turned to as the
source of their philosophical speculations. Thus they are charac-
terised in the suttas as traditionalists (anussavika), who teach
their doctrines on the basis of oral tradition (MN 100.7). The Pali
Canon generally depicts them as living a comfortably settled
life, as marrying and begetting progeny, and in some cases as
enjoying royal patronage. The more learned among them gath-
ered a company of students - all necessarily of brahmin birth -
to whom they taught the Vedic hymns.
The samanas, on the other hand, did not accept the authority
of the Vedas, for which reason from the perspective of the brah-
mins they stood in the ranks of heterodoxy. They were usually
celibate, lived a life of mendicancy, and acquired their status by
voluntary renunciation rather than by birth. The samanas
roamed the Indian countryside sometimes in company, some-
times as solitaries, preaching their doctrines to the populace,
debating with other ascetics, engaging in their spiritual prac-
tices, which often involved severe austerities (see MN 51.8).
Some teachers in the samana camp taught entirely on the basis
of reasoning and speculation, while others taught on the basis of
their experiences in meditation. The Buddha placed himself
among the latter, as one who teaches a Dhamma that he has
directly known for himself (MN 100.7).
The Buddha's encounters with brahmins were usually friend-
ly, their conversations marked by courtesy and mutual regard.
Several suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya concern the brahmins'
claim to superiority over those in other social classes. In the
Buddha's age the caste system was only beginning to take shape
in northeast India and had not yet spawned the countless
subdivisions and rigid regulations that were to manacle Indian
society through the centuries. Society was divided into four
broad social classes: the brahmins, who performed the priestly
functions; the khattiyas, the nobles, warriors, and administrators;
the vessas, the merchants and agriculturalists; and the suddas, the
menials and serfs. From the Pali suttas it appears that the brah-
mins, while vested with authority in religious matters, had not
yet risen to the position of unchallengeable hegemony they were
to gain after the promulgation of the Laws of Manu. They had,
however, already embarked on their drive for domination and
did so by propagating the thesis that brahmins are the highest
caste, the fairest caste, the divinely blessed offspring of Brahma
who are alone capable of purification. Anxiety that this claim of
the brahmins might actually be true seems to have spread
among the royalty, who must have been fearful of the threat it
posed to their own power (see MN 84.4, MN 90.9-10).
Contrary to certain popular notions, the Buddha did not explic-
itly repudiate the class divisions of Indian society or appeal for
the abolition of this social system. Within the Sangha, however, all
caste distinctions were abrogated from the moment of ordination.
50 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 51
Thus people from any of the four castes who went forth under the
Buddha renounced their class titles and prerogatives and instead
became known simply as disciples of the Sakyan son (see
Ud 5:5/55). Whenever the Buddha or his disciples were
confronted with the brahmins' claim to superiority, they argued
vigorously against them, maintaining that all such claims were
groundless. Purification, they contended, was the result of con-
duct, not of birth, and was thus accessible to those of all four
castes (MN 40.13-14, MN 84, MN 90.12, MN 93). The Buddha
even stripped the term "brahmin" of its hereditary accretions, and
hearkening back to its original connotation of holy man, he
defined the true brahmin as the arahant (MN 98). Those among
the brahmins who were not yet hampered by class prejudice
responded appreciatively to the Buddha's teaching. Some of the
most eminent brahmins of the time, in whom there still burned
the ancient Vedic yearning for light, knowledge, and truth, recog-
nised in the Buddha the All-Enlightened One for whom they
longed and declared themselves his disciples (see especially
MN 91.34). Several even renounced their class privileges and with
their retinues entered the Sangha (MN 7.22, MN 92.15-24).
The samanas were a much more diversified group which,
lacking a common scriptural authority, promulgated a plethora
of philosophical doctrines ranging from the diabolical to the
superdivine. The Pali Canon frequently mentions six teachers in
particular as contemporaries of the Buddha, and as they are
each described as "the head of an order... regarded by many as a
saint" (MN 77.5), they must have been quite influential at the
time. The Majjhima Nikaya mentions both the set of six and,
separately, states their individual doctrines; it does not, however,
correlate the names with the doctrines. The connections between
names and doctrines are made in the Samahhaphala Sutta of the
Digha Nikaya.
Purana Kassapa, who is always mentioned first in the list,
taught a doctrine of inaction ( akiriyavada ) that denied the validi-
ty of moral distinctions (MN 60.13, MN 76.10). Makkhali Gosala
was the leader of the sect known as the Ajlvakas (or Ajlvikas),
which survived in India down into the medieval period. He
taught a doctrine of fatalism that denied causality ( ahetukavada )
and claimed that the entire cosmic process is rigidly controlled
by a principle called fate or destiny (niyati); beings have no
volitional control over their actions but move helplessly caught
in the grip of fate (MN 60.21, MN 76.13). Ajita Kesakambalin
was a moral nihilist (; natthikavttda ) who propounded a material-
ist philosophy that rejected the existence of an afterlife and
kammic retribution (MN 60.5, MN 76.7); his doctrine is always
cited by the Buddha as the paradigmatic instance of wrong
view among the unwholesome courses of action. Pakudha
Kaccayana advocated an atomism on the basis of which he
repudiated the basic tenets of morality (MN 76.16). Sanjaya
Belatthiputta, a sceptic, refused to take a stand on the crucial
moral and philosophical issues of the day, probably claiming
that such knowledge was beyond our capacity for verification
(MN 76.30). The sixth teacher, the Nigantha Nataputta, is iden-
tified with Mahavlra, the historical progenitor of Jainism. He
taught that there exists a plurality of monadic souls entrapped
in matter by the bonds of past kamma and that the soul is to be
liberated by exhausting its kammic bonds through the practice
of severe self-mortification.
Whereas the Pali suttas are generally cordial but critical towards
the brahmins, they are trenchant in their rejection of the rival doc-
trines of the samanas. In one sutta (MN 60) the Buddha contends
that the firm adoption of any of the first three doctrines (and by
implication the fourth) entails a chain of unwholesome states gen-
erating evil kamma strong enough to bring a descent into the
lower realms. Similarly the venerable Ananda describes these
views as four "negations of the holy life" (MN 76). The scepticism
of Sanjaya, while not regarded as so pernicious, is taken as an indi-
cation of its proponent's dullness and confusion; it is described as
"eel- wriggling" ( amaravikkhepa ) because of its evasiveness and
classified among the types of holy life that are without consolation
(MN 76.30-31). The Jain doctrine, though sharing certain similari-
ties with the Buddha's teaching, was held to be sufficiently
mistaken in basic assumptions as to call for refutation, which the
Buddha undertook on several occasions (MN 14, MN 56, MN 101).
The repudiation of these erroneous views was seen, from the
Buddhist perspective, to be a necessary measure not only to sound
a clear warning against tenets that were spiritually detrimental,
but also to cut away the obstacles against the acceptance of right
view, which as the forerunner of the Buddha's path (MN 117.4)
was a prerequisite to progress along the road to final deliverance.
52 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 53
TECHNICAL NOTES
There remain to be discussed only a few technical points con-
cerning this translation: first a general problem inevitably facing
any translator from the Pali Canon, then certain changes that
have been made in Ven. Nanamoli's renderings of important
doctrinal terms.
THE REPETITIONS
Readers of Pali suttas, particularly in the original language, will
immediately be struck by the frequency and length of the repeti-
tive passages. The repetitions, if examined, will be found to be
of different kinds and thus probably stem from different
sources. We may consider three main types.
First are the narrative repetitions within a single sutta as well as
the repetition of statements in ordinary conversation. These
doubtlessly originate from the method of oral transmission by
which the suttas were preserved for the first four centuries of
their existence, such repetition serving as a useful mnemonic
device to ensure that details would not be lost. In this translation
these repetitions have usually been bridged over with ellipsis
points and occasionally the liberty was taken of contracting them.
A second type of repetition stems from the use of stock for-
mulas to describe fixed sets of doctrinal categories or aspects
of the training. A common example of this is the formulas for
the four jhanas and the three true knowledges. These formulas
were almost certainly part of the Buddha's repertory of
instructions, employed by him in the countless discourses he
gave during his forty-five years' ministry in order to preserve
the unity and consistency of his teaching. Here the shorter
stereotyped formulas have generally been allowed to stand
except when they play a subordinate role to a larger theme, in
which case only the main clauses have been retained; an exam-
ple is the treatment of the jhana formula at MN 53.18. The
longer formulas that appear very often have been abridged,
with references usually given to the passages where they
appear in full; examples are the treatment of the first two true
knowledges at MN 27.23-24 and of the gradual training at
MN 38.31-38.
A third type of repetition stems from the Buddha's application
of an identical method of exposition to a series of doctrinal terms
belonging to a fixed set. Examples are the formula for insight that
is attached to each of the exercises in the Satipatthana Sutta
(MN 10.5), and the exposition on the three characteristics applied
to each of the five aggregates (MN 22.26). These repetitions, con-
trary to modernistic suppositions, were very likely integral to the
Buddha's own pedagogical method and served to drive home the
points he wanted to convey. We can well imagine that such repe-
titions, delivered by a fully enlightened teacher to those earnestly
striving for awakening, must have sunk down deep into the
minds of those who heard them and in many cases triggered off a
glimpse of the truth. In the translation this type of repetition has
usually been handled by repeating the method of exposition only
for the first and last terms in the set - as is often done in the Pali
editions of the texts - except when the method of exposition is
especially long (as at MN 118.37-39), in which case it is shown in
full only for the first term and in much abbreviated form for the
rest. Those who read the suttas as an exercise in contemplation,
and not merely for information, may try mentally filling in the
entire sequence and exploring its range of implications.
DHAMMA
In his later translations Ven. Nanamoli appears to have set him-
self two goals: to render virtually every Pali word into English
(i arahant and bodhisatta are rare exceptions); and to do so in obedi-
ence to a very rigorous standard of consistency. In effect the prin-
ciple that guided his work was: one Pali word, one correspond-
ing English word. This principle he also applied to his treatment
of the multiplex word dhamma, of which he wrote elsewhere that
"the need for unity in the rendering is so great as to be almost
desperate" ( Minor Readings and Illustrator, p. 331). He chose as his
root rendering the word "idea," which he attempted to deploy for
the Pali word in all its diverse occurrences. Even when dhamma is
used in the suttas to signify the Buddha's teaching, he still
remained faithful to his choice by translating it "the True Idea."
Needless to say, this experiment was not successful. Recog-
nising this, Ven. Khantipalo, in his edition of the ninety suttas,
opted instead to retain the Pali word in most of its occurrences.
54 The Majjhima Nikilya
Introduction 55
This decision, however, seems to have been unnecessary when
the relinquishing of the demand for strict consistency allows for
smooth and reliable translation without loss of meaning. While
the many different uses of the Pali word dhamma may originally
have had some underlying connection of meaning, by the time
of the Pali Canon such connection had already receded so far
into the background as to be virtually irrelevant to the under-
standing of the texts. The commentaries ascribe at least ten dif-
ferent contextual meanings to the word as it occurs in the Canon
and they do not try to read any philosophical significance into
this variability of application. The goal of lucid translation there-
fore seems to require that the word be rendered differently
according to its context, which generally makes the intended
meaning clear.
In revising Ven. Nanamoli's translation I have retained the
Pali word Dhamma only when it refers to the Buddha's teaching,
or in several cases to a rival teaching with which the Buddha's is
contrasted (as at MN 11.13 and MN 104.2). In its other uses the
context has been allowed to decide the rendering. Thus when
dhamma occurs in the plural as a general ontological reference
term it has been rendered "things" (as at MN 1.2 and MN 2.5).
When it acquires a more technical nuance, in the sense either of
the phenomena of existence or of mental constituents, it has
been rendered "states" (as at MN 64.9 and MN 111.4). Hus term,
however, must be divested of its overtone of staticity, dhammas
being events within a dynamic process, and it must also not be
taken to refer to some persisting entity that undergoes the states,
entities themselves being nothing but connected series of dham-
mas. The last two meanings of dhamma are not always separable
in the texts and sometimes naturalness of English diction had to
be used as the factor for deciding which should be selected.
As the fourth foundation of mindfulness and as the sixth
external sense base ( ayatana ), dhamma has been rendered "mind-
objects" (even here "ideas" is too narrow). In still other con-
texts it has been rendered as factors (MN 10.5), qualities
(MN 15.3, MN 48.6) and teachings (MN 46.2, MN 47.3). When
used as a suffix it acquires the idiomatic sense of "to be subject
to" and so it has been translated, e.g., viparinamadhamma as
"subject to change."
SANKHARA
Although this word as used in the suttas has different specific
references in different contexts, unlike dhamma it retains enough
unity of meaning to permit, with rare exceptions, a uniform ren-
dering. The problem, however, is to decide which of the many
proposed renderings is the most adequate, or, if none are found
fitting, to coin a new one that is.
The root idea suggested by the word s ankhdra is "making
together." The Pali commentators explain that the word allows
for both an active and a passive sense. Thus the sankharas are
either factors (or forces) that function together in producing an
effect, or they are the things that are produced by a combina-
tion of co-operating factors. In his translation of the
Visuddhimagga Ven. Nanamoli had rendered sankharas as "for-
mations," a rendering favoured by many other translators. In his
later translation scheme he had experimented with rendering it
as "determinations" and had attempted to incorporate that new
choice into his manuscript of the Majjhima. In editing the
manuscript Ven. Khantipalo chose to return to the translator's
earlier and better known "formations," and in this edition I have
followed suit. Though this word has the disadvantage of accen-
tuating the passive aspect of sankharas , it avoids the problems
into which "determinations" runs and seems colourless enough
to take on the meaning determined by the context.
The word sankhara occurs in four major contexts in the Pali
suttas: (1) As the second factor in the formula of dependent orig-
ination it is used to mean volitional actions, suggesting their
active role of generating results in the process of rebirth. (2) As
the fourth of the five aggregates the sankharas comprise all the
mental factors not included in the other three mental aggregates;
this group is probably assigned the name sankharakkhandha after
its chief member, volition ( cetana ), which is responsible for form-
ing all the other aggregates. (3) Sankhara is also used in a very
comprehensive sense to signify everything produced by condi-
tions. In this sense it comprises all five aggregates (as at MN 35.4
and MN 115.12). Here the word hears the passive sense, being
explained by the commentators as sankhatasankharn, "formations
consisting in the conditioned." This usage comes close in meaning
56 The Majjhima Nikaya
Introduction 57
to the ontological use of dhamma, except that the latter is wider
in range since it includes the unconditioned element Nibbana
and concepts (pahhatti), both of which are excluded from
sankhara. (4) hi still another context the word sankhara is used in
relation to kaya, vaci, and citta - body, speech, and mind - to
mean the bodily formation, which is in-and-out breathing; the
verbal formation, which is applied thought and sustained
thought; and the mental formation, which is perception and
feeling. The first and third are things that are dependent respec-
tively upon the body and the mind, the second the things that
activate speech. This triad is discussed at MN 44.13-15.
SankJiara is also employed outside these major contexts, and in
one such case Ven. Nanamoli's sense of "determination has
been retained. This is where it occurs in the compound
padhanasankhara, which has been rendered "determined striv-
ing" (as at MN 16.26). The rare and involved idiom, sankharam
padahati, has similarly been rendered "he strives with determi-
nation" (MN 101.23). In another case (MN 120), following the
commentarial gloss, sankhara is rendered "aspiration."
NAMARUPA
Ven. Nanamoli had translated this compound literally as
"name-and-form." In this edition the compound has been
changed back to the rendering used in his translation of the
Visuddhimagga, "mentality-materiality," though with regret that
this cumbersome Latinate expression lacks the concision and
punch of "name-and-form." The word nama originally meant
"name," but in the Pali suttas it is used in this compound as a
collective term for the mental factors associated with conscious-
ness, as will be seen in the definition at MN 9.54. The commen-
taries explain nama here as deriving from the word namati, to
bend, and as being applied to the mental factors because they
"bend" towards the object in the act of cognizing it. Rupa is used
in two major contexts in the suttas: as the first of the five aggre-
gates and as the specific object of eye-consciousness. The former
is a broader category that includes the latter as one among many
other species of rupa. Ven. Nanamoli, aiming at consistency in
his manuscript translation, had used "form" for rupa as visible
object (in preference to the "visible-datum" used in his earlier
translation scheme). But when rupa is used to signify the first of
the five aggregates, it has been changed to "material form." This
rendering should indicate more precisely the meaning of rupa in
that context while preserving the connection with rupa as visible
object. Occasionally in the texts the word seems to straddle both
meaning without allowing an exclusive delimitation, as in the
context of certain meditative attainments such as the first two
liberations (MN 77.22).
BRa\HMA
The word brahma provided Ven. Nanamoli with another chal-
lenge to his endeavour to achieve complete consistency. The
word itself, going back to the Vedic period, originally meant
holy power, the sacred power that sustains the cosmos and that
was contacted through the prayers and rituals of the Vedas.
Though the word retained its significance of "holy" or "sacred,"
by the Buddha's time it had undergone two distinct lines of
development. One culminated in the conception of Brahman
(neuter) as an impersonal absolute reality hidden behind and
manifesting through the changing phenomena of the world.
This conception is the keynote of the Upanishads, but the word
brahma never appears in this sense in the Pali Canon. The other
line of development culminated in the conception of Brahma
(masculine singular) as an eternal personal God who creates and
regulates the world. This conception was held by the brahmins
as depicted in the Pali suttas. The Buddhists themselves asserted
that Brahma was not a single creator God but a collective name
for several classes of high deities whose chiefs, forgetting that
they are still transient beings in the grip of kamma, were prone
to imagine themselves to be the omnipotent everlasting creator
(see MN 49).
Ven. Nanamoli attempted to fulfil his guideline of consistency
by rendering the word brahma in its various occurrences by
"divine" or its cognates. Thus Brahma the deity was rendered
"the Divinity," brfthmana (= brahmin) was rendered "divine" (as a
norm meaning a priestly theologian), and the expression brahma-
car iy a, in which brahma functions as an adjective, was rendered
"the Life Divine." The result of this experiment was again the
sacrifice of clarity for the sake of consistency, even at the risk of
58 The Majjhima NikSya
Introduction 59
generating misunderstanding, and therefore in the revisionary
process I decided to treat these expressions in line with more
conventional practices. Thus Brahma and brahmin have been
left untranslated (the latter word is probably already more
familiar to modem readers than the archaic noun "divine"). The
word brahma, as it appears in compounds, has usually been ren-
dered "holy" - e.g., brahmacariya as "the holy life" except when
it is used to signify total sexual abstinence, in which case it has
been rendered in accordance with its intended meaning as
"celibacy." The word "divine" has, however, been retained in
the expression brahmavih&ra, rendered "divine abode" (MN 83.6)
with reference to the "immeasurable" meditations on loving-
kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity, which
are the dwellings of the divinity Brahma (MN 55.7) and the path
to rebirth in the Brahma- world (MN 99.22).
A NOTE ON PRONUNCIATION
The pronunciation of Pali words and names is quite easy provid-
ing the following simple rules are heeded. Among the vowels:
a i u as in "but," "pin," "duke";
a I u as in "father," "keen," "pool";
e and o as in "way" and "home."
Among the consonants, g is pronounced as in "girl," c as in
"church," h as in "canyon." The cerebrals - t, d, n, l - are spoken
with the tongue on the roof of the mouth; the dentals -t,d,n,l-
with the tongue on the upper teeth, m is a nasal as in "sing." The
aspirates - kh, gh, ch, jh, th, dh, th, dh, ph, and bh - are single con-
sonants pronounced with a slight outward puff of breath, e.g., th
as in "Thomas" (not as in "that"), ph as in "top hat" (not as in
"phone"). Double consonants are always enunciated separately,
e.g., dd as in "mad dog," gg as in "big gun."
An o and an e always carry a stress, otherwise the stress falls
on a long vowel - d, t, or u - or on a double consonant, or on m.
MAJOR CHANGES IN TERMINOLOGY
This list shows the most important of the changes in Ven.
Nanamoli's manuscript terminology that were made for this
edition. Changes marked with an asterisk were already intro-
duced by Ven. Khantipalo in A Treasury of the Buddha's Words.
PALI TERM
MS RENDERING
REVISED RENDERING
akusala
unprofitable
unwholesome
ajjhosdna
cleaving
holding
abhinivesa
insistence
adherence
artlpa
formless
immaterial
*asekha
the Adept
one beyond training
iddhi
success
(1) supernormal power;
(2) spiritual power;
(3) success
uddhacca-kukkucca
agitation and
restlessness and
worry
remorse
upadhi
essentials of
(1) attachment;
existence
(2) object of attachment
ottappa
shame
fear of wrongdoing
kama
sensual desires
sensual pleasures
kusala
profitable
wholesome
khaya
exhaustion
destruction
*citta
cognizance
mind
chanda
zeal
(1) desire;
(2) zeal
*jhana
illumination
jhana
*tathagata
the Perfect One
the Tathagata
thlna-middha
lethargy and
drowsiness
sloth and torpor
*dhamma
the True Idea
the Dhamma
dhammd
ideas
(1) things, states,
factors;
(2) mind-objects;
*
(3) qualities;
(4) teachings
nandl
relishing
delight
ndma
name
mentality
60 The Majjhima Nikaya
PALI TERM
MS RENDERING
REVISED RENDERING
namaritpa
name-and-form
menta lity-mater ia li ty
*nibbana
extinction
Nibbana
nibbida
dispassion
disenchantment
panntt
understanding
wisdom
w
patigha
resistance
(1) sensory impact;
(2) aversion
padhana
endeavour
striving
f
papahca
diversification
proliferation
M 9
paritassand
anguish
agitation
piti
happiness
rapture
M
*buddha
the Enlightened
One
the Buddha
brahma
divine
holy, divine
brahma
the Divinity
Brahma
brahmana
divine (caste)
brahmin
bhdvana
maintaining in
being
development
muditd
gladness
appreciative joy
rupa
form
(1) form;
(2) material form,
materiality;
(3) fine-material (bein
vicdra
pondering
sustained thought
vicikicchd
uncertainty
doubt
vitakka
thought, thinking
thought, applied
thought
virdga
fading away of lust dispassion
sakkaua
embodiment
personality
Kr
*sankhara
determinations
formations
*sangha
the Community
the Sangha
*satta
creatures
beings
samana
monk
recluse
*sekha
the Initiate
the disciple in higher
training
hiri
conscience
shame
A Summary of the 152 Suttas
PART ONE: THE ROOT FIFTY DISCOURSES
1 Mulapariyaya Sutta : The Root of All Things. The Buddha
analyses the cognitive processes of four types of indi-
viduals - the untaught ordinary person, the disciple in
higher training, the arahant, and the Tathagata. This is one
of the deepest and most difficult suttas in the Pali Canon,
and it is therefore suggested that the earnest student read
it only in a cursory manner on a first reading of the
Majjhima Nikaya, returning to it for an in-depth study
after completing the entire collection.
2 Sabbdsava Sutta: All the Taints. The Buddha teaches the
bhikkhus seven methods for restraining and abandoning
the taints, the fundamental defilements that maintain
bondage to the roimd of birth and death.
3 Dhammadayada Sutta: Heirs in Dhamma. The Buddha
enjoins the bhikkhus to be heirs in Dhamma, not heirs in
material things. The venerable Sariputta then continues on
the same theme by explaining how disciples should train
themselves to become the Buddha's heirs in Dhamma.
4 Bhayabherava Sutta : Fear and Dread. The Buddha describes to
a brahmin the qualities required of a monk who wishes to
live alone in the forest. He then relates an account of his own
attempts to conquer fear when striving for enlightenment.
5 Anangana Sutta: Without Blemishes. The venerable
Sariputta gives a discourse to the bhikkhus on the meaning
of blemishes, explaining that a bhikkhu becomes blem-
ished when he falls under the sway of evil wishes.
6 Akarddieyya Sutta: If a Bhikkhu Should Wish. The Buddha
begins by stressing the importance of virtue as the founda-
tion for a bhikkhu's training; he then goes on to enumerate
61
62 The Majjhima Nikaya
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 63
the benefits that a bhikkhu can reap by properly fulfilling
the training.
7 Vatthupama Sutta: The Simile of the Cloth. With a simple
simile the Buddha illustrates the difference between a
defiled mind and a pure mind.
8 Sallekha Sutta: Effacement. The Buddha rejects the view
that the mere attainment of the meditative absorptions is
effacement and explains how effacement is properly prac-
tised in his teaching.
9 Sammaditthi Sutta : Right View. A long and important dis-
course by the venerable Sariputta, with separate sections
on the wholesome and the unwholesome, nutriment, the
Four Noble Truths, the twelve factors of dependent origi-
nation, and the taints.
10 Satipatthfina Sutta : The Foundations of Mindfulness. This is
one of the fullest and most important suttas by the Buddha
dealing with meditation, with particular emphasis on the
development of insight. The Buddha begins by declaring
the four foundations of mindfulness to be the direct path
for the realisation of Nibbana, then gives detailed instruc-
tions on the four foundations: the contemplation of the
body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects.
11 Cfdasthanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's
*
Roar. The Buddha declares that only in his Dispensation
can the four grades of noble individuals be found, explain-
ing how his teaching can be distinguished from other
creeds through its unique rejection of all doctrines of self.
12 Mahaslhanada Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Lion's
Roar. The Buddha expounds the ten powers of a Tathagata,
Ills four kinds of intrepidity, and other superior qualities,
which entitle him to "roar his lion's roar in the assemblies."
13 Mahadukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Mass of Suffering. The Buddha explains the full under-
standing of sensual pleasures, material form, and feelings;
there is a long section on the dangers in sensual pleasures.
14 Cilladukkhakkhandha Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
♦
Mass of Suffering. A variation on the preceding, ending in
a discussion with Jain ascetics on the nature of pleasure
and pain.
15 Anumana Sutta: Inference. The venerable Maha Mog-
gallana enumerates the qualities that make a bhikkhu diffi-
cult to admonish and teaches how one should examine
oneself to remove the defects in one's character.
16 Cetokhila Sutta: The Wilderness in the Heart. The Buddha
explains to the bhikkhus the five "wildernesses in the
heart" and the five "shackles in the heart."
17 Vanapattha Sutta: Jungle Thickets. A discourse on the con-
ditions under which a meditative monk should remain liv-
ing in a jungle thicket and the conditions under which he
should go elsewhere.
18 Madhupindika Sutta: The Honey Ball. The Buddha utters a
deep but enigmatic statement about "the source through
which perceptions and notions tinged by mental prolifera-
tion beset a man." This statement is elucidated by the ven-
erable Maha Kaccana, whose explanation is praised by the
Buddha.
19 Dvedhavitakka Sutta : Two Kinds of Thought. With reference
to his own struggle for enlightenment, the Buddha
explains the way to overcome unwholesome thoughts and
replace them by wholesome thoughts.
20 Vitakkasanthana Sutta: The Removal of Distracting
Thoughts. The Buddha teaches five methods for dealing
with the unwholesome thoughts that may arise in the
course of meditation.
21 Kakacupama Sutta: The Simile of the Saw. A discourse on
the need to maintain patience when addressed with dis-
agreeable words.
22 Alagaddupama Sutta: The Simile of the Snake. A bhikkhu
named Arittha gives rise to a pernicious view that conduct
prohibited by the Buddha is not really an obstruction. The
Buddha reprimands him and, with a series of memorable
similes, stresses the dangers in misapplying and misrepre-
senting the Dhamma. The sutta culminates in one of the
most impressive disquisitions on non-self found in the
Canon.
23 Vammika Sutta: The Ant-hill. A deity presents a monk with
an obscure riddle, which is unravelled for him by the
Buddha.
64 The Majjhima Nikaya
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 65
24 Rathavimta Sutta : The Relay Chariots. The venerable Purina
Mantaniputta explains to Sariputta that the goal of the
holy life, final Nibbana, is to be reached by way of the
seven stages of purification.
25 Nivapa Sutta: The Bait. The Buddha uses the analogy of
deer-trappers to make known to the bhikkhus the obsta-
cles that confront them in their effort to escape from
Mara's control.
26 Ariyapariyesam Sutta: The Noble Search. The Buddha gives
the bhikkhus a long account of his own quest for enlight-
enment from the time of his life in the palace up to his
transmission of the Dhamma to his first five disciples.
27 Culahatthipadopama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Simile of the Elephant's Footprint. Using the analogy of a
woodsman tracking down a big bull elephant, the Buddha
explains how a disciple arrives at complete certainty of the
truth of his teaching. The sutta presents a full account of
the step-by-step training of the Buddhist monk.
28 MahUha t thipadopama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Simile of the Elephant's Footprint. The venerable Sariputta
begins with a statement of the Four Noble Truths, which he
then expounds by way of the contemplation of the four ele-
ments and the dependent origination of the five aggregates.
29 Mahasaropama Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the Simile
of the Heartwood.
30 Culasnropama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of
the Heartwood.
These two discourses emphasise that the proper goal of
the holy life is the unshakeable deliverance of the mind, to
which all other benefits are subsidiary.
31 Culagosinga Sutta: The Shorter Discourse in Gosinga. The
Buddha meets three bhikkhus who are living in concord,
"blending like milk and water," and inquires how they
succeed in living together so harmoniously.
32 Mahagosinga Sutta: The Greater Discourse in Gosinga. On a
beautiful moonlit night a number of senior disciples meet
together in a sala-tree wood and discuss what kind of
bhikkhu could illuminate the wood. After each has
answered according to his personal ideal, they go to the
Buddha, who provides his own answer.
33 Mahftgopalaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Cowherd. The Buddha teaches eleven qualities that pre-
vent a bhikkhu's growth in the Dhamma and eleven quali-
ties that contribute to his growth.
34 Culagopalaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Cowherd. The Buddha explains the types of bhikkhus
who "breast Mara's stream" and get safely across to the
further shore.
35 Culasaccaka Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Saccaka. The
debater Saccaka boasts that in debate he can shake the
Buddha up and down and thump him about, but when he
finally meets the Buddha their discussion takes some
unexpected turns.
36 Mahasaccaka Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Saccaka. The
Buddha meets again with Saccaka and in the course of a
discussion on "development of body" and "development
of mind" he relates a detailed narrative on his own spiri-
tual quest.
37 CQlatanhtisankhaya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the
Destruction of Craving. The venerable Maha Moggallana
overhears the Buddha give a brief explanation to Sakka,
ruler of gods, as to how a bhikkhu is liberated through the
destruction of craving. Wishing to know if Sakka under-
stood the meaning, he makes a trip to the heaven of the
Thirty-three to find out.
38 Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta: The Greater Discourse on the
Destruction of Craving. A bhikkhu named Sati promul-
gates the pernicious view that the same consciousness
transmigrates from life to life. The Buddha reprimands
him with a lengthy discourse on dependent origination,
showing how all phenomena of existence arise and cease
through conditions.
39 Mahn-Assapura Sutta: The Greater Discourse at Assapura.
The Buddha elucidates "the things that make one a
recluse" with a discourse covering many aspects of the
bhikkhu's training.
40 Cula-Assapura Sutta: The Shorter Discourse at Assapura.
The Buddha explains "the way proper to the recluse" to be
not the mere outward practice of austerities but the
inward purification from defilements.
66 The Majjhima Nikaya
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 67
41 Suleyyaka Sutta : The Brahmins of Sala.
42 Verafijaka Sutta : The Brahmins of Veranja.
In these two nearly identical suttas the Buddha explains to
groups of brahmin householders the courses of conduct
leading to rebirth in lower realms and the courses leading
to higher rebirth and deliverance.
43 Mahavedalla Sutta: The Greater Series of Questions and
Answers.
44 CUlavedaUa Sutta: The Shorter Series of Questions and
Answers.
These two discourses take the form of discussions on vari-
ous subtle points of Dhamma, the former between the ven-
erable Maha Kotthita and the venerable Sariputta, the latter
between the bhikkhunT Dhamma dinna and the lay follower
Visakha.
45 Culadhammasamadana Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on
Ways of Undertaking Tilings.
46 Mahndhammasamllddna Sutta: The Greater Discourse on
Ways of Undertaking Things.
The Buddha explains, differently in each of the two suttas,
four ways of undertaking things, distinguished according
to whether they are painful or pleasant now and whether
they ripen in pain or pleasure in the future.
47 Vimamsaka Sutta: The Inquirer. The Buddha invites the
bhikkhus to make a thorough investigation of himself in
order to find out whether or not he can be accepted as
fully enlightened.
48 Kosarnbiya Sutta: The Kosambians. During the period when
the bhikkhus at Kosambi are divided by a dispute, the
Buddha teaches them the six qualities that create love and
respect and conduce to unity. He then explains seven
extraordinary knowledges possessed by a noble disciple
who has realised the fruit of stream-entry.
49 Brahmanimantanika Sutta: The Invitation of a Brahma. Baka
the Brahma, a high divinity, adopts the pernicious view
that the heavenly world over which he presides is eternal
and that there is no higher state beyond. The Buddha visits
him to dissuade him from that wrong view and engages
him in a contest of Olympian dimensions.
50 Maratajjamya Sutta : The Rebuke to Mara. Mara attempts to
harass the venerable Maha Moggallana, but the latter
relates a story of the distant past to warn Mara of the dan-
gers in creating trouble for a disciple of the Buddha.
PART TWO: THE MIDDLE FIFTY DISCOURSES
51 Kandaraka Sutta: To Kandaraka. Tire Buddha discusses four
kinds of persons found in the world - the one who tor-
ments himself, the one who torments others, the one who
torments both himself and others, and the one who tor-
ments neither but lives a truly holy life.
52 Atthakanagara Sutta: The man from Atthakanagara. The
venerable Ananda teaches eleven "doors to the Death-
less" by which a bhikkhu can attain the supreme security
from bondage.
53 Sekha Sutta: The Disciple in Higher Training. At the
Buddha's request the venerable Ananda gives a discourse
on the practices undertaken by a disciple in higher training.
54 Potaliya Sutta: To Potaliya. The Buddha teaches a presump-
tuous interlocutor the meaning of "the cutting off of
affairs" in his discipline. Tire sutta offers a striking series
of similes on the dangers in sensual pleasures.
55 Jwaka Sutta: To Jlvaka. The Buddha explains the regula-
tions he has laid down concerning meat-eating and
defends his disciples against unjust accusations.
56 Upali Sutta: To Upali. The wealthy and influential house-
holder Upali, a prominent supporter of the Jains, proposes
to go to the Buddha and refute his doctrine. Instead, he
finds himself converted by the Buddha's "converting
magic."
57 Kukkuravatika Sutta: The Dog- Duty Ascetic. The Buddha
meets two ascetics, one who imitates the behaviour of a
dog, the other who imitates the behaviour of an ox. He
reveals to them the futility of their practices and gives
them a discourse on kamma and its fruit.
58 Abhayarnjakumara Sutta: To Prince Abhaya. The Jain leader,
Nigantha Nataputta, teaches Prince Abhaya a "two-
horned question" with which 7 he can refute the Buddha's
68 The Majjhima Nikaya
doctrine. The Buddha escapes the dilemma and explains
what kind of speech he would and would not utter.
59 Bahuvedantya Sutta : The Many Kinds of Feeling. After
resolving a disagreement about the classification of feel-
ings, the Buddha enumerates the different kinds of pleasure
and joy that beings can experience.
60 Apannaka Sutta : The Incontrovertible Teaching. The Buddha
gives a group of brahmin householders an "incontrovert-
ible teaching" that will help them steer clear of the tangle in
contentious views.
61 Anibalatthikdrdhulovada Sutta: Advice to Rahula at
Ambalatthika. The Buddha admonishes his son, the novice
♦ »
Rahula, on the dangers in lying and stresses the importance
of constant reflection on one's motives.
62 Mahardhulovada Sutta : The Greater Discourse of Advice to
Rahula. The Buddha teaches Rahula the meditation on the
elements, on mindfulness of breathing, and other topics.
63 Culamdlunkya Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Malunkya-
putta. A bhikkhu threatens to leave the Order unless the
Buddha answers his metaphysical questions. With the simile
of the man struck by a poisoned arrow, the Buddha makes
plain exactly what he does and does not teach.
64 Mahamalunkya Sutta: The Greater Discourse to
Malunkyaputta. The Buddha teaches the path to the aban-
doning of the five lower fetters.
65 Bhaddali Sutta: To Bhaddali. The Buddha admonishes a
recalcitrant monk and explains the disadvantages of refus-
ing to submit to the training.
66 Latukikopatna Sutta: The Simile of the Quail. The Buddha
drives home the importance of abandoning all fetters, no
matter how harmless and trifling they may seem.
67 Caturna Sutta: At Catuma. The Buddha teaches a group of
newly ordained monks four dangers to be overcome by
those who have gone forth into homelessness.
68 Nalakapdna Sutta: At Nalakapana. The Buddha explains
why, when his disciples die, he declares their level of
attainment and plane of rebirth.
69 Gulissani Sutta: Gulissani. The venerable Sariputta gives a dis-
course on the proper training of a forest-dwelling bhikkhu.
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 69
70 Kitagiri Sutta: At Kitagiri. The Buddha admonishes a group
of disobedient monks, in the course of which he presents
an important sevenfold classification of noble disciples.
71 Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on the Threefold
True Knowledge. The Buddha denies possessing complete
knowledge of everything at all times and defines the three-
fold knowledge he does possess.
72 Aggivacchagotta Sutta: To Vacchagotta on Fire. The Buddha
explains to a wanderer why he does not hold any specula-
tive views. With the simile of an extinguished fire he tries
to indicate the destiny of the liberated being.
73 Mahavacchagotta Sutta: The Greater Discourse to Vaccha-
gotta. The story of the wanderer Vacchagotta's full conver-
sion to the Dhamma, his going forth, and his attainment of
arahantship.
74 Dlghanakha Sutta: To Dlghanakha. The Buddha counters the
disclaimers of a sceptic and teaches him the way to libera-
tion through the contemplation of feelings.
75 Magandiya Sutta: To Magandiya. The Buddha meets the
hedonist philosopher Magandiya and points out to him the
dangers in sensual pleasures, the benefits of renunciation,
and the meaning of Nibbana.
76 Sandaka Sutta: To Sandaka. The venerable Ananda teaches a
group of wanderers four ways that negate the living of the
holy life and four kinds of holy life without consolation.
Then he explains the holy life that is truly fruitful.
77 Mahdsakuludfiyi Sutta: The Greater Discourse to
Sakuludayin. The Buddha teaches a group of wanderers the
reasons why Iris disciples venerate him and look to him for
guidance.
78 Samanamandika Sutta: Samanamandikaputta. The Buddha
explains how a man is "one who has attained to the
supreme attainment."
79 Ciilasakuludayi Sutta: The Shorter Discourse to Sakuludayin.
The Buddha examines the doctrine of a wandering ascetic,
using the simile of "the most beautiful girl in the country" to
expose the folly of his claims.
80 Vekhanassa Sutta: To Vekhanassa. A discourse partly similar
to the preceding one, with an additional section on sensual
pleasure.
A Summary of the 152 Suitas 71
70 The Majjhima Nikaya
81 Ghatikara Sutta : Ghatlkara the Potter. The Buddha recounts
the story of the chief lay supporter of the past Buddha
Kassapa.
82 Ratthapala Sutta : On Ratthapala. The story of a young man
who goes forth into homelessness against the wishes of his
parents and later returns to visit them.
83 Makhadeva Sutta : King Makhadeva. The story of an ancient
lineage of kings and how their virtuous tradition was bro-
ken due to negligence.
84 Madhura Sutta: At Madhura. The venerable Maha
Kaccana examines the brahmin claim that brahmins are
the highest caste.
85 Bodhirajakumara Sutta: To Prince Bodhi. The Buddha coun-
ters the claim that pleasure is to be gained through pain
with an accoimt of his own quest for enlightenment.
86 Angulimdla Sutta: On Angulimala. The story of how the
Buddha subdued the notorious criminal Angulimala and
led him to the attainment of arahantship.
87 Piyajatika Sutta: Bom from Those Who Are Dear. Wiry the
Buddha teaches that sorrow and grief arise from those
who are dear.
88 Bahitika Sutta: The Cloak. The venerable Airanda answers
King Pasenadi's questions on the Buddha's behaviour.
89 Dhammacetiya Sutta: Monuments to the Dhamrna. King
Pasenadi offers ten reasons why he shows such deep ven-
eration to the Buddha.
90 Kannakatthala Sutta: At Kannakatthala. King Pasenadi
questions the Buddha on omniscience, on caste distinc-
tions, and on the gods.
91 Brahmayu Sutta: Brahmayu. An old and erudite brahmin
learns about the Buddha, goes to meet him, and becomes
his disciple.
92 Seta Sutta: To Sela. The brahmin Sela questions the
Buddha, gains faith in him, and becomes a monk along
with his company of pupils.
93 Assalayana Sutta: To Assalayana. A young brahmin
approaches the Buddha to argue the thesis that the brah-
mins are the highest caste.
94 Ghotamukha Sutta: To Ghotamukha. A discussion between
a brahmin and a bhikkhu on whether the renunciate life
accords with the Dhamma.
95 CankJ Sutta: With Cankl. The Buddha instructs a young
brahmin on the preservation of truth, the discovery of
truth, and the final arrival at truth.
96 Esukarl Sutta: To Esukarl. The Buddha and a brahmin dis-
cuss the brahmins' claim to superiority over the other castes.
97 Dhfinahjftni Sutta: To Dhananjani. The venerable Sariputta
admonishes a brahmin who tries to excuse his negligence
by appeal to his many duties. Later, when he is close to
death, Sariputta guides him to rebirth in the Brahma-world
but is reprimanded by the Buddha for having done so.
98 Vasettha Sutta: To Vasettha. The Buddha resolves a dispute
between two young brahmins on the qualities of a true
brahmin.
99 Subha Sutta: To Subha. The Buddha answers a young brah-
min's questions and teaches him the way to rebirth in the
Brahma-world.
100 SangSrava Sutta: To Sangarava. A brahmin student ques-
tions the Buddha about the basis on which he teaches the
fundamentals of the holy life.
PART THREE: THE FINAL FIFTY DISCOURSES
101 Devadaha Sutta: At Devadaha. The Buddha examines the
Jain thesis that liberation is to be attained by self-mortifica-
tion, proposing a different account of how striving
becomes fruitful.
102 Pahcattaya Sutta : The Five and Three. A survey of various
speculative views about the future and the past and of
misconceptions about Nibbana.
103 Kinti Sutta: What Do You Think About Me? The Buddha
explains how the monks can resolve disagreements about
the Dhamma.
104 Samagama Sutta: At Samagama. The Buddha lays down
disciplinary procedures for the guidance of the Sangha to
ensure its harmonious functioning after his demise.
105 Sunakkhaita Sutta: To Sunakkhatta. The Buddha discusses
the problem of an individual's overestimation of his
progress in meditation.
106 Anehjasappaya Sutta: The Way to the Imperturbable. The
Buddha explains the approaches to various levels of higher
meditative states culminating in Nibbana.
72 The Majjhima Nikaya
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 73
107 Ganakamoggallana Sutta : To Ganaka Moggallana. The
Buddha sets forth the gradual training of the Buddhist
monk and describes himself as the "shower of the way."
108 Gopakamoggallana Sutta : With Gopaka Moggallana. The ven-
erable Ananda explains how the Sangha maintains its unity
and internal discipline after the passing away of the Buddha.
109 Mahdpunnama Sutta : The Greater Discourse on the Full-
moon Night. A bhikkhu questions the Buddha on the five
aggregates, clinging, personality view, and the realisation
of non-self.
110 Culapunnama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Full-
moon Night. The Buddha explains the differences between
an "untrue man" and a "true man."
111 Anupada Sutta : One by One As They Occurred. The Buddha
describes the venerable Sariputta's development of insight
when he was training for the attainment of arahantship.
112 Chabbisodhana Sutta: The Sixfold Purity. The Buddha
explains how a bhikkhu should be interrogated when he
claims final knowledge and how he would answer if his
claim is genuine.
113 Sappurisa Sutta: The True Man. The Buddha distinguishes
the character of a true man from that of an untrue man.
114 Sevitabbasevitabba Sutta: To Be Cultivated and Not To Be
Cultivated. The Buddha sets up three brief outlines of
things to be cultivated and not to be cultivated, and the
venerable Sariputta fills in the details.
115 Bahudhatuka Sutta: The Many Kinds of Elements. The
Buddha expounds in detail the elements, the sense bases,
dependent origination, and the kinds of situations that are
possible and impossible in the world.
116 Isigili Sutta: Isigili: The Gullet of the Seers. An enumeration
of the names and epithets of paccekabuddhas who former-
ly dwelt on the mountain Isigili.
117 Mahacattansaka Sutta: The Great Forty. The Buddha defines
the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and explains their
inter-relationships.
118 Annpamsati Sutta: Mindfulness of Breathing. An exposition
of sixteen steps in mindfulness of breathing and of the
relation of this meditation to the four foundations of mind-
fulness and the seven enlightenment factors.
119 Kayagatasati Sutta: Mindfulness of the Body. The Buddha
explains how mindfulness of the body should be devel-
oped and cultivated and the benefits to which it leads.
120 Sankharupapatti Sutta: Reappearance by Aspiration. The
Buddha teaches how one can be reborn in accordance with
one's wish.
121 Culasuhnata Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on Voidness. The
Buddha instructs Ananda on the "genuine, undistorted,
pure descent into voidness."
122 Mahasuhhata Sutta: The Greater Discourse on Voidness.
Upon finding that the bhikkhus have grown fond of social-
ising, the Buddha stresses the need for seclusion in order
to abide in voidness.
123 Acchariya-abbhuta Sutta: Wonderful and Marvellous. At a
gathering of bhikkhus the venerable Ananda recounts the
wonderful and marvellous events that preceded and
attended the birth of the Buddha.
124 Bakkula Sutta: Bakkula. The elder disciple Bakkula enumer-
ates his austere practices during his eighty years in the
Sangha and exhibits a remarkable death.
125 Dantabhinni Sutta: The Grade of the Tamed. By analogy
with the taming of an elephant, the Buddha explains how
he tames his disciples.
126 Bhiimija Sutta: Bhumija. The Buddha brings forward a
series of similes to illustrate the natural fruitfulness of the
Noble Eightfold Path.
127 Anuruddha Sutta: Anuruddha. The venerable Anuruddha
clarifies the difference between the immeasurable deliver-
ance of mind and the exalted deliverance of mind.
128 Upakkilesa Sutta: Imperfections. The Buddha discusses the
various impediments to meditative progress he encoun-
tered during his quest for enlightenment, with particular
reference to the divine eye.
129 Balapandita Sutta: Fools and Wise Men. The sufferings of
hell and animal life into which a fool is reborn through his
evil deeds, and the pleasures of heaven that a wise man
reaps through his good deeds.
130 Devaduta Sutta: The Divine Messengers. The Buddha
describes the sufferings of hell that await the evil-doer
after death.
74 The Majjhima Nikaya
A Summary of the 152 Suttas 75
131 Bhaddekaratta Sutta : One Fortunate Attachment.
132 Anandabhaddekaratta Sutta : Ananda and One Fortunate
Attachment.
133 Mahakaccanabhaddekaratta Sutta : Maha Kaccana and One
Fortunate Attachment.
134 Lomasakangiyabhaddekaratta Sutta : Lomasakangiya and One
Fortunate Attachment.
The above four suttas all revolve around a stanza spoken
by the Buddha emphasising the need for present effort in
developing insight into things as they are.
135 Culakammavibhanga Sutta: The Shorter Exposition of
Action. The Buddha explains how kamma accounts for the
fortune and misfortune of beings.
136 Mahdkammavibhanga Sutta : The Greater Exposition of
Action. The Buddha reveals subtle complexities in the
workings of kamma that overturn simplistic dogmas and
sweeping generalizations.
137 Salnyatanavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Sixfold
Base. The Buddha expounds the six internal and external
sense bases and other related topics.
138 Uddesavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of a Summary. The
venerable Maha Kaccana elaborates upon a brief saying of
the Buddha on the training of consciousness and the over-
coming of agitation.
139 Aranavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Non-conflict. The
Buddha gives a detailed discourse on things that lead to
conflict and things that lead away from conflict.
140 Dhatuvibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Elements. Stopping
at a potter's workshop for the night, the Buddha meets a
monk named Pukkusati and gives him a profound dis-
course on the elements culmmating in the four foundations
of arahantship.
141 Saccavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of the Truths. The ven-
erable Sariputta gives a detailed analysis of the Four Noble
Truths.
142 Dakkhinavibhanga Sutta: The Exposition of Offerings. The
Buddha enumerates fourteen kinds of personal offerings
and seven kinds of offerings made to the Sangha.
143 Anathapindikovada Sutta: Advice to Anathapindika. The
venerable Sariputta is called to Anathapindika's deathbed
and gives him a stirring sermon on non-attachment.
144 Channovada Sutta: Advice to Channa. The venerable
Chartna, gravely ill, takes his own life despite the attempts
of two brother-monks to dissuade him.
145 Punnovada Sutta: Advice to Punna. The bhikkhu Punna
» « * * ♦ ♦
receives a short exhortation from the Buddha and decides
to go live among the fierce people of a remote territory.
146 Nandakovada Sutta: Advice from Nandaka. The venerable
Nandaka gives the nuns a discourse on impermanence.
147 Ciilardhulovdda Sutta: The Shorter Discourse of Advice to
•
Rahula. The Buddha gives Rahula a discourse that leads
him to the attainment of arahantship.
148 Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sets of Six. An especially pro-
found and penetrating discourse on the contemplation of
all the factors of sense experience as not-self.
149 Mahasalayatanika Sutta: The Great Sixfold Base. How wrong
view about the six kinds of sense experience leads to future
bondage, while right view about them leads to liberation.
150 Nagaravindeyya Sutta: To the Nagaravindans. The Buddha
explains to a group of brahmin householders what kind of
recluses and brahmins should be venerated.
151 Pindapataparisuddhi Sutta: The Purification of Almsfood.
The Buddha teaches Sariputta how a bhikkhu should
review himself to make himself worthy of almsfood.
152 Indriyabhavana Sutta: The Development of the Faculties.
The Buddha explains the supreme development of control
over the sense faculties and the arahant's mastery over his
perceptions.
b,Majjhima NikAya
The Middle Length Discourses
of the Buddha
NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO
ARAHATO SAMMASAMBUDDHASSA
HOMAGE TO THE BLISSED ONE,
ACCOMPLISHED AND FULLY ENLIGHTENED
Part One
The Root Fifty Discourses
( Mulapannasapali )
1 Mulapariyaya Sutta
The Root of All Things
[1] 1. Thus have I heard . 1 On one occasion the Blessed One was
living in Ukkattha in the Subhaga Grove at the root of a royal
sala tree. There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." 2 -
“Venerable sir/' they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. “Bhikkhus, I shall teach you a discourse on the root of all
things. 3 Listen and attend closely to what I shall say." - "Yes,
venerable sir," the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
(the ordinary person)
3. “Here, bhikkhus, an untaught ordinary person, 4 who has no
regard for noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their
Dhamma, who has no regard for true men and is unskilled and
undisciplined in their Dhamma, perceives earth as earth. 5
Having perceived earth as earth, he conceives [himself as] earth,
he conceives [himself] in earth, he conceives [himself apart]
from earth, he conceives earth to be 'mine/ he delights in earth. 6
Why is that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say. 7
4. "He perceives water as water. Having perceived water as
water, he conceives [himself as] water, he conceives [himself] in
water, he conceives [himself apart] from water, he conceives
water to be 'mine/ he delights in water. Why is that? Because he
has not fully understood it, I say.
5. “He perceives fire as fire. Having perceived fire as fire, he
conceives [himself as] fire, he conceives [himself] in fire, he con-
ceives [himself apart] from fire, he conceives fire to be 'mine/ he
delights in fire. Why is that? Because he has not fully under-
stood it, I say.
6. “He perceives air as air. Having perceived air as air, he con-
ceives [himself as] air, he conceives [himself] in air, he conceives
83
84 Mulapariyaya Sutta: Sutta 1
The Root of All Things 85
i 2
[himself apart] from air, he conceives air to be 'mine,' he
delights in air. Why is that? Because he has not fully understood
it, I say. [2]
7. "He perceives beings as beings. 8 Having perceived beings
as beings, he conceives beings, he conceives [himself] in beings,
he conceives [himself apart] from beings, he conceives beings to
be 'mine,' he delights in beings. Why is that? Because he has not
fully understood it, I say.
8. "He perceives gods as gods. 9 Having perceived gods as
gods, he conceives gods, he conceives [himself] in gods, he con-
ceives [himself apart] from gods, he conceives gods to be 'mine/
he delights in gods. Why is that? Because he has not fully under-
stood it, I say.
9. "He perceives Pajapati as Pajapati. 10 Having perceived
Pajapati as Pajapati, he conceives Pajapati, he conceives [him-
self] in Pajapati, he conceives [himself apart] from Pajapati, he
conceives Pajapati to be 'mine,' he delights in Pajapati. Wiry is
that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
10. "He perceives Brahma as Brahma. 11 Having perceived
Brahma as Brahma, he conceives Brahma, he conceives [himself]
in Brahma, he conceives [himself apart] from Brahma, he con-
ceives Brahma to be 'mine/ he delights in Brahma. Why is that?
Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
11. "He perceives the gods of Streaming Radiance as the gods
of Streaming Radiance. 12 Having perceived the gods of
Streaming Radiance as the gods of Streaming Radiance, he con-
ceives the gods of Streaming Radiance, he conceives [himself] in
the gods of Streaming Radiance, he conceives [himself apart]
from the gods of Streaming Radiance, he conceives the gods of
Streaming Radiance to be 'mine,' he delights in the gods of
Streaming Radiance. Why is that? Because he has not fully
understood it, I say.
12. "He perceives the gods of Refulgent Glory as the gods of
Refulgent Glory. 13 Having perceived the gods of Refulgent
Glory as the gods of Refulgent Glory, he conceives the gods of
Refulgent Glory, he conceives [himself] in the gods of Refulgent
Glory, he conceives [himself apart] from the gods of Refulgent
Glory, he conceives the gods of Refulgent Glory to be 'mine/ he
delights in the gods of Refulgent Glory. Why is that? Because he
has not fully understood it, I say.
i 3
13. "He perceives the gods of Great Fruit as the gods of Great
Fruit. 14 Having perceived the gods of Great Fruit as the gods of
Great Fruit, he conceives the gods of Great Fruit, he conceives
[himself] in the gods of Great Fruit, he conceives [himself apart]
from the gods of Great Fruit, he conceives the gods of Great
Fruit to be 'mine/ he delights in the gods of Great Fruit. Why is
that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
14. "He perceives the Overlord as the Overlord. 15 Having per-
ceived the Overlord as the Overlord, he conceives the Overlord,
he conceives [himself] in the Overlord, he conceives [himself
apart] from the Overlord, he conceives the Overlord to be
'mine/ he delights in the Overlord. Why is that? Because he has
not fully understood it, I say.
15. "He perceives the base of infinite space as the base of infi-
nite space. 16 Having perceived the base of infinite space as the
base of infinite space, he conceives [himself as] the base of infi-
nite space, he conceives [himself] in the base of infinite space, he
conceives [himself apart] from the base of infinite space, he con-
ceives the base of infinite space to be 'mine/ he delights in the
base of infinite space. Why is that? Because he has not fully
understood it, I say.
16. "He perceives the base of infinite consciousness as the
base of infinite consciousness. Having perceived the base of
infinite consciousness as the base of infinite consciousness, [3]
he conceives [himself as] the base of infinite consciousness, he
conceives [himself] in the base of infinite consciousness, he con-
ceives [himself apart] from the base of infinite consciousness, he
conceives the base of infinite consciousness to be 'mine/ he
delights in the base of infinite consciousness. Why is that?
Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
17. "He perceives the base of nothingness as the base of noth-
ingness. Having perceived the base of nothingness as the base of
nothingness, he conceives [himself as] the base of nothingness, he
conceives [himself] in the base of nothingness, he conceives [him-
self apart] from the base of nothingness, he conceives the base of
nothingness to be 'mine/ he delights in the base of nothingness.
Why is that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
18. "He perceives the base of neither-perception-nor-non-
perception as the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
Having perceived the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception
86 Mulapariyaya Sutta: Sutta 1
The Root of All Things 87
i 3
as the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, he conceives
[himself as] the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
he conceives [himself] in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-
perception, he conceives [himself apart] from the base of
neither-perception-nor-non-perception, he conceives the base of
neither-perception-nor-non-perception to be 'mine/ he delights
in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. Why is
that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
19. "He perceives the seen as the seen. 17 Having perceived the
seen as the seen, he conceives [himself as] the seen, he conceives
[himself] in the seen, he conceives [himself apart] from the seen,
he conceives the seen to be 'mine/ he delights in the seen. Why
is that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
20. "He perceives the heard as the heard. Having perceived
the heard as the heard, he conceives [himself as] the heard, he
conceives [himself] in the heard, he conceives [himself apart]
from the heard, he conceives the heard to be 'mine/ he delights
in the heard. Why is that? Because he has not fully understood
it, I say.
21. "He perceives the sensed as the sensed. Having perceived
the sensed as the sensed, he conceives [himself as] the sensed, he
conceives [himself] in the sensed, he conceives [himself apart]
from the sensed, he conceives the sensed to be 'mine/ he
delights in the sensed. Why is that? Because he has not fully
understood it, I say.
22. "He perceives the cognized as the cognized. Having per-
ceived the cognized as the cognized, he conceives [himself as]
the cognized, he conceives [himself] in the cognized, he con-
ceives [himself apart] from the cognized, he conceives the cog-
nized to be 'mine/ he delights in the cognized. Why is that?
Because he has not fully understood it, I say.
23. "He perceives unity as unity. 18 Having perceived unity as
unity, he conceives [himself as] unity, he conceives [himself] in
unity, he conceives [himself apart] from unity, he conceives
unity to be 'mine/ he delights in unity. Why is that? Because he
has not fully understood it, I say.
24. "He perceives diversity as diversity. Having perceived
diversity as diversity, he conceives [himself as] diversity, he
conceives [himself] in diversity, he conceives [himself apart]
from diversity, he conceives diversity to be 'mine/ he delights
i4
in diversity. Why is that? Because he has not fully understood
it, I say.
25. "He perceives all as all. 19 Having perceived all as all, he
conceives [himself as] all, [4] he conceives [himself] in all, he
conceives [himself apart] from all, he conceives all to be 'mine/
he delights in all. Wiry is that? Because he has not fully under-
stood it, I say.
26. "He perceives Nibbana as Nibbana. 20 Having perceived
Nibbana as Nibbana, he conceives [himself as] Nibbana, he
conceives [himself] in Nibbana, he conceives [himself apart]
from Nibbana, he conceives Nibbana to be 'mine/ he delights
in Nibbana. Why is that? Because he has not fully understood
it, I say.
(the disciple in higher training)
27. "Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is in higher training, 21 whose
mind has not yet reached the goal, and who is still aspiring to
the supreme security from bondage, directly knows earth as
earth. 22 Having directly known earth as earth, he should not
conceive [himself as] earth, he should not conceive [himself] in
earth, he should not conceive [himself apart] from earth, he
should not conceive earth to be 'mine,' he should not delight in
earth. Why is that? So that he may fully understand it, I say. 23
28-49. "He directly knows water as water.. .He directly knows
all as all...
50. "He directly knows Nibbana as Nibbana. Having directly
known Nibbana as Nibbana, he should not conceive [himself as]
Nibbana, he should not conceive [himself] in Nibbana, he
should not conceive [himself apart] from Nibbana, he should
not conceive Nibbana to be 'mine/ he should not delight in
Nibbana. Why is that? So that he may fully understand it, I say.
(the a rah ant - 1)
51. "Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is an arahant with taints
destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be
done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed
the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final
knowledge, 24 directly knows earth as earth. Having directly
The Root of All Things 89
88 Mulapariyaya Sutta: Sutta 1
known earth as earth, he does not conceive [himself as] earth, he
does not conceive [himself] in earth, he does not conceive [him-
self apart] from earth, he does not conceive earth to be 'mine/ he
does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because he has fully
understood it, I say. 25
52-74. "He directly knows water as water.. .Nibbana as
Nibbana. . .Why is that? Because he has fully understood it, I say.
(the a rah ANT - Jl)
75. "Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is an arahant... completely liber-
ated through final knowledge, [5] directly knows earth as earth.
Having directly known earth as earth, he does not conceive [him-
self as] earth, he does not conceive [himself] in earth, he does not
conceive [himself apart] from earth, he does not conceive earth to
be 'mine/ he does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because he is
free from lust through the destruction of lust. 26
76-98. "He directly knows water as water. ..Nibbana as
Nibbana... Why is that? Because he is free from lust through the
destruction of lust.
(THE ARAHANT - III)
99. "Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is an arahant. ..completely liber-
ated through final knowledge, directly knows earth as earth.
Having directly known earth as earth, he does not conceive [him-
self as] earth, he does not conceive [himself] in earth, he does not
conceive [himself apart] from earth, he does not conceive earth to
be 'mine/ he does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because he is
free from hate through the destruction of hate.
100-122. "He directly knows water as water... Nibbana as
Nibbana... Why is that? Because he is free from hate through the
destruction of hate.
(THE ARAHANT - IV)
123. "Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu who is an arahant... completely liber-
ated through final knowledge, directly knows earth as earth.
Having directly known earth as earth, he does not conceive
[himself as] earth, he does not conceive [himself] in earth, he
i 6
does not conceive [himself apart] from earth, he does not con-
ceive earth to be 'mine/ he does not delight in earth. Why is
that? Because he is free from delusion through the destruction of
delusion.
124-146. "He directly knows water as water. ..Nibbana as
Nibbana... Why is that? Because he is free from delusion
through the destruction of delusion.
(THE TATHAGATA - l)
147. "Bhikkhus, the Tathagata, 27 accomplished and fully enlight-
ened, directly knows earth as earth. Having directly known
earth as earth, he does not conceive [himself as] earth, he does
not conceive [himself] in earth, he does not conceive [himself
apart] from earth, he does not conceive earth to be 'mine/ he
does not delight in earth. [6] Wiry is that? Because the Tathagata
has fully understood it to the end, 1 say. 28
148-170. "He directly knows water as water... Nibbana as
Nibbana... Why is that? Because the Tathagata has fully under-
stood it to the end, I say.
(THE TATHAGATA - U)
171. "Bhikkhus, the Tathagata, accomplished and fully enlight-
ened, directly knows earth as earth. Having directly known
earth as earth, he does not conceive [himself as] earth, he does
not conceive [himself] in earth, he does not conceive [himself
apart] from earth, he does not conceive earth to be 'mine/ he
does not delight in earth. Why is that? Because he has under-
stood that delight is the root of suffering, and that with being [as
condition] there is birth, and that for whatever has come to be
there is ageing and death. Therefore, bhikkhus, through the
complete destruction, fading away, cessation, giving up, and
relinquishing of cravings, the Tathagata has awakened to
supreme full enlightenment, I say. 30
172-194. "He directly knows water as water... Nibbana as
Nibbana... Why is that? Because he has understood that delight
is the root of suffering, and that with being [as condition] there is
birth, and that for whatever has come to be there is ageing and
death. Therefore, bhikkhus, through the complete destruction.
90 Mnlapariyaya Suita: Sutta 1 id
fading away, cessation, giving up, and relinquishing of crav-
ings, the Tathagata has awakened to supreme full enlighten-
ment, I say."
That is what the Blessed One said. But those bhikkhus did not
delight in the Blessed One's words. 31
2 Sabbasava Sutta
All the Taints
1 . Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There he
addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." - "Venerable sir,"
they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, I shall teach you a discourse on the restraint of
all the taints. 32 [7] Listen and attend closely to what I shall say."
- "Yes, venerable sir," the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One
said this:
(summary)
3. "Bhikkhus, I say that the destruction of the taints is for one
who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and see.
Who knows and sees what? Wise attention and unwise atten-
tion. 33 When one attends unwisely, unarisen taints arise and
arisen taints increase. When one attends wisely, unarisen taints
do not arise and arisen taints are abandoned.
4. "Bhikkhus, there are taints that should be abandoned by
seeing. There are taints that should be abandoned by restrain-
ing. There are taints that should be abandoned by using. There
are taints that should be abandoned by enduring. There are
taints that should be abandoned by avoiding. There are taints
that should be abandoned by removing. There are taints that
should be abandoned by developing. 34
(taints to be abandoned by seeing)
5. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by seeing? 35
Here, bhikkhus, an untaught ordinary person, who has no
regard for noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their
91
92 Sabbasava Sutta: Sutta 2
All the Taints 93
i 8
Dhamma, who has no regard for true men and is unskilled and
undisciplined in their Dhamma, does not understand what
things are fit for attention and what things are unfit for atten-
tion. Since that is so, he attends to those things unfit for atten-
tion and he does not attend to those things fit for attention. 36
6. "What are the things unfit for attention that he attends to?
They are things such that when he attends to them, the unarisen
taint of sensual desire arises in him and the arisen taint of
sensual desire increases, the unarisen taint of being arises in him
and the arisen taint of being increases, the unarisen taint of igno-
rance arises in him and the arisen taint of ignorance increases.
These are the things unfit for attention that he attends to. 37 And
what are the tilings fit for attention that he does not attend to?
They are things such that when he attends to them, the unarisen
taint of sensual desire does not arise in him and the arisen taint
of sensual desire is abandoned, the unarisen taint of being does
not arise in him and the arisen taint of being is abandoned, the
unarisen taint of ignorance does not arise in him and the arisen
taint of ignorance is abandoned. These are the things fit for
attention that he does not attend to. [8] By attending to things
unfit for attention and by not attending to things fit for atten-
tion, both unarisen taints arise in him and arisen taints increase.
7. "This is how he attends unwisely: 'Was I in the past? Was I
not in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past?
Having been what, what did I become in the past? Shall I be in
the future? Shall I not be in the future? What shall I be in the
future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what, what
shall I become in the future?' Or else he is inwardly perplexed
about the present thus: 'Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I?
Where has this being come from? Where will it go?' 38
8. "When he attends unwisely in this way, one of six views
arises in him. 39 The view 'self exists for me' arises in him as true
and established; or the view 'no self exists for me' arises in him
as true and established; or the view T perceive self with self'
arises in him as true and established; or the view 'I perceive not-
self with self' arises in him as true and established; or the view 'I
perceive self with not-self' arises in him as true and established;
or else he has some such view as this: 'It is this self of mine
that speaks and feels and experiences here and there the result
of good and bad actions; but this self of mine is permanent.
i 9
everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and it will endure as
long as eternity.' 40 This speculative view, bhikkhus, is called the
thicket of views, the wilderness of views, the contortion of
views, the vacillation of views, the fetter of views. Fettered by
the fetter of views, the untaught ordinary person is not freed
from birth, ageing, and death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain,
grief, and despair; he is not freed from suffering, I say.
9. "Bhikkhus, a well-taught noble disciple, who has regard for
noble ones and is skilled and disciplined in their Dhamma, who
has regard for true men and is skilled and disciplined in their
Dhamma, understands what things are fit for attention and
what tilings are unfit for attention. Since that is so, [9] he does
not attend to those things unfit for attention and he attends to
those things fit for attention.
10. "What are the things unfit for attention that he does not
attend to? They are tilings such that when he attends to them,
the unarisen taint of sensual desire arises in him... (as §6)... and
the arisen taint of ignorance increases. These are the things unfit
for attention that he does not attend to. And what are the things
fit for attention that he attends to? They are things such that
when he attends to them, the unarisen taint of sensual desire
does not arise in him... (os §6)... and the arisen taint of ignorance
is abandoned. These are the things fit for attention that he
attends to. By not attending to things unfit for attention and by
attending to things fit for attention, unarisen taints do not arise
in him and arisen taints are abandoned.
11. "He attends wisely: 'This is suffering'; he attends wisely:
'This is the origin of suffering'; he attends wisely: 'This is the
cessation of suffering'; he attends wisely: 'This is the way lead-
ing to the cessation of suffering.' 41 When he attends wisely in
this way, three fetters are abandoned in him: personality view,
doubt, and adherence to rules and observances. These are called
the taints that should be abandoned by seeing. 42
(taints to be abandoned by restraining)
12. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by restrain-
ing? 43 Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, abides with the eye fac-
ulty restrained. While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in
one who abides with the eye faculty unrestrained, there are no
94 Sabbasava Sutta: Sutta 2
All the Taints 95
ilO
taints, vexation, or fever in one who abides with the eye faculty
restrained. 44 Reflecting wisely, he abides with the ear faculty
restrained., .with the nose faculty restrained. ..with the tongue fac-
ulty restrained... with the body faculty restrained... with the mind
faculty restrained... While taints, vexation, and fever might arise
in one who abides with the faculties unrestrained, [10] there are
no taints, vexation, or fever in one who abides with the faculties
restrained. These are called the taints that should be abandoned
by restraining.
(taints to be abandoned by using)
13. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by using? 45
Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, uses tire robe only for protec-
tion from cold, for protection from heat, for protection from con-
tact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, the sun, and creeping
things, and only for the purpose of concealing the private parts.
14. "Reflecting wisely, he uses aimsfood neither for amusement
nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attrac-
tiveness, but only for the endurance and continuance of this body,
for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering:
'Thus I shall terminate old feelings without arousing new feelings
and I shall be healthy and blameless and shall live in comfort.'
15. "Reflecting wisely, he uses the resting place only for pro-
tection from cold, for protection from heat, for protection from
contact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, the sun, and creeping
things, and only for the purpose of warding off the perils of cli-
mate and for enjoying retreat.
16. "Reflecting wisely, he uses the medicinal requisites only
for protection from arisen afflicting feelings and for the benefit
of good health.
17. "While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in one who
does not use the requisites thus, there are no taints, vexation, or
fever in one who uses them thus. These are called the taints that
should be abandoned by using.
(taints to be abandoned by enduring)
18. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by enduring?
Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, bears cold and heat, hunger and
ill
thirst, and contact with gadflies, mosquitoes, wind, the sun, and
creeping things; he endures ill-spoken, unwelcome words and
arisen bodily feelings that are painful, racking, sharp, piercing, dis-
agreeable, distressing, and menacing to life. While taints, vexation,
and fever might arise in one who does not endure such things,
there are no taints, vexation, or fever in one who endures them.
These are called the taints that should be abandoned by enduring.
(TAINTS TO BE ABANDONED BY AVOIDING)
19. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by avoiding?
Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, avoids a wild elephant, a wild
horse, a wild bull, a wild dog, a snake, a stump, [11] a bramble
patch, a chasm, a cliff, a cesspit, a sewer. Reflecting wisely, he
avoids sitting on unsuitable seats, wandering to unsuitable
resorts, 46 and associating with bad friends, since if he were to do
so wise companions in the holy life might suspect him of evil
conduct. While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in one
who does not avoid these things, there are no taints, vexation,
and fever in one who avoids them. These are called the taints
that should be abandoned by avoiding.
(TAINTS TO BE ABANDONED BY REMOVING)
20. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by removing?
Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, does not tolerate an arisen
thought of sensual desire; he abandons it, removes it, does away
with it, and annihilates it. He does not tolerate an arisen thought
of ill will. ..He does not tolerate an arisen thought of
cruelty... He does not tolerate arisen evil unwholesome states; he
abandons them, removes them, does away with them, and anni-
hilates them. 47 While taints, vexation, and fever might arise in
one who does not remove these thoughts, there are no taints,
vexation, or fever in one who removes them. These are called
the taints that should be abandoned by removing.
(TAINTS TO BE ABANDONED BY DEVELOPING)
21. "What taints, bhikkhus, should be abandoned by developing?
Here a bhikkhu, reflecting wisely, develops the mindfulness
96 Sabbasava Sutta: Sutta 2
ill
enlightenment factor, which is supported by seclusion, dispas-
sion, and cessation, and ripens in relinquishment. He develops
the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor... the energy
enlightenment factor... the rapture enlightenment factor... the
tranquillity enlightenment factor. . .the concentration enlighten-
ment factor... the equanimity enlightenment factor, which is
supported by seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, and ripens in
relinquishment. 48 While taints, vexation, and fever might arise
in one who does not develop these enlightenment factors, there
are no taints, vexation, or fever in one who develops them.
These are called the taints that should be abandoned by devel-
oping. 49
(conclusion)
22. "Bhikkhus, when for a bhikkhu the taints that should be
abandoned by seeing have been abandoned by seeing, when the
taints that should be abandoned by restraining have been aban-
doned by restraining, when the taints that should be abandoned
by using have been abandoned by using, when the taints that
should be abandoned by enduring have been abandoned by
enduring, when the taints that should be abandoned by avoid-
ing [12] have been abandoned by avoiding, when the taints that
should be abandoned by removing have been abandoned by
removing, when the taints that should be abandoned by devel-
oping have been abandoned by developing - then he is called a
bhikkhu who dwells restrained with the restraint of all the taints.
He has severed craving, flung off the fetters, and with the com-
plete penetration of conceit he has made an end of suffering.” 50
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
3 Dhammadayada Sutta
Heirs in Dhamma
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing in SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There he
addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." 51 - "Venerable sir,"
they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material
things. Out of compassion for you I have thought: 'How shall
my disciples be my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material
things?' If you are my heirs in material things, not my heirs in
Dhamma, you will be reproached thus: 'The Teacher's disciples
live as his heirs in material things, not as heirs in Dhamma'; and
I will be reproached thus: 'The Teacher's disciples live as his
heirs in material things, not as his heirs in Dhamma.'
"If you are my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material
things, you will not be reproached [as it will be said]: 'The
Teacher's disciples live as his heirs in Dhamma, not as his heirs
in material things'; and I will not be reproached [as it will be
said]: 'The Teacher's disciples live as his heirs in Dhamma, not
as his heirs in material things.' Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs
in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things. Out of compassion
for you I have thought: 'How shall my disciples be my heirs in
Dhamma, not my heirs in material things?'
3. "Now, bhikkhus, suppose that I had eaten, refused more
food, had my fill, finished, had enough, had what I needed, and
some almsfood was left over to be thrown away. Then two
bhikkhus arrived [13] hungry and weak, and I told them:
'Bhikkhus, I have eaten. . .had what I needed, but there is this
almsfood of mine left over to be thrown away. Eat if you like; if
you do not eat then I shall throw it away where there is no
greenery or drop it into water where there is no life.' Then one
bhikkhu thought: 'The Blessed One has eaten... had what he
97
98 Dhammadayada Suit a: Sutta 3
Heirs in Dhamma 99
i 14
needed, but there is this almsfood of the Blessed One left over to
be thrown away; if we do not eat it the Blessed One will throw it
away. ..But this has been said by the Blessed One: "Bhikkhus, be
my heirs in Dhamma, not my heirs in material things." Now this
almsfood is one of the material things. Suppose that instead of
eating this almsfood I pass the night and day hungry and weak/
And instead of eating that almsfood he passed that night and day
hungry and weak. Then the second bhikkhu thought: 'The Blessed
One has eaten. . .had what he needed, but there is this almsfood of
the Blessed One left over to be thrown away... Suppose that I eat
this almsfood and pass the night and day neither hungry nor
weak.' And after eating that almsfood he passed the night and
day neither hungry nor weak. Now although that bhikkhu by
eating that almsfood passed the night and day neither hungry
nor weak, yet the first bhikkhu is more to be respected and com-
mended by me. Why is that? Because that will for long conduce
to his fewness of wishes, contentment, effacement, easy support,
and arousal of energy. 52 Therefore, bhikkhus, be my heirs in
Dhamma, not my heirs in material things. Out of compassion for
you I have thought: 'How shall my disciples be my heirs in
Dhamma, not my heirs in material things? , "
4. That is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the
Sublime One rose from his seat and went into his dwelling. Soon
after he had left, the venerable Sariputta addressed the bhikkhus
thus: "Friends, bhikkhus." - "Friend," they replied. [14] The
venerable Sariputta said this:
5. "Friends, in what way do disciples of the Teacher who lives
secluded not train in seclusion? And in what way do disciples of
the Teacher who lives secluded train in seclusion?"
"Indeed, friend, we would come from far away to learn from
the venerable Sariputta the meaning of this statement. It would
be good if the venerable Sariputta would explain the meaning of
this statement. Having heard it from him the bhikkhus will
remember it."
"Then, friends, listen and attend closely to what I shall say."
"Yes, friend," the bhikkhus replied. The venerable Sariputta
said this:
6. "Friends, in what way do disciples of the Teacher who lives
secluded not train in seclusion? Here disciples of the Teacher who
lives secluded do not train in seclusion; they do not abandon
i 15
what the Teacher tells them to abandon; they are luxurious and
careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion.
"In this the elder bhikkhus are to be blamed for three rea-
sons. 55 As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they do
not train in seclusion: they are to be blamed for this first reason.
They do not abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon:
they are to be blamed for this second reason. They are luxurious
and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion: they
are to be blamed for this third reason. The elder bhikkhus are to
be blamed for these three reasons.
"In this the middle bhikkhus are to be blamed for three rea-
sons. As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they do not
train in seclusion: they are to be blamed for this first reason.
They do not abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon:
they are to be blamed for this second reason. They are luxurious
and careless, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion: they
are to be blamed for this third reason. The middle bhikkhus are
to be blamed for these three reasons.
"In this the new bhikkhus are to be blamed for three reasons.
As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they do not train
in seclusion: they are to be blamed for this first reason. They do
not abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon: they are to
be blamed for this second reason. They are luxurious and care-
less, leaders in backsliding, neglectful of seclusion: they are to be
blamed for this third reason. The new bhikkhus are to be
blamed for these three reasons.
"It is in this way that disciples of the Teacher who lives
secluded do not train in seclusion.
7. "In what way, friends, do disciples of the Teacher who
lives secluded [15] train in seclusion? Here disciples of the
Teacher who lives secluded train in seclusion; they abandon
what the Teacher tells them to abandon; they are not luxurious
and careless, they are keen to avoid backsliding, and are leaders
ill seclusion.
"In this the elder bhikkhus are to be commended for three
reasons. As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they
train in seclusion: they are to be commended for this first rea-
son. They abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon:
they are to be commended for this second reason. They are not
luxurious and careless; they are keen to avoid backsliding and
100 Dhammadayada Sutta: Sutta 3
Heirs in Dhamma 101
i 16
are leaders in seclusion: they are to be commended for this
third reason. The elder bhikkhus are to be commended for
these three reasons.
"In this the middle bhikkhus are to be commended for three
reasons. As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they
train in seclusion: they are to be commended for this first rea-
son. They abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon: they
are to be commended for this second reason. They are not luxu-
rious and careless; they are keen to avoid backsliding and are
leaders in seclusion: they are to be commended for this third
reason. The middle bhikkhus are to be commended for these
three reasons.
"In this the new bhikkhus are to be commended for three
reasons. As disciples of the Teacher who lives secluded they
train in seclusion: they are to be commended for this first rea-
son. They abandon what the Teacher tells them to abandon:
they are to be commended for this second reason. They are not
luxurious and careless; they are keen to avoid backsliding and
are leaders in seclusion: they are to be commended for this
third reason. The new bhikkhus are to be commended for these
three reasons.
"It is in this way that disciples of the Teacher who lives
secluded train in seclusion.
8. "Friends, the evil herein is greed and hate. 54 There is a
Middle Way for the abandoning of greed and hate, giving
vision, giving knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowl-
edge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. And what is that Middle
Way? It is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view,
right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right
effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This is the
Middle Way giving vision, giving knowledge, which leads to
peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. 55
9-15. "The evil herein is anger and revenge... con tempt and a
domineering attitude... envy and avarice... deceit and fraud... ob-
stinacy [16] and presumption... conceit and arrogance... vanity
and negligence. There is a Middle Way for the abandoning of
vanity and negligence, giving vision, giving knowledge, which
leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to
Nibbana. And what is that Middle Way? It is just this Noble
Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech.
i 16
right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and
right concentration. This is the Middle Way giving vision, giv-
ing knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to
enlightenment, to Nibbana."
That is what the venerable Sariputta said. The bhikkhus were
satisfied and delighted in the venerable Sariputta's words.
i 20
Fear and Dread 103
4 Bhayabherava Sutta
Fear and Dread
1. Thus HAVE I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at Savatthl in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park.
2. Then the brahmin Janussoni 56 went to the Blessed One and
exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and ami-
able talk was finished, he sat down at one side and said: "Master
Gotama, when clansmen have gone forth from the home life into
homelessness out of faith in Master Gotama, do they have
Master Gotama for their leader, their helper, and their guide?
And do these people follow the example of Master Gotama?" 57
"That is so, brahmin, that is so. When clansmen have gone
forth from the home life into homelessness out of faith in me,
they have me for their leader, their helper, and their guide. And
these people follow my example."
"But, Master Gotama, remote jungle-thicket resting places in
the forest are hard to endure, seclusion is hard to practise, and it
is hard to enjoy solitude. One would think the jungles must rob
a bhikkhu of his mind, if he has no concentration." [17]
"That is so, brahmin, that is so. Remote jungle-thicket resting
places in the forest are hard to endure, seclusion is hard to prac-
tise, and it is hard to enjoy solitude. One would think the jungles
must rob a bhikkhu of his mind, if he has no concentration.
3. "Before my enlightenment, while I was still only an unen-
lightened Bodhisatta, 1 too considered thus: 'Remote jungle-thick-
et resting places in the forest are hard to endure... the jungles
must rob a bhikkhu of his mind, if he has no concentration.'
4. "I considered thus: 'Whenever recluses or brahmins unpuri-
fied in bodily conduct resort to remote jungle-thicket resting
places in the forest, then owing to the defect of their unpurified
bodily conduct these good recluses and brahmins evoke
unwholesome fear and dread. But I do not resort to remote jun-
gle-thicket resting places in the forest unpurified in bodily con-
duct. I am purified in bodily conduct. I resort to remote jungle-
thicket resting places in the forest as one of the noble ones with
bodily conduct purified.' Seeing in myself this purity of bodily
conduct, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest.
5-7. "1 considered thus: 'Whenever recluses or brahmins unpu-
rified in verbal conduct... unpurified in mental conduct... unpuri-
fied in livelihood resort to remote jungle-thicket resting places in
the forest... they evoke unwholesome fear and dread. But... I am
purified in livelihood. I resort to remote jungle- thicket resting
places in the forest as one of the noble ones with livelihood puri-
fied.' Seeing in myself this purity of livelihood, I found great
solace in dwelling in the forest.
8. "I considered thus: 'Whenever recluses or brahmins who
are covetous and full of lust... I am uncovetous...' [18]
9. "'...with a mind of ill will and intentions of hate... I have a
mind of loving-kindness...'
10. "'...overcome by sloth and torpor... I am without sloth and
torpor...'
11. "'...overcome with restless and unpeaceful mind. ..I have a
peaceful mind...'
12. "'...uncertain and doubting... 1 have gone beyond doubt...'
13. "'[19]... given to self-praise and disparagement of others... I
am not given to self-praise and disparagement of others...'
14. . .subject to alarm and terror. . .1 am free from trepidation.
15. "'...desirous of gain, honour, and renown... I have few
wishes...'
16. "'...lazy and wanting in energy... I am energetic...'
17. '"...[20] unmindful and not fully aware... I am established
in mindfulness...'
18. "'...unconcentrated and with straying minds... I am pos-
sessed of concentration.
19. "I considered thus: 'Whenever recluses or brahmins devoid
of wisdom, drivellers, resort to remote jungle- thicket resting
places in the forest, then owing to the defect of their being
devoid of wisdom and drivellers these good recluses and brah-
mins evoke unwholesome fear and dread. But I do not resort to
remote jungle-thicket resting places in the forest devoid of wis-
dom, a driveller. I am possessed of wisdom. 58 I resort to remote
jungle-thicket resting places in the forest as one of the noble
102
104 Bhayabherava Sutta: Suita 4
Fear and Dread 105
i 21
ones possessed of wisdom/ Seeing in myself this possession of
wisdom, I found great solace in dwelling in the forest.
20. "I considered thus: 'There are the specially auspicious
nights of the fourteenth, the fifteenth, and the eighth of the fort-
night. 59 Now what if, on such nights as these, I were to dwell in
such awe-inspiring, horrifying abodes as orchard shrines, wood-
land shrines, and tree shrines? Perhaps I might encounter that
fear and dread/ And later, on such specially auspicious nights
as the fourteenth, the fifteenth, and the eighth of the fortnight, I
dwelt in such awe-inspiring, horrifying abodes as orchard
shrines, woodland shrines, and tree shrines. And while I dwelt
there, a wild animal would come up to me, or a peacock [21]
would knock off a branch, or the wind would rustle the leaves. I
thought: 'What now if this is the fear and dread coming?' I
thought: 'Why do I dwell always expecting fear and dread?
What if I subdue that fear and dread while keeping the same
posture that I am in when it comes upon me?' 60
"While I walked, the fear and dread came upon me; I neither
stood nor sat nor lay down till I had subdued that fear and
dread. While I stood, the fear and dread came upon me; I nei-
ther walked nor sat nor lay down till I had subdued that fear
and dread. While I sat, the fear and dread came upon me; 1 nei-
ther walked nor stood nor lay down till I had subdued that fear
and dread. While I lay down, the fear and dread came upon me;
I neither walked nor stood nor sat down till I had subdued that
fear and dread.
21. "There are, brahmin, some recluses and brahmins who
perceive day when it is night and night when it is day. I say that
on their part this is an abiding in delusion. But I perceive night
when it is night and day when it is day. Rightly speaking, were
it to be said of anyone: 'A being not subject to delusion has
appeared in the world for the welfare and happiness of many,
out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare, and hap-
piness of gods and humans/ it is of me indeed that rightly
speaking this should be said.
22. "Tireless energy was aroused in me and unremitting
mindfulness was established, my body was tranquil and untrou-
bled, my mind concentrated and unified. 61
23. "Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from
unwholesome states, I entered upon and abided in the first
i 22
jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought,
with rapture and pleasure bom of seclusion/ 2
24. "With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, I
entered upon and abided in the second jhana, which has self-
confidence and singleness of mind [22] without applied and sus-
tained thought, with rapture and pleasure bom of concentration.
25. "With the fading away as well of rapture, I abided in equa-
nimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with
the body, I entered upon and abided in the third jhana, on
account of which noble ones announce: 'He has a pleasant abid-
ing who has equanimity and is mindful.'
26. "With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the
previous disappearance of joy and grief, I entered upon and
abided in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure
and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.
27. "When my concentrated mind was thus purified, bright,
unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and
attained to imperturbability, I directed it to knowledge of the rec-
ollection of past lives. 63 I recollected my 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 hun-
dred 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, 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 here.' Thus with their aspects and particulars
I recollected my manifold past lives.
28. "This was the first true knowledge attained by me in the
first watch of the night. Ignorance was banished and true
knowledge arose, darkness was banished and light arose, as
happens in one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute.
29. "When my concentrated mind was thus purified, bright,
unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and
attained to imperturbability, 1 directed it to knowledge of the
passing away and reappearance of beings. 64 With the divine eye,
106 Bhayabherava Sutta: Sutta 4
Fear and Dread 107
i 23
which is purified and surpasses the human, I saw beings pass-
ing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly,
fortunate and unfortunate. I understood 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 reap-
peared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition,
even in hell; but these worthy beings who were well-conducted
in body, [23] speech, and mind, not revilers of noble ones, right
in their views, giving effect to right view in their actions, on the
dissolution of tire 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, I saw beings
passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and
ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understood how beings
pass on according to their actions.
30. "This was the second true knowledge attained by me in
the second watch of the night. Ignorance was banished and true
knowledge arose, darkness was banished and light arose, as
happens in one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute.
31. "When my concentrated mind was thus purified, bright,
unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and
attained to imperturbability, I directed it to knowledge of the
destruction of the taints. I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is
suffering'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is the origin of
suffering'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is the cessation of
suffering'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is the way lead-
ing to the cessation of suffering.' I directly knew as it actually is:
'These are the taints'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is the
origin of the taints'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is the
cessation of the taints'; I directly knew as it actually is: 'This is
the way leading to the cessation of the taints.' 65
32. "When I knew and saw thus, my mind was liberated from
the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the
taint of ignorance. When it was liberated, there came the knowl-
edge: 'It is liberated.' 66 I directly knew: '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.' 67
i 24
33. "This was the third true knowledge attained by me in the
third watch of the night. Ignorance was banished and true
knowledge arose, darkness was banished and light arose, as
happens in one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute.
34. "Now, brahmin, it might be that you think: 'Perhaps the
recluse Gotama is not free from lust, hate, and delusion even
today, which is why he still resorts to remote jungle-thicket rest-
ing places in the forest.' But you should not think thus. It is
because I see two benefits that I still resort to remote jungle-thicket
resting places in the forest: I see a pleasant abiding for myself
here and now, and I have compassion for future generations." 68
35. "Indeed, it is because Master Gotama is an Accomplished
One, a Fully Enlightened One, that he has compassion for future
generations. [24] Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent,
Master Gotama! Master Gotama 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 Master Gotama for refuge and
to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. From today let
Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone to
him for refuge for life."
i 26
Without Blemishes 109
5 Anangana Sutta
Without Blemishes
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at Savatthl in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the
venerable Sariputta addressed the bhikkhus thus. "Friends,
bhikkhus." - "Friend," they replied. The venerable Sariputta
said this:
2. "Friends, there are these four kinds of persons found exist-
ing in the world. 69 What four? Here some person with a blem-
ish does not understand it as it actually is thus: T have a blem-
ish in myself/ Here some person with a blemish understands it
as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself.' Here some
person with no blemish does not understand it as it actually is
thus: T have no blemish in myself.' Here some person with no
blemish understands it as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish
in myself.'
"Herein, the person with a blemish who does not understand
it as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself' is called the
inferior of these two persons with a blemish. Herein, the person
with a blemish who understands it as it actually is thus: 'I have a
blemish in myself' is called the superior of these two persons
with a blemish.
"Herein, the person with no blemish [25] who does not under-
stand it as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish' is called the
inferior of these two persons with no blemish. Herein, the per-
son with no blemish who understands it as it actually is thus: 'I
have no blemish' is called the superior of these two persons with
no blemish."
3. When this was said, the venerable Maha Moggallana asked
the venerable Sariputta: "Friend Sariputta, what is the cause and
reason why, of these two persons with a blemish, one is called
the inferior man and one is called the superior man? What is the
cause and reason why, of these two persons with no blemish, one
is called the inferior man and one is called the superior man?"
4. "Herein, friend, when a person with a blemish does not
understand it as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself,'
it can be expected that he will not arouse zeal, make effort, or
instigate energy to abandon that blemish, and that he will die
with lust, hate, and delusion, with a blemish, with mind defiled .
Suppose a bronze dish were brought from a shop or a smithy
covered with dirt and stains, and the owners neither used it nor
had it cleaned but put it away in a dusty corner. Would the
bronze dish thus get more defiled and stained later on?" - "Yes,
friend." - "So too, friend, when a person with a blemish does
not understand it as it actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in
myself,' it can be expected... that he will die... with mind defiled.
5. "Herein, when a person with a blemish understands it as it
actually is thus: 'I have a blemish in myself/ it can be expected
that he will arouse zeal, make effort, and instigate energy to
abandon that blemish, and that he will die without lust, hate,
and delusion, without blemish, with mind undefiled. Suppose a
bronze dish were brought from a shop or a smithy covered with
dirt and stains, and the owners had it cleaned and did not put it
in a dusty corner. [26] Would the bronze dish thus get cleaner
and brighter later on?" - "Yes, friend." - "So too, friend, when a
person with a blemish understands it as it actually is thus: 'I
have a blemish in myself,' it can be expected... that he will
die... with mind undefiled.
6. "Herein, when a person with no blemish does not under-
stand it as it actually is thus: 1 have no blemish in myself/ it can
be expected that he will give attention to the sign of the beauti-
ful, 70 that by his doing so lust will infect his mind, and that he
will die with lust, hate, and delusion, with a blemish, with mind
defiled. Suppose a bronze dish were brought from a shop or
smithy clean and bright, and the owners neither used it nor had
it cleaned but put it in a dusty comer. Would the bronze dish
thus get more defiled and more stained later on?" - "Yes,
friend." - "So too, friend, when a person with no blemish does
not understand it as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish in
myself/ it can be expected that he will die... with mind defiled.
7. "Herein, when a person with no blemish understands it as it
actually is thus: 'I have no blemish in myself, ' it can be expected
108
110 Anangana Sutta: Sutta 5
Without Blemishes 111
i 27
that he will not give attention to the sign of the beautiful, that by
his not doing so lust will not infect his mind, and that he will die
without lust, hate, and delusion, without blemish, with mind
undefiled. Suppose a bronze dish were brought from a shop or
smithy clean and bright, and the owners used it and had it
cleaned and did not put it in a dusty comer. Would the bronze
dish thus get cleaner and brighter later on?" - "Yes, friend." -
"So too, friend, when a person with no blemish understands it
as it actually is thus: 'I have no blemish in myself/ it can be
expected... that he will die... with mind undefiled. [27]
8. "This is the cause and reason why, of these two persons
with a blemish, one is called the inferior man and one is called
the superior man. This is the cause and reason why, of these two
persons with no blemish, one is called the inferior mail and one
is called the superior man.
9. "'Blemish, blemish/ is said, friend, but what is this word
'blemish' a term for? 'Blemish,' friend, is a term for the spheres
of evil unwholesome wishes.
10. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'If I commit
an offence, let the bhikkhus not know that I have committed an
offence/ And it is possible that the bhikkhus come to know that
that bhikkhu has committed an offence. So he is angry and bitter
thus: 'The bhikkhus know I have committed an offence.' The
anger and bitterness are both a blemish.
11. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'I have com-
mitted an offence. The bhikkhus should admonish me in private,
not in the midst of the Sangha.' And it is possible that the
bhikkhus admonish that bhikkhu in the midst of the Sangha, not
in private. So he is angry and bitter thus: 'The bhikkhus admon-
ish me in the midst of the Sangha, not in private/ The anger and
bitterness are both a blemish.
12. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'I have
committed an offence. A person who is my equal should
admonish me, not a person who is not my equal.' And it is pos-
sible that a person not his equal admonishes him, not a person
his equal. So he is angry and bitter thus: 'A person not my
equal admonishes me, not a person my equal.' The anger and
bitterness are both a blemish.
13. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that the
Teacher might teach the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a
i30
series of questions of me, not of some other bhikkhu!' And it is
possible that the Teacher teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus
by asking a series of questions of some other bhikkhu, [28] not
of that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus: 'The Teacher
teaches the Dhamma to the bhikkhus by asking a series of ques-
tions of some other bhikkhu, not of me.' The anger and bitter-
ness are both a blemish.
14. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that the
bhikkhus might enter the village for alms putting me in the fore-
front, not some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that the
bhikkhus enter the village for alms putting some other bhikkhu in
the forefront, not that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus: "The
bhikkhus enter the village for alms putting some other bhikkhu in
the forefront, not me.' The anger and bitterness are both a blemish.
15. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I
might get the best seat, the best water, the best almsfood in the
refectory, not some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that some
other bhikkhu gets the best seat. . .
16. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I
might give the blessing in the refectory after the meal, not some
other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that some other bhikkhu gives
the blessing...
17-20. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that I
might teach the Dhamma to the bhikkhus. . .that I might teach the
Dhamma to the bhikkhunls...men lay followers... women lay fol-
lowers... visiting the monastery, not some other bhikkhu!' And it
is possible that some other bhikkhu teaches the Dhamma [29]. . .
21-24. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that
the bhikkhus... bhikkhunls... men lay followers... women lay fol-
lowers... might honour, respect, revere, and venerate me, not
some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that they honour... some
other bhikkhu...
25-28. "It is possible that a bhikkhu here might wish: 'Oh that
I might be the one to get a superior robe, [30]... superior alms-
food... a superior resting place... superior medicinal requi-
sites... not some other bhikkhu!' And it is possible that some
other bhikkhu is the one to get superior medicinal requisites, not
that bhikkhu. So he is angry and bitter thus: 'Another bhikkhu is
the one to get superior medicinal requisites, not me.' The anger
and the bitterness are both a blemish.
112 Anangana Sutta: Sutta 5
Without Blemishes 113
i 31
"'Blemish/ friend, is a term for the spheres of these evil
unwholesome wishes.
29. "If the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen
and heard to be unabandoned in any bhikkhu, then for all he
may be a forest dweller, a frequenter of remote abodes, an
almsfood eater, a house-to-house seeker, a refuse-rag wearer, a
wearer of rough robes/ 1 still his fellows in the holy life do not
honour, respect, revere, and venerate him. Why is that? Because
the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen and
heard to be unabandoned in that venerable one.
"Suppose a metal bowl were brought from a shop or a smithy
clean and bright; and the owners put the carcass of a snake or a
dog or a human being in it and, covering it with another bowl,
went back to the market; then people seeing it said: 'What is that
you are carrying about like a treasure?' Then, raising the lid and
uncovering it, they looked in, and as soon as they saw they were
inspired with such loathing, repugnance, and disgust that even
those who were hungry would not want to eat, not to speak of
those who were full.
"So too, if the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are
seen and heard to be unabandoned in any bhikkhu, then for
all he may be a forest dweller... [31]... unabandoned in that
venerable one.
30. "If the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen
and heard to be abandoned in any bhikkhu, then for all he may
be a village dweller, an acceptor of invitations, a wearer of robes
given him by householders, 72 yet his fellows in the holy life hon-
our, respect, revere, and venerate him. Why is that? Because the
spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes are seen and heard to
be abandoned in that venerable one.
"Suppose a metal bowl were brought from a shop or a smithy
clean and bright; and the owners put clean boiled rice and vari-
ous soups and sauces into it, and, covering it with another bowl,
went back to the market; then people seeing it said: 'What is that
you are carrying about like a treasure?' Then raising the lid and
uncovering it, they looked in, and as soon as they saw they were
inspired with such liking, appetite, and relish that even those
who were full would want to eat, not to speak of those who
were hungry.
i 32
"So too, friend, if the spheres of these evil unwholesome wishes
are seen and heard to be abandoned in any bhikkhu, then for all
he may be a village dweller. . .abandoned in that venerable one."
31. When this was said, the venerable Maha Moggallana said
to the venerable Sariputta: "A simile occurs to me, friend
Sariputta." - "State it, friend Moggallana." - "On one occasion,
friend, I was living at the Hill Fort at Rajagaha. Then, when it
was morning, I dressed, and taking my bowl and outer robe, I
went into Rajagaha for alms. Now on that occasion Samlti the
Cartwright's son was planing a felloe and the Ajlvaka Pandu-
putta, son of a former cartwright, was standing by. 73 Then this
thought arose in the Ajlvaka Panduputta's mind: 'Oh that this
Samlti the Cartwright's son might plane this bend, this twist, this
fault, out of the felloe so that it would be without bends, twists,
or faults, and come to consist purely of heartwood.' [32] And
just as this thought came to pass in his mind, so did Samlti the
Cartwright's son plane that bend, that twist, that fault, out of the
felloe. Then the Ajlvaka Panduputta, son of a former cartwright,
was glad and he voiced his gladness thus: 'He planes just as if
he knew my heart with his heart!'
32. "So too, friend, there are persons who are faithless and
have gone forth from the home life into homelessness not out of
faith but seeking a livelihood, who are fraudulent, deceitful,
treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-tongued,
loose-spoken, unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in
eating, undevoted to wakefulness, unconcerned with recluseship,
not greatly respectful of training, luxurious, careless, leaders in
backsliding, neglectful of seclusion, lazy, wanting in energy,
unmindful, not fully aware, unconcentrated, with straying
minds, devoid of wisdom, drivellers. The venerable Sariputta
with his discourse on the Dhamma planes out their faults just as
if he knew my heart with his heart! 74
"But there are clansmen who have gone forth out of faith
from the home life into homelessness, who are not fraudulent,
deceitful, treacherous, haughty, hollow, personally vain, rough-
tongued, or loose-spoken; who are guarded in their sense facul-
ties, moderate in eating, devoted to .wakefulness, concerned with
recluseship, greatly respectful of training, not luxurious or care-
less, who are keen to avoid backsliding, leaders in seclusion.
114 Anangana Sutta: Sutta 5
i 32
energetic, resolute, established in mindfulness, fully aware,
concentrated, with unified minds, possessing wisdom, not driv-
ellers. These, on hearing the venerable Sariputta's discourse on
the Dhamma, drink it in and eat it, as it were, by word and
thought. Good indeed it is that he makes his fellows in the holy
life emerge from the unwholesome and establish themselves in
the wholesome.
33. "Just as a woman - or a man - young, youthful, fond of
adornments, with head bathed, having received a garland of
lotuses, jasmine, or roses, would take it with both hands and
place it on the head, so too there are clansmen who have gone
forth out of faith... not drivellers. These, on hearing the vener-
able Sariputta's discourse on the Dhamma, drink it in and eat it,
as it were, by word and thought. Good indeed it is that he
makes his fellows in the holy life emerge from the unwholesome
and establish themselves in the wholesome."
Thus it was that these two great beings rejoiced in each other's
good words. 75
6 Akankheyya Sutta
If a Bhikkhu Should Wish
[33] 1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was
living at SavatthT in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There
he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." - "Venerable sir,"
they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, dwell possessed of virtue, possessed of the
Patimokkha, restrained with the restraint of the Patimokkha,
perfect in conduct and resort, and seeing fear in the slightest
fault, train by undertaking the training precepts. 76
3. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I be dear and agreeable to
my companions in the holy life, respected and esteemed by
them/ let him fulfil the precepts, be devoted to internal serenity
of mind, not neglect meditation, be possessed of insight, and
dwell in empty huts. 77
4. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I be one to obtain robes,
almsfood, resting place, and medicinal requisites/ let him fulfil
the precepts. . .
5. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May the services of those whose
robes, almsfood, resting place, and medicinal requisites I use
bring them great fruit and benefit/ let him fulfil the precepts...
6. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'When my kinsmen and relatives
who have passed away and died remember me with confidence
in their minds, may that bring them great fruit and great bene-
fit/ let him fulfil the precepts... 78
7. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I become a conqueror of
discontent and delight, and may discontent and delight not con-
quer me; may I abide transcending discontent and delight
whenever they arise/ let him fulfil the precepts...
8. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I become a conqueror of
fear and dread, and may fear and dread not conquer me; may I
115
116 Akankheyya Sutta: Suita 6
134
abide transcending fear and dread whenever they arise/ let him
fulfil the precepts...
9. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I become one to obtain at
will, without trouble or difficulty, the four jhanas that constitute
the higher mind and provide a pleasant abiding here and now/
let him fulfil the precepts. ..
10. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I contact with the body
and abide in those liberations that are peaceful and immaterial,
transcending forms/ let him fulfil the precepts... [34] 79
11. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, with the destruction of
three fetters, become a stream-enterer, no longer subject to
perdition, bound [for deliverance], headed for enlightenment/
let him fulfil the precepts... 80
12. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, with the destruction of
three fetters and with the attenuation of lust, hate, and delusion,
become a once-retumer, returning once to this world to make an
end of suffering/ let him fulfil the precepts...
13. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, with the destruction of
the five lower fetters, become due to reappear spontaneously [in
the Pure Abodes] and there attain final Nibbana, without ever
returning from that world/ let him fulfil the precepts... 81
14. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 82 'May I wield the various
kinds of supernormal power: having been one, may I become
many; having been many, may I become one; may I appear and
vanish; may I go unhindered through a wall, through an enclo-
sure, through a mountain as though through space; may I dive
in and out of the earth as though it were water; may I walk on
water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-
legged, may I travel in space like a bird; with my hand may I
touch and stroke the moon and sun so powerful and mighty;
may I wield bodily mastery, even as far as the Brahma-world/
let him fulfil the precepts. . .
15. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, with the divine ear ele-
ment, which is purified and surpasses the human, hear both
kinds of sounds, the divine and the human, those that are far as
well as near/ let him fulfil the precepts. ..
16. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I understand the minds of
other beings, of other persons, having encompassed them with
my own mind. May I understand a mind affected by lust as
affected by lust and a mind unaffected by lust as unaffected by
i 36
If a Bhikkhu Should Wish 117
lust; may I understand a mind affected by hate as affected by
hate and a mind unaffected by hate as unaffected by hate; may I
understand a mind affected by delusion as affected by delusion
and a mind unaffected by delusion as unaffected by delusion;
may I understand a contracted mind as contracted and a dis-
tracted mind as distracted; may I understand an exalted mind as
exalted and an unexalted mind as unexalted; may I understand
a surpassed mind as surpassed and an unsurpassed mind as
unsurpassed; may I understand a concentrated mind as concen-
trated [35] and an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; may
I understand a liberated mind as liberated and an unliberated
mind as unliberated/ let him fulfil the precepts...
17. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I recollect my manifold
past lives, that is, one birth, two births ... (as Sutta 4, §27 )... Thus
with their aspects and their particulars may I recollect my mani-
fold past lives/ let him fulfil the precepts...
18. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, with the divine eye,
which is purified and surpasses the human, see beings passing
away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, for-
tunate and unfortunate; may I understand how beings pass on
according to their actions thus /. ..(as Sutta 4, §29 ). ..let him fulfil
the precepts...
19. "If a bhikkhu should wish: 'May I, by realising for myself
with direct knowledge, 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,' 83 [36] let him fulfil
the precepts, be devoted to internal serenity of mind, not neglect
meditation, be possessed of insight, and dwell in empty huts.
20. "So it was with reference to this that it was said:
'Bhikkhus, dwell possessed of virtue, possessed of the Patimo-
kkha, restrained with the restraint of the Patimokkha, perfect in
conduct and resort, and seeing fear in the slightest fault, train by
undertaking the training precepts.'"
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
i 38
The Simile of the Cloth 119
7 Vatthupama Sutta
The Simile of the Cloth
1 . Thus have I heard . 84 On one occasion the Blessed One was
living at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There
he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." - "Venerable sir,"
they replied. Tire Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, suppose a cloth were defiled and stained, and a
dyer dipped it in some dye or other, whether blue or yellow or
red or pink; it would look poorly dyed and impure in colour.
Why is that? Because of the impurity of the cloth. So too, when
the mind is defiled, an unhappy destination may be expected. 85
Bhikkhus, suppose a cloth were pure and bright, and a dyer
dipped it in some dye or other, whether blue or yellow or red or
pink; it would look well-dyed and pure in colour. Why is that?
Because of the purity of the cloth. So too, when the mind is
uir defiled, a happy destination may be expected.
3. "What, bhikkhus, are the imperfections that defile the
mind? 86 Covetousness and unrighteous greed is an imperfection
that defiles the mind. 87 Ill will. ..anger. ..revenge.. .contempt. ..a
domineering attitude . . . envy . . . av arice . . . deceit . . . fraud . . . obstina-
cy ...presumption... conceit... arrogance... vanity... [37]... negli-
gence is an imperfection that defiles the mind.
4. "Knowing that covetousness and unrighteous greed is an
imperfection that defiles the mind, a bhikkhu abandons it. 88
Knowing that ill will... negligence is an imperfection that defiles
the mind, a bhikkhu abandons it.
5. "When a bhikkhu has known that covetousness and
unrighteous greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind and
has abandoned it; when a bhikkhu has known that ill will... neg-
ligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind and has aban-
doned it, he acquires perfect confidence in the Buddha thus: 89
'The Blessed One is accomplished, fully enlightened, perfect in
true knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds,
incomparable leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and
humans, enlightened, blessed/
6. "He acquires perfect confidence in the Dhamma thus: 'The
Dhamma is well proclaimed by the Blessed One, visible here
and now, immediately effective, inviting inspection, onward
leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves.'
7. "He acquires perfect confidence in the Sangha thus: 'The
Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practising the good
way, practising the straight way, practising the true way, prac-
tising the proper way, that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight
types of individuals; this Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples
is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings,
worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit
for the world.'
8. "When he has given up, expelled, released, abandoned, and
relinquished [the imperfections of the mind] in part, 90 he consid-
ers thus: 'I am possessed of perfect confidence in the Buddha/
and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains inspiration in the
Dhamma, 91 gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When
he is glad, rapture is born in him; in one who is rapturous,
the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tranquil feels
pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes con-
centrated. 92
9. "He considers thus: 'I am possessed of perfect confidence in
the Dhamma/ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains
inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the
Dhamma. When he is glad... the mind becomes concentrated. [38]
10. "He considers thus: 'I am possessed of perfect confidence
in the Sangha/ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains
inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the
Dhamma. When he is glad. . .the mind becomes concentrated.
11. "He considers thus: '[The imperfections of the mind] have
in part been given up, expelled, released, abandoned, and relin-
quished by me/ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains
inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the
Dhamma. When he is glad, rapture is bom in him; in one who is
rapturous, the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tran-
quil feels pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes
concentrated.
118
120 Vatthupama Sutta: Sutta 7
The Simile of the Cloth 121
i 39
12. "Bhikkhus, if a bhikkhu of such virtue, such a state [of con-
centration], and such wisdom 93 eats almsfood consisting of
choice hill rice along with various sauces and curries, even that
will be no obstacle for him. 94 Just as a cloth that is defiled and
stained becomes pure and bright with the help of clear water, or
just as gold becomes pure and bright with the help of a furnace,
so too, if a bhikkhu of such virtue... eats almsfood... that will be
no obstacle for him.
13. "He abides pervading one quarter with a mind imbued
with loving-kindness, 95 likewise the second, likewise the third,
likewise the fourth; so above, below, around, and everywhere,
and to all as to himself, he abides pervading the all-encompassing
world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, abundant,
exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.
14-16. "He abides pervading one quarter with a mind imbued
with compassion. ..with a mind imbued with appreciative
joy... with a mind imbued with equanimity, likewise the second,
likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above, below, around,
and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he abides pervading
the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with equanim-
ity, abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and
without ill will.
17. "He understands thus: 'There is this, there is the inferior,
there is the superior, and beyond there is an escape from this
whole field of perception.' 96
18. "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.'
[39] Bhikkhus, this bhikkhu is called one bathed with the
inner bathing." 97
19. Now on that occasion the brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja
was sitting not far from the Blessed One. Then he said to the
Blessed One: "But does Master Gotama go to the Bahuka River
to bathe?"
"Why, brahmin, go to the Bahuka River? What can the Bahuka
River do?"
i 39
"Master Gotama, the Bahuka River is held by many to give
liberation, it is held by many to give merit, and many wash
away their evil actions in the Bahuka River."
20. Then the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Sundarika
Bharadvaja in stanzas:
"Bahuka and Adhikakka,
Gaya and Sundarika too,
Payaga and Sarassatl,
And the stream Bahumatl - 98
A fool may there forever bathe
Yet will not purify dark deeds.
What can the Sundarika bring to pass?
What the Payaga? What the Bahuka?
They cannot purify an evil-doer,
A man who has done cruel and brutal deeds.
One pure in heart has evermore
The Feast of Spring, the Holy Day; 99
One fair in act, one pure in heart
Brings his virtue to perfection.
It is here, brahmin, that you should bathe.
To make yourself a refuge for all beings.
And if you speak no falsehood
Nor work harm for living beings.
Nor take what is offered not,
With faith and free from avarice,
What need for you to go to Gaya?
For any well will be your Gaya."
21. When this was said, the brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja
said: "Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master
Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear in many
ways, as though he were turning upright what had been over-
thrown, 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 Master Gotama for refuge and to
122 Vatthupama Sutta: Sutta 7
i.40
the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. I would receive the
going forth under Master Gotama, I would receive the full
admission." 100
22. And the brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja received the going
forth under the Blessed One, and he received the full admission.
[40] And soon, not long after his full admission, dwelling alone,
withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the venerable
Bharadvaja, by realising for himself with direct knowledge, here
and now entered upon and abided in that supreme goal of the
holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from
the home life into homelessness. He directly knew: "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." And
the venerable Bharadvaja became one of the arahants.
8 Sallekha Sutta
Effacement
1. Thus have I heard . 101 On one occasion the Blessed One was
living at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park.
2. Then, when it was evening, the venerable Maha Cunda
rose from meditation and went to the Blessed One. After pay-
ing homage to the Blessed One he sat down at one side and said
to him:
3. "Venerable sir, various views arise in the world associated
either with doctrines of a self or with doctrines about the
world. 102 Now does the abandoning and relinquishing of those
views come about in a bhikkhu who is attending only to the
beginning [of Inis meditative training]?" 103
"Cunda, as to those various views that arise in the world asso-
ciated either with doctrines of a self or with doctrines about the
world: if [the object] in relation to which those views arise,
which they underlie, and which they are exercised upon 104 is
seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: 'This is not mine,
this I am not, this is not my self/ then the abandoning and relin-
quishing of those views comes about. 105
(the eight attainments)
4. "It is possible here, Cunda, that quite secluded from sensual
pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, some bhikkhu
enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied
by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure
bom of seclusion. He might think thus: 'I am abiding in efface-
ment.' But it is not these attainments that are called 'effacement'
in the Noble One's Discipline: these are called 'pleasant abidings
here and now' [41] in the Noble One's Discipline. 106
123
124 Sallekha Sutta: Suita 8
Effacement 125
i 41
5. "It is possible here that with the stilling of applied and sus-
tained thought, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the
second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind
without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and plea-
sure bom of concentration. He might think thus: 4 am abiding
in effacement/ But... these are called 'pleasant abidings here and
now' in the Noble One's Discipline.
6. "It is possible here that with the fading away as well of rap-
ture, some bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully
aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and
abides in the third jhana, on account of which noble ones
announce: 'He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and
is mindful.' He might think thus: 'I am abiding in effacement.'
But... these are called 'pleasant abidings here and now' in the
Noble One's Discipline.
7. "It is possible here that with the abandoning of pleasure
and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief,
some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana, which
has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to
equanimity. He might think thus: 'I am abiding in effacement.'
But it is not these attainments that are called 'effacement' in the
Noble One's Discipline: these are called 'pleasant abidings here
and now' in the Noble One's Discipline.
8. "It is possible here that with the complete surmounting of
perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of
sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity,
aware that 'space is infinite,' some bhikkhu enters upon and
abides in the base of infinite space. He might think thus: 'I am
abiding in effacement.' But it is not these attainments that are
called 'effacement' in the Noble One's Discipline: these are
called 'peaceful abidings' in the Noble One's Discipline.
9. "It is possible here that by completely surmounting the base
of infinite space, aware that 'consciousness is infinite,' some
bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite con-
sciousness. He might think thus: 'I am abiding in effacement.'
But... these are called 'peaceful abidings' in the Noble One's
Discipline.
10. "It is possible here that by completely surmounting the
base of infinite consciousness, aware that 'there is nothing/ some
bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. He
i 42
might think thus: 'I am abiding in effacement.' But... these are
called 'peaceful abidings' in the Noble One's Discipline.
11. "It is possible here that by completely surmounting the
base of nothingness, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the
base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. He might think
thus: 'I am abiding in effacement.' [42J But these attainments are
not called 'effacement' in the Noble One's Discipline: these are
called 'peaceful abidings' in the Noble One's Discipline.
(effacement)
12. "Now, Cunda, here effacement should be practised by you: 107
(1) 'Others will be cruel; we shall not be cruel here': efface-
ment should be practised thus. 108
(2) 'Others will kill living beings; we shall abstain from killing
living beings here': effacement should be practised thus.
(3) 'Others will take what is not given; we shall abstain from tak-
ing what is not given here': effacement should be practised thus.
(4) 'Others will be uncelibate; we shall be celibate here': efface-
ment should be practised thus.
(5) 'Others will speak falsehood; we shall abstain from false
speech here': effacement should be practised thus.
(6) 'Others will speak maliciously; we shall abstain from mali-
cious speech here': effacement should be practised thus.
(7) 'Others will speak harshly; we shall abstain from harsh
speech here': effacement should be practised thus.
(8) 'Others will gossip; we shall abstain from gossip here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(9) 'Others will be covetous; we shall be uncovetous here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(10) 'Others will have ill will; we shall be without ill will here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(11) 'Others will be of wrong view; we shall be of right view
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(12) 'Others will be of wrong intention; we shall be of right
intention here': effacement should be practised thus.
(13) 'Others will be of wrong speech; we shall be of right
speech here': effacement should be practised thus.
(14) 'Others will be of wrong action; we shall be of right action
here': effacement should be practised thus.
126 Sallekha Sutta: Sutta 8
Effacement 127
i43
(15) 'Others will be of wrong livelihood; we shall be of right
livelihood here': effacement should be practised thus.
(16) 'Others will be of wrong effort; we shall be of right effort
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(17) 'Others will be of wrong mindfulness; we shall be of right
mindfulness here': effacement should be practised thus.
(18) 'Others will be of wrong concentration; we shall be of
right concentration here': effacement should be practised thus.
(19) 'Others will be of wrong knowledge; we shall be of right
knowledge here': effacement should be practised thus.
(20) 'Others will be of wrong deliverance; we shall be of right
deliverance here': effacement should be practised thus.
(21) 'Others will be overcome by sloth and torpor; we shall
be free from sloth and torpor here': effacement should be
practised thus.
(22) 'Others will be restless; we shall not be restless here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(23) 'Others will be doubters; we shall go beyond doubt here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(24) 'Others will be angry; we shall not be angry here': efface-
ment should be practised thus.
(25) 'Others will be revengeful; we shall not be revengeful
here': effacement should be practised thus. [43]
(26) 'Others will be contemptuous; we shall not be contemp-
tuous here': effacement should be practised thus.
(27) 'Others will be domineering; we shall not be domineering
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(28) 'Others will be envious; we shall not be envious here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(29) 'Others will be avaricious; we shall not be avaricious
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(30) 'Others will be fraudulent; we shall not be fraudulent
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(31) 'Others will be deceitful; we shall not be deceitful here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(32) 'Others will be obstinate; we shall not be obstinate here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(33) 'Others will be arrogant; we shall not be arrogant here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(34) 'Others will be difficult to admonish; we shall be easy to
admonish here': effacement should be practised thus.
i 43
(35) 'Others will have bad friends; we shall have good friends
here': effacement should be practised thus.
(36) 'Others will be negligent; we shall be diligent here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(37) 'Others will be faithless; we shall be faithful here': efface-
ment should be practised thus.
(38) 'Others will be shameless; we shall be shameful here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(39) 'Others will have no fear of wrongdoing; we shall be
afraid of wrongdoing here': effacement should be practised thus.
(40) 'Others will be of little learning; we shall be of great learn-
ing here': effacement should be practised thus.
(41) 'Others will be lazy; we shall be energetic here': efface-
ment should be practised thus.
(42) 'Others will be unmindful; we shall be established in
mindfulness here': effacement should be practised thus.
(43) 'Others will lack wisdom; we shall possess wisdom here':
effacement should be practised thus.
(44) 'Others will adhere to their own views, hold on to them
tenaciously, and relinquish them with difficulty; 109 we shall
not adhere to our own views or hold on to them tenaciously,
but shall relinquish them easily': effacement should be prac-
tised thus.
(inclination of mind)
13. "Cunda, I say that even the inclination of mind towards
wholesome states is of great benefit, so what should be said of
bodily and verbal acts conforming [to such a state of mind]? 110
Therefore, Cunda:
(1) Mind should be inclined thus: 'Others will be cruel; we
shall not be cruel here.'
(2) Mind should be inclined thus: 'Others will kill living
beings; we shall abstain from killing living beings here.'
(3—43) Mind should be inclined thus:...
(44) Mind should be inclined thus: 'Others will adhere to then-
own views, hold on to them tenaciously, and relinquish them
with difficulty; we shall not adhere to our own views or hold on
to them tenaciously, but shall relinquish them easily.'
128 Sallekha Sutta: Sutta 8
Effacement 129
i 44
(avoidance)
14. "Cunda, suppose there were an uneven path and another even
path by which to avoid it; and suppose there were an uneven ford
and another even ford by which to avoid it. [44] So too:
(1) A person given to cruelty has non-cruelty by which to
avoid it.
(2) One given to killing living beings has abstention from
killing living beings by which to avoid it.
(3) One given to taking what is not given has abstention from
taking what is not given by which to avoid it.
(4) One given to be uncelibate has celibacy by which to avoid it.
(5) One given to false speech has abstention from false speech
by which to avoid it.
(6) One given to malicious speech has abstention from mali-
cious speech by which to avoid it.
(7) One given to harsh speech has abstention from harsh
speech by which to avoid it.
(8) One given to gossip has abstention from gossip by which
to avoid it.
(9) One given to covetousness has uncovetousness by which to
avoid it.
(10) One given to ill will has non-ill will by which to avoid it.
(11) One given to wrong view has right view by which to
avoid it. .
(12) One given to wrong intention has right intention by
which to avoid it.
(13) One given to wrong speech has right speech by which to
avoid it.
(14) One given to wrong action has right action by which to
avoid it.
(15) One given to wrong livelihood has right livelihood by
which to avoid it.
(16) One given to wrong effort has right effort by which to
avoid it.
(17) One given to wrong mindfulness has right mindfulness
by which to avoid it.
(18) One given to wrong concentration has right concentration
by which to avoid it.
i 44
(19) One given to wrong knowledge has right knowledge by
which to avoid it.
(20) One given to wrong deliverance has right deliverance by
which to avoid it.
(21) One given to sloth and torpor has freedom from sloth and
torpor by which to avoid it.
(22) One given to restlessness has non-restlessness by which to
avoid it.
(23) One given to doubt has the state beyond doubt by which
to avoid it.
(24) One given to anger has non-anger by which to avoid it.
(25) One given to revenge has non-revenge by which to avoid
it.
(26) One given to contempt has non-contempt by which to
avoid it.
(27) One given to a domineering attitude has a non-domineer-
ing attitude by which to avoid it.
(28) One given to envy has non-envy by which to avoid it.
(29) One given to avarice has non-avarice by which to avoid it.
(30) One given to fraud has non-fraud by which to avoid it.
(31) One given to deceit has non-deceit by which to avoid it.
(32) One given to obstinacy has non-obstinacy by which to
avoid it.
(33) One given to arrogance has non-arrogance by which to
avoid it.
(34) One given to being difficult to admonish has being easy to
admonish by which to avoid it.
(35) One given to making bad friends has making good
friends by which to avoid it.
(36) One given to negligence has diligence by which to avoid it.
(37) One given to faithlessness has faith by which to avoid it.
(38) One given to shamelessness has shame by which to avoid it.
(39) One given to fearlessness of wrongdoing has fear of
wrongdoing by which to avoid it.
(40) One given to little learning has great learning by which to
avoid it.
(41) One given to laziness has the arousal of energy by which
to avoid it.
(42) One given to unmindfulness has the establishment of
mindfulness by which to avoid it.
130 Sallekha Sutta: Sutta 8
Effacement 131
i 46
(43) One given to lack of wisdom has the acquisition of wis-
dom by which to avoid it.
(44) One given to adhere to his own views, who holds on to
them tenaciously and relinquishes them with difficulty, has non-
adherence to his own views, not holding on to them tenaciously
and relinquishing them easily, by which to avoid it.
(the way leading upwards)
15. "Cunda, just as all unwholesome states lead downwards and
all wholesome states lead upwards, so too:
(1) A person given to cruelty has non-cruelty to lead him
upwards.
(2) One given to killing living beings has abstention from
killing living beings to lead him upwards.
(3-43) One given to. . .to lead him upwards.
(44) One given to adhere to his own views, who holds on to
them tenaciously [45] and relinquishes them with difficulty, has
non-adherence to his own views, not holding on to them tena-
ciously and relinquishing them easily, to lead him upwards.
(the way of extinguishing)
16. "Cunda, that one who is himself sinking in the mud should
pull out another who is sinking in the mud is impossible; that
one who is not himself sinking in the mud should pull out
another who is sinking in the mud is possible. That one who is
himself untamed, undisciplined, [with defilements] unextin-
guished, should tame another, discipline him, and help extin-
guish [his defilements] is impossible; that one who is himself
tamed, disciplined, [with defilements] extinguished, should
tame another, discipline him, and help extinguish [his defile-
ments] is possible. 111 So too:
(1) A person given to cruelty has non-cruelty by which to
extinguish it. 112
(2) One given to killing living beings has abstention from
killing living beings by which to extinguish it.
(3-43) One given to. . . [46] . . .by which to extinguish it.
(44) One given to adhere to his own views, who holds on to
them tenaciously and relinquishes them with difficulty, has
i 46
non-adherence to his own views, not holding on to them tena-
ciously and relinquishing them easily, by which to extinguish it.
(conclusion)
17. "So, Cunda, the way of effacement has been taught by me,
the way of inclining the mind has been taught by me, the way of
avoidance has been taught by me, the way leading upwards has
been taught by me, and the way of extinguishing has been
taught by me.
18. "What should be done for his disciples out of compassion
by a teacher who seeks their welfare and has compassion for
them, that I have done for you, Cunda. 113 There are these roots
of trees, these empty huts. Meditate, Cunda, do not delay or else
you will regret it later. This is our instruction to you."
That is what the Blessed One said. The venerable Maha Cunda
was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
147
Right View 133
9 Sammaditthi Sutta
9 9
Right View
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at Savatthl in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the
venerable Sariputta addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Friends,
bhikkhus." - "Friend," they replied. The venerable Sariputta
said this:
2. "'One of right view, one of right view,' is said, friends. In
what way is a noble disciple one of right view, whose view is
straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has
arrived at this true Dhamma?" 114
"Indeed, friend, we would come from far away to learn from
the venerable Sariputta the meaning of this statement. It would
be good if the venerable Sariputta would explain the meaning of
this statement. Having heard it from him, the bhikkhus will
remember it."
"Then, friends, listen and attend closely to what I shall say."
"Yes, friend," the bhikkhus replied. The venerable Sariputta
said this:
(the wholesome and the unwholesome)
3. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands the unwhole-
some and the root of the unwholesome, the wholesome and the
root of the wholesome, [47] in that way he is one of right view,
whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the
Dhamma and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
4. "And what, friends, is the unwholesome, what is the root of
the unwholesome, what is the wholesome, what is the root of
the wholesome? Killing living beings is unwholesome; taking
what is not given is unwholesome; misconduct in sensual plea-
sures is unwholesome; false speech is unwholesome; malicious
speech is unwholesome; harsh speech is unwholesome; gossip is
unwholesome; covetousness is unwholesome; ill will is
unwholesome; wrong view is unwholesome. This is called the
unwholesome. 1 15
5. "And what is the root of the unwholesome ? Greed is a root
of the unwholesome; hate is a root of the unwholesome; delu-
sion is a root of the unwholesome. This is called the root of the
unwholesome. 116
6. "And what is the wholesome? Abstention from killing living
beings is wholesome; abstention from taking what is not given is
wholesome; abstention from misconduct in sensual pleasures is
wholesome; abstention from false speech is wholesome; absten-
tion from malicious speech is wholesome; abstention from harsh
speech is wholesome; abstention from gossip is wholesome;
uncovetousness is wholesome; non-ill will is wholesome; right
view is wholesome. This is called the wholesome. 117
7. "And what is the root of the wholesome? Non-greed is a
root of the wholesome; non-hate is a root of the wholesome;
non-delusion is a root of the wholesome. This is called the root
of the wholesome.
8. "When a noble disciple has thus understood the unwhole-
some and the root of the unwholesome, the wholesome and the
root of the wholesome, 118 he entirely abandons the underlying
tendency to lust, he abolishes the underlying tendency to aver-
sion, he extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and con-
ceit 'I am,' and by abandoning ignorance and arousing true
knowledge he here and now makes an end of suffering. 119 In
that way too a noble disciple is one of right view, whose view is
straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has
arrived at this true Dhamma."
(nutriment)
9. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. ..and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
10. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands nutriment,
the origin of nutriment, the cessation of nutriment, and the way
132
134 Sammaditthi Sutta: Sutta 9
Right View 135
i48
leading to the cessation of nutriment, in that way he is one of
right view. . .and has arrived [48] at this true Dhamma,
11. "And what is nutriment, what is the origin of nutriment,
what is the cessation of nutriment, what is the way leading to
the cessation of nutriment? There are four kinds of nutriment for
the maintenance of beings that already have come to be and for
the support of those seeking a new existence. What four? They
are: physical food as nutriment, gross or subtle; contact as the
second; mental volition as the third; and consciousness as the
fourth. 120 With the arising of craving there is the arising of nutri-
ment. With the cessation of craving there is the cessation of
nutriment. The way leading to the cessation of nutriment is just
this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention,
right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, and right concentration.
12. "When a noble disciple has thus understood nutriment, the
origin of nutriment, the cessation of nutriment, and the way
leading to the cessation of nutriment, he entirely abandons the
underlying tendency to greed, he abolishes the underlying ten-
dency to aversion, he extirpates the underlying tendency to the
view and conceit 'I am/ and by abandoning ignorance and
arousing true knowledge he here and now makes an end of suf-
fering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view,
whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence in the
Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(the four noble truths)
13. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
14. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands suffering, the
origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way lead-
ing to the cessation of suffering, in that way he is one of right
view... and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
15. "And what is suffering, what is the origin of suffering,
what is the cessation of suffering, what is the way leading to the
cessation of suffering? Birth is suffering; ageing is suffering;
i 49
sickness is suffering; death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief, and despair are suffering; not to obtain what one
wants is suffering; in short, the five aggregates affected by cling-
ing are suffering. This is called suffering.
16. "And what is the origin of suffering? It is craving, which
brings renewal of being, is accompanied by delight and lust, and
delights in this and that; that is, craving for sensual pleasures
[49], craving for being, and craving for non-being. This is called
the origin of suffering.
17. "And what is the cessation of suffering? It is the remain-
derless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing,
letting go, and rejecting of that same craving. This is called the
cessation of suffering.
18. "And what is the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It
is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view... right concen-
tration. This is called the way leading to the cessation of suffering.
19. "When a noble disciple has thus understood suffering, the
origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way lead-
ing to the cessation of suffering. ..he here and now makes an end
of suffering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right
view... and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(ageing and death)
20. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
21. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands ageing and
death, the origin of ageing and death, the cessation of ageing
and death, and the way leading to the cessation of ageing and
death, in that way he is one of right view... and has arrived at
this true Dhamma. 121
22. "And what is ageing and death, what is the origin of ageing
and death, what is the cessation of ageing and death, what is the
way leading to the cessation of ageing and death? The ageing of
beings in the various orders of beings, their old age, brokenness
of teeth, greyness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of life, weak-
ness of faculties - this is called ageing. The passing of beings out
136 Sammaditthi Sutta: Sutta 9 i 50
of the various orders of beings, their passing away, dissolution,
disappearance, dying, completion of time, dissolution of the
aggregates, 122 laying down of the body - this is called death. So
this ageing and this death are what is called ageing and death.
With the arising of birth there is the arising of ageing and death.
With the cessation of birth there is the cessation of ageing and
death. The way leading to the cessation of ageing and death is just
this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view. ..right concentration.
23. "When a noble disciple has thus understood ageing and
death, the origin of ageing and death, the cessation of ageing
and death, and the way leading to the cessation of ageing and
death... he here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way
too a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this
true Dhamma."
(birth)
24. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked hint a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view . . .and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - [50] "There might be, friends.
25. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands birth, the ori-
gin of birth, the cessation of birth, and the way leading to the
cessation of birth, in that way he is one of right view... and has
arrived at this true Dhamma.
26. "And what is birth, what is the origin of birth, what is the
cessation of birth, what is the way leading to the cessation of
birth? The birth of beings in the various orders of beings, their
coming to birth, precipitation [in a womb], generation, manifes-
tation of the aggregates, obtaining the bases for contact 123 - this
is called birth. With the arising of being there is the arising of
birth. With the cessation of being there is the cessation of birth.
The way leading to the cessation of birth is just this Noble
Eightfold Path; that is, right view. . .right concentration.
27. "When a noble disciple has thus understood birth, the ori-
gin of birth, the cessation of birth, and the way leading to the
cessation of birth... he here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view... and has
arrived at this true Dhamma."
i 51 Right View 137
(being)
28. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. ..and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
29. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands being, the
origin of being, the cessation of being, and the way leading to
the cessation of being, in that way he is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma.
30. "And what is being, what is the origin of being, what is the
cessation of being, what is the way leading to the cessation of
being? There are these three kinds of being: sense-sphere being,
fine-material being, and immaterial being. 124 With the arising of
clinging there is the arising of being. With the cessation of cling-
ing there is the cessation of being. The way leading to the cessa-
tion of being is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right
view . . . right concentration.
31. "When a noble disciple has thus understood being, the ori-
gin of being, the cessation of being, and the way leading to the
cessation of being. ..he here and now makes an end of suffering.
In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view... and has
arrived at this true Dhamma."
(CLINGING)
32. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
33. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands clinging, the
origin of clinging, the cessation of clinging, and the way leading
to the cessation of clinging, in that way he is one of right view...
and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
34. "And what is clinging, what is the origin of clinging, what
is the cessation of clinging, what is the way leading to the cessa-
tion of clinging? There are these four [51] kinds of clinging:
clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to rules
138 Sammaditthi Sutta: Sutta 9
Right View 139
i 51 i 52
and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. 125 With the
arising of craving there is the arising of clinging. With the cessa-
tion of craving there is the cessation of clinging. The way lead-
ing to the cessation of clinging is just this Noble Eightfold Path;
that is, right view. . .right concentration.
35. "When a noble disciple has thus understood clinging, the
origin of clinging, the cessation of clinging, and the way leading
to the cessation of clinging... he here and now makes an end of
suffering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view...
and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(craving)
36. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
37. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands craving, the
origin of craving, the cessation of craving, and the way leading
to the cessation of craving, in that way he is one of right view...
and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
38. "And what is craving, what is the origin of craving, what is
the cessation of craving, what is the way leading to the cessation
of craving? There are these six classes of craving: craving for
forms, craving for sounds, craving for odours, craving for
flavours, craving for tangibles, craving for mind-objects. 126 With
the arising of feeling there is the arising of craving. With the ces-
sation of feeling there is the cessation of craving. The way lead-
ing to the cessation of craving is just this Noble Eightfold Path;
that is, right view... right concentration.
39. "When a noble disciple has thus understood craving, the
origin of craving, the cessation of craving, and the way leading
to the cessation of craving... he here and now makes an end of
suffering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view...
and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
i*
(feeling)
40. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
41. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands feeling, the
origin of feeling, the cessation of feeling, and the way leading to
the cessation of feeling, in that way he is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma.
42. "And what is feeling, what is the origin of feeling, what is
the cessation of feeling, what is the way leading to the cessation
of feeling? There are these six classes of feeling: feeling born of
eye-contact, feeling bom of ear-contact, feeling born of nose-
contact, feeling born of tongue-contact, feeling bom of body-
contact, feeling bom of mind-contact. With the arising of contact
there is the arising of feeling. With the cessation of contact there
is the cessation of feeling. The way leading to the cessation of
feeling is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view...
right concentration. [52]
43. "When a noble disciple has thus understood feeling, the
origin of feeling, the cessation of feeling, and the way leading to
the cessation of feeling. . .he here and now makes an end of suf-
fering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(CONTACT)
44. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view., .and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
45. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands contact, the
origin of contact, the cessation of contact, and the way leading to
the cessation of contact, in that way he is one of right view. ..and
has arrived at this true Dhamma.
46. "And what is contact, what is the origin of contact, what is
the cessation of contact, what is the way leading to the cessation
140 SammUditthi Sutta: Sutta 9 i 53
4 >
of contact? There are these six classes of contact: eye-contact,
ear-contact, nose-contact, tongue-contact, body-contact, mind-
contact. 127 With the arising of the sixfold base there is the arising
of contact. With the cessation of the sixfold base there is the ces-
sation of contact. The way leading to the cessation of contact is
just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view... right concen-
tration.
47. "When a noble disciple has thus understood contact, the
origin of contact, the cessation of contact, and the way leading to
the cessation of contact... he here and now makes an end of suf-
fering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(the sixfold base)
48. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
49. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands the sixfold
base, the origin of the sixfold base, the cessation of the sixfold base,
and the way leading to the cessation of the sixfold base, in that
way he is one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
50. "And what is the sixfold base, what is the origin of the
sixfold base, what is the cessation of the sixfold base, what is
the way leading to the cessation of the sixfold base? There are
these six bases: the eye-base, the ear-base, the nose-base, the
tongue-base, the body-base, the mind-base. 128 With the arising
of mentality-materiality there is the arising of the sixfold base.
With the cessation of mentality-materiality there is the cessa-
tion of the sixfold base. The way leading to the cessation of the
sixfold base is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right
view... right concentration.
51. "When a noble disciple has thus understood the sixfold
base, the origin of the sixfold base, the cessation of the sixfold
base, and [53] the way leading to the cessation of the sixfold
base... he here and now makes an end of suffering. In that way
too a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this
true Dhamma."
i 53
Right View 141
(MENT A LITY-MATERIAUTY)
52. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
53. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands mentality-
materiality, the origin of mentality-materiality, the cessation of
mentality-materiality, and the way leading to the cessation of
mentality-materiality, in that way he is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma. 129
54. "And what is mentality-materiality, what is the origin of
mentality-materiality, what is the cessation of mentality-
materiality, what is the way leading to the cessation of mentality-
materiality? Feeling, perception, volition, contact, and attention
- these are called mentality. The four great elements and the
material form derived from the four great elements - these are
called materiality. So this mentality and this materiality are
what is called mentality-materiality. With the arising of conscious-
ness there is the arising of mentality-materiality. With the cessa-
tion of consciousness there is the cessation of mentality-materiali-
ty. The way leading to the cessation of mentality-materiality is just
this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view. . .right concentration.
55. "When a noble disciple has thus understood mentality-
materiality, the origin of mentality-materiality, the cessation of
mentality-materiality, and the way leading to the cessation of
mentality-materiality... he here and now makes an end of suffer-
ing. In that way too a noble disciple is one of right view... and
has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(consciousness)
56. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. ..and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
57. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands consciousness,
the origin of consciousness, the cessation of consciousness, and
142 Sammaditthi Sutta: Sutta 9
Right View 143
i 54
the way leading to the cessation of consciousness, in that way he
is one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
58. "And what is consciousness, what is the origin of con-
sciousness, what is the cessation of consciousness, what is the
way leading to the cessation of consciousness? There are these six
classes of consciousness: eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness,
nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness,
mind-consciousness. 130 With the arising of formations there is
the arising of consciousness. With the cessation of formations
there is the cessation of consciousness. The way leading to the
cessation of consciousness is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that
is, right view... right concentration.
59. "When a noble disciple has thus understood consciousness,
the origin of consciousness, the cessation of consciousness, and
the way leading to the cessation of consciousness [54]... he here
and now makes an end of suffering. In that way too a noble disci-
ple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(formations)
60. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
61. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands formations,
the origin of formations, the cessation of formations, and the
way leading to the cessation of formations, in that way he is one
of right view... and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
62. "And what are formations, what is the origin of formations,
what is the cessation of formations, what is the way leading to the
cessation of formations? There are these three kinds of formations:
the bodily formation, the verbal formation, the mental forma-
tion. 131 With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of for-
mations. With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of
formations. The way leading to the cessation of formations is just
this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view., .right concentration.
63. "When a noble disciple has thus understood formations,
the origin of formations, the cessation of formations, and the
way leading to the cessation of formations... he here and now
i 55
makes an end of suffering. In that way too a noble disciple is
one of right view. . .and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(ignorance)
64. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another way in which
a noble disciple is one of right view... and has arrived at this true
Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
65. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands ignorance,
the origin of ignorance, the cessation of ignorance, and the way
leading to the cessation of ignorance, in that way he is one of
right view. . .and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
66. "And what is ignorance, what is the origin of ignorance,
what is the cessation of ignorance, what is the way leading to
the cessation of ignorance? Not knowing about suffering, not
knowing about the origin of suffering, not knowing about the
cessation of suffering, not knowing about the way leading to the
cessation of suffering - this is called ignorance. With the arising
of the taints there is the arising of ignorance. With the cessation
of the taints there is the cessation of ignorance. The way leading
to the cessation of ignorance is just this Noble Eightfold Path;
that is, right view. . .right concentration.
67. "When a noble disciple has thus understood ignorance, the
origin of ignorance, the cessation of ignorance, and the way
leading to the cessation of ignorance... he here and now makes
an end of suffering. In that way too a noble disciple is one of
right view... and has arrived at this true Dhamma."
(taints)
68. Saying, "Good, friend," the bhikkhus delighted and rejoiced
in the venerable Sariputta's words. Then they asked him a fur-
ther question: "But, friend, might there be another [55] way in
which a noble disciple is one of right view, whose view is
straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has
arrived at this true Dhamma?" - "There might be, friends.
69. "When, friends, a noble disciple understands the taints,
the origin of the taints, the cessation of the taints, and the way
i 55
144 Sammnditthi Sutta: Sutta 9
leading to the cessation of the taints, in that way he is one of
right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence
jji ttu? Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
70. "And what are the taints, what is the origin of the taints,
what is the cessation of the taints, what is the way leading to the
cessation of the taints? There are these three taints: the taint of
sensual desire, the taint of being, and the taint of ignorance.
With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of the taints. 132
With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of the
taints. The way leading to the cessation of the taints is just this
Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindful-
ness, and right concentration.
71. "When a noble disciple has thus understood the taints, the
origin of the taints, the cessation of the taints, and the way lead-
ing to the cessation of the taints, he entirely abandons the under-
lying tendency to l ust , he abolishes the underlying tendency to
aversion he extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and
conceit 'I am/ and by abandoning ignorance and arousing true
knowledge he here and now makes an end of suffering. In that
way too a noble disciple is one of right view, whose view is
straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has
arrived at this true Dhamma."
That is what the venerable Sariputta said. The bhikkhus were
satisfied and delighted in the venerable Sariputta's words.
10 Satipatthana Sutta
The Foundations of Mindfulness
1. Thus have I heard . 133 On one occasion the Blessed One was
living in the Kuru country at a town of the Kurus named Kamma-
sadhamma. 134 There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhik-
khus." - "Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, this is the direct path 135 for the purification of
beings [56], for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for
the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the
true way, for the realisation of Nibbana - namely, the four foun-
dations of mindfulness. 136
3. "What are the four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu 137 abides
contemplating the body as a body, ardent, fully aware, and
mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the
world. 138 He abides contemplating feelings as feelings, ardent,
fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and
grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind as mind,
ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness
and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind-objects
as mind-objects, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put
away covetousness and grief for the world. 139
(contemplation of the body)
( 2 . Mindfulness of Breathing)
4. "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating the
body as a body? Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root
of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs
crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in
front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes
out. Breathing in long, he understands: T breathe in long'; or
145
144 Sammaditthi Sutta: Suita 9
i 55
leading to the cessation of the taints, in that way he is one of
right view, whose view is straight, who has perfect confidence
in the Dhamma, and has arrived at this true Dhamma.
70. "And what are the taints, what is the origin of the taints,
what is the cessation of the taints, what is the way leading to the
cessation of the taints? There are these three taints: the taint of
sensual desire, the taint of being, and the taint of ignorance.
With the arising of ignorance there is the arising of the taints. 132
With the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of the
taints. The way leading to the cessation of the taints is just this
Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindful-
ness, and right concentration.
71. "When a noble disciple has thus understood the taints, the
origin of the taints, the cessation of the taints, and the way lead-
ing to the cessation of the taints, he entirely abandons the under-
lying tendency to lust, he abolishes the underlying tendency to
aversion, he extirpates the underlying tendency to the view and
conceit 1 am/ and by abandoning ignorance and arousing true
knowledge he here and now makes an end of suffering. In that
way too a noble disciple is one of right view, whose view is
straight, who has perfect confidence in the Dhamma, and has
arrived at this true Dhamma."
That is what the venerable Sariputta said. The bhikkhus were
satisfied and delighted in the venerable Sariputta's words.
10 Satipatthana Sutta
The Foundations of Mindfulness
1. Thus have I heard . 133 On one occasion the Blessed One was
living in the Kuru country at a town of the Kurus named Kamma-
sadhamma. 134 There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhik-
khus." - "Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, this is the direct path 135 for the purification of
beings [56], for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for
the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the
true way, for the realisation of Nibbana - namely, the four foun-
dations of mindfulness. 136
3. "What are the four? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu 137 abides
contemplating the body as a body, ardent, fully aware, and
mindful, having put away covetousness and grief for the
world. 138 He abides contemplating feelings as feelings, ardent,
fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness and
grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind as mind,
ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put away covetousness
and grief for the world. He abides contemplating mind -objects
as mind-objects, ardent, fully aware, and mindful, having put
away covetousness and grief for the world. 139
(contemplation of the body)
(2. Mindfulness of Breathing)
4. "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating the
body as a body? Here a bhikkhu, gone to the forest or to the root
of a tree or to an empty hut, sits down; having folded his legs
crosswise, set his body erect, and established mindfulness in
front of him, ever mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes
out. Breathing in long, he understands: T breathe in long'; or
145
146 Satipatthfina Suita: Sutta 10
The Foundations of Mindfulness 147
i 57
breathing out long, he understands: 'I breathe out long.'
Breathing in short, he understands: 'I breathe in short'; or
breathing out short, he understands: 'I breathe out short/ 140 He
trains thus: 'I shall breathe in experiencing the whole body [of
breath]'; he trains thus: 'I shall breathe out experiencing the
whole body [of breath].' 141 He trains thus: 'I shall breathe in
tranquillizing the bodily formation'; he trains thus: 'I shall
breathe out tranquillizing the bodily formation.' 142 Just as a
skilled turner or his apprentice, when making a long turn,
understands: '1 make a long turn'; or, when making a short turn,
understands: 'I make a short turn'; so too, breathing in long, a
bhikkhu understands: 'I breathe in long'... he trains thus: 'I shall
breathe out tranquillizing the bodily formation.'
(insight)
5. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, or he abides contemplating the body as a body exter-
nally, or he abides contemplating the body as a body both inter-
nally and externally. 143 Or else he abides contemplating in the
body its arising factors, or he abides contemplating in the body
its vanishing factors, or he abides contemplating in the body
both its arising and vanishing factors. 144 Or else mindfulness
that 'there is a body' is simply established in him to the extent
necessary for bare knowledge and mindfulness. 145 And he
abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That
is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
(2. The Four Postures)
6. "Again, bhikkhus, when walking, a bhikkhu understands: 'I
am walking'; when standing, he understands: 'I am standing';
when sitting, [57] he understands: 'I am sitting'; when lying
down, he understands: T am lying down'; or he understands
accordingly however his body is disposed. 146
7. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, externally, and both internally and externally. ..And he
abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That
too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
i 57
(3. Full Awareness)
8. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu is one who acts in full awareness
when going forward and returning; 147 who acts in full aware-
ness when looking ahead and looking away; who acts in full
awareness when flexing and extending his limbs; who acts in
full awareness when wearing his robes and carrying his outer
robe and bowl; who acts in full awareness when eating, drink-
ing, consuming food, and tasting; who acts in full awareness
when defecating and urinating; who acts in full awareness when
walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking,
and keeping silent.
9. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, externally, and both internally and externally... And he
abides independent, not dinging to anything in the world. That
too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
(4. Foulness - The Bodily Parts)
10. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reviews this same body up
from the soles of the feet and down from the top of the hair,
bounded by skin, as full of many kinds of impurity thus: 'In
this body there are head-hairs, body -hairs, nails, teeth, skin,
flesh, sinews, bones, bone-marrow, kidneys, heart, liver,
diaphragm, spleen, lungs, large intestines, small intestines,
contents of the stomach, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat,
fat, tears, grease, spittle, snot, oil of the joints, and urine.' 148
Just as though there were a bag with an opening at both ends
full of many sorts of grain, such as hill rice, red rice, beans,
peas, millet, and white rice, and a man with good eyes were to
open it and review it thus: "This is hill rice, this is red rice,
these are beans, these are peas, this is millet, this is white rice';
so too, a bhikkhu reviews this same body... as full of many
kinds of impurity thus: 'In this body there are head-hairs... and
urine.'
11. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, externally, and both internally and externally... And he
abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That
too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
The Foundations of Mindfulness 149
148 Satipatthana Sutta: Sutta 10 i 58
(5. Elements )
12. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu reviews this same body, how-
ever it is placed, however disposed, as consisting of elements
thus: 'In this body there are the earth element, the water ele-
ment, the fire element, and the air element/ 149 [58] Just as
though a skilled butcher or his apprentice had killed a cow and
was seated at the crossroads with it cut up into pieces; so too, a
bhikkhu reviews this same body... as consisting of elements
thus: 'In this body there are the earth element, the water ele-
ment, the fire element, and the air element.'
13. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, externally, and both internally and externally... And he
abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That
too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
(6-74. The Nine Charnel Ground Contemplations)
14. "Again, bhikkhus, as though he were to see a corpse thrown
aside in a charnel ground, one, two, or three days dead, bloated,
livid, and oozing matter, a bhikkhu compares this same body
with it thus: 'This body too is of the same nature, it will be like
that, it is not exempt from that fate.' 150
15. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, externally, and both internally and externally... And he
abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. That
too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
16. "Again, as though he were to see a corpse thrown aside in
a charnel ground, being devoured by crows, hawks, vultures,
dogs, jackals, or various kinds of worms, a bhikkhu compares
this same body with it thus: 'This body too is of the same nature,
it will be like that, it is not exempt from that fate.'
17. "...That too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the
body as a body.
18-24. "Again, as though he were to see a corpse thrown aside
in a charnel ground, a skeleton with flesh and blood, held
together with sinews... a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood,
held together with sinews... a skeleton without flesh and blood,
held together with sinews... disconnected bones scattered in all
directions - here a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, here a shin-bone,
i 59
there a thigh-bone, here a hip-bone, there a back-bone, here a
rib-bone, there a breast-bone, here an arm-bone, there a shoul-
der-bone, here a neck-bone, there a jaw-bone, here a tooth, there
the skull - a bhikkhu compares this same body with it thus:
This body too is of the same nature, it will be like that, it is not
exempt from that fate.' 151
25. "...That too is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating the
body as a body.
26-30. "Again, as though he were to see a corpse thrown aside
in a charnel ground, bones bleached white, the colour of shells. . .
bones heaped up, more than a year old... bones rotted and crum-
bled to dust [59], a bhikkhu compares this same body with it
thus: 'This body too is of the same nature, it will be like that, it is
not exempt from that fate.'
(INSIGHT)
31. "In this way he abides contemplating the body as a body
internally, or he abides contemplating the body as a body exter-
nally, or he abides contemplating the body as a body both inter-
nally and externally. Or else he abides contemplating in the
body its arising factors, or he abides contemplating in the body
its vanishing factors, or he abides contemplating in the body
both its arising and vanishing factors. Or else mindfulness that
'there is a body' is simply established in him to the extent neces-
sary for bare knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides inde-
pendent, not clinging to anything in the world. That too is how
a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body as a body.
(contemplation of feeling)
32. "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
feelings as feelings? 152 Here, when feeling a pleasant feeling, a
bhikkhu understands: 'I feel a pleasant feeling'; when feeling a
painful feeling, he understands: 'I feel a painful feeling'; when
feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands:
'I feel a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.' When feeling a
worldly pleasant feeling, he understands: 'I feel a worldly
pleasant feeling'; when feeling an unworldly pleasant feeling, he
understands: 'I feel an unworldly pleasant feeling'; when feeling
The Foundations of Mindfulness 151
150 Satipatthana Sutta: Sutta 10 i 59
a worldly painful feeling, he understands: T feel a worldly
painful feeling'; when feeling an unworldly painful feeling, he
understands: 'I feel an unworldly painful feeling'; when feeling
a worldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he understands:
'I feel a worldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling'; when
feeling an unworldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, he
understands: 'I feel an unworldly neither-painful-nor-pleasant
feeling.'
(insight)
33. "In this way he abides contemplating feelings as feelings inter-
nally, or he abides contemplating feelings as feelings externally,
or he abides contemplating feelings as feelings both internally
and externally. Or else he abides contemplating in feelings their
arising factors, or he abides contemplating in feelings their van-
ishing factors, or he abides contemplating in feelings both their
arising and vanishing factors. 153 Or else mindfulness that 'there is
feeling' is simply established in him to the extent necessary for bare
knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides independent, not
clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides
contemplating feelings as feelings.
(contemplation of mind)
34. "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
mind as mind? 154 Here a bhikkhu understands mind affected
by lust as mind affected by lust, and mind unaffected by lust as
mind unaffected by lust. He understands mind affected by hate
as mind affected by hate, and mind unaffected by hate as mind
unaffected by hate. He understands mind affected by delusion
as mind affected by delusion, and mind unaffected by delusion
as mind unaffected by delusion. He understands contracted
mind as contracted mind, and distracted mind as distracted
mind. He understands exalted mind as exalted mind, and unex-
alted mind as unexalted mind. He understands surpassed mind
as surpassed mind, and unsurpassed mind as unsurpassed
mind. He understands concentrated mind as concentrated
mind, and unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated mind. He
understands liberated mind as liberated mind, and unliberated
i 60
mind as unliberated mind. 155
(insight)
35. "In this way he abides contemplating mind as mind internally,
or he abides contemplating mind as mind externally, or he
abides contemplating mind as mind both internally and exter-
nally. Or else he abides contemplating in mind its arising fac-
tors, [60] or he abides contemplating in mind its vanishing fac-
tors, or he abides contemplating in mind both its arising and
vanishing factors. 156 Or else mindfulness that 'there is mind' is
simply established in him to the extent necessary for bare
knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides independent, not
clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides
contemplating mind as mind.
(contemplation of mind-objects)
(2. The Five Hindrances)
36. "And how, bhikkhus, does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects? 157 Here a bhikkhu abides con-
templating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the five
hindrances. 158 And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the five hindrances?
Here, there being sensual desire in him, a bhikkhu understands:
'There is sensual desire in me'; or there being no sensual desire
in him, he understands: 'There is no sensual desire in me'; and
he also understands how there comes to be the arising of
*
unarisen sensual desire, and how there comes to be the aban-
doning of arisen sensual desire, and how there comes to be the
future non-arising of abandoned sensual desire.'
"There being ill will in him... There being sloth and torpor in
him. . .There being restlessness and remorse in him. . .There being
doubt in him, a bhikkhu understands: 'There is doubt in me'; or
there being no doubt in him, he understands: 'There is no doubt
in me'; and he understands how there comes to be the arising of
unarisen doubt, and how there comes to be the abandoning of
arisen doubt, and how there comes to be the future non-arising
of abandoned doubt.
152 Satipatthana Sutta: Sutta 10
The Foundations of Mindfulness 153
i 61
(insight)
37. "in this way he abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-
objects internally, or he abides contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects externally, or he abides contemplating mind-
objects as mind-objects both internally and externally. Or else he
abides contemplating in mind-objects their arising factors, or he
abides contemplating in mind-objects their vanishing factors, or
he abides contemplating in mind-objects both their arising and
vanishing factors. Or else mindfulness that 'there are mind-
objects' is simply established in him to the extent necessary for
bare knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides independent,
not clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu
abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of
the five hindrances.
(2. The Five Aggregates)
38. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mind-
objects as mind-objects [61] in terms of the five aggregates
affected by clinging. 159 And how does a bhikkhu abide con-
templating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the five
aggregates affected by clinging? Here a bhikkhu understands:
'Such is material form, such its origin, such its disappearance;
such is feeling, such its origin, such its disappearance; such is
perception, such its origin, such its disappearance; such are
the formations, such their origin, such their disappearance;
such is consciousness, such its origin, such its disappearance.'
39. "In this way he abides contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects internally, externally, and both internally and
externally... And he abides independent, not clinging to any-
thing in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by clinging.
(3. The Six Bases)
40. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mind-
objects as mind-objects in terms of the six internal and exter-
nal bases. 160 And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
i 62
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the six internal and
external bases? Here a bhikkhu understands the eye, he under-
stands forms, and he understands the fetter that arises depen-
dent on both; and he also understands how there comes to be
the arising of the unarisen fetter, and how there comes to be the
abandoning of the arisen fetter, and how there comes to be the
future non-arising of the abandoned fetter.
"He understands the ear, he understands sounds... He under-
stands the nose, he understands odours... He understands the
tongue, he understands flavours... He understands the body, he
understands tangibles... He understands the mind, he under-
stands mind-objects, and he understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both; and he also understands how there comes to
be the arising of the unarisen fetter, and how there comes to be
the abandoning of the arisen fetter, and how there comes to be
the future non-arising of the abandoned fetter.
41. "In this way he abides contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects internally, externally, and both internally and
externally... And he abides independent, not clinging to any-
thing in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the six internal and
external bases.
(4. The Seven Enlightenment Factors )
42. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mind-
objects as mind-objects in terms of the seven enlightenment
factors. 161 And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the seven enlighten-
ment factors? Here, there being the mindfulness enlighten-
ment factor in him, a bhikkhu understands: 'There is the
mindfulness enlightenment factor in me'; or there being no
mindfulness enlightenment factor in him, he understands: [62]
'There is no mindfulness enlightenment factor in me'; and he
also understands how there comes to be the arising of the
unarisen mindfulness enlightenment factor, and how the
arisen mindfulness enlightenment factor comes to fulfilment
by development.
"There being the investigation-of-states enlightenment factor
in him 162 ... There being the energy enlightenment factor in
154 Satipatthdna Sutta: Suita 10
i 62
him. ..There being the rapture enlightenment factor in
him. ..There being the tranquillity enlightenment factor in
him... There being the concentration enlightenment factor in
him... There being the equanimity enlightenment factor in him, a
bhikkhu understands: There is the equanimity enlightenment
factor in me'; or there being no equanimity enlightenment factor
in him, he understands: 'There is no equanimity enlightenment
factor in me'; and he also understands how there comes to be
the arising of the unarisen equanimity enlightenment factor, and
how the arisen equanimity enlightenment factor comes to fulfil-
ment by development. 163
43. "In this way he abides contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects internally, externally, and both internally and
externally... And he abides independent, not clinging to any-
thing in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides contemplating
mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the seven enlighten-
ment factors.
(5. The Four Noble Truths)
44. "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu abides contemplating mind-
objects as mind-objects in terms of the Four Noble Truths. 164
And how does a bhikkhu abide contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects in terms of the Four Noble Truths? Here a bhikkhu
understands as it actually is: 'This is suffering'; he understands
as it actually is: "This is the origin of suffering'; he understands
as it actually is: This is the cessation of suffering'; he under-
stands as it actually is: 'This is the way leading to the cessation
of suffering/
(insight)
45. "In this way he abides contemplating mind-objects as mind-
objects internally, or he abides contemplating mind-objects as
mind-objects externally, or he abides contemplating mind-objects
as mind-objects both internally and externally. Or else he abides
contemplating in mind-objects their arising factors, or he abides
contemplating in mind-objects their vanishing factors, or he
abides contemplating in mind-objects both their arising and van-
i 63
The Foundations of Mindfulness 155
ishing factors. Or else mindfulness that 'there are mind-objects' is
simply established in him to the extent necessary for bare
knowledge and mindfulness. And he abides independent, not
clinging to anything in the world. That is how a bhikkhu abides
contemplating mind-objects as mind-objects in terms of the Four
Noble Truths.
(conclusion)
46. "Bhikkhus, if anyone should develop these four foundations
of mindfulness in such a way for seven years, one of two fruits
could be expected for him: either final knowledge here and now,
or if there is a trace of clinging left, non-return. 165
"Let alone seven years, bhikkhus. [63] If anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in such a way for six
years... for five years... for four years... for three years... for two
years... for one year, one of two fruits could be expected for him:
either final knowledge here and now, or if there is a trace of
clinging left, non-return.
"Let alone one year, bhikkhus. If anyone should develop these
four foundations of mindfulness in such a way for seven
months. . .for six months. . .for five months. . .for four months. . .for
three months... for two months... for one month... for half a
month, one of two fruits could be expected for him: either final
knowledge here and now, or if there is a trace of clinging left,
non-return.
"Let alone half a month, bhikkhus. If anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in such a way for seven
days, one of two fruits could be expected for him: either final
knowledge here and now, or if there is a trace of clinging left,
non-return.
47. "So it was with reference to this that it was said:
'Bhikkhus, this is the direct path for the purification of beings,
for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disap-
pearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the true way, for
the realisation of Nibbana - namely, the four foundations of
mindfulness/"
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
2
The Division of the Lion's Roar
( Sthanadavagga )
11 Culasihanada Suita
The Shorter Discourse
on the Lion's Roar
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There he
addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." - "Venerable sir,"
they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, only here is there a recluse, only here a second
recluse, only here a third recluse, only here a fourth recluse. The
doctrines of others are devoid [64] of recluses: that is how you
should rightly roar your lion's roar. 166
3. "It is possible, bhikkhus, that wanderers of other sects
might ask: 'But on the strength of what [argument] or with the
support of what [authority] do the venerable ones say thus?'
Wanderers of other sects who ask thus may be answered in this
way: 'Friends, four things have been declared to us by the
Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully
enlightened; on seeing these in ourselves we say thus: "Only
here is there a recluse, only here a second recluse, only here a
third recluse, only here a fourth recluse. The doctrines of others
are devoid of recluses." What are the four? We have confidence
in the Teacher, we have confidence in the Dhamma, we have
fulfilled the precepts, and our companions in the Dhamma are
dear and agreeable to us whether they are laymen or those gone
forth. These are the four things declared to us by the Blessed
One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened,
on seeing which in ourselves we say as we do.'
4. "It is possible, bhikkhus, that wanderers of other sects
might say thus: 'Friends, we too have confidence in the Teacher,
that is, in our Teacher; we too have confidence in the Dhamma,
that is, in our Dhamma; we too have fulfilled the precepts, that
is, our precepts; and our companions in the Dhamma are dear
and agreeable to us too whether they are laymen or those gone
159
160 Culasihanada Sutta: Sutta 11
The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar 161
i 65
forth. What is the distinction here, friends, what is the variance,
what is the difference between you and us?'
5. "Wanderers of other sects who ask thus may be answered in
this way: 'How then, friends, is the goal one or many?' Answer-
ing rightly, the wanderers of other sects would answer thus:
'Friends, the goal is one, not many.' 167 - 'But, friends, is that goal
for one affected by lust or free from lust?' Answering rightly, the
wanderers of other sects would answer thus: 'Friends, that goal
is for one free from lust, not for one affected by lust.' - 'But,
friends, is that goal for one affected by hate or free from hate?'
Answering rightly, they would answer: 'Friends, that goal is for
one free from hate, not for one affected by hate.' - 'But, friends,
is that goal for one affected by delusion or free from delusion?'
Answering rightly, they would answer: 'Friends, that goal is for
one free from delusion, not for one affected by delusion.' - 'But,
friends, is that goal for one affected by craving or free from crav-
ing?' [65] Answering rightly, they would answer: 'Friends, that
goal is for one free from craving, not for one affected by crav-
ing.' - 'But, friends, is that goal for one affected by clinging or
free from clinging?' Answering rightly, they would answer:
'Friends, that goal is for one free from clinging, not for one
affected by clinging.' - 'But, friends, is that goal for one who has
vision or for one without vision?' Answering rightly, they
would answer: 'Friends, that goal is for one with vision, not for
one without vision.' - 'But, friends, is that goal for one who
favours and opposes, or for one who does not favour and
oppose?' Answering rightly, they would answer: 'Friends, that
goal is for one who does not favour and oppose, not for one who
favours and opposes.' 168 - 'But, friends, is that goal for one who
delights in and enjoys proliferation, or for one who does not
delight in and enjoy proliferation?' Answering rightly, they
would answer: 'Friends, that goal is for one who does not
delight in and enjoy proliferation, not for one who delights in
and enjoys proliferation.' 169
6. "Bhikkhus, there are these two views: the view of being and
the view of non-being. Any recluses or brahmins who rely on
the view of being, adopt the view of being, accept the view of
being, are opposed to the view of non-being. Any recluses or
brahmins who rely on the view of non-being, adopt the view of
i 66
non-being, accept the view of non-being, are opposed to the
view of being. 170
7. "Any recluses or brahmins who do not understand as they
actually are the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the
danger, and the escape 171 in the case of these two views are
affected by lust, affected by hate, affected by delusion, affected
by craving, affected by clinging, without vision, given to favour-
ing and opposing, and they delight in and enjoy proliferation.
They are not freed from birth, ageing, and death; from sorrow,
lamentation, pain, grief, and despair; they are not freed from
suffering, I say.
8. "Any recluses or brahmins who understand as they actually
are the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger,
and the escape in the case of these two views are without lust,
without hate, without delusion, without craving, without cling-
ing, with vision, not given to favouring and opposing, and they
do not delight in and enjoy proliferation. They are freed from
birth, ageing, and death; from sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief,
and despair; they are freed from suffering, I say. [66]
9. "Bhikkhus, there are these four kinds of clinging. What
four? Clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging
to rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self.
10. "Though certain recluses and brahmins claim to propound
the full understanding of all kinds of clinging, they do not com-
pletely describe the full understanding of all kinds of clinging. 172
They describe the full understanding of clinging to sensual plea-
sures without describing the full understanding of clinging to
views, clinging to rules and observances, and clinging to a doc-
trine of self. Wiry is that? Those good recluses and brahmins do
not understand these three instances of clinging as they actually
are. Therefore, though they claim to propound the full under-
standing of all kinds of clinging, they describe only the full
understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures without describ-
ing the full understanding of clinging to views, clinging to rules
and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self.
11. "Though certain recluses and brahmins claim to propound
the full understanding of all kinds. of clinging... they describe the
full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures and clinging
to views without describing the full understanding of clinging
162 CulasThanada Sutta: Sutta 11
The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar 163
i67
to rules and observances and clinging to a doctrine of self. Why
is that? They do not understand two instances... therefore they
describe only the full understanding of clinging to sensual plea-
sures and clinging to views without describing the full under-
standing of clinging to rules and observances and clinging to a
doctrine of self.
12. "Though certain recluses and brahmins claim to propound
the full understanding of all kinds of clinging... they describe
the full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging
to views, and clinging to rules and observances without describ-
ing the full understanding of clinging to a doctrine of self. They
do not understand one instance... therefore they describe only
the full understanding of clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging
to views, and clinging to rules and observances without describ-
ing the full understanding of clinging to a doctrine of self. 173
13. "Bhikkhus, in such a Dhamma and Discipline as that, it is
plain that confidence in the Teacher is not rightly directed, that
confidence in the Dhamma is not rightly directed, that fulfil-
ment of the precepts is not rightly directed, and that the affec-
tion among companions in the Dhamma is not rightly directed.
Why is that? Because that is how it is when the Dhamma and
Discipline is [67] badly proclaimed and badly expounded,
unemancipating, unconducive to peace, expounded by one who
is not fully enlightened.
14. "Bhikkhus, when a Tathagata, accomplished and fully
enlightened, claims to propound the full understanding of ail
kinds of clinging, he completely describes the full understand-
ing of all kinds of clinging: he describes the full understanding
of clinging to sensual pleasures, clinging to views, clinging to
rules and observances, and clinging to a doctrine of self. 174
15. "Bhikkhus, in such a Dhamma and Discipline as that, it is
plain that confidence in the Teacher is rightly directed, that con-
fidence in the Dhamma is rightly directed, that fulfilment of the
precepts is rightly directed, and that the affection among com-
panions in the Dhamma is rightly directed. Why is that?
Because that is how it is when the Dhamma and Discipline is
well-proclaimed and well-expounded, emancipating, conducive
to peace, expounded by one who is fully enlightened.
16. "Now these four kinds of clinging have what as their source,
what as their origin, from what are they born and produced?
i 68
These four kinds of clinging have craving as their source, crav-
ing as their origin, they are bom and produced from craving. 175
Craving has what as its source...? Craving has feeling as its
source... Feeling has what as its source...? Feeling has contact as
its source... Contact has what as its source...? Contact has the
sixfold base as its source... The sixfold base has what as its
source...? The sixfold base has mentality-materiality as its
source. . .Mentality-materiality has what as its source. . .? Mentality-
materiality has consciousness as its source... Consciousness has
what as its source...? Consciousness has formations as its
source... Formations have what as their source...? Formations
have ignorance as their source, ignorance as their origin, they
are bom and produced from ignorance.
17. "Bhikkhus, when ignorance is abandoned and true knowl-
edge has arisen in a bhikkhu, then with the fading away of igno-
rance and the arising of true knowledge he no longer clings to
sensual pleasures, no longer clings to views, no longer clings to
rules and observances, no longer clings to a doctrine of self. 176
When he does not cling, he is not agitated. When he is not agi-
tated, he personally attains Nibbana. 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/" [68]
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
i 69
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 165
12 Mahasihanada Sutta
The Greater Discourse
on the Lion's Roar
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at Vesall in the grove outside the city to the west.
2. Now on that occasion Sunakkhatta, son of the Licchavis,
had recently left this Dhamma and Discipline. 177 He was making
this statement before the Vesall assembly: "The recluse Gotama
does not have any superhuman states, any distinction in knowl-
edge and vision worthy of the noble ones. 178 The recluse
Gotama teaches a Dhamma [merely] hammered out by reason-
ing, following his own line of inquiry as it occurs to him, and
when he teaches the Dhamma to anyone, it leads him when he
practises it to the complete destruction of suffering." 179
3. Then, when it was morning, the venerable Sariputta
dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, went into Vesall
for alms. Then he heard Sunakkhatta, son of the Licchavis, mak-
ing this statement before the Vesall assembly. When he had wan-
dered for alms in Vesall and had returned from his almsround,
after his meal he went to the Blessed One, and after paying
homage to him, he sat down at one side and told the Blessed
One what Sunakkhatta was saying.
4. [The Blessed One said:] "Sariputta, the misguided man
Sunakkhatta is angry and his words are spoken out of anger.
Thinking to discredit the Tathagata, he actually praises him; [69]
for it is praise of the Tathagata to say of him: 'When he teaches
the Dhamma to anyone, it leads him when he practises it to the
complete destruction of suffering.'
5. "Sariputta, this misguided man Sunakkhatta will never
infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That Blessed One is
accomplished, fully enlightened, perfect in true knowledge
and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds, incomparable leader
of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlight-
ened, blessed.' 180
6. "And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That
Blessed One enjoys the various kinds of supernormal power:
having been one, he becomes many; having been many, he
becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unhindered
through a wall, through an enclosure, through a mountain, as
though through space; he dives in and out of the earth as
though it were water; he walks on water without sinking as
though it were earth; seated cross-legged, he travels in space
like a bird; with his hand he touches and strokes the moon and
sun so powerful and mighty; he wields bodily mastery even as
far as the Brahma- world.'
7. "And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'With
the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the
human, that Blessed One hears both kinds of sounds, the heav-
enly and the human, those that are far as well as near.'
8. "And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That
Blessed One encompasses with his own mind the minds of other
beings, other persons. He understands a mind affected by lust as
affected by lust and a mind unaffected by lust as unaffected by
lust; he understands a mind affected by hate as affected by hate
and a mind unaffected by hate as unaffected by hate; he under-
stands a mind affected by delusion as affected by delusion and a
mind unaffected by delusion as unaffected by delusion; he
understands a contracted mind as contracted and a distracted
mind as distracted; he understands an exalted mind as exalted
and an unexalted mind as unexalted; he understands a surpassed
mind as surpassed and an unsurpassed mind as unsurpassed; he
understands a concentrated mind as concentrated and an uncon-
centrated mind as unconcentrated; he understands a liberated
mind as liberated and an unliberated mind as unliberated.'
(ten powers of a tathagata)
9. "Sariputta, the Tathagata has these ten Tathagata's powers,
possessing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his
lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of
Brahma. 181 What are the ten?
164
166 Mahasihanada Sutta: Sutta 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 167
i 71
10. {1) "Here, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
possible as possible and the impossible as impossible. 182 And
that [70] is a Tathagata's power that the Tathagata has, by virtue
of which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar
in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
11. (2) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
results of actions undertaken, past, future, and present, with pos-
sibilities and with causes. That too is a Tathagata's power... 183
12. (3) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
ways leading to all destinations. That too is a Tathagata's
power... 184
13. (4) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
world with its many and different elements. That too is a Tatha-
gata's power... 185
14. (5) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is
how beings have different inclinations. That too is a
Tathagata's power... 186
15. (6) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
disposition of the faculties of other beings, other persons. That
too is a Tathagata's power... 187
16. (7) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the
defilement, the cleansing, and the emergence in regard to the
jhanas, liberations, concentrations, and attainments. That too is a
Tathagata's power ... 188
17. (8) "Again, the Tathagata recollects his manifold past lives,
that is, one birth, two births... (as Sutta 4, §27)... Thus with their
aspects and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives. That
too is a Tathagata's power...
18. (9) "Again, with the divine eye, which is purified and sur-
passes the human, the Tathagata sees beings passing away and
reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and
unfortunate...(ffs Sutta 4, §29) [71]. ..and he understands how
beings pass on according to their actions. That too is a Tatha-
gata's power. . .
19. (10) "Again, by realising for himself with direct knowl-
edge, the Tathagata here and now enters upon and abides in the
deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taint-
less with the destruction of the taints. That too is a Tathagata's
power that the Tathagata has, by virtue of which he claims the
i 72
herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar in the assemblies, and
sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
20. "The Tathagata has these ten Tathagata's powers, possess-
ing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar
in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
21. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say
of me: 'The recluse Gotama does not have any superhuman
states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the
noble ones. The recluse Gotama teaches a Dhamma [merely]
hammered out by reasoning, following his own line of inquiry as
it occurs to him' - unless he abandons that assertion and that
state of mind and relinquishes that view, then as [surely as if he
had been] carried off and put there he will wind up in hell. 189
Just as a bhikkhu possessed of virtue, concentration, and wisdom
would here and now enjoy final knowledge, so it will happen in
this case, I say, that unless he abandons that assertion and that
state of mind and relinquishes that view, then as [surely as if he
had been] carried off and put there he will wind up in hell.
(four kinds of intrepidity)
22. "Sariputta, the Tathagata has these four kinds of intrepidity,
possessing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his
lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of
Brahma. What are the four?
23. "Here, I see no ground on which any recluse or brahmin or
god or Mara or Brahma or anyone else at all in the world could,
in accordance with the Dhamma, accuse me thus: 'While you
claim full enlightenment, you are not fully enlightened in regard
to certain things.' [72] And seeing no ground for that, I abide in
safety, fearlessness, and intrepidity.
24. "I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all
could accuse me thus: 'While you claim to have destroyed the
taints, these taints are undestroyed by you.' And seeing no
ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness, and intrepidity.
25. "I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all
could accuse me thus: 'Those things called obstructions by you
are not able to obstruct one who engages in them.' And seeing no
ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness, and intrepidity.
168 Mahasthanada Sutta: Sutta 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 169
i 73
26. "I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all
could accuse me thus: 'When you teach the Dhamma to some-
one, it does not lead him when he practises it to the complete
destruction of suffering.' And seeing no ground for that, I abide
in safety, fearlessness, and intrepidity.
27. "A Tathagata has these four kinds of intrepidity, possess-
ing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar
in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
28. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say
of me. . .he will wind up in hell.
(the eight assemblies)
29. "Sariputta, there are these eight assemblies. What are the eight?
An assembly of nobles, an assembly of brahmins, an assembly of
householders, an assembly of recluses, an assembly of gods of the
heaven of the Four Great Kings, an assembly of gods of the heaven
of the Thirty-three, an assembly of Mara's retinue, an assembly of
Brahmas. Possessing these four kinds of intrepidity, the Tathagata
approaches and enters these eight assemblies.
30. "I recall having approached many hundred assemblies of
nobles. ..many hundred assemblies of brahmins... many hun-
dred assemblies of householders... many hundred assemblies of
recluses... many hundred assemblies of gods of the heaven of
the Four Great Kings... many hundred assemblies of gods of the
heaven of the Thirty-three...many hundred assemblies of Mara's
retinue... many hundred assemblies of Brahmas. And formerly I
had sat with them there and talked with them and held conver-
sations with them, yet I see no ground for thinking that fear or
timidity might come upon me there. And seeing no ground for
that, I abide in safety, fearlessness, and intrepidity. [73]
31. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say
of me... he will wind up in hell.
(four kinds of generation)
32. "Sariputta, there are these four kinds of generation. What are
the four? Egg-bom generation, womb-bom generation, moisture-
bom generation, and spontaneous generation.
i 73
33. "What is egg-bom generation? There are these beings born
by breaking out of the shell of an egg; this is called egg-born
generation. What is w r omb-born generation? There are these
beings bom by breaking out from the caul; this is called womb-
born generation. What is moisture-born generation? There are
these beings born in a rotten fish, in a rotten corpse, in rotten
dough, in a cesspit, or in a sewer; this is called moisture-born
generation. What is spontaneous generation? There are gods
and denizens of hell and certain human beings and some beings
in the lower worlds; this is called spontaneous generation. These
are the four kinds of generation.
34. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say
of me... he will wind up in hell.
(the five destinations and nibbana)
35. "Sariputta, there are these five destinations. What are the
five? Hell, the animal realm, the realm of ghosts, human beings,
and gods. 190
36. (1) "I understand hell, and the path and way leading to hell.
And I also understand how one who has entered this path will,
on the dissolution of the body, after death, reappear in a state of
deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, in hell.
(2) "I understand the animal realm, and the path and way
leading to the animal realm. And I also understand how one
who has entered this path will, on the dissolution of the body,
after death, reappear in the animal realm.
(3) "I understand the realm of ghosts, and the path and way
leading to the realm of ghosts. And I also understand how one
who has entered this path will, on the dissolution of the body,
after death, reappear in the realm of ghosts.
(4) "I understand human beings, and the path and way lead-
ing to the human world. And I also understand how one who
has entered this path will, on the dissolution of the body, after
death, reappear among human beings.
(5) "I understand the gods, and the path and way leading to
the world of the gods. And I also understand how one who has
entered this path will, on the dissolution of the body, after
death, reappear in a happy destination, in the heavenly world.
170 Mahasihanada Sutta: Sutta 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 171
i 75
(6) "I understand Nibbana, and the path and way leading to
Nibbana. [74] And I also understand how one who has entered
this path will, by realising for himself with direct knowledge,
here and now enter upon and abide in the deliverance of mind
and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruc-
tion of the taints.
37. (1) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a cer-
tain person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after
death, he will reappear in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy
destination, in perdition, in hell/ And then later on, with the
divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see that
on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in
a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition,
in hell, and is experiencing extremely 191 painful, racking, pierc-
ing feelings. Suppose there were a charcoal pit deeper than a
man's height full of glowing coals without flame or smoke; and
then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary,
parched, and thirsty, came by a path going in one way only and
directed to that same charcoal pit. Then a man with good sight
on seeing him would say: 'This person so behaves, so conducts
himself, has taken such a path, that he will come to this same
charcoal pit'; and then later on he sees that he has fallen into
that charcoal pit and is experiencing extremely painful, racking,
piercing feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind...
piercing feelings.
38. (2) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a cer-
tain person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after
death, he will reappear in the animal realm.' And then later on,
with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human,
I see that on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reap-
peared in the animal realm and is experiencing extremely
painful, racking, piercing feelings. Suppose there were a cesspit
deeper than a man's height full of filth; and then a man [75]
scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched, and
thirsty, came by a path going in one way only and directed to
that same cesspit. Then a man with good sight on seeing him
would say: 'This person so behaves. . .that he will come to this
same cesspit'; and then later on he sees that he has fallen into
i 76
that cesspit and is experiencing extremely painful, racking,
piercing feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind . . .
piercing feelings.
39. (3) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a cer-
tain person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after
death, he will reappear in the realm of ghosts.' And then later
on... I see that... he has reappeared in the realm of ghosts and is
experiencing much painful feeling. Suppose there were a tree
growing on uneven ground with scanty foliage casting a dap-
pled shadow; and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot
weather, weary, parched, and thirsty, came by a path going in
one way only and directed to that same tree. Then a man with
good sight on seeing him would say: 'This person so behaves...
that he will come to this same tree'; and then later on he sees
that he is sitting or lying in the shade of that tree experiencing
much painful feeling. So too, by encompassing mind with mind
...much painful feeling.
40. (4) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a cer-
tain person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that on tire dissolution of the body, after
death, he will reappear among human beings.' And then later
on. . .1 see that. . .he has reappeared among human beings and is
experiencing much pleasant feeling. Suppose there were a tree
growing on even ground with thick foliage casting a deep
shade; and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather,
weary, parched, and thirsty, came by a path going in one way
only and directed to that same tree. Then a man with good sight
on seeing him would say: 'This person so behaves... that he will
come to this same tree'; and then later on he sees that he is sit-
ting or lying in the shade of that tree experiencing much pleas-
ant feeling. So too, by encompassing mind with mind... much
pleasant feeling. [76]
41. (5) "By encompassing mind with mind 1 understand a cer-
tain person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after
death, he will reappear in a happy destination, in the heavenly
world.' And then later on... I see that... he has reappeared in a
happy destination, in the heavenly world, and is experiencing
extremely pleasant feelings. Suppose there were a mansion, and
172 Mahasihanada Sutta: Sutia 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 173
i 77
it had an upper chamber plastered within and without, shut off,
secured by bars, with shuttered windows, and in it there was a
couch spread with rugs, blankets, and sheets, with a deerskin
coverlet, with a canopy as well as crimson pillows for both
[head and feet]; and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot
weather, weary, parched, and thirsty, came by a path going in
one way only and directed to that same mansion. Then a man
with good sight on seeing him would say: 'This person so
behaves... that he will come to this same mansion"; and then later
on he sees that he is sitting or lying in that upper chamber in that
mansion experiencing extremely pleasant feelings. So too, by
encompassing mind with mind... extremely pleasant feelings.
42. (6) "By encompassing mind with mind 1 understand a cer-
tain person thus: "This person so behaves, so conducts himself,
has taken such a path that by realising for himself with direct
knowledge, he here and now will enter upon and abide in the
deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taint-
less with the destruction of the taints." And then later on I see
that by realising for himself with direct knowledge, he here and
now enters upon and abides in the deliverance of mind and
deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of
the taints, and is experiencing extremely pleasant feelings. 192
Suppose there were a pond with clean, agreeable, cool water,
transparent, with smooth banks, delightful, and nearby a dense
wood; and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather,
weary, parched, and thirsty, came by a path going in one way
only towards that same pond. Then a man with good sight on
seeing him would say: "This person so behaves... that he will
come to this same pond"; and then later on he sees that he has
plunged into the pond, bathed, drunk, and relieved all his dis-
tress, fatigue, and fever and has come out again and is sitting or
lying in the wood [77] experiencing extremely pleasant feelings.
So too, by encompassing mind with mind... extremely pleasant
feelings. These are the five destinations.
43. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say
of me: 'The recluse Gotama does not have any superhuman
states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the
noble ones. The recluse Gotama teaches a Dhamma [merely]
hammered out by reasoning, following his own line of inquiry
as it occurs to him' - unless he abandons that assertion and that
i 78
state of mind and relinquishes that view, then as [surely as if he
had been] carried off and put there he will wind up in hell. Just
as a bhikkhu possessed of virtue, concentration, and wisdom
would here and now enjoy final knowledge, so it will happen in
this case, I say, that unless he abandons that assertion and that
state of mind and relinquishes that view, then as [surely as if he
had been] carried off and put there he will wind up in hell.
(THE BODHISATTA'S AUSTERITIES)
44. "Sariputta, I recall having lived a holy life possessing four
factors. I have practised asceticism - the extreme of asceticism; I
have practised coarseness - the extreme of coarseness; I have
practised scrupulousness - the extreme of scrupulousness; I
have practised seclusion - the extreme of seclusion. 193
45. "Such was my asceticism, Sariputta, that I went naked,
rejecting conventions, licking my hands, not coming when
asked, not stopping when asked; I did not accept food brought
or food specially made or an invitation to a meal; I received
nothing from a pot, from a bowl, across a threshold, across a
stick, across a pestle, from two eating together, from a pregnant
woman, from a woman giving suck, from a woman lying with a
man, from where food was advertised to be distributed, from
where a dog was waiting, from where flies were buzzing; I
accepted no fish or meat, I drank no liquor, wine, or fermented
brew. 1 kept to one house, to one morsel; I kept to two [78] hous-
es, to two morsels;... I kept to seven houses, to seven morsels. I
lived on one saucerful a day, on two saucerfuls a day... on seven
saucerfuls a day; I took food once a day, once every two
days... once every seven days, and so on up to once every fort-
night; I dwelt pursuing the practice of taking food at stated
intervals. I was an eater of greens or millet or wild rice or hide-
parings or moss or ricebran or rice-scum or sesamum flour or
grass or cowdung. I lived on forest roots and fruits; I fed on
fallen fruits. I clothed myself in hemp, in hemp-mixed cloth, in
shrouds, in refuse rags, in tree bark, in antelope hide, in strips
of antelope hide, in kusa-grass fabric, in bark fabric, in wood-
shavings fabric, in head-hair wool, in animal wool, in owls'
wings. I was one who pulled out hair and beard, pursuing the
practice of pulling out hair and beard. I was one who stood
174 Mahasihanada Sutta: Sutta 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 175
i 79
continuously, rejecting seats. I was one who squatted continu-
ously, devoted to maintaining the squatting position. I was one
who used a mattress of spikes; I made a mattress of spikes my
bed. I dwelt pursuing the practice of bathing in water three times
daily including the evening. Thus in such a variety of ways I
dwelt pursuing the practice of tormenting and mortifying the
body. Such was my asceticism.
46. "Such was my coarseness, Sariputta, that just as the bole of
a tinduka tree, accumulating over the years, cakes and flakes off,
so too, dust and dirt, accumulating over the years, caked off my
body and flaked off. It never occurred to me: 'Oh, let me rub this
dust and dirt off with my hand, or let another rub this dust and
dirt off with his hand' - it never occurred to me thus. Such was
my coarseness.
47. "Such was my scrupulousness, Sariputta, that I was always
mindful in stepping forwards and stepping backwards. I was
full of pity even for [the beings in] a drop of water thus: 'Let me
not hurt the tiny creatures in the crevices of the ground.' Such
was my scrupulousness.
48. "Such was my seclusion, Sariputta, that [79] I would
plunge into some forest and dwell there. And when I saw a
cowherd or a shepherd or someone gathering grass or sticks, or
a woodsman, I would flee from grove to grove, from thicket to
thicket, from hollow to hollow, from hillock to hillock. Why
was that? So that they should not see me or I see them. Just as a
forest-bred deer, on seeing human beings, flees from grove to
grove, from thicket to thicket, from hollow to hollow, from
hillock to hillock, so too, when I saw a cowherd or a shep-
herd... Such was my seclusion.
49. "I would go on all fours to the cow-pens when the cattle
had gone out and the cowherd had left them, and I would feed
on the dung of the young suckling calves. As long as my own
excrement and urine lasted, I fed on my own excrement and
urine. Such was my great distortion in feeding.
50. "I would plunge into some awe-inspiring grove and dwell
there - a grove so awe-inspiring that normally it would make a
man's hair stand up if he were not free from lust. When those
cold wintry nights came during the 'eight-days interval of frost/
I would dwell by night in the open and by day in the grove. 194
In the last month of the hot season I would dwell by day in the
i 80
open and by night in the grove. And there came to me sponta-
neously this stanza never heard before:
'Chilled by night and scorched by day.
Alone in awe-inspiring groves.
Naked, no fire to sit beside.
The sage yet pursues his quest/
51. "I would make my bed in a charnel ground with the bones
of the dead for a pillow. And cowherd boys came up and spat
on me, urinated on me, threw dirt at me, and poked sticks into
my ears. Yet I do not recall that I ever aroused an evil mind [of
hate] against them. Such was my abiding in equanimity. [80]
52. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmins whose
doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about through
food.' 195 They say: 'Let us live on kola-fruits/ and they eat kola-
fruits, they eat kola-fruit powder, they drink kola-fruit water,
and they make many kinds of kola-fruit concoctions. Now I
recall having eaten a single kola-fruit a day. Sariputta, you may
think that the kola-fruit was bigger at that time, yet you should
not regard it so: the kola-fruit was then at most the same size as
now. Through feeding on a single kola-fruit a day, my body
reached a state of extreme emaciation. Because of eating so little
my limbs became like the jointed segments of vine stems or
bamboo stems. Because of eating so little my backside became
like a camel's hoof. Because of eating so little the projections on
my spine stood forth like corded beads. Because of eating so lit-
tle my ribs jutted out as gaunt as the crazy rafters of an old roof-
less bam. Because of eating so little the gleam of my eyes sank
far down in their sockets, looking like a gleam of water that has
sunk far down in a deep well. Because of eating so little my
scalp shrivelled and withered as a green bitter gourd shrivels
and withers in the wind and sun. Because of eating so little my
belly skin adhered to my backbone; thus if I touched my belly
skin I encountered my backbone, and if I touched my backbone
I encountered my belly skin. Because of eating so little, if I tried
to ease my body by rubbing my limbs with my hands, the hair,
rotted at its roots, fell from my body as I rubbed.
53-55. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmins
whose doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about
176 Mahasihanada Sutta: Sutta 12
The Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar 1 77
i 82
through food.' They say: 'Let us live on beans/... 'Let us live on
sesamum/...'Let us live on rice,' and they eat rice, they eat rice
powder, [81] they drink rice water, and they make many kinds
of rice concoctions. Now I recall having eaten a single rice grain
a day. Sariputta, you may think that the rice grain was bigger at
that time, yet you should not regard it so: the rice grain was
then at most the same size as now. Through feeding on a single
rice grain a day, my body reached a state of extreme emaciation.
Because of eating so little... the hair, rotted at its roots, fell from
my body as I rubbed.
56. "Yet, Sariputta, by such conduct, by such practice, by such
performance of austerities, I did not attain any superhuman
states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the
noble ones. Why was that? Because I did not attain that noble
wisdom which when attaingc Hs noble and emancipating and
leads the one who practises in accordance with it to the com-
plete destruction of suffering.
57. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmins whose
doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about through the
round of rebirths.' But it is impossible to find a realm in the
round that I have not already [82] passed through in this long
journey, except for the gods of the Pure Abodes; and had I
passed through the round as a god in the Pure Abodes, I would
never have returned to this world. 196
58. "There are certain recluses and brahmins whose doctrine
and view is this: 'Purification comes about through [some par-
ticular kind of] rebirth.' But it is impossible to find a kind of
rebirth that I have not been reborn in already in this long jour-
ney, except for the gods of the Pure Abodes...
59. "There are certain recluses and brahmins whose doctrine
and view is this: 'Purification comes about through [some particu-
lar] abode.' But it is impossible to find a kind of abode that I have
not already dwelt in. . .except for the gods of the Pure Abodes. . .
60. "There are certain recluses and brahmins whose doctrine
and view is this: 'Purification comes about through sacrifice.'
But it is impossible to find a kind of sacrifice that has not
already been offered up by me in this long journey, when I was
either a head-anointed noble king or a well-to-do brahmin.
61. "There are certain recluses and brahmins whose doctrine
and view is this: 'Purification comes through fire-worship.' But
i 83
it is impossible to find a kind of fire that has not already been
worshipped by me in this long journey, when I was either a
head-anointed noble king or a well-to-do brahmin.
62. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmins whose
doctrine and view is this: 'As long as this good man is still
young, a black-haired young man endowed with the blessing of
youth, in the prime of life, so long is he perfect in his lucid wis-
dom. But when this good man is old, aged, burdened with
years, advanced in life, and come to the last stage, being eighty,
ninety, or a hundred years old, then the lucidity of his wisdom
is lost.' But it should not be regarded so. I am now old, aged,
burdened with years, advanced in life, and come to the last
stage: my years have turned eighty. Now suppose that I had
four disciples with a hundred years' lifespan, perfect in mind-
fulness, retentiveness, memory, and lucidity of wisdom. 197 Just
as a skilled archer, trained, practised, and tested, could easily
shoot a light arrow across the shadow of a palm tree, suppose
that they were even to that extent perfect in mindfulness, reten-
tiveness, [83] memory, and lucidity of wisdom. Suppose that
they continuously asked me about the four foundations of
mindfulness and that I answered them when asked and that
they remembered each answer of mine and never asked a sub-
sidiary question or paused except to eat, drink, consume food,
taste, urinate, defecate, and rest in order to remove sleepiness
and tiredness. Still the Tathagata's exposition of the Dhamma,
his explanations of factors of the Dhamma, and his replies to
questions would not yet come to an end, but meanwhile those
four disciples of mine with their hundred years' lifespan would
have died at the end of those hundred years. Sariputta, even if
you have to carry me about on a bed, still there will be no
change in the lucidity of the Tathagata's wisdom.
63. "Rightly speaking, were it to be said of anyone: 'A being
not subject to delusion has appeared in the world for the welfare
and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the
good, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans,' it is of me
indeed that rightly speaking this should be said."
64. Now on that occasion the venerable Nagasamala was
standing behind the Blessed One fanning him. 198 Then he said to
the Blessed One: "It is wonderful, venerable sir, it is marvellous!
As I listened to this discourse on the Dhamma, the hairs of my
178 Mahusihanada Sutta: Sutta 12
i 83
body stood up. Venerable sir, what is the name of this discourse
on the Dhamma?"
"As to that, Nagasamala, you may remember this discourse
on the Dhamma as 'The Hair-raising Discourse.'" 199
13 Mahadukkhakkhandha Sutta
The Greater Discourse
That is what the Blessed One said. The venerable Nagasamala
was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
on the Mass of Suffering
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park.
2. Then, when it was morning, a number of bhikkhus dressed,
and taking their bowls and outer robes, [84] went into SavatthI
for alms. Then they thought: "It is still too early to wander for
alms in SavatthI. Suppose we went to the park of the wanderers
of other sects." So they went to the park of the wanderers of
other sects and exchanged greetings with the wanderers. When
this courteous and amiable talk was finished, they sat down at
one side. The wanderers said to them:
3. "Friends, the recluse Gotama describes the full understand-
ing of sensual pleasures, and we do so too; the recluse Gotama
describes the full understanding of material form, and we do so
too; the recluse Gotama describes the full understanding of feel-
ings, and we do so too. What then is the distinction here,
friends, what is the variance, what is the difference between the
recluse Gotama's teaching of the Dhamma and ours, between
his instructions and ours?" 200
4. Then those bhikkhus neither approved nor disapproved of
the wanderers' words. Without doing either they rose from their
seats and went away, thinking: "We shall come to understand
the meaning of these words in the Blessed One's presence."
5. When they had wandered for alms in SavatthI and had
returned from their almsround, after the meal they went to the
Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, they sat down at
one side and told him what had taken place. [The Blessed One
said:] [85]
6. "Bhikkhus, wanderers of other sects who speak thus should
be questioned thus: 'But, friends, what is the gratification, what
180 Mahadukkhakkhandha Suita: Sutta 13
The Greater Discou rse on the Mass of S uffering 181
i 86
is the danger, and what is the escape in the case of sensual plea-
sures? What is the gratification, what is the danger, and what is
the escape in the case of material form? What is the gratification,
what is the danger, and what is the escape in the case of feel-
ings?' Being questioned thus, wanderers of other sects will fail
to account for the matter, and what is more, they will get into
difficulties. Why is that? Because it is not their province.
Bhikkhus, I see no one in the world with its gods, its Maras, and
its Brahmas, in this generation with its recluses and brahmins,
with its princes and its people, who could satisfy the mind with
a reply to these questions, except for the Tathagata or his disci-
ple or one who has learned it from them.
(SENSUAL PLEASURES)
7. (i) "And what, bhikkhus, is the gratification in the case of sen-
sual pleasures? Bhikkhus, there are these five cords of sensual
pleasure. What are the 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 that are
wished for, desired, agreeable and likeable, connected with sen-
sual desire, and provocative of lust. These are the five cords of
sensual pleasure. Now the pleasure and joy that arise dependent
on these five cords of sensual pleasure are the gratification in
the case of sensual pleasures.
8. (ii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the danger in the case of sensual
pleasures? Here, bhikkhus, on account of the craft by which a
clansman makes a living - whether checking or accounting or
calculating or farming or trading or husbandry or archery or the
royal service, or whatever craft it may be - he has to face cold, he
has to face heat, he is injured by contact with gadflies, mosqui-
toes, wind, sun, and creeping things; he risks death by hunger
and thirst. Now this is a danger in the case of sensual pleasures, a
mass of suffering visible here and now, having sensual pleasures
as its cause, sensual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as
its basis, [86] the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
9. "If no property comes to the clansman while he works and
i 87
strives and makes an effort thus, he sorrows, grieves, and
laments, he weeps beating his breast and becomes distraught,
crying: 'My work is in vain, my effort is fruitless!' Now this too
is a danger in the case of sensual pleasures... the cause being
simply sensual pleasures.
10. "If property comes to the clansman while he works and
strives and makes an effort thus, he experiences pain and grief
in protecting it: 'How shall neither kings nor thieves make off
with my property, nor fire bum it, nor water sweep it away, nor
hateful heirs make off with it?' And as he guards and protects
his property, kings or thieves make off with it, or fire bums it, or
water sweeps it away, or hateful heirs make off with it. And he
sorrows, grieves, and laments, he weeps beating his breast and
becomes distraught, crying: 'What I had I have no longer!' Now
this too is a danger in the case of sensual pleasures... the cause
being simply sensual pleasures.
11. "Again, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual plea-
sures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause
being simply sensual pleasures, kings quarrel with kings, nobles
with nobles, brahmins with brahmins, householders with house-
holders; mother quarrels with child, child with mother, father
with child, child with father; brother quarrels with brother,
brother with sister, sister with brother, friend with friend. And
here in their quarrels, brawls, and disputes they attack each
other with fists, clods, sticks, or knives, whereby they incur
death or deadly suffering. Now this too is a danger in the case of
sensual pleasures... the cause being simply sensual pleasures.
12. "Again, with sensual pleasures as the cause... men take
swords and shields and buckle on bows and quivers, and they
charge into battle massed in double array with arrows and
spears flying and swords flashing; and there they are wounded
by arrows and spears, and their heads are cut off by swords,
whereby they incur death or deadly suffering. Now this too is a
danger in the case of sensual pleasures... the cause being simply
sensual pleasures.
13. "Again, with sensual pleasures as the cause... men take
swords and shields and buckle on bows and quivers, and they
charge slippery bastions, with arrows and spears flying [87]
and swords flashing; and there they are wounded by arrows
182 Ma Md ukkhakkhandfw Sutta: Sutta 13
The Greater Discourse on the Mass of Suffering 183
i 87
and spears and splashed with boiling liquids and crushed
under heavy weights, and their heads are cut off by swords,
whereby they incur death or deadly suffering. Now this too is a
danger in the case of sensual pleasures... the cause being simply
sensual pleasures.
14. "Again, with sensual pleasures as the cause... men break
into houses, plunder wealth, commit burglary, ambush high-
ways, seduce others' wives, and when they are caught, kings
have many kinds of torture inflicted on them. The kings have
them flogged with whips, beaten with canes, beaten with clubs;
they have their hands cut off, their feet cut off, their hands and
feet cut off; their ears cut off, their noses cut off, their ears and
noses cut off; they have them subjected to the 'porridge pot,' to
the 'polished-shell shave/ to the 'Rahu's mouth/ to the 'fiery
wreath/ to the 'flaming hand/ to the 'blades of grass/ to the hark
dress/ to the 'antelope/ to the 'meat hooks/ to the 'coins/ to the
'lye pickling/ to the 'pivoting pin/ to the 'rolled-up palliasse'; 201
and they have them splashed with boiling oil, and they have
them thrown to be devoured by dogs, and they have them
impaled alive on stakes, and they have their heads cut off with
swords - whereby they incur death or deadly suffering. Now
this too is a danger in the case of sensual pleasures... the cause
being simply sensual pleasures.
15. "Again, with sensual pleasures as the cause, sensual plea-
sures as the source, sensual pleasures as the basis, the cause
being simply sensual pleasures, people indulge in misconduct of
body, speech, and mind. Having done so, on the dissolution of
the body, after death, they reappear in states of deprivation, in
an unhappy destination, in perdition, even in hell. Now this too
is a danger in the case of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering
in the life to come, 202 having sensual pleasures as its cause, sen-
sual pleasures as its source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the
cause being simply sensual pleasures.
16. (iii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the escape in the case of sen-
sual pleasures? It is the removal of desire and lust, the abandon-
ment of desire and lust for sensual pleasures. 203 This is the
escape in the case of sensual pleasures.
17. "That those recluses and brahmins who do not under-
stand as it actually is the gratification as gratification, the dan-
ger as danger, and the escape as escape in the case of sensual
i 88
pleasures, can either themselves fully understand sensual plea-
sures or instruct another so that he can fully understand sensual
pleasures - that is impossible. That those recluses and brahmins
who understand as it actually is [88] the gratification as gratifi-
cation, the danger as danger, and the escape as escape in the
case of sensual pleasures, can either themselves fully under-
stand sensual pleasures or instruct another so that he can fully
understand sensual pleasures - that is possible.
(material form)
18. (i) "And what, bhikkhus, is the gratification in the case of
material form? Suppose there were a girl of the noble class or
the brahmin class or of householder stock, in her fifteenth or six-
teenth year, neither too tall nor too short, neither too thin nor
too fat, neither too dark nor too fair. Is her beauty and loveliness
then at its height?" - "Yes, venerable sir." - "Now the pleasure
and joy that arise in dependence on that beauty and loveliness
are the gratification in the case of material form.
19. (ii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the danger in the case of mate-
rial form? Later on one might see that same woman here at
eighty, ninety, or a hundred years, aged, as crooked as a roof
bracket, doubled up, supported by a walking stick, tottering,
frail, her youth gone, her teeth broken, grey-haired, scanty-
haired, bald, wrinkled, with limbs all blotchy. What do you
think, bhikkhus? Has her former beauty and loveliness vanished
and the danger become evident?" - "Yes, venerable sir." -
"Bhikkhus, this is a danger in the case of material form.
20. "Again, one might see that same woman afflicted, suffer-
ing, and gravely ill, lying fouled in her own excrement and
urine, lifted up by some and set down by others. What do you
think, bhikkhus? Has her former beauty and loveliness vanished
and the danger become evident?" - "Yes, venerable sir." -
"Bhikkhus, this too is a danger in the case of material form.
21. "Again, one might see that same woman as a corpse
thrown aside in a charnel ground, one, two, or three days dead,
bloated, livid, and oozing matter. What do you think, bhikkhus?
Has her former beauty and loveliness vanished and the danger
become evident?" - "Yes, venerable sir." - "Bhikkhus, this too is
a danger in the case of material form.
The Greater Discourse on the Mass of Suffering 185
184 Mahadukkhakkhandha Sutta: Sutta 13 i 90
22-29. "Again, one might see that same woman as a corpse
thrown aside in a charnel ground, being devoured by crows,
hawks, vultures, dogs, jackals, or various kinds of worms...
[89]... a skeleton with flesh and blood, held together with
sinews... a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood, held together
with sinews. . .disconnected bones scattered in all directions - here
a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, here a thigh-bone, there a rib-
bone, here a hip-bone, there a back-bone, here the skull... bones
bleached white, the colour of shells... bones heaped up, more
than a year old... bones rotted and crumbled to dust. What do
you think, bhikkhus? Has her former beauty and loveliness van-
ished and the danger become evident?" - "Yes, venerable sir." -
"Bhikkhus, this too is a danger in the case of material form.
30. (iii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the escape in the case of mate-
rial form? It is the removal of desire and lust, the abandonment
of desire and lust for material form. This is the escape in the case
of material form.
31. "That those recluses and brahmins who do not under-
stand as it actually is the gratification as gratification, the dan-
ger as danger, and the escape as escape in the case of material
form, can either themselves fully understand material form or
instruct another so that he can fully understand material form -
that is impossible. That those recluses and brahmins who
understand as it actually is the gratification as gratification, the
danger as danger, and the escape as escape in the case of mater-
ial form, can either themselves fully understand material form
or instruct another so that he can fully understand material
form - that is possible.
(feelings)
32. (i) "And what, bhikkhus, is the gratification in the case of feel-
ings? Here, bhikkhus, quite secluded from sensual pleasures,
secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and
abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sus-
tained thought, with rapture and pleasure bom of seclusion. 204 On
such an occasion he does not choose for his own affliction, or for
another's affliction, or for the affliction of both. [90] On that occa-
sion he feels only feeling that is free from affliction. The highest
gratification in the case of feelings is freedom from affliction, I say.
i 90
33-35. "Again, with the stilling of applied and sustained
thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second
jhana... With the fading away as well of rapture... he enters upon
and abides in the third jhana... With the abandoning of pleasure
and pain he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana... On
such an occasion he does not choose for his own affliction, or for
another's affliction, or for the affliction of both. On that occasion
he feels only feeling that is free from affliction. The highest grati-
fication in the case of feelings is freedom from affliction, I say.
36. (ii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the danger in the case of feel-
ings? Feelings are impermanent, suffering, and subject to
change. This is the danger in the case of feelings.
37. (iii) "And what, bhikkhus, is the escape in the case of
feelings? It is the removal of desire and lust, the abandonment
of desire and lust for feelings. This is the escape in the case of
feelings.
38. "That those recluses and brahmins who do not understand
as it actually is the gratification as gratification, the danger as
danger, and the escape as escape in the case of feelings, can
either themselves fully understand feelings or instruct another
so that he can fully understand feelings - that is impossible.
That those recluses and brahmins who understand as it actually
is the gratification as gratification, the danger as danger, and the
escape as escape in the case of feelings, can either themselves
fully understand feelings or instruct another so that he can fully
understand feelings - that is possible."
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
i 92
The Shorter Discourse on the Mass of Suffering 187
14 Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta
m
The Shorter Discourse
on the Mass of Suffering
[91] 1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was
living in the Sakyan country at Kapilavatthu in Nigrodha's Park.
2. Then Mahanama the Sakyan 205 went to the Blessed One, and
after paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and said:
"Venerable sir, 1 have long understood the Dhamma taught by
the Blessed One thus: 'Greed is an imperfection that defiles the
mind, hate is an imperfection that defiles the mind, delusion is
an imperfection that defiles the mind.' Yet while I understand
the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One thus, at times states of
greed, hate, and delusion invade my mind and remain. I have
wondered, venerable sir, what state is still unabandoned by me
internally, owing to which at times these states of greed, hate,
and delusion invade my mind and remain." 206
3. "Mahanama, there is still a state unabandoned by you inter-
nally, owing to which at times states of greed, hate, and delu-
sion invade your mind and remain; for were that state already
abandoned by you internally you would not be living the home
life, you would not be enjoying sensual pleasures. 207 It is
because that state is unabandoned by you internally that you are
living the home life and enjoying sensual pleasures.
4. "Even though a noble disciple has seen clearly as it actually
is with proper wisdom how sensual pleasures provide little
gratification, much suffering, and much despair, and how great
is the danger in them, as long as he still does not attain to the
rapture and pleasure that are apart from sensual pleasures,
apart from unwholesome states, or to something more peaceful
than that, he may still be attracted to sensual pleasures. 208 But
when a noble disciple has seen clearly as it actually is with proper
wisdom how sensual pleasures provide little gratification, much
suffering, and much despair, and how great is the danger in
them, and he attains to the rapture and pleasure that are apart
from sensual pleasures, apart from unwholesome states, or to
something more peaceful than that, then he is no longer attract-
ed to sensual pleasures. [92]
5. "Before my enlightenment, while I was still only an un-
enlightened Bodhisatta, I too clearly saw as it actually is with
proper wisdom how sensual pleasures provide little gratifica-
tion, much suffering, and much despair, and how great is the
danger in them, but as long as I still did not attain to the rapture
and pleasure that are apart from sensual pleasures, apart from
unwholesome states, or to something more peaceful than that, I
recognised that I still could be attracted to sensual pleasures. But
when I clearly saw as it actually is with proper wisdom how
sensual pleasures provide little gratification, much suffering,
and much despair, and how great is the danger in them, and I
attained to the rapture and pleasure that are apart from sensual
pleasures, apart from unwholesome states, or to something
more peaceful than that, I recognised that I was no longer
attracted to sensual pleasures.
6-14. "And what is the gratification in the case of sensual
pleasures? Mahanama, there are these five cords of sensual
pleasure . . (as Sutta 13, §§7-15 )... Now this too is a danger in the
case of sensual pleasures, a mass of suffering in the life to come,
having sensual pleasures as its cause, sensual pleasures as its
source, sensual pleasures as its basis, the cause being simply
sensual pleasures.
15. "Now, Mahanama, on one occasion I was living at Raja-
gaha on the mountain Vulture Peak. On that occasion a number
of Niganthas living on the Black Rock on the slopes of Isigili were
practising continuous standing, rejecting seats, and were experi-
encing painful, racking, piercing feelings due to exertion. 209
16. "Then, when it was evening, I rose from meditation and
went to the Niganthas there. I asked them: 'Friends, why do you
practise continuous standing, rejecting seats, and experience
painful, racking, piercing feelings due to exertion?'
17. "When this was said, they replied: 'Friend, the Nigantha
Nataputta is omniscient and all-seeing and claims to have com-
plete knowledge and vision thus: "Whether I am walking or
186
188 Culadukkhakkhandha Sutta: Sutta 14
The Shorter Discourse on the Mass of Suffering 189
194
standing or asleep or awake, [93] knowledge and vision are con-
tinuously and uninterruptedly present to me." He says thus:
"Niganthas, you have done evil actions in the past; exhaust
them with the performance of piercing austerities. And when
you are here and now restrained in body, speech, and mind, that
is doing no evil actions for the future. So by annihilating with
asceticism past actions and by doing no fresh actions, there will
be no consequence in the future. With no consequence in the
future, there is the destruction of action. With the destruction of
action, there is the destruction of suffering. With the destruction
of suffering, there is the destruction of feeling. With the destruc-
tion of feeling, all suffering will be exhausted." This is [the doc-
trine] we approve of and accept, and we are satisfied with it/
18. "When this was said, I told them: 'But, friends, do you
know that you existed in the past, and that it is not the case that
you did not exist?' - 'No, friend.' - 'But, friends, do you know
that you did evil actions in the past and did not abstain from
them?' - 'No, friend.' - 'But, friends, do you know that you did
such and such evil actions?' - 'No, friend.' - 'But, friends, do
you know that so much suffering has already been exhausted, or
that so much suffering has still to be exhausted, or that when so
much suffering has been exhausted all suffering will have been
exhausted?' - 'No, friend.' - 'But, friends, do you know what the
abandoning of unwholesome states is and what the cultivation
of wholesome states is here and now?' - 'No, friend.'
19. "'So, friends, it seems that you do not know that you exist-
ed in the past and that it is not the case that you did not exist; or
that you did evil actions in the past and did not abstain from
them; or that you did such and such evil actions; or that so
much suffering has already been exhausted, or that so much suf-
fering has still to be exhausted, or that when so much suffering
has been exhausted all suffering will have been exhausted; or
what the abandoning of unwholesome states is and what the
cultivation of wholesome states is here and now. That being so,
those who are murderers, bloody-handed evil-doers in the
world, when they are reborn among human beings, go forth into
homelessness as Niganthas.' 210
20. "'Friend Gotama, pleasure is not to be gained through
pleasure; pleasure is to be gained through pain. [94] For were
pleasure to be gained through pleasure, then King Seniya
i 95
Bimbisara of Magadha would gain pleasure, since he abides in
greater pleasure than the venerable Gotama.'
"'Surely the venerable Niganthas have uttered those words
rashly and without reflection. Rather it is I who ought to be
asked: "Who abides in greater pleasure. King Seniya Bimbisara
of Magadha or the venerable Gotama?"'
'"Surely, friend Gotama, we uttered those words rashly and
without reflection. But let that be. Now we ask the venerable
Gotama: Who abides in greater pleasure, King Seniya Bimbisara
of Magadha or the venerable Gotama?'
21. "'Then, friends, I shall ask you a question in return.
Answer it as you like. What do you think, friends? Can King
Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha abide without moving his body or
uttering a word, experiencing the peak of pleasure for seven
days and nights?' - 'No, friend.' - 'Can King Seniya Bimbisara
of Magadha abide without moving his body or uttering a word,
experiencing the peak of pleasure for six, five, four, three, or two
days and nights?... for one day and night?' - 'No, friend.'
22. "'But, friends, I can abide without moving my body or
uttering a word, experiencing the peak of pleasure for one day
and night.. .for two, three, four, five, and six days and nights... for
seven days and nights. 211 What do you think, friends? That
being so, who dwells in greater pleasure, King Seniya Bimbisara
of Magadha or I?'
"'That being so, [95] the venerable Gotama abides in greater
pleasure than King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha.'"
That is what the Blessed One said. Mahanama the Sakyan was
satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
i 97
Inference 191
15 Anumana Sutta
Inference
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the venerable Maha
Moggallana was living in the Bhagga country at Sumsumaragira
in the Bhesakala Grove, the Deer Park. There he addressed the
bhikkhus thus: "Friends, bhikkhus." - "Friend," they replied.
The venerable Maha Moggallana said this:
2. "Friends, though a bhikkhu asks thus: 'Let the venerable
ones admonish me, 212 I need to be admonished by the venerable
ones/ yet if he is difficult to admonish and possesses qualities
that make him difficult to admonish, if he is impatient and does
not take instruction rightly, then his companions in the holy life
think that he should not be admonished or instructed, they
think of him as a person not to be trusted.
3. "What qualities make him difficult to admonish?
(1) Here a bhikkhu has evil wishes and is dominated by evil
wishes; 213 this is a quality that makes him difficult to admonish.
(2) Again, a bhikkhu lauds himself and disparages others; this
is a quality that makes him difficult to admonish.
(3) Again, a bhikkhu is angry and is overcome by anger; this is
a quality. . .
(4) Again, a bhikkhu is angry, and revengeful because of
anger...
(5) Again, a bhikkhu is angry, and stubborn because of
anger...
(6) Again, a bhikkhu is angry, and he utters words bordering
on anger. . .
(7) Again, a bhikkhu is reproved, and he resists the reprover...
(8) Again, a bhikkhu is reproved, and he denigrates the
reprover...
(9) Again, [96] a bhikkhu is reproved, and he counter-reproves
the reprover...
(10) Again, a bhikkhu is reproved, and he prevaricates, leads
the talk aside, and shows anger, hate, and bitterness. . .
(11) Again, a bhikkhu is reproved, and he fails to account for
his conduct...
(12) Again, a bhikkhu is contemptuous and domineering...
(13) Again, a bhikkhu is envious and avaricious...
(14) Again, a bhikkhu is fraudulent and deceitful...
(15) Again, a bhikkhu is obstinate and arrogant. ..
(16) Again, a bhikkhu adheres to his own views, holds on to
them tenaciously, and relinquishes them with difficulty; this is a
quality that makes him difficult to admonish. 214
"Friends, these are called the qualities that make him difficult
to admonish.
4. "Friends, though a bhikkhu does not ask thus: 'Let the ven-
erable ones admonish me; I need to be admonished by the vener-
able ones/ yet if he is easy to admonish and possesses qualities
that make him easy to admonish, if he is patient and takes
instruction rightly, then his companions in the holy life think
that he should be admonished and instructed, and they think of
him as a person to be trusted.
5. "What qualities make him easy to admonish?
(1) Here a bhikkhu has no evil wishes and is not dominated by
evil wishes; this is a quality that makes him easy to admonish.
(2) Again, a bhikkhu does not laud himself nor disparage others;
this is a quality...
(3) He is not angry nor allows anger to overcome him. . .
(4) He is not angry or revengeful because of anger. . .
(5) He is not angry or stubborn because of anger. . .
(6) He is not angry, and he does not utter words bordering
on anger...
(7) He is reproved, and he does not resist the reprover. . .
(8) He is reproved, and he does not denigrate the reprover. . .[97]
(9) He is reproved, and he does not counter-reprove the
reprover...
(10) He is reproved, and he does not prevaricate, lead the talk
aside, and show anger, hate, and bitterness...
(11) He is reproved, and he does not fail to account for his
conduct...
(12) He is not contemptuous or domineering...
(13) He is not envious or avaricious. . .
190
192 Anumana Sutta: Sutta 15
Inference 193
ilOO
(14) He is not fraudulent or deceitful. . .
(15) He is not obstinate or arrogant. ..
(16) Again, a bhikkhu does not adhere to his own views or
hold on to them tenaciously, and he relinquishes them easily;
this is a quality that makes him easy to admonish.
"Friends, these are called the qualities that make him easy to
admonish.
6. "Now, friends, a bhikkhu ought to infer about himself in the
following way: 215
(1) 'A person with evil wishes and dominated by evil wishes is
displeasing and disagreeable to me. If I were to have evil wishes
and be dominated by evil wishes, I would be displeasing and
disagreeable to others.' A bhikkhu who knows this should
arouse his mind thus: 'I shall not have evil wishes and be domi-
nated by evil wishes.'
(2-16) 'A person who lauds himself and disparages others...
[98 ]...A person who adheres to his own views, holds on to
them tenaciously, and relinquishes them with difficulty is dis-
pleasing and disagreeable to me. If I were to adhere to my own
views, hold on to them tenaciously, and relinquish them with
difficulty, I would be displeasing and disagreeable to others.' A
bhikkhu who knows this should arouse his mind thus: 'I shall
not adhere to my own views, hold on to them tenaciously, and I
shall relinquish them easily.'
7. "Now, friends, a bhikkhu should review himself thus:
(1) 'Do I have evil wishes and am I dominated by evil wishes?'
If, when he reviews himself, he knows: 'I have evil wishes, I am
dominated by evil wishes/ then he should make an effort to
abandon those evil unwholesome states. But if, when he reviews
himself, he knows: 'I have no evil wishes, I am not dominated
by evil wishes,' then he can abide happy and glad, training day
and night in wholesome states.
(2-16) Again, a bhikkhu should review himself thus: 'Do I
praise myself and disparage others?'... [99]... 'Do I adhere to my
own views, hold on to them tenaciously, and relinquish them
with difficulty?' If, when he reviews himself, he knows: 'I
adhere to my own views.../ then [100] he should make an effort
to abandon those evil unwholesome states. But if, when he
reviews himself, he knows: 'I do not adhere to my own
ilOO
views.../ then he can abide happy and glad, training day and
night in wholesome states.
8. "Friends, when a bhikkhu reviews himself thus, if he sees
that these evil unwholesome states are not all abandoned in
himself, then he should make an effort to abandon them all. But
if, when he reviews himself thus, he sees that they are all aban-
doned in himself, then he can abide happy and glad, training
day and night in wholesome states. 216
"Just as when a woman - or a man - young, youthful, fond of
ornaments, on viewing the image of her own face in a clear
bright mirror or in a basin of clear water, sees a smudge or a
blemish on it, she makes an effort to remove it, but if she sees no
smudge or blemish on it, she becomes glad thus: 'It is a gain for
me that it is clean'; so too when a bhikkhu reviews himself
thus... then he can abide happy and glad, training day and night
in wholesome states."
That is what the venerable Maha Moggallana said. The
bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the venerable Maha
Moggallana's words.
i 102
The Wilderness in the Heart 195
16 Cetokhila Sutta
The Wilderness in the Heart
[101] 1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One
was living at SavatthI in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park.
There he addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." -
"Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, that any bhikkhu who has not abandoned five
wildernesses in the heart and not severed five shackles in the
heart should come to growth, increase, and fulfilment in this
Dhamma and Discipline - that is impossible. 217
3. "What, bhikkhus, are the five wildernesses in the heart that
he has not abandoned? Here a bhikkhu is doubtful, uncertain,
undecided, and unconfident about the Teacher, and thus his
mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and
striving. As his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, perse-
verance, and striving, that is the first wilderness in the heart that
he has not abandoned.
4. "Again, a bhikkhu is doubtful, uncertain, undecided, and
unconfident about the Dhamma 218 . ..As his mind does not
incline to ardour... that is the second wilderness in the heart that
he has not abandoned.
5. "Again, a bhikkhu is doubtful, uncertain, undecided, and
unconfident about the Sangha...As his mind does not incline to
ardour... that is the third wilderness in the heart that he has not
abandoned.
6. "Again, a bhikkhu is doubtful, uncertain, undecided, and
unconfident about the training... As his mind does not incline to
ardour. . .that is the fourth wilderness in the heart that he has not
abandoned.
7. "Again, a bhikkhu is angry and displeased with his com-
panions in the holy life, resentful and callous towards them, and
thus his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, perseverance.
and striving. As his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion,
perseverance, and striving, that is the fifth wilderness in the
heart that he has not abandoned.
"These are the five wildernesses in the heart that he has not
abandoned.
8. "What, bhikkhus, are the five shackles in the heart that he
has not severed? Here a bhikkhu is not free from lust, desire,
affection, thirst, fever, and craving for sensual pleasures, and
thus his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, persever-
ance, and striving. As his mind does not incline to ardour, devo-
tion, perseverance, and striving, that is the first shackle in the
heart that he has not severed.
9. "Again, a bhikkhu is not free from lust, desire, affection,
thirst, fever, and craving for the body 219 ... As his mind does not
incline to ardour... that is the second shackle in the heart that he
has not severed. [102]
10. "Again, a bhikkhu is not free from lust, desire, affection,
thirst, fever, and craving for form... As his mind does not incline
to ardour... that is the third shackle in the heart that he has not
severed.
11. "Again, a bhikkhu eats as much as he likes until his belly is
full and indulges in the pleasures of sleeping, lolling, and
drowsing... As his mind does not incline to ardour... that is the
fourth shackle in the heart that he has not severed.
12. "Again, a bhikkhu lives the holy life aspiring to some
order of gods thus: 'By this virtue or observance or asceticism or
holy life, I shall become a [great] god or some [lesser] god,' and
thus his mind does not incline to ardour, devotion, persever-
ance, and striving. As his mind does not incline to ardour, devo-
tion, perseverance, and striving, this is the fifth shackle in the
heart that he has not severed.
"These are the five shackles in the heart that he has not severed.
13. "Bhikkhus, that any bhikkhu who has not abandoned
these five wildernesses in the heart and severed these five
shackles in the heart should come to growth, increase, and fulfil-
ment in this Dhamma and Discipline - that is impossible.
14. "Bhikkhus, that any bhikkhu who has abandoned five
wildernesses in the heart and severed five shackles in the heart
should come to growth, increase, and fulfilment in this Dhamma
and Discipline - that is possible.
194
196 Cetokhila Sutta: Sutta 16
The Wilderness in the Heart 197
i 103
15. "What, bhikkhus, are the five wildernesses in the heart that
he has abandoned? Here a bhikkhu is not doubtful, uncertain,
undecided, or unconfident about the Teacher, and thus his mind
inclines to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and striving. As his
mind inclines to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and striving,
the first wilderness in the heart has been abandoned by him.
16. "Again, a bhikkhu is not doubtful, uncertain, undecided,
or unconfident about the Dhamma...As his mind inclines to
ardour... the second wilderness in the heart has been aban-
doned by him.
17. "Again, a bhikkhu is not doubtful, uncertain, undecided,
or unconfident about the Sangha...As his mind inclines to
ardour.. .the third wilderness in the heart has been aban-
doned by him.
18. "Again, a bhikkhu is not doubtful, uncertain, undecided,
or unconfident about the training... As his mind inclines to
ardour... the fourth wilderness in the heart has been aban-
doned by him.
19. "Again, a bhikkhu is not angry and displeased with his
companions in the holy life, nor resentful and callous towards
them, and thus his mind inclines to ardour, devotion, persever-
ance, and striving. [103] As his mind inclines to ardour, devo-
tion, perseverance, and striving, the fifth wilderness in the heart
has been abandoned by him.
"These are the five wildernesses in the heart that he has
abandoned.
20. "What, bhikkhus, are the five shackles in the heart that he
has severed? Here a bhikkhu is free from lust, desire, affection,
thirst, fever, and craving for sensual pleasures, and thus his
mind inclines to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and striving.
As his mind inclines to ardour, devotion, perseverance, and
striving, the first shackle in the heart has been severed by him.
21. "Again, a bhikkhu is free from lust, desire, affection, thirst,
fever, and craving for the body.. .As his mind inclines to
ardour... the second shackle in the heart has been severed by him.
22. "Again, a bhikkhu is free from lust, desire, affection, thirst,
fever, and craving for form. . .As his mind inclines to ardour. . .the
third shackle in the heart has been severed by him.
23. "Again, a bhikkhu does not eat as much as he likes until
his belly is full and does not indulge in the pleasures of sleeping.
i 104
lolling, and drowsing. ..As his mind inclines to ardour. ..the
fourth shackle in the heart has been severed by him.
24. "Again, a bhikkhu does not live the holy life aspiring to
some order of gods thus: 'By this virtue or observance or
asceticism or holy life, 1 shall become a [great] god or some
[lesser] god,' and thus his mind inclines to ardour, devotion,
perseverance, and striving. As his mind inclines to ardour,
devotion, perseverance, and striving, the fifth shackle in the
heart has been severed by him.
"These are the five shackles in the heart that he has severed.
25. "Bhikkhus, that any bhikkhu who has abandoned these
five wildernesses in the heart and severed these five shackles in
the heart should come to growth, increase, and fulfilment in this
Dhamma and Discipline - that is possible.
26. "He develops the basis for spiritual power consisting in
concentration due to zeal and determined striving; he develops
the basis for spiritual power consisting in concentration due to
energy and determined striving; he develops the basis for spiri-
tual power consisting in concentration due to [purity of] mind
and determined striving; he develops the basis for spiritual
power consisting in concentration due to investigation and
determined striving. And enthusiasm is the fifth. 220
27. "A bhikkhu who thus possesses the fifteen factors including
enthusiasm is [104] capable of breaking out, capable of enlighten-
ment, capable of attaining the supreme security from bondage. 221
"Suppose there were a hen with eight, ten, or twelve eggs,
which she had covered, incubated, and nurtured properly. Even
though she did not wish: 'Oh, that my chicks might pierce their
shells with the points of their claws and beaks and hatch out
safely!' yet the chicks are capable of piercing their shells with
the points of their claws and beaks and hatching out safely. 222 So
too, a bhikkhu who thus possesses the fifteen factors including
enthusiasm is capable of breaking out, capable of enlighten-
ment, capable of attaining the supreme security from bondage."
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
i 106
Jungle Thickets 199
17 Vanapattha Sutta
Jungle Thickets
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing at Savatthl in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There he
addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." - "Venerable sir/'
they replied. The Blessed One said this:
2. "Bhikkhus, I shall teach you a discourse on jungle thickets.
Listen and attend closely to what I shall say." - "Yes, venerable
sir," the bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:
3. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in some jungle thicket. 223
While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness does not
become established, his unconcentrated mind does not become
concentrated, his undestroyed taints do not come to destruction,
he does not attain the unattained supreme security from
bondage; and also the requisites of life that should be obtained
by one gone forth - robes, almsfood, resting place, and medici-
nal requisites - are hard to come by. The bhikkhu [105] should
consider thus: 'I am living in this jungle thicket. While 1 am liv-
ing here my unestablished mindfulness does not become estab-
lished...! do not attain the unattained supreme security from
bondage; and also the requisites of life... are hard to come by.'
That bhikkhu should depart from that jungle thicket that very
night or that very day; he should not continue living there.
4. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in some jungle thicket.
While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness does not
become established, his unconcentrated mind does not become
concentrated, his undestroyed taints do not come to destruction,
he does not attain the unattained supreme security from
bondage; yet the requisites of life that should be obtained by one
gone forth... are easy to come by. The bhikkhu should consider
thus: 1 am living in this jungle thicket. While I am living here my
unestablished mindfulness does not become established...! do
not attain the unattained supreme security from bondage; yet the
requisites of life that should be obtained by one gone forth. . .are
easy to come by. However, I did not go forth from the home life
into homelessness for the sake of robes, almsfood, resting place,
and medicinal requisites. Moreover, while I am living here my
unestablished mindfulness does not become established... I do
not attain the unattained supreme security from bondage.'
Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu should depart from that jun-
gle thicket; he should not continue living there.
5. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in some jungle thicket.
While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness becomes
established, his unconcentrated mind becomes concentrated, his
undestroyed taints come to destruction, he attains the unat-
tained supreme security from bondage; yet the requisites of life
that should be obtained by one gone forth. . .are hard to come by.
The bhikkhu should consider thus: [106] 'I am living in this jun-
gle thicket. While I am living here my unestablished mindful-
ness has become established...! have attained the unattained
supreme security from bondage; yet the requisites of life... are
hard to come by. However, I did not go forth from the home life
into homelessness for the sake of robes, almsfood, resting place,
and medicinal requisites. Moreover, while I am living here my
unestablished mindfulness has become established...! have
attained the unattained supreme security from bondage.'
Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu should continue living in
that jungle thicket; he should not depart.
6. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in some jungle thicket.
While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness
becomes established, his unconcentrated mind becomes con-
centrated, his undestroyed taints come to destruction, he
attains the unattained supreme security from bondage; and
also the requisites of life that should be obtained by one gone
forth - robes, almsfood, resting place, and medicinal requisites
- are easy to come by. The bhikkhu should consider thus: 'I am
living in this jungle thicket. While I am living here my unestab-
lished mindfulness has become established... I have attained
the unattained supreme security from bondage; and also the
requisites of life... are easy to come by.' That bhikkhu should
continue living in that jungle thicket as long as life lasts; he
should not depart.
198
200 Vanapattha Sutta: Sutta 17
i 108
7-10. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain village. . . 224
11-14. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain town...
15-18. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain city...
19-22. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain country. . .
23. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain person . ..(as in §3) [107].. .That bhikkhu should depart
from that person without taking leave; he should not continue
following him.
24. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain person... (as in §4 )... Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu
should depart from that person after taking leave; 225 he should
not continue following him.
25. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain person. ..(as in §5 ). ..Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu
should continue following that person; he should not depart
from him.
26. "Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a
certain person... (as in §6) [108]... That bhikkhu should continue
following that person as long as life lasts; he should not depart
from him even if told to go away."
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied
and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
18 Madhupindika Sutta
The Honeyball
1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was liv-
ing in the Sakyan country at Kapilavatthu in Nigrodha's Park.
2. Then, when it was morning, the Blessed One dressed, and
taking his bowl and outer robe, went into Kapilavatthu for alms.
When he had wandered for alms in Kapilavatthu and had
returned from his almsround, after his meal he went to the
Great Wood for the day's abiding, and entering the Great Wood,
sat down at the root of a bilva sapling for the day's abiding.
3. Dandapani the Sakyan, while walking and wandering for
exercise, also went to the Great Wood, and when he had entered
the Great Wood, he went to the bilva sapling where the Blessed
One was and exchanged greetings with him. When this courte-
ous and amiable talk was finished, he stood at one side leaning
on his stick and asked the Blessed One: "What does the recluse
assert, what does he proclaim?" 226
4. "Friend, I assert and proclaim such [a teaching] that one
does not quarrel with anyone in the world with its gods, its
Maras, and its Brahmas, in this generation with its recluses and
brahmins, its princes and its people; such [a teaching] that per-
ceptions no more underlie that brahmin who abides detached
from sensual pleasures, without perplexity, shorn of worry, free
from craving for any kind of being." 227
5. When this was said, Dandapani the Sakyan shook his head,
[109] wagged his tongue, and raised his eyebrows until his fore-
head was puckered in three lines. 228 Then he departed, leaning
on his stick.
6. Then, when it was evening, the Blessed One rose from med-
itation and went to Nigrodha's Park, where he sat down on a
seat made ready for him and told the bhikkhus what had taken
place. Then a certain bhikkhu asked the Blessed One:
201
202 Madhupindika Sutta: Sutta 18
The Honeyball 203
i 111
7. "But, venerable sir, what is [the teaching] that the Blessed
One asserts whereby one does not quarrel with anyone in the
world with its gods, its Maras, and its Brahmas, in this genera-
tion with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and its people?
And, venerable sir, how is it that perceptions no more underlie
that brahmin who abides detached from sensual pleasures,
without perplexity, shorn of worry, free from craving for any
kind of being?"
8. "Bhikkhus, as to the source through which perceptions and
notions tinged by mental proliferation beset a man: if nothing is
found there to delight in, welcome and hold to, this is the end of
the underlying tendency to lust, of the underlying tendency to
aversion, [110] of the underlying tendency to views, of the
underlying tendency to doubt, of the underlying tendency to
conceit, of the underlying tendency to desire for being, of the
underlying tendency to ignorance; this is the end of resorting to
rods and weapons, of quarrels, brawls, disputes, recrimination,
malice, and false speech; here these evil unwholesome states
cease without remainder." 229
9. That is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the
Sublime One rose from his seat and went into his dwelling.
10. Then, soon after the Blessed One had gone, the bhikkhus
considered: "Now, friends, the Blessed One has risen from his
seat and gone into his dwelling after giving a summary in brief
without expounding the detailed meaning. Now who will
expound this in detail?" Then they considered: "The venerable
Maha Kaccana is praised by the Teacher and esteemed by his
wise companions in the holy life. 230 He is capable of expounding
the detailed meaning. Suppose we went to h
Majjhima Nikaya Full English
Anónimo