Majjhima Nikāya I (Further Dialogues of the Buddha, vol. I: suttas 1-76)

Marking how agitated Sakka was and how his hair was standing on end, Moggallana said : — Now how did 1 Cf. Digha II, 220 and 257, and III, 194 for this Regent of the North, Kuvera, the ruler over yakkhas or fairies. the Lord, Kosiya, briefly expound to you Deliverance by the extirpation of cravings ? Pray let me too share in that discourse so that I may hear it. Then, at last, Sakka, king of gods, told — word for word — how he had gone to question the Lord and what answer had been given him. Hereupon, the reverend Maha- Moggallana [255], after expressing his satisfaction and thanks to Sakka, vanished away to reappear in the Old Pleasaunce in the palace of Migara’s Mother, — as readily as a strong man might stretch out his arm or draw back his outstretched arm. Soon after Moggallana had gone, Sakka’s hand¬ maidens asked the king of gods, whether that was the Lord, his master. No, he replied ; it was one who is a fellow with me in the higher life. It is a great thing, Your Excellency, to have in the higher life a fellow-seeker of such magical power and potency. Ah ! what a Master you have in the Lord !

Approaching and saluting the Lord, Moggallana took his seat to one side, asking whether the Lord was aware of having briefly expounded lately to a fairy of distinction Deliverance by the extirpation of cravings. Yes, the Lord remembered it quite well; and ... re¬ counted — word for word — to Moggallana Sakka’s question and the answer he had himself given — to shew how, briefly, an Almsman becomes Delivered . . . [256] foremost among gods and men. Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, the reverend M aha- Moggallana rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at SavatthT in Jeta’s grove in Anathapindika’s pleasaunce, an Almsman named Sati, a fisherman’s son. 184 XXXVIII. MAHA-TA^HX-SANKHYA-SUTTA. M. i. 257. came to entertain the pernicious view that, as he understood the Lord’s teaching of the Doctrine, our consciousness runs on and continues without break of identity. Hearing of this, a number of Almsmen went to ask Sati whether he was correctly reported as entertaining a view so pernicious. Certainly he did, was his avowal. Then those Almsmen plied Sati with ques¬ tion, enquiry, and argument so as to wean him from his error. Do not, they said, do not say this ; do not misrepresent the Lord ; there are no grounds whatever for such a charge ; the Lord would not say such a thing. (On the contrary), in many a figure has it been laid down by the Lord that consciousness only arises by causation and that, [257] without assignable condi¬ tions, consciousness does not come about. But, say what they would, Sati would not yield to their expostu¬ lations but stoutly held and clung to his pernicious view that, as he understood the Lord’s teaching of the Doctrine, our consciousness ran on and continued without break of identity.

So when they had failed to wean Sati from his error, the Almsmen went to the Lord and laid the whole of the facts before him ; and he sent an Almsman [258] to summon Sati to his presence. When Sati had duly come and had taken his seat to one side after due obeisance, the Lord asked him whether he was correctly reported as entertaining this pernicious view. Yes, Sati certainly did hold it. Said the Lord : — What, Sati, is the nature of this con¬ sciousness ? Sir, it is that speaking and sentient (Self) which experiences the ripened fruits of good and bad conduct in this or that earlier existence. Pray, to whom, foolish man, do you aver that I ever so taught the Doctrine ? Have I not, foolish man, laid it down in many a figure that consciousness only arises by causation and that, without assignable condi¬ tions, consciousness does not come about ? And yet you, foolish man, employ what you have misunderstood M. i. 259. CONSCIOUSNESS A PROCESS ONLY. 1 85 not only to misrepresent me but also to undermine yourself and breed for yourself a store of demerit, — to your lasting hurt and harm.

Turning then to the Almsmen, the Lord said : — What think you ? Has this Sati, the fisherman’s son, got even a spark of illumination in this Doctrine and Rule? How could he, sir ? For, it is not the fact. Hereat, Sati sat silent and glum, with his shoulders hunched up and eyes downcast, much exercised in his mind but finding no words to utter. Seeing him in this plight, the Lord said to him : — And now, foolish man, you shall be shewn up in respect of this pernicious view of yours ; I will question the Almsmen. Accordingly, the Lord said to them : — Do you understand me ever to have preached the Doctrine in the sense of this Almsman Sati, [259] who employs what he has misunderstood not only to misrepresent me but also to undermine himself and to breed for himself a store of demerit, — to his lasting hurt and harm ? No, sir. For in many a figure has the Lord taught us that consciousness only arises by causation and that, without assignable conditions, consciousness does not come about. Quite right ; you rightly understand my teaching ; for, indeed, I have, as you say, so taught in many a figure. Yet here is this Sati, the fisherman’s son, who employs . . . hurt and harm.

Whatsoever form of consciousness arises from an assignable condition, is known by that condition’s name. — If the eye and visible shapes condition con¬ sciousness, that is called visual consciousness ; and so on with the senses and objects of hearing, smelling, tasting, and touch, and of mind with its mental objects. It is just like a fire, where that which makes the fire burn gives the fire its name. Wood makes a wood-fire, sticks a stick-fire, grass a grass-fire, cowdung a cowdung-fire, husks a husk-fire, and rubbish a rubbish-fire. In just the same way, every form of consciousness 1 86 XXXVIII. maha-takhA-sankhya-sutta. M. i. 260. arising from an assignable cause is known by that condition’s name. [260] Do you recognize, Almsmen, an organism as such ? Do you recognize it as the product of a particular sustenance ? Do you recognize that, by the cessation of its particular sustenance, the organism’s nature makes for cessation ? Does doubt of the fact of each of these three points lead to perplexity thereon ? Does recognition of the fact as it really is, in the fulness of knowledge, dispel that perplexity in each case? In each of the three cases, is there right recognition, if it be in the fulness of knowledge of the fact as it really is ?

If you insist on hugging and cherishing this pure and undefiled conception and if you refuse to relinquish or part with it, — could you realize a state of conscious¬ ness to cross with, but not to keep, as ( Sutta 22) in the Allegory of the Raft ? Could you realize that Allegory, if, while hugging and cherishing your conception, you were yet ready to relinquish and part with it ? There are four Sustenances which either maintain existing organisms or help those yet to be. First of these is material sustenance, coarse or delicate ; Con¬ tact is the second ; cogitation is the third ; and percep¬ tion is the fourth. The derivation, origin, birth, and production of all four Sustenances alike is Craving. Craving in its turn arises from feeling, feeling from Contact, Contact from the sensory domains, sensory M. i. 262. CONSCIOUSNESS A PROCESS ONLY. 187 domains from Name and Form, Name and Form from consciousness, consciousness from plastic forces, and these latter from ignorance. Thus, ignorance condi¬ tions plastic forces, which condition consciousness, which conditions Name and Form, which condition the sensory domains, which condition Contact, which conditions feeling, which conditions Craving, which conditions dependence, which conditions becoming, which conditions birth, which conditions decay and death, with the distractions of grief, tribulation, and pain of body and mind. — This is the uprising of all that makes up the sum of Ill.

I have said that birth conditions decay and death. Does it, or does it not, condition them ? Or how stands the matter ? Birth, sir, does condition decay and death ; and that is how the matter stands. I have said that becoming conditions birth. Does it, or does it not ? Or how stands the matter ? [262] Becoming, sir, does condition birth ; and that is how the matter stands. [Similar paragraphs for dependence, etc., down to ignorance.] Good, Almsmen ; very good. You and I then agree in affirming that : — 1 This being so, that comes about ; [263] if this arises, so does that ; — thus, ignorance conditions plastic force . . . (etc., as above) . . . the sum of Ill. So too it is by the entire and passionless cessation of ignorance that the plastic forces cease . . . (etc., for the successive links in the chain, down to) . . . the dis¬ tractions of grief, tribulation, and pain of body and mind. — This is the cessation of all that makes up the sum of Ill. I have said that by the cessation of birth, decay and death cease. Do they, or do they not ? Or how stands the matter ?

1 There is perhaps no more succinct statement than this of the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of the process of things. Cf. II, 32 and AssajI's stanza (which converted Sariputta and Moggallana) at S.B.E. XIII, 146. 1 88 XXXVIII. MAHA-TANHA-SANKHYA-SUTTA. M. i. 264. By the cessation of birth, decay and death also cease, sir ; and that is how the matter stands. [Similar paragraphs for becoming, etc., down to ignorance.] [264] Good ; very good. You and I then agree in affirming that : — This not being so, that comes not about ; if this ceases, so does that ; — thus with the cessation of ignorance the plastic forces cease . . . (etc., for the successive links in the chain, down to) . . . cessation of all that makes up the sum of Ill. Now, Almsmen, would you, knowing and seeing all this, [265] hark back to the past, wondering (i) whether you were, or whether you were not, in existence during bygone ages, (ii) what you were in those ages, (iii) how you fared then, and (iv) from what you passed on to what else ? Or, would you, knowing and seeing all this, hark for¬ ward to the future, wondering (i) whether you will, or whether you will not, be in existence during the ages to come, (ii) what you will be in those ages, (iii) how you will fare then, and (iv) from what you will pass on to what else ?

Or, again, would you, knowing and seeing all this, be perplexed in the present about whether or not you exist, what and how you are, whence your being came, and whither it will go ? Would you, knowing and seeing all this, say : — We revere our teacher, and it is because of our reverence for him that we affirm this ? Would you, knowing and seeing all this, say : — Oh, we were told this by a recluse or recluses ; we do not affirm it ourselves ? Would you, knowing and seeing all this, look out for another teacher ? Would you, knowing and seeing all this, frequent the ritual and shows and functions of the ordinary run of recluses and brahmins as being1 of the essence P Do you not affirm only what you have of yourselves known, seen, and discerned ? Quite right, Almsmen. You have by me been intro¬ duced to this Doctrine, which is immediate in its gifts here and now, which is open to all, which is a guide Onwards, which can be mastered for himself by every intelligent man. All I have said was to bring out that this Doctrine was immediate in its gifts here and now, open to all, a guide Onwards to be mastered for him¬ self by every intelligent man.

It is by the conjunction of three things that concep¬ tion comes about. If there is coitus of parents but if that is not the mother’s period and if there is no presiding deity of generation (gandhabba) present, — then [266] no conception takes place. Or if there be coitus of parents at the mother’s period but with no presiding deity present, — again there is no conception. But if there be a conjunction of all three factors, then and only then does conception take place. For nine or ten months the mother carries the heavy burden of the foetus in her womb with great anxiety ; and with great anxiety does she at the end of her time bring forth her child. When it is bom, she feeds it with her life-blood, — as a mother’s milk is termed in the Rule of the Noble. As the boy grows and develops his faculties, he plays childish games — such as toy ploughs, tip-cat, head-over-heels, windmills, pannets, little carts, and toy bows.1 As he grows older and as his faculties develop, pleasures of sense take hold and possession of him, visible shapes through the eye, sounds through the ear, and so on for odours, tastes, and touch, — all of them desirable, agreeable, pleasing and attractive. The sight of

1 Cf. D. I, 6 and D.A. I, 86 for these (and other) games (Dial. I, 9-1 1). 190 XXXVIII. MAH A-TA^J HA-SANKH Y A-SUTTA. M. i. 267. shapes awakens a passion for attractive shapes and a repugnance to the unattractive ; his life has no collectedness as regards the body, and mental poverty is his ; he knows not that real Deliverance of heart and mind whereby evil and wrong states of consciousness cease. A prey thus to fascinations and to dislikes, he rejoices in, and welcomes, and cleaves to, every feeling — pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent — which he experiences, so that feelings bring delight ; delight brings dependence ; dependence conditions becoming ; becoming conditions birth ; birth conditions decay and death, with the distractions of grief, tribulation, and pain of body and mind. — This is the uprising of all that makes up the sum of Ill. And as with visible shapes, so too . . . with sounds, odours, tastes, touch and mental objects. [267] Take the case, Almsmen, that here in the world there appears a Truth-finder, Arahat all-en¬ lightened, . . . [268-9] . . . {etc. as in Sutta 27, down to) . . . right states of consciousness have purged his heart of all doubting.

[270] When he has put from him the Five Hindrances, those defilements of the heart which weaken a man’s insight, then, divested of pleasures of sense and divested of wrong states of mind, he enters on, and abides in, the First Ecstasy with all its zest and satisfaction, a state bred of inward aloofness but not divorced from observation and reflection. And in succession he wins the Second, the Third, and the Fourth Ecstasies. No shapes, or sounds, or odours, or tastes, or touch, or mental objects now awaken in him either likes or dis¬ likes ; he neither rejoices in, nor welcomes, nor cleaves to any feeling — pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent — which he experiences, so that feelings cease to delight him and consequently all dependence ceases and there ceases the whole succession of becoming, birth, decay, and death, with the distractions of grief, tribulation, and pain of body and mind. — This is the cessation of all that makes up the sum of Ill. Treasure in your memories, Almsmen, this succinct account of Deliverance by the Extirpation of Craving, — and also Sati, [271] the fisherman’s son, fast in Crav¬ ing’s meshes and in the doom which Craving entails.

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying in the Angas’ country, where they have a township named Assapura, he addressed the listening Almsmen as follows : — Recluses 1 Recluses ! — that is the name by which people know you and by which you would describe yourselves, if asked who you were. Such being your vocation and profession as recluses, you must train yourselves to embrace and shew forth in your lives the states of consciousness which really make the recluse and brahmin — so as to prove your vocation true and your profession a reality, and to see to it that the charity you enjoy in the shape of clothing and food and other requisites enures to fruit andprofit in yourselves, making your Pilgrimage not barren but fruitful unto its harvest. What are the states of consciousness which really make the recluse and the brahmin ? — Train yourselves to be conscientious and scrupulous. It may be that, feeling yourselves to be conscientious and scrupulous, you may rest content in the idea that this is enough, that you have done enough, that you have realized the recluse’s ideal, and that you have nothing still ahead of you to accomplish. But I say unto you, and rejoin, that in your quest for recluse-ship, you must not fall short of the recluse’s ideal, while there is something still ahead.

What is ahead of you ? — You must train yourselves [272] in deed — in word — in thought — and in mode of livelihood — to be pure and frank and open, without flaw and without reserve, yet not so as to be puffed up and to run down others. It may be that, feeling your¬ selves to be thus trained, as well as conscientious and scrupulous, you may rest content in the idea that each successive stage [273] is enough, that you have done enough, . . . something still anead. VVnat is ahead ? — You must train yourselves to guard the portals of the senses. When with the eye you see a visible shape, you must resolve not to be taken with its detailed marks and signs, since, uncon¬ trolled, the eye might lead to appetite and distress, and to evil and wrong states of consciousness ; your resolve will be to control the sense of sight, to keep watch and ward over it, and to bring the eye under control. . . . And similarly with all the other senses. ... It may be that, with each fresh achieve¬ ment in turn, you may rest content, — in the idea that each successive stage is enough, that you have done enough, . . . something still ahead.

What is ahead? — You must train yourselves to moderation in food, taking food with deliberate pur¬ posefulness, not for pleasure or delight, not for ostenta¬ tion or display, but only to the extent required to support and maintain the body, to shield it from hurt, and to foster the higher life, — with the resolve on your part to destroy the old feelings and not to allow any new feelings to arise, to the end that the blameless lot may be yours and well-being. It may be that — feel¬ ing you are conscientious and scrupulous, pure in deed, word, thought and mode of livelihood, and moderate in food, — you may rest content in the idea that this is enough, that you have done enough . . . something still ahead. What is ahead? — You must train yourselves to vigilance. Purge your hearts of besetting states of consciousness, — by day as you either pace to and fro or are seated, — in the first watch of the night [274] as you either pace to and fro or are seated ; in the middle * watch of the night as you lie couched lion-like on your right side, foot resting on foot, mindful and selfpossessed, with your thoughts set on the appointed

time to get up ; or, again, during the last watch of the night when you have risen and either pace to and fro or are seated. It may be that — feeling you are con¬ scientious and scrupulous, pure in deed, word, thought, and mode of livelihood, moderate in food, and resolute in vigilance — you may rest content in the idea that this is enough, that you have done enough . . . something still ahead. What is ahead ? — You must train yourselves to be mindful and self-possessed, — in going out or coming back, in looking ahead or around you, in stretching out your arm or in drawing it back, in wearing your robes or carrying your bowls, in eating or drinking, in chew¬ ing or savouring, in attending to nature’s wants, in walking or standing or sitting, asleep or awake, in speech or in silence. It may be that — feeling you are conscientious and scrupulous, pure in deed, word, thought, and mode of livelihood, moderate in food, resolute in vigilance, and also mindful and alert — you may rest content in the idea that this is enough, that you have done enough, that you have realized the recluse’s ideal, and that you have nothing still ahead of you to accomplish. But I say unto you, and rejoin, that, in your quest for recluse-ship, you must not fall short of the recluse’s ideal, while there is something still ahead.

AVhat is still ahead ? — Take the case of an Almsman who chooses him a lonely lodging — in the forest under a tree, in the wilds in cave or grot, in a charnelground, in a thicket or on bracken in the open. When he is back from his round for alms, he seats himself, after his meal, cross-legged and with body erect, alert in mindfulness. Putting appetite from him, he lives without appetite for things of the world and purges his heart of appetite. Putting from him all malice, he lives without a thought of malice, [275] purging him¬ self of malice by good-will and compassion for all that lives. All torpor has he put from him ; all torpor has gone out of his life ; by clarity of vision, mindfulness, and self-possession, he purges his heart of torpor. Worry is his no longer, for he has put worry out of his life and his heart within is serene, with all worry purged away. Doubt he has shed and outgrown ; no question arises now as to what are right states of con¬ sciousness ; he has purged his heart of all doubt. It is like a man who borrows money to start a business, — in which he is so successful that he can not only wipe out the original debt but have enough over to keep a wife. Reviewing his success, he would rejoice and be glad of heart.

Or, it is like a man who falls sick and becomes very ill and in grievous pain, taking no pleasure in his food, and with no strength left in his body ; but who subsequently gets over nis illness, takes pleasure in his food and regains his strength. He too, reviewing his recovery, would rejoice and be glad of heart. Or, it is like a man who is in bonds in prison but is subsequently set at liberty, safe and sound and un¬ mulcted in estate. He too, reviewing his release from durance, would rejoice and be glad of heart. Or, again, it is like a slave, not independent but de¬ pendent on a master, and with no liberty to go where he liked, who should subsequently be set free and become his own master with full liberty now to go wherever he liked. He too, reviewing his gain of freedom, would rejoice and be glad of heart. y [276] Or, again, it is like a rich and wealthy man on a long journey through the wilds who should eventually emerge safe and sound, without loss of goods. He too, reviewing his safe passage, would rejoice and be glad of heart.

Just in the selfsame way an Almsman views the foregoing Five Hindrances, while they persist in him, as tantamount to the debt, the disease, the prison, the slavery, and the journey through the wilds. But, when he has put from him those Five Hindrances, he views them as tantamount to freedom from debt, disease, prison, slavery, and as tantamount to the traveller’s bourne. When he has put from him the Five Hindrances which defile the heart and weaken insight, then, divested of pleasures of sense and of wrong states of consciousness, he enters on, and abides in, the First Ecstasy with all its zest and satisfaction, a state bred of inward aloofness but not divorced from observa¬ tion and reflection. His very body does he so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse with the zest and satisfaction bred of aloofness, that there is no part of his body which is not suffused thereby. Just as an expert bath-attendant or his apprentice will sprinkle soap-powder on a metal slab and knead it up with the water which he keeps on sprinkling over it, until the whole of the soap-powder is one mass of lather, permeated by the lather both in and out, with not a trickle of moisture left ; — in just the same way does the Almsman so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse his very body with the zest and satisfaction bred of aloofness, that there is no part of his body which is not suffused thereby.

Further, rising above observation and reflection, he enters on, and abides in, the Second Ecstasy with all' its zest and satisfaction — a state bred of rapt concen¬ tration, above all observation and reflection, a state whereby the heart is focussed and tranquillity reigns within. His very body does he so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse with the zest and satisfaction bred of rapt concentration, that there is no part of his body which is not suffused thereby. It is like a lake fed from below by a spring, [277] with no other influx of water from east or west or north or south, a lake on which the heavens should send no showers from time to time ; yet from the spring below there would well up cool waters into the lake, so sluicing and drenching and permeating and suffusing that lake that there is no part of that lake which is not suffused thereby ; — in just the same way does this Almsman so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse his very body with the zest and satisfaction bred of rapt concentration, that there is no part of his body which js not suffused thereby.

Further, by shedding the emotion of zest, he enters on, and abides in, the Third Ecstasy, with its poised equanimity, mindful and self-possessed, feeling in his frame that satisfaction of which the Noble say that poise and mindfulness bring abiding satisfaction. His very body does he so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse with satisfaction, without zest, that there is no part of his body which is not suffused by this satis¬ faction without zest. Just as in a pond of lotuses, blue or red or white, some lotuses of each kind are born and grow in the water, never rising above the surface but nourishing beneath it ; and these from root to tip are so sluiced and drenched and permeated and suffused by the cool waters that there is not a lotus, blue or red or white, which is not suffused from root to tip by the cool waters : — in just the same way does the Almsman so sluice and drench and permeate and suffuse his very body with satisfaction without zest, that there is no part of his body which is not suffused thereby. Further, by putting from him both satisfaction and dissatisfaction and by shedding the joys and sorrows he used to feel, he enters on, and abides in, the Fourth Ecstasy, — the state that, knowing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, is the consummate purity of poised equanimity and mindfulness. His very body does he so suffuse with a heart made pure and clean that, as he sits, there is no single part of his body which is not suffused by his pure and clean heart.

Just as if a man were sitting wrapped head and all in a garment of white, with not a single part [278] of his body not wrapped in it, — in just the same way does the Alms¬ man so suffuse his very body with a heart made pure and clean that, as he sits, there is no single part of his body which is not suffused by his pure and clean heart.

With heart thus stedfast, thus clarified and purified, . . . the Almsman . . . (etc., as in Sutta 4, down to) . . . his divers existences of the past in all their details and features. Just as if a man who had passed from his own village to a second and thence to a third and finally back to his own village, might think how in his absence from home he had visited these other villages and how in each he had stood, sat, spoken, been silent ; — in just the same way does the Almsman call to mind his former existences ... his divers existences of the past in all their details and features. That same stedfast heart he now applies . . . {etc., as in Sutta 4, down to) . . . [279] in states of bliss and in heaven. Just as if there were two houses with doors and a man with eyes to see were to stand between those two houses and observe men going in and out and passing to and fro ; — in just the same way, with the Eye Celestial which is pure and far surpasses the human eye, does the Almsman see creatures in act of passing hence and re-appearing elsewhere, creatures eitner lowly or debonair, fair or foul to view, happy or unhappy ; and he is aware that they fare according to their deserts.

That same stedfast heart he next applies to know¬ ledge of the eradication of Cankers . . . {etc., as in Sutta 4, down to) . . . now for me there is no more of what I have been. Just as if on the heights there were a lake with clear pellucid waters as of crystal, and a man with eyes to see should espy from the bank where he was standing oysters and other shells, gravel and pebbles, together with shoals of fish swimming about or lying up ; — just as such a man would recognize all that was before his eyes, [280] in just the same manner does the Alms¬ man comprehend, aright and to the full, Ill, the origin of Ill, . . . no more of what I have been. Such an Almsman is styled (1) recluse, (2) brahmin, (3) washen (nahataka), (4) versed (vedagO), (5) purged (sottiyo), (6) noble (ariya), and (7) saintly (arahant). (i) How does an Almsman become a recluse ? — By excluding evil and wrong states of consciousness which are depraved and tend to re-birth, which are burthensome and ripen unto Ill, and which will hereafter entail birth, decay, and death. That is how he becomes a recluse.

(ii) He becomes a brahmin by precluding evil and wrong states. (iii) He becomes washen by washing away evil and wrong states. (iv) He becomes versed by being versed in all about evil and wrong states. (v) He becomes purged because he is purged of evil and wrong states. (vi) He becomes noble, and (vii) saintly, because he keeps at bay evil and wrong states of consciousness which are depraved and tend to re-birth, which are burthensome and ripen unto Ill, and which will here¬ after entail birth, decay, and death. Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Alms¬ men rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

[281] Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying in the Angas’ country, where they have a township named Assapura, he addressed the listening Almsmen as follows : Recluses I — that is the name by which people know you and by which you would describe yourselves, if asked who you were. Such being your vocation and profession as recluses, you must train yourselves to embrace and shew forth in your lives the recluse’s path of duty, so as to prove your vocation true and your profession a reality, and to see to it that the charity you enjoy in the shape of clothing and food and other requisites enures to fruit and profit in yourselves, making your Pilgrimage not barren but fruitful unto its harvest. How does an Almsman not tread the recluse’s path of duty ? — The Almsman who is greedy and has not put greed from him, or who is malicious of heart and has not put malice from him, or who is wrathful and has not put wrath from him, or who is revengeful and has not put revenge from him, or who is a hypocrite and has not put hypocrisy from him, or is fraudulent and has not put fraud from him, or who is jealous and has not put jealousy from him, or who is a niggard and has not put niggardliness from him, or who is treacherous and has not put treachery from him, or who is deceitful and has not put deceit from him, or whose desires are evil nor has he put evil desires from him, or who is wrong in his outlook and has not put wrong outlooks from him, — of such an Almsman I say that he fails to tread the recluse’s path of duty, because

200 XL. CU LA-ASSAPURA-SUTTA. M. i. 282. he has not put from him these dispositions which are blots and blemishes and defects in a recluse, leading to woe hereafter and to a doom of pain. It is just as if, hidden away and concealed beneath his robes, the Brother had got a deadly stiletto, two-edged and whetted keen ; — unto this do I liken that Almsman’s Pilgrimage. I say it is not the robe which makes the recluse, nor nakedness, nor dust and dirt, nor bathing thrice a day, nor living under a tree, [282] nor living in the open, nor never sitting down, nor punctilio in regimen, nor intoning texts, nor a shock head of matted hair. If the mere wearing of the robe could banish greed, malice, and so forth, then, as soon as a child was born, his friends and kinsfolk would make him wear the robe and would press him to wear it, saying : — Come, thou favoured of fortune ! Come, wear the robe ; for, by the mere wearing of it, the greedy will put from them their greed, the malicious their malice, . . . and those of wrong outlook will put from them their wrong out¬ look. — It is because I see robe -wearers who are greedy and malicious . . . and wrong in their outlook, that I say the mere wearing of the robe does not make the recluse.

[Similar paragraphs about nakedness, dust and dirt . . . shock head of matted hair.] [288] How, on the other hand, does an Almsman tread the recluse’s path of duty ? — The Almsman who is not greedy but has put greed from him, who is not malicious but has put medice from him . . . who is not wrong in outlook but has put wrong outlooks from him, — of such an Almsman I say that he succeeds in treading the recluse’s path of duty, because he has put from him those dispositions which are blots and blemishes and defects in a recluse, leading to woe hereafter and a doom of pain. Such an Almsman realizes that he is cleansed and Delivered from all those evil and wrong states of consciousness; when he realizes this, there is bred in him gladness of heart, which in turn breeds zest, which brings tranquillity to the body, which inspires those feelings of satisfaction whereby the heart wins rapt concentration. He dwells with radiant thoughts of good-will pervading first one quarter of the world — then the second — then the third and then the fourth quarter ; he dwells with radiant good-will pervading the whole length and breadth of the world, above, below, around, and everywhere, — with radiant good-will all-embracing, vast, boundless, wherein no hate or malice finds a place. And as with good-will, so, in turn, with radiant compassion, sympathy, and poised equanimity, does he pervade the whole length and breadth of the world.

It is just as if there were a lake of clear bright water, limpid, easy to get down to, and in every way delightful ; [284] and as if from the east — or the west— or from the north — or from the south — there should come a man over¬ come and overpowered with the blazing heat of summer, exhausted and beside himself with thirst, who should quench in that lake’s waters the thirst and the fever which parched his frame ; — just in the same way, if a noble — or a brahmin — or a middle-class man — or a peasant — leaving his home for homelessness as a Pilgrim and coming to the Doctrine and Rule preached by the Truth-finder, so develops good-will, compassion, sympathy and poised equanimity as to win inward peace, then, by reason of his winning such inward peace, he — say I — treads the recluse’s path of duty.

If a noble — or a brahmin— or a middle- class man — or a peasant — leaves home for homelessness as a Pilgrim and if he, by extirpating the Cankers, enters on, and abides in, that Deliverance of heart and mind, from Cankers free, which he has of and for himself discerned and realized here and now, — then he be¬ comes a recluse by the extirpation of the Cankers. Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Almsmen rejoiced in what the Lord had said. [285] Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was on an alms-pilgrimage in Kosala, with a great train of Almsmen, he came to a brahmin village of the Kosalans named Sala. It came to the ears of the brahmin heads of families in Sala that the recluse Gotama, a Sakyan who had gone forth as a Pilgrim from a Sakyan family, had come to their village in the course of an almspilgrimage in Kosala, with a great train of Almsmen. Such, they heard, was the high repute noised abroad concerning the reverend Gotama that he was said to be — The Lord, Arahat all-enlightened, walking by knowledge, blessed, understanding all worlds, the matchless tamer of the human heart, teacher of gods and men, the Lord of Enlightenment. This universe — with its gods, Maras, Brahmas, recluses and brahmins, embracing all gods and mankind — , all this he has discerned and realized for himself and makes known to others.

He preaches a Doctrine, which is so fair in its outset, its middle, and its close, with both text and import; he propounds a higher life that is wholly complete and pure. It is good to go and visit Arahats like him. So the brahmins of Sala went to the Lord and, after exchanging civil greetings, took their seats to one side, — some after salutations, some after greetings, some with joined palms respectfully outstretched, some after mention of their names and family, and others again in silence. Being seated, they put this question to the Lord : — Why and where¬ fore is it that, after death, at the body’s dissolution, some creatures come to re-birth in states of suffering or woe or purgatory, while others are reborn in some happy state or heaven ?

Because, householders, they walk not in righteous¬ ness but in wickedness, some creatures pass to states of suffering; others because they walk in righteous¬ ness and in goodness, are reborn in happy states in heaven. [286] This utterance is too condensed for us to take it in without explanation. Would the reverend Gotama be so good as to expand his utterance and bring out its meaning for us ? Listen then, sirs, and pay attention ; I will speak. So to the attentive brahmins the Lord began : — There are three forms of unrighteousness and wicked¬ ness for the body ; four for speech ; and three for thoughts. As regards bodily unrighteousness, a man (i) may take life, — as a hunter with hands bathed in blood, given to killing and slaying, merciless to living creatures ; or (ii) may take what is not his, — by appropriating to himself in thievish fashion the belongings of other people in village and jungle; or (iii) may be a fornicator, having intercourse with girls under the charge of mother or father or brother or sister or relations, yes, with girls affianced and plighted, and even wearing the very garlands of betrothal.

As regards unrighteousness of speech, a man (i) may be a liar ; — when cited to give testimony before assembly or village-meeting or family council or royal household or his guild, he may say that he knows when he does not know, or that he does not know when he does know, or that he saw when he did not see, or that he did not see when he did see,— de¬ liberately lying in the interests either of himself or of other people or for some trifling gain. Or (ii) he may be a slanderer; — repeating here what he has heard elsewhere so as to set one set of people by the ears, and repeating elsewhere what he has heard here so as to set another set of people by the ears ; he is a dissolver of harmony and a fomenter of strife ; discord prompts his utterances, discord being his pleasure, his joy, and his delight. Or (iii) he may be bitter of tongue ; — what he says is rough and harsh, hurtful and wounding to others, provocative of anger, and leading to distraction. [287] Or (iv) he may be a tattler, — talking out of season, without heed to fact, always talking of the unprofitable, never of the Doctrine, never of the Rule, but ever of the trivial, of the illtimed, of the frivolous, of things leading nowhere, and unprofitable.

As regards unrighteousness of thought, a man (i) may be covetous, coveting other people's gear with the yearning that it were all his own. Or (ii) he may be malevolent and wicked of heart, — wishing that creatures around him might be killed, destroyed, annihilated, or cease to be. Or (iii) he may be wrong in outlook and erroneous in his conceptions, — holding that there are no such things as alms or sacrifice or oblations, that there is no such thing as the fruit and harvest of deeds good and bad, that there is no such thing as this world or any other, that there are no such things as either parents or translation elsewhere, that there are no such things in the world as recluses and brahmins who, having trodden the right path and walked aright, have, of and by themselves, comprehended and realized this and other worlds and made it all known to others too. Yes, it is because some creatures walk thus not ih righteousness but in wickedness that they pass after death at the body’s dissolution to re- birth in states of suffering or woe or purgatory. Contrariwise, there are three forms of righteousness and goodness for the body ; four for speech ; and three for thoughts.

As regards bodily righteousness, a man (i) puts from him all killing and abstains from killing anything; laying aside cudgel and sword, he lives a life of innocence and mercy, full of kindliness and compassion for everything that lives, (ii) Theft he puts from him and eschews ; taking from others only what is given to him by them, he lives an honest life, (iii) Putting from him all sensual misconduct, he abstains from fornication ; he has no intercourse with girls under the charge of mother or father or brother or sister or relations, no intercourse with girls affianced and plighted and with the garlands of betrothal upon them. [288] As regards righteousness in speech, (i) a man puts lying from him and abstains from lies ; when cited to give testimony before assembly or village-meeting or family council or royal household or his guild he says that he does not know when he does not, and that he does know when he does, says that he did not see when he did not see and that he saw when he did see, — never deliberately lying in the interests of himself or of other people or for some trifling gain, (ii) All slander he puts from him and from slandering he ab¬ stains ; what he hears here he does not repeat elsewhere so as to set one set of people by the ears, nor does he repeat here what he hears elsewhere so as to set another set of people by the ears ;

he is a promoter of harmony and a restorer of amity, for concord is his pleasure, his joy, and his delight, (iii) There is no bitterness in his tongue and he abstains from bitter speech ; what he says is without gall, pleasant, friendly, hearty, urbane, agreeable, and welcome to all. (iv) No tattler, he abstains from tattle, speaking in season, according to fact, always of the profitable, of the Doctrine and Rule, in speech which is seasonable and memorable, illuminating, well-marshalled, and of great profit.

As regards righteousness in thoughts, (i) a man is devoid of covetousness, never coveting other people’s gear with the yearning that it were all his own. (ii) He harbours no malevolence or wickedness of thought ; his wish is that creatures around him may live on in peace and happiness, safe from all enmity and oppres¬ sion. (iii) He is right in outlook and correct in his conceptions; he affirms that there are indeed such things as alms, sacrifice, and oblations, — as the fruit and harvest of deeds good and bad, — as this and other

worlds, — as parents and translation elsewhere — as recluses and brahmins who, having trodden the right path and walked aright, have, of and by themselves, comprehended and realized this and other worlds and made it all known to others too. It is because some creatures walk thus in righteous¬ ness and goodness that they pass after death at the body’s dissolution to re- birth in some happy state in heaven. [289] If the desire of a righteous and good man be to be reborn after death at the body’s dissolution as a great noble, this may very well come to pass, — because of his righteousness and goodness here. Or, if such be his desire, he might become a magnate among brahmins or heads of houses, — because of his righteous¬ ness and goodness here. Or, again, if such be his desire, he might be reborn among the Four Regents, or the Thirty-three gods, or the YSmas, or the Tusitas, or the Nimmanaratis, or the Paranimmita-vasavattis, the Corporeal Brahmas, the Abhas, the Paritt-abhas, the Appamana-subhas, the Subha-kinnas, the Vehapphalas, the Avihas, the Atappas, the Sudassas, the Sudassis, the Akanitthas, the gods of Infinity of Space, the gods of Infinity of Mind, the gods of the Realm of Naught, the gods of the Realm of Neither Perception nor Non-perception. Or, again, if it be the righteous and good man’s desire, by extirpating the Cankers, here and now to enter on, and abide in, Deliverance of heart and mind where no Cankers are, a Deliverance which he, of and by himself, has comprehended and realized, — then it may well be that to such Deliverance he will come ; and all because of his righteousness and good¬ ness here.

[290] At the close of this discourse, the brahmin householders of Sala said to the Lord : — Excellent, Gotama ; most excellent ! It is just as if a man should set upright again what had been cast down, or reveal what had been hidden away, or tell a man who had gone astray which was his way, or bring a lamp into darkness, so that those with eyes to see might discern the things about them ; — even so, in many a figure, has the reverend Gotama made his Doctrine clear. We come to him as our refuge, and to his Doctrine, and to his Confraternity. We ask the reverend Gotama to accept us as followers who have found an abiding refuge from this day onward while life lasts.

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at SfivatthI in J eta’s grove in Anathapindika’s plcasaunce, there were brahmins from Veranja who were stopping in Savatthi on some business or other ; and it came to their ears that the recluse Gotama, a Sakyan who had gone forth as a Pilgrim . . . [291] {etc., as in the foregoing Suita , to the end).

[292] Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthl in Jeta’s grove in Anatha¬ pindika’s pleasaunce, the reverend Maha-Kotthita, rising up at eventide from his meditations, went to the reverend Sariputta and, after greetings, took his seat to one side and spoke thus : — We speak of a man as lacking understanding. Now, in what respects does he lack understanding ? It is because he does not understand, that he is said to lack understanding. — He does not understand what Ill is, or its origin, or its cessation, or the way that leads to its cessation. That is why he is said to lack understanding, — because he does not understand these things. With an expression of his grateful thanks to Sariputta, Maha-Kotthita put this further question : — We speak of a man as having understanding (pafina). Now, in what respects has he got understanding ? 1 1 is because he understands, that he is said to have got understanding. — He understands what Ill is, and its origin, and its cessation, and the way that leads to its cessation. That is why he is said to have got understanding, — because he understands these things.

We speak of consciousness (vinnana). Why is it so called ? It is because he is conscious, that we speak of consciousness. — He is conscious that a thing is pleasant, or unpleasant, or neither. It is because he is conscious, that consciousness is so called. Are understanding and consciousness associated or dissociated ? Can a differentia between the two states be shewn by persistent analysis ? They are associated, not dissociated ; a differentia between them cannot be shewn by persistent analysis. For, what a man understands, he is conscious of ; and what he is conscious of, he understands. [293] There¬ fore these two states are associated, not dissociated ; analysis cannot shew their differentia. What is the differentia ? In understanding we have to develop ; in conscious¬ ness we have to apprehend ; — that is what differentiates them. We speak of feeling. — In what sense? A man feels and therefore it is called feeling, — of the pleasant or unpleasant or indifferent. We speak of perception. — In what sense ? He perceives and therefore it is called perception, — of blue, or yellow, or red, or white. Are feeling, perception, and consciousness associ¬ ated or dissociated ? Can a differentia between these states be shewn by persistent analysis r

They are associated, not dissociated ; a differentia between them cannot be shewn by persistent analysis. What is felt is perceived, and there is consciousness of what is perceived ; consequently these states are associated, not dissociated ; analysis cannot shew their differentia. What is knowable by pure mental consciousness (mano-vinfiana), isolated from the five faculties of bodily sense ? The ideas of Infinity of Space, of Infinity of Mind, and of the Realm of Naught, are knowable by pure mental consciousness, isolated from the five faculties of bodily sense. By what are these knowable ideas known ? By the eye of understanding (paMa-cakkhu). What does understanding promote ? The higher and precise knowledges and Renuncia¬ tion. [294] How many conditions are required to create a right outlook ? Two, — instruction imparted, and systematized thought. How many factors help a right outlook to win the fruit, and the guerdon of the fruit, of Deliverance alike of heart and mind ? Five, — virtue, study, converse, tranquillization, and discernment. How many types of re-birth are there? Three, — sensuous, corporeal, and incorporeal. How does re- birth come to pass hereafter in a sub¬ sequent existence ? By creatures — hampered by ignorance and clogged by cravings — revelling now in this object, now in that.

And how does re-birth not come to pass ? By the disappearance of the passion that Ignorance brings, by the uprising of knowledge, and by the cessation of cravings. What is the First Ecstasy ? When, divested of pleasures of sense, divested of wrong states of mind, an Almsman enters on, and abides in, the First Ecstasy with all its zest and satisfaction, — a state bred of inward aloofness but not divorced from observation and reflection, — that is called the First Ecstasy. How many factors are there in it ? Five, — observation, reflection, zest, satisfaction, and a focussed heart. How many factors has the First Ecstasy put from it, and how many does it retain ? Five of each. Gone are lusts, malevolence, torpor, worry, [295] and doubt. Observation, reflection, zest, satisfaction, and a focussed heart persist. Take the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, — each with its own particular province and range of function separate and mutually distinct. What ultimate base have they ? Who enjoys all their five provinces and ranges ? On what do these five faculties of sense depend ? On what does vitality depend ? On what does heat depend ?

You say that vitality depends on heat ; you say that heat depends on vitality. What precisely is the meaning to be attached to this ? I will give you an illustration ; an illustration often¬ times serves to bring home the meaning of a remark to persons of intelligence. Just as in the case of a lighted lamp the light reveals the flame and the flame the light, — so vitality depends on heat and heat on vitality. Now, as to plastic forces of vitality, — are they simply objects of sense ? Or are they different from them ? They are not sensible objects. [296] Were they sensible, then the emergence of an Almsman who had 1 See hereon Mrs. Rhys Davids’ Buddhist Psychology, pp. 68-73. passed into trance without perception and without feeling, could never be witnessed ; it can be witnessed just because the plastic forces of vitality are different from sensible objects. How many things must quit the body before it is flung aside and cast away like a senseless log ? Three, — vitality, heat, and consciousness. What is the difference between a lifeless corpse and an Almsman in trance, in whom perception and feeling are stilled ?

In the corpse not only are the plastic forces of the body and speech and mind1 stilled and quiescent but also vitality is exhausted, heat is quenched, and the faculties of sense broken up ; — whereas in the Almsman in trance vitality persists, heat abides, and the faculties are clear, although respiration, observation and percep¬ tion are stilled and quiescent. How many conditions are needed to produce that ecstatic state of the heart’s Deliverance wherein there is neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction ? Four. — By putting from him both satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and by shedding the joys and sorrows he used to feel, the Almsman enters on, and abides in, the Fourth Ecstasy, — the state that, knowing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, is the consummate purity of poised equanimity and mindfulness. How many conditions are needed for that ecstatic state of the heart’s Deliverance which is void of phenomenal relations ? Two, — (1) Keeping the mind off all that is phe¬ nomenal, and (2) fixing it on what is not phenomenal. How many conditions make this Deliverance persist ? Three, — [297] (i) Keeping the mind off all that is phenomenal, (2) fixing it on what is not phenomenal, and (3) precedent preparation.

How many conditions are needed for emerging from this Deliverance? 1 Defined in the next Sutta as respiration, etc. Two, — (1) fixing the mind on the phenomenal and (2) keeping the mind off the non*phenomenal. As touching those Deliverances of the heart which are boundless (appamana), Naught (akificaftfla), emptied (sufifiata), and non-phenomenal (animitta), — do all these states of consciousness differ both in con¬ notation and in denotation, or are they identical in connotation while differing in denotation ? In one sense their connotation is different, in another sense identical. In what sense do these four states of consciousness differ in connotation as well as in denotation ? It is called boundless Deliverance of heart when an Almsman dwells with radiant good-will pervading first one quarter of the world — then the second — then the third — and then the fourth quarter ; when he dwells with radiant good-will pervading the whole length and breadth of the world, above, below, around, and every¬ where, with radiant good-will all-embracing, vast, boundless, wherein no hate or malice finds a place. And as with good-will, so, in turn, with radiant com¬ passion, and sympathy, and poised equanimity does he pervade the whole length and breadth of the world.

It is called Naught Deliverance when, wholly transcending the realm of consciousness, the Almsman enters on, and abides in, the Realm of Naught. It is called emptied Deliverance when, in the wilds or under a tree or in an empty dwelling, he reflects that Emptiness is here, — no Self nor anything apper¬ taining to a Self. [298] It is called non-phenomenal Deliverance when by keeping his mind off all that is phenomenal, an Almsman enters on, and dwells in, the serenity of heart which is beyond the phenomenal. The foregoing is the sense in which both the connotation and the denotation of these several Deliverances differ from one another. In what sense, now, is their connotation identical while their denota¬ tion differs ? It is passion, it is malevolence, it is illusion, which impose bounds ; in the Arahat who has extirpated the Cankers these three have been put away, have been grubbed and stubbed, like the bare cleared site where once a palm-tree grew, — they have been and now can be no more. In so far as boundless Deliverances are sure, the Deliverance they bring is unsurpassed, — sure because empty of passion, of malevolence, and of illusion.

It is passion, it is malevolence, it is illusion, which harbour aught which clogs ; in the Arahat who . . . be no more. In so far as Naught Deliverances are sure . . . and of illusion. It is passion, it is malevolence, it is illusion, which create the phenomenal ; in the Arahat ... be no more. In so far as non-phenomenal Deliverances are sure, the Deliverance they bring is unsurpassed, — sure because void of passion, of malevolence, and of illusion. This is the sense in which these several Deliverances are identical in their connotation, while differing in denotation. Thus spoke the reverend Sariputta. Glad at heart, the reverend Maha-Kotthita rejoiced in what the reverend Sariputta had said.

[299] Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Rajagaha in the Bamboo grove where the squirrels were fed, the lay-disciple Visakha came to the Almswoman Dhammadinna1 — and after saluta¬ tions took his seat to one side, saying: — As regards what is known as personality (sakkaya), madam, how has the Lord described its nature ? 1 They had been husband and wife before his conversion, which was followed by hers. For her story see Psalms of the Sisters, p. 16. He has described it, sir, as the Five Attachments to existence, — namely, visible shape, feeling, perception, plastic forces, and consciousness. After thanking her, Visakha put to her this further question : — And what, madam, does the Lord say of the origin of personality ? He says, sir, that the origin of personality is from cravings, — craving for pleasures of sense, craving for continued existence, craving for annihilation, — all entailing re-birth, all imbued with passion’s delights, all seeking pleasure here or there. And what, madam, does the Lord say of the cessa¬ tion of personality ? He says, sir, that its cessation is the complete and passionless cessation of just this selfsame craving, — its discarding, its abandonment, its dismissal, and its ejection.

And what does he say about the way that leads to such cessation of personality ? He says, sir, that the way is the Noble Eightfold Path, — namely, right outlook, right aims, ri^ht speech, right action, right means of livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right rapture of concentration. Does attachment consist of just the Five Attach¬ ments you have particularized, madam ? Or is there attachment apart from them ? Attachment, sir, does not consist solely of those five ; [800] nor yet is there attachment wholly apart from them ; — the desire and passion that dwells in the Five Attachments is attachment. How, madam, does the personality theory arise ? Take, sir, the case of an uninstructed everyday man, who has no regard for the Noble and is unversed and untrained in their Doctrine, and who pays no regard to the Excellent and is unversed and untrained in their Doctrine ; — he views material Form as Self, or Self as having Form, or Form as in Self, or Self as in Form. And these views concerning Form he extends equally to feelings, perceptions, the plastic . forces, and con¬ sciousness. — That is how the personality theory arises^

And how, madam, does the personality theory not arise ? Take, sir, the case of an instructed disciple who has got regard for the Noble and is versed and trained in their Doctrine, and who has got regard for the Excellent and is versed and trained in their Doctrine ; — he does not view material Form as Self, or Self as having Form, or Form as in Self, or Self as in Form ; nor does he so view feelings, perceptions, and the like. — That is how the personality theory does not arise. What, madam, is the Noble Eightfold Path ? Just this, sir, — right outlook, right aims, right speech, right action, right means of livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right rapture of concentration. Is the Noble Eightfold Path create or uncreate ? [301] Are three groups included in the Noble Eight¬ fold Path, or is the Path included in the groups ? They are not included in it ; it is included in them. Right speech, right action, and right means of liveli¬ hood are included in the virtue-group ; right effort, right mindfulness, and right rapture of concentration are included in the concentration-group ; while right outlook and right aims are Included in the knowledgegroup.

What is rapt concentration ? Whatare its phenomena? What are its requisites ? What cultivates it ? Rapt concentration is the focussing of the heart ; its phenomena are the fourfold mustering of mindful¬ ness ; its requisites are the four right exertions ; and the practice and cultivation and increase of these states of consciousness cultivate rapt concentration. How many plastic forces are there ? Three, — those of the body, of speech, and of the mind. What are these, severally ? Respiration in the case of the body, observation and reflection for speech, and for the mind perception and feeling. How is this, in each of the three cases ? Respiration is a bodily thing bound up with the body and therefore is the plastic force for the body. It is because observation and reflection precede subsequent utterance that they are the plastic forces of speech. Perception and feeling are mental things bound up with the mind and therefore are the plastic forces of the mind. How comes the ecstatic state wherein perception and feeling cease ? It is not while an Almsman is passing into this ecstatic state that the thought comes to him that he will pass into it, or that he is passing into it, or that he has passed into it. No ; ere that, he has so cultivated his mind that it leads him to this result.

While he is [302] passing into this ecstatic state, what plastic forces cease first, — those of the body or of speech or of mind ? Those of speech first, then those of the body, and lastly those of the mind. How does he emerge from this ecstatic state ? It is not while he is emerging therefrom that the thought comes to him that he will emerge, or is emerging, or has emerged from this ecstatic state. No; ere that, he has so cultivated his mind that it leads him to this result. While he is so emerging, what plastic forces revive first ? Those of the mind first, then those of the body, and lastly those of speech. When he has emerged from this ecstatic state, how many Contacts affect him ? Three, — the emptied, the non-characterized, and the unsought (appanihita). When he has emerged, towards what is the inclina¬ tion, bent and trend of his mind ? How many kinds of feelings are there ? Three, — pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral. What are they, respectively ? Whatever either mind or body has felt as pleasant and agreeable, is a pleasant feeling ; whatever either mind or body has felt as unpleasant and disagreeable, is an unpleasant feeling ; and whatever either mind or body has felt as neither pleasant nor unpleasant, neither agreeable nor disagreeable, is [808] neutral feeling.

What kind of pleasantness or unpleasantness is there in each of the three ? A pleasant feeling is pleasant while it lasts and un¬ pleasant when it passes. An unpleasant feeling is unpleasant while it lasts and pleasant when it passes. A neutral feeling is pleasant if comprehended, un¬ pleasant if not comprehended. What propensity lurks in each of the three kinds of feeling ? Passion in pleasant feelings, repugnance in un¬ pleasant feelings, and ignorance in neutral feelings. Do these several propensities always lurk in every instance of their respective feelings ? In these several feelings, what should be shed, respectively ? In pleasant feelings, the propensity to passion; in unpleasant feelings, the propensity to repugnance ; and in neutral feelings, the propensity to ignorance. Have these several propensities always to be shed in every instance of their respective feelings ? Not in every instance. Take the case of an Alms¬ man who, divested of pleasures of sense and divested of wrong states of consciousness, has entered on, and abides in, the First Ecstasy with all its zest and satis¬ faction, — a state bred of inward aloofness but not divorced from observation and reflection. Thereby he sheds passion ; and here there exists no lurking propensity to passion. When, oh when, asks he of himself, shall I enter on, and abide in, that region where the Noble1 are even now abiding? He develops such a yearning for utter Deliverance [804] that by reason thereof he is distressed. Thereby he

1 I.e. Arahats. See p. 1, n. 1 sheds repugnance ; and here there exists no lurking propensity to repugnance. Or, take the case of an Almsman who, by putting from him both satisfaction and dissatisfaction, and by shedding the joys and sorrows he used to feel, has entered on, and abides in, the Fourth Ecstasy, — the state that, knowing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, is the consummate purity of poised equanimity and mindfulness. Thereby he sheds ignorance ; and here there exists no lurking propensity to ignorance. What is the counterpart to pleasant feelings ? What is the counterpart to unpleasant feelings ? What is the counterpart to neutral feelings ? What is the counterpart to ignorance ? What is the counterpart to knowledge ? What is the counterpart to Deliverance ? What is the counterpart to Nirvana, madam ? You push your question too far, sir ; you can never get to an end of your questionings. For, in Nirvana the higher life merges to find its goal and its con¬ summation. — If you so desire, sir, seek out the Lord and ask him, treasuring up the answer he gives. With grateful thanks to the Almswoman Dhammadinna, Visakha, the lay-disciple, rose up, took his leave of her with salutations and profound homage. Coming to the Lord and taking his seat to one side after due salu¬ tation, he related the whole of the talk he had had with the Almswoman DhammadinnlL Hereupon, the Lord said to him : — Learning and great knowledge dwell in Dhammadinna. Had you asked me, I should make answer precisely [805] as she did. Her answer was correct, and you should treasure it up accordingly.

Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, Visakha, the lay-disciple, rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Sftvatthi in Jeta’s grove in Anathapin^ika's pleasaunce, he addressed the listening Almsmen as follows : — There are four ways to profess a Doctrine. The first is pleasant for the time being but ripens to pain thereafter ; the second is unpleasant for the time being and ripens to pain thereafter ; the third is unpleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter ; and the fourth is not only pleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter. As touching the first of the four, there are some recluses and brahmins who maintain and hold that — There is nothing wrong in pleasures of sense. So they give way to indulgence in pleasures of sense ; they disport themselves with top-knotted girlWanderers;1 and they say : — Why is it that recluses and brahmins, detecting future peril from pleasures of sense, call on people to eschew them, and insist on their real nature ? Pleasant are the tender, young, downy arms of my girl- Wanderer ! So they give way to indulgence in pleasures of sense, with the result that, after death at the body’s dissolution, they pass to states of woe and suffering or to purgatory, where they ex¬ perience anguish and torment. Here they realize why recluses and brahmins, detecting future peril from pleasures of sense, called on people to eschew them, and insisted on their real nature 1 For, here they find themselves [806] experiencing feelings of anguish and torment, — solely because, and by reason, of these pleasures of sense.

It is just as if, in the last month of the hot season of 1 Acc. to Bu., these were non-buddhist * ascetic (tapasa) womenparibbajikas who tied up their hair like the top-knot ’ (of brahmin ascetics). the year, a creeper’s seed-pod should burst open and one of the seeds should fall at the foot of a sal-tree, — to the great alarm and consternation of the deity residing in the tree ; and just as if that deity’s friends and kinsfolk — deities resident in pleasaunce and grove, in trees and medicinal herbs and woodlands — should gather together and assemble to allay that deity’s alarm with cheerful hopes that no doubt the creeper’s seed would be pecked up by a peacock, or munched by a deer, or consumed by a forest fire, or be taken away by woodmen, or eaten by white ants, — or perhaps might never germinate. Suppose now that none of these things happened to that seed, and suppose that it did germinate, and that the monsoon made it grow apace, so that a creeper sprouted — tender, young, downy, and clinging — which fastened on to that saltree. Why, the resident deity might then think, did my friends and kinsfolk assemble to allay my alarm with cheerful . . . might never germinate ? Pleasant indeed are the embraces of this tender, young, downy, and clinging creeper 1 Suppose now that creeper should enfold the tree, growing into a canopy over the top and into a dense growth beneath, till it had strangled every mighty branch and stem. Well might that deity then think that this was what prompted his friends and kinsfolk to assemble to allay his alarm with their cheerful hopes that . . . [307] might never germinate. For, here the tree would find itself ex¬ periencing anguish and torment, all because of that creeper’s seed.

It is just the same with those recluses and brahmins who maintain and hold . . . because and by reason of these pleasures of sense. — This is the first way of pro¬ fessing a Doctrine, — the way which is pleasant for the time being but ripens unto Ill thereafter. As touching the second way of professing a Doctrine, the way which is unpleasant both now and hereafter, take the case of a devotee, naked, flouting the decencies of life . . . (etc., as in Sutta 12) . . . [308] down to the water punctually thrice before night- M. i. 309. ON LIVING UP TO PROFESSIONS— I. fall to wash (away the evil within). After this wise, in divers fashions, does the devotee live to torment and to torture his body ; and after death at the body’s dis¬ solution he passes to states of woe and suffering or to purgatory, where he experiences anguish and torment. — This is the second way of professing a Doctrine, the way which is unpleasant for the time being and ripens to pain thereafter. As touching the third way, take the case of a man by nature prone to passion — to wrath — to delusion — , who time after time suffers the pains of body and mind which each of these three things continually breeds, but yet — albeit with pain of body and mind, albeit with tears and wailing — lives the higher life in all its con¬ summate purity. Such a man, after death, at the body's dissolution, passes to a happy state in heaven. — This is the third way of professing a Doctrine, the way which is unpleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter.

Lastly, take a man who is by nature not prone to passion or wrath or delusion and who suffers there* from no pains of body or mind, [309] but, divested of pleasures of sense, and divested of wrong states of consciousness, enters on, and abides in, the First Ecstasy . . . (etc., as in Suita 4) . . . the Fourth Ecstasy, the state that, knowing neither satisfaction nor dissatisfaction, is the consummate purity of poised equanimity and mindfulness. Such a man, after death, at the body’s dissolution, passes to a happy state in heaven. — This is the fourth way of professing a Doctrine, the way which is both pleasant for the time being and ripens to be pleasant thereafter. These, Brethren, are the four ways to profess a Doctrine. Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Alms¬ men rejoiced in what the Lord had said. Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthi in Jeta’s grove in Anathapindika’s pleasaunce, he addressed the listening Almsmen as follows : — In general, people’s wishes and desires and aims are for a decrease in what is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant, and for an increase in what is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant. In people with such aims that which is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant waxes apace, while that which is desirable, agreeable and pleasant wanes. — What do you take to be the cause of this ?

[810] The Lord is the root and the guide and the basis of all our ideas. We beg that the Lord may be moved to expound the meaning of his utterance, so that we may treasure up what we hear from him. Then listen and pay attention, and I will speak, said the Lord, who then went on to address the listening Almsmen as follows : — Take the case of an uninstructed everyday man, who takes no count of the Noble and is unversed and untrained in Noble doctrine ; who takes no count of the Excellent and is unversed and untrained in Excellent doctrine ; — such a one does not know what to cultivate and what not to cultivate ; he does not know what to foster and what not to foster ; he cultivates and fosters what he should not, and fails to cultivate and foster what he ought to cultivate and foster, — with the result that, within him, that which is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant waxes apace, while that which is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant M. i. 311. ON LIVING UP TO PROFESSIONS — II. 223 wanes. And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends not.

Take now an instructed disciple of the Noble, who does take count of the Noble and is trained and versed in Noble doctrine, who does take count of the Excellent and is trained and versed in Excellent doctrine ; — such a one knows what to cultivate and what not to cultivate ; he knows what to foster and what not to foster ; and so he does not cultivate and foster what he should not, but cultivates and fosters what he ought to cultivate and foster, — with the result that, within him, that which is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant wanes, while that which is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant waxes apace. And why? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends. There are four ways of professing a Doctrine. The first is unpleasant for the time being and also ripens to pain thereafter ; [811] the second is pleasant for the time being but ripens to pain thereafter ; the third is unpleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter; and the fourth both is pleasant for the time being and also ripens to be pleasant thereafter. In the first case, a man knows it not, has no knowledge of it, and fails to discern its real nature as unpleasant for the time being and ripening to pain thereafter ; he cultivates it, and does not shun it The result is that what is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant waxes apace, while what is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant wanes. And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends not.

[And the like is the case too with regard to the second profession, where what is pleasant for the time being ripens to pain thereafter.] And why? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends not. In the third case, the man knows it not, has no know¬ ledge of it, and fails to discern its real nature as un¬ pleasant for the time being but ripening to be pleasant thereafter ; he does not cultivate it but shuns it. The result is that what is undesirable, disagreeable, and 224 XL. VI. MAHA-DHAMMA-SAMADANA-SUTTA. M. i. 312. unpleasant waxes apace, while what is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant wanes. And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends not. [And the like happens with regard to the fourth profession, where what is pleasant for the time being also ripens to be pleasant thereafter.] [812] And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends not. To return to the first profession. If a man knows it, has knowledge of it, and discerns its real nature as being unpleasant for the time being and ripening to pain thereafter ; and if he accordingly does not cultivate it but shuns it ; — the result is that what is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant waxes apace, while what is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant wanes. And why? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends.

[And the foregoing is the case too with regard to the second profession, where what is pleasant for the time being ripens to pain thereafter.] And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends. As regards the third profession, if a man knows it, has knowledge of it, and discerns its real nature as being unpleasant for the time being but ripening to be pleasant thereafter ; and if he cultivates it and does not shun it ; — the result is that what is desirable, agreeable, and pleasant waxes apace, while what is undesirable, disagreeable, and unpleasant wanes. And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends. [And the foregoing is the case too with regard to the fourth profession, where what is pleasant for the time being also ripens to be pleasant thereafter.] And why ? — Because this is what happens to one who comprehends. [313] What is the nature of the first profession? — Take the case of a man who, to the accompaniment of pain alike of body and of mind, slays, and, as a con¬ sequence of slaying, experiences pain alike of body and of mind ; or who steals — or fornicates — or lies — or slanders — or reviles — or tattles — or covets — or is

M. i. 314- ON LIVING UP TO PROFESSIONS — II. malignant of heart — or who, to the accompaniment of pain alike of body and of mind, has a wrong outlook, and, as a consequence of his wrong outlook, ex¬ periences pain alike of body and mind. Such a man, after death at the body’s dissolution, passes to a state of woe and misery or to purgatory. — Such is what is called the profession of the Doctrine which is unpleasant for the time being and ripens to pain thereafter. What is the nature of the second profession ? — Take the case of a man who, to the accompaniment of pleasure alike of body and of mind, slays, and, as a consequence of his slaughter, experiences pleasure alike of body and mind ; or who steals . . . (etc., as in the preceding paragraph) . . . [314] purgatory. — Such is what is called the profession of the Doctrine where what is pleasant for the time being ripens to pain thereafter. What is the nature of the third profession ? — Take a man who, to the accompaniment of pain alike of body and of mind, refrains from slaying and, as a result of his abstinence, experiences pain alike of body and of mind ; or who refrains from stealing . . . [315] or who, to the accompaniment of pain alike of body and of mind, gets a right outlook, and, as a consequence of that right outlook, experiences pain alike of body and of mind. Such a man, after death at the body’s dissolution, passes to a happy state or to heaven. — Such is what is called the profession of the Doctrine which is unpleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter.

What is the nature of the fourth profession? — Take the case of a man who, to the accompaniment of pleasure of body and of mind, refrains from slaying . . . (etc., as in the preceding paragraph) ... a happy state or to heaven. — Such is what is called the profession of the Doctrine which is both pleasant for the time being and also ripens to be pleasant thereafter. Such, Almsmen, are the four ways of professing the Doctrine. It is just as if there were a bitter gourd with poison 226 xlvi. mahA-dhamma-samadana-sutta. M. i. 316. in it, and a man came along who wanted to live and not to die, who wanted to be comfortable and disliked pain ; and if people were to say to him : — There is poison in this bitter gourd, my good man. Drink it if you will ; [816] but, in drinking it, you won’t like its colour and odour and taste, and, when you have drunk it, you will come by your death or deadly pain. Suppose now that heedlessly he drank it and did not turn away from it, disliking its colour, odour, and taste while he was drinking it, and coming by his death or deadly pain when he had drunk it down. — Unto this do I liken the first profession, which is unpleasant for the time being and ripens to pain thereafter.

Again, it is just as if there were a goblet of liquor, all right in colour, odour, and taste, but with poison in it, and a man should come along who wanted to live and not to die, who wanted to be comfortable and dis¬ liked pain ; and if people were to say to him : — This goblet of liquor is all right in colour, odour, and taste, but has poison in it. Drink it if you will ... or deadly pain. Suppose now that heedlessly he drank it and did not turn away from it, liking its colour, odour, and taste while he was drinking it, but coming by his death or deadly pain when he had drunk it down. — Unto this do I liken the second profession, which is pleasant for the time being but ripens to pain there¬ after. Again, it is just as if there were decomposing urine1 with divers medicaments in it, and a man with jaundice should come along ; and if people were to say to him : — This is decomposing urine with divers medica¬ ments in it. Drink it if you will ; but, in drinking it, you won’t like its colour or odour or taste, but, when you have drunk it, you will get well. Suppose now that, heedfully and without turning away from it, he were to drink it, disliking its colour and odour and taste while he was drinking it, but getting well after he

1 Cf. Vinaya Texts (S.B.E: XIII, 174), and see Introduction supra, p. xvii. M. i. 317. ON LIVING UP TO PROFESSIONS — II, had drunk it down. — Unto this do I liken the third profession, which is unpleasant for the time being but ripens to be pleasant thereafter. Lastly, it is just as if there were a mixture of curds and honey and ghee, and a man with dysentery should come along, and people were to say to him : — [317] Here is a mixture of curds and honey and ghee. Drink it if you will ; and, in drinking it, you will like its colour and odour and taste, and, when you have drunk it, you will get well. — Unto this do I liken the fourth profession, which both is pleasant for the time being and also ripens to be pleasant thereafter. Just as, at harvest time at the close of the rainy season, the sun shines forth and blazes in full glory, scattering and putting to flight the clouds of the air as he rises high in the heavens and drives before him all murk and gloom from the skies, — even so, Almsmen, does this last profession of the Doctrine, which blesses both the present and the future, shine forth and blaze in full glory as it overpowers the wrangles of the warring hosts of recluses and brahmins.

Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Alms¬ men rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthi in Jeta’s grove in Anathapindika’s pleasaunce, he addressed the listening Almsmen as follows : — The enquiring Almsman who searches the hearts of others, ought to study the truth-finder. The Lord is the root and the guide and the basis of all our ideas. We beg that the Lord may be moved to expound the meaning of his utterance, so that we may treasure up what we hear from him. Then listen and pay attention, [318] and I will speak, said the Lord, who then went on to address the listening Almsmen, as follows : — The enquiring Alms¬ man who searches the hearts of others ought to study the truth-finder in respect of the two states of con¬ sciousness which come through eye and ear, so as to ascertain whether in the truth-finder they occur in a corrupt form or not. As he studies, he comes to know that no corrupt forms of these occur. Pursuing his study, he comes to know that in the truth-finder such states do not occur in a mixed form. By pursuing his study still further, he comes to know that in the truth-finder these states of consciousness alone occur which are wholly pure. He proceeds to examine whether this reverend man1 has risen long since or only recently to this excellence ; and he comes to know that he rose thereto long ago.

Thence he goes on to examine whether this reverend man has grown popular and is famous, and whether certain perils beset him. — For, Almsmen, such perils do not beset an Almsman, so long as he has not grown popular and so long as he is not famous ; they beset him only after he has grown popular and is famous. — Examination shows that this reverend man is popular and famous, but that these perils do not beset him. [319] Then comes the further examination to settle whether the reverend man refrains in fearlessness or through fear, or whether it is solely by reason of passionlessness that he eschews pleasures of sense, having eradicated all passion ; and this examination shows that the eradication of passion is the reason why he eschews pleasures of sense. Should the enquiring Almsman be asked by others what facts and evidence lead him to aver that this reverend man eschews pleasures of ' sense in fearlessness and not from motives of fear, but because of the eradication of passion, then he would give the right answer by replying that, whether living

1 It will be noted that the general style of ay asm a is here given to him who has previously been recognized astathagata, but is subsequently referred to as merely a b h i k k h u— i.e. to an Arahat. Cf. supra, p. 98. in the Confraternity or alone, this reverend man — alike in dealing with rich and poor, with teachers of confraternities, with those patently covetous or with those by covetise undefiled — never looks down on a man for that. Face to face, and from the Lord's own lips, have I been assured that he refrains in fearlessness, and not through fears, and that it is solely by reason of passionlessness that he eschews pleasures of sense, having eradicated all passion. Moreover, the truth-finder himself should be asked the direct questions whether in him the states of con¬ sciousness which come through sight and hearing occur (a) in a corrupt form, (t>) in a mixed form, or (r) in entire purity. And, answering aright, the truthfinder will answer that these states occur never in a corrupt or mixed form but always in entire purity ; — this is the track I tread, this is the realm in which I move, and therewithal 1 harbour no cravings.

When such are a teacher’s words, a disciple is right to go to him for instruction in his Doctrine. That teacher expounds the Doctrine, — more and more, higher still and higher, until at last it embraces all that is foul and all that is fair, with all their mutual antagonism. And as the teacher gradually thus ex¬ pounds the Doctrine, so gradually therein does that Almsman, by insight into this or that state of conscious¬ ness, [320] reach perfection in them all, and win the belief in his teacher that — the Lord is all-enlightened ; right well has he made his Doctrine known ; his Con¬ fraternity walks in righteousness. If others should ask him on what facts and evidence he bases this belief, then, if he gives the right answer, he would reply that, as the teacher gradually expounded the Doctrine, so gradually therein had he, by insight into this or that state of consciousness, reached perfection in them all and won the belief in his teacher which made him say that the Lord was all-enlightened, that, right well had he made his Doctrine known, and that his Confraternity walked in righteousness. If any man’s faith in the truth-finder is planted, rooted, and

established by the foregoing researches and in the foregoing sentences and in the foregoing words, then such faith is styled reasoned, based on insight, assured, — impregnable to recluse or brahmin, god, Mara, Brahmii or anyone else in the universe. This, Almsmen, is the way to study a truth-finder's states of consciousness ; and it is thus that the truthfinder is studied aright in the laws of his being. Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Alms¬ men rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

Thus have I heard. Once, when the Lord was staying at KosambI in the Ghosita pleasaunce, dis¬ putes were rife in KosambI among the Almsmen, who were living in a state of uproar and contention, hurling taunts at one another ; — they could not win one another over, nor would they themselves be won over, to accord and agreement. This having been [321] reported by an Almsman to the Lord, he bade an Almsman summon those Almsmen in his name to his presence. When they had duly come and had taken their seats to one side after due salutation, he asked them whether the report of their disputes was true ; and, on their admitting it, he said : — While you are thus disputing, are you instant — both overtly and privily — in acts and in words and in thoughts of good¬ will towards your fellows in the higher life ? So it comes to this : that disputes are rife among you ; that you are living in a state of uproar and con¬ tention, hurling taunts at one another ; and that, mean¬ while, you are not instant — both overtly and privily — in acts or words or thoughts of goodwill towards your fellows in the higher life. What, oh what, can you know and see, you foolish people, that you dispute like

this and [322] never come to accord and agreement ? Long will this enure to your hurt and harm. Almsmen, there are six states of consciousness — the Lord went on to say — which, being in themselves endearing, friendly, and respectful, conduce to accord, harmony, concord, and unity. (i) If an Almsman is instant in acts of goodwill — both overtly and privily — towards his fellows in the higher life, — this is a state, in itself endearing, friendly, and respectful, which conduces to accord, harmony, concord and unity. (ii) If he is instant in words of goodwill . . . and unity. (iii) If he is instant in thoughts of goodwill . . . and unity. (iv) If he shares equally and without favour among all his virtuous fellows in the higher life everything given him that is lawful and lawfully received, down to the last crumb in his bowl, — this too is a state, in itself endearing, friendly, and respectful, which con¬ duces to accord, harmony, concord, and unity. (v) If, both overtly and privily, an Almsman lives among his fellows in the higher life in the exercise of these virtues, in their unbroken entirety, and without flaw, spot, or blemish, virtues which bestow freedom, are lauded by sages, are unmarred (by unworthy motives), and conduce to rapt concentration, — this too is a state, in itself endearing, friendly, and respectful, which conduces to accord, harmony, concord, and unity.

(vi) If — both overtly and privily — an Almsman lives, among his fellows in the higher life, seized of the noble and saving creed which guides him who lives up to it unto the utter destruction of all Ill, — this too is a state, in itself endearing, friendly, and respectful, which conduces to accord, harmony, concord, and unity. 1 Cf. Sutta No. 128 (infra) ; and see Vinaya I, 341 and II, 1 (et seqq.) for sterner disciplinary measures against refractory Almsmen. 232 XLVTII. KOSAMBIYA-SUTTA. M. i. 323. Such are the six states of consciousness which, being in themselves endearing, friendly, and respectful, con¬ duce to accord, harmony, concord, and unity ; and of the six the roof-tie which on high knits the six together is the possession of the noble and saving creed which guides him who lives up to it unto the utter destruction of all Ill. Just as in a gabled palace the gable is the roof-tie on high which knits the whole structure together, — so [823] of these six states of consciousness the roof-tie which on high knits them all together is the possession of this noble and saving creed which guides him who lives up to it unto the destruction of all Ill.

How does that noble idea affect this ? — Take the case of an Almsman who — in jungle or beneath a tree or in a home of solitude — examines himself to see whether he harbours any still lurking predisposition which can so predispose his heart as to debar him from knowing and discerning things as they really are. His heart is so predisposed, if he harbours a predis¬ position to a passion for pleasure — to malevolence — to sloth and torpor — to worry — to doubt — to centring his thoughts on this or on other worlds— or to living in a state of disputes and uproar, contention and the hurling of taunts. He emerges convinced not only that he harbours no such predisposition as would debar him from knowing and discerning things as they really are, but also that his mind is on the right lines for enlighten¬ ment in the (Four) Truths. — This is the first know¬ ledge he wins, — a knowledge noble and transcendental, not shared by the vulgar. Further, the disciple of the Noble asks himself whether, by fostering and developing and enlarging this noble and saving creed, he is gaining for himself calm and gaining peace. Yes, he answers ; I am. — This is the second knowledge . . . the vulgar.

Further, the disciple of the Noble asks himself whether — outside — there is found any recluse or brahmin who has got the noble and saving creed he has. No, he answers; not one.— [324] This is the third knowledge . . . the vulgar. Further, the disciple of the Noble asks himself whether he comports himself like one who is seized of that noble creed. Now, one seized thereof, should he be guilty of an offence which obviously has occurred, straightway declares it and lays it open and bare to his master or to sage comrades in the higher life ; and, having so confessed his offence, keeps a watch on himself thereafter. Just as a tiny babe that lies help¬ less on its back needs but to touch a live ember with foot or hand in order straightway to draw back the limb, — even so one seized of the noble and saving creed, should he be guilty . . . watch on himself thereafter. Thus he comes to know that he does comport himself like one who is seized of that noble creed. — This is the fourth knowledge . . . the vulgar. Further, the disciple of the Noble asks himself (anew) whether he comports himself like one who is seized of the noble and saving creed. Now, one seized thereof, while zealous in the discharge of his several duties — great and small — towards his comrades in the higher life, also has a keen yearning to master the higher virtues, the higher thinking, and the higher love. J ust as a cow with a calf always has her eye on her calf as she browses, — even so one seized of the noble creed, while zealous . . . higher love. Thus he comes to know that he does comport himself like one who is seized of that noble creed. — This is the fifth knowledge ... the vulgar.

[325] Further, the disciple of the Noble asks him¬ self whether his is the strength of one seized of the noble creed. Now the strength of one seized thereof consists in recognizing and appreciating, when the truth-finder’s Doctrine and Law are being preached, the import and the significance of the Doctrine, with his whole heart and ears absorbed in drinking in what he hears. Thus he comes to know that he has got the strength of one seized of the noble creed. — This is the sixth knowledge . . . the vulgar. 234 XL vra. KOSAMBIYA-SUTTA. M. i. 326. Again, the disciple of the Noble asks himself whether his is the strength of one seized of the noble creed. Now the strength of one seized thereof con¬ sists in this that, when the truth-finder’s Doctrine and Law are being preached, he takes in knowledge of welfare and of the Doctrine and gets the gladness which the Doctrine brings. Thus he comes to know that he has got the strength of one seized of the noble creed. — This is the seventh knowledge . . . the vulgar. In this way is due examination made of the de¬ meanour of a disciple of the Noble with his sevenfold endowment, for the realizing of conversion's fruits ; and those fruits appertain to a disciple of the Noble with his sevenfold endowment.

Thus spoke the Lord. Glad at heart, those Alms¬ men rejoiced in what the Lord had said.

[326] Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthi in Jeta’s grove in Anathaphidika’s pleasaunce, he addressed the listening Alms¬ men as follows : — 1 While I was staying once at Ukkattha in the Subhaga grove under the great saltree, Baka the Brahma conceived the pernicious view that his world was everlasting, permanent, eternal, complete in itself, with no rebirth thence ; that in his world there was no birth, decay, death, rebirth thence, or further existences, nor was there any other salvation beyond it. Reading his thoughts, I vanished from beneath that sal-tree to reappear in his particular Brahma-world, — as readily as a strong man might stretch forth his bent arm or draw back his outstretched 1 Cf. Samyutta 1, 142 for the beginning of this Sutta (translated in Vol. I, 179-182 of Kindred Sayings). See also Dialogues I, 30 and III, 26. arm. Seeing me coming some distance off, Baka said — Come, your Excellency ; your Excellency is welcome indeed ; it is a long time since your Excel¬ lency managed to come here. This world is ever¬ lasting, permanent . . . salvation beyond it In answer I said : — The worthy Baka the Brahma is in error, quite in error, should he affirm that the transitory is everlasting, that the impermanent has per¬ manence, that the temporal is eternal, that the incom¬ plete is complete ; that here is no birth, decay, death, rebirth hence, or further existences, — when the exact opposite is the case ; or should he affirm that there is no other salvation beyond this, — when there is another salvation beyond it.

Hereon Mara the Evil One entered into one of the Brahma conclave and said to me : — Almsman ! Alms¬ man ! forbear ; forbear ; for this Brahma is the Great Brahma, [327] vanquisher and unvanquished, allseeing and all-subduing lord, paramount disposer of life, abiding for ever, father of all creatures that are or are to be! Before your time, Almsman, the world has seen recluses and brahmins who have scorned and contemned earth, water, fire, air, creatures, gods, Pajapati, and Brahma ; — and these, at the body’s dis¬ solution, when their lives were cut off, have passed thereafter to mean existences. Before your time. Almsman, the world has seen recluses and brahmins who have lauded and revelled in earth . . . Brahma ; — and these, at the body’s dissolution, when their lives were cut off, have passed thereafter to excellent existences. Therefore, I advise you to conform to what Brahma has told you and not to be recalcitrant. Should you be recalcitrant, it will fare with you as with a man who with a stick tries to beat back the radiance which is enveloping him, or who strains at the earth for a foothold or handhold as he is in act to fall into hell’s maw. Conform to everything Brahma has said, and do not be recalcitrant. See you not, Almsman, his hosts seated around ?

I rejoined : — I know you, Evil One ; do not imagine that I know you not. You are Mara, the Evil One; you have got into your grasp and into your power Brahma and Brahma’s host and Brahma’s conclave ; and you think to get me too into your grasp and into your power ; — but I am not in your grasp, Evil One ; I am not in your power. Hereupon, Baka the Brahma said to me : — I, your Excellency, affirm that the everlasting is everlasting, [328] that the permanent is permanent, that the eternal is eternal, that the complete is complete, that freedom from rebirth hence is freedom from rebirth hence; I affirm that a realm exists where there is no birth, decay, death, rebirth thence, or further existences, — for, here is no birth, decay, rebirth hence, or further existences ; and I affirm that, there being not any other salvation beyond this, no other salvation exists. Before your time, Almsman, the world has seen recluses and brahmins who — for a term as long as the whole of your life — have devoted themselves to austerities ; and they would know whether or not there was another salvation beyond this. Therefore, Alms¬ man, I tell you that, toil and moil as long as ever you will, you will never find any other salvation beyond this. If you will recognize earth, water, fire, air, creatures, gods, Pajapati, and Brahma, then will you become mine own, reposing on me, to do as I will, and to be my elect;

I too know, Brahma, said I, that by recognizing earth, water, and the rest, I should be yours as you say. Yes, and also I know full well how you have progressed to your pomp and state as the mighty, powerful, and sovereign Baka the Brahma. What knowledge has your Excellency of this ? The realms of sun and moon , where'er their rays illumine, — yea, a thousand worlds thy sway acknowledge. But , — is' t thine to know the lot of beings good and bad, their whence and where ? — I have this knowledge, Brahma, of your progress to your pomp and state as the mighty, [829] powerful, and sovereign Baka the Brahma. Now, there are three other planes of existence, Brahma, which you do not know or discern, — though I do. First, there is the Abhassara plane, from which you came hither, though your long residence here has made you forget it so that you do not know or discern it, — as I do. Consequently, in higher knowledge, I am not on a mere equality with you, much less at a disadvantage ; — I have the advantage of you. Then there is the Subha-Kirma plane and the Vehapphala plane, neither of which you know or discern, — though 1 do. Here again, in higher knowledge, I am not on a mere equality with you, much less at a dis¬ advantage ; — I have the advantage of you.

Because, Brahma, I have realized the earth to be the earth it really is and have realized that something else which is in no wise reached by earth’s earthi¬ ness ; — no ideas occur of earth, in the earth, from the earth, my earth ; nor do I pay homage to earth. Here again . . . advantage of you. And the like . . . applies to water, fire, air, creatures, gods, Pajapati, Brahma, the Abhassaras, the Subhakinnas, the Vehapphalas, the Vanquisher, the All ; — no such ideas about them occur, nor do I pay homage to any of them. Here again . . . advantage of you. If that something else of your Excellency’s is in no wise reached by the all-ness of the All, take heed it prove not merely empty and vain. — Consciousness, for instance, which is invisible and boundless and allillumined, is not reached by earth’s earthiness, or by water’s wateriness, or by anything else in your list ! — And now I vanish from your Excellency’s view. Vanish if you can, Brahma. But, for all his protestations, Baka could not vanish ! Hereupon, I told him that I would vanish from his sight.

Vanish, if you can, — said he. Then, Almsmen, by the exercise of such magical powers as would let Brahma and his host and conclave hear me without seeing me, I disappeared, repeating these lines : — Marking what dangers life beset , how life still dogs the nihilist , no further court paid I to life nor craved for life on life. Astounded at the marvel and wonder, Brahma with his host and conclave exclaimed : — Marvellous and •wonderful is the magic power and might of the recluse Gotama! Never before was seen or reported any other recluse or brahmin of such power and might as Gotama, the Sakyan who left his Sakyan home to be a Pilgrim. A generation that delights in living and is given over to delighting and revelling in living, has seen him grub and stub up existence by the roots ! Entering now into one of Brahma’s conclave, MSra, the Evil One, said to me : — If your Excellency has come to this knowledge and to this enlightenment, do not communicate it to followers or Pilgrims ; do not expound your Doctrine to them ; yearn not for fol¬ lowers or Pilgrims. Before you, there have been recluses and brahmins in the world who, professing to be Arahats all-enlightened, communicated and ex¬ pounded their Doctrine to the followers and Pilgrims for whom they yearned ; and the result of this has been that, at the body’s dissolution when their life was cut off, they passed thereafter to mean existences.

Before you, there have been recluses and brahmins in the world who, professing to be Arahats all-enlightened, [381] refused to communicate and expound their Doctrine to followers and Pilgrims, for whom they had no yearning ; and the result of this has been that, at the body’s dissolution when their life was cut off, they passed thereafter to excellent existences. Therefore, Almsman, I advise you not to trouble but to live com¬ fortably here and now. Silence is best ; do not preach to others.

I rejoined : — I know you, Evil One ; do not imagine that I know you not. You are Mara, the Evil One. It is out of no goodwill, but out of ill-will, that you give me this advice, — because you think that those to whom I preach my gospel will pass out of your range. Though they professed to be all-enlightened, those recluses and brahmins of yours were not so ; — I pro¬ fess to be all-enlightened, — and am. Evil One, the truth-finder is one and the same, whether preaching his Doctrine to followers or not, whether communi¬ cating it or not. And why ? — Because in the truthfinder all those Cankers which are of impurity, which lead to re-birth, entail suffering, ripen unto sorrow, leaving behind a heritage of birth, decay, and death, — all these have been grubbed up by the roots, like a bare cleared site where once a palm-tree grew, things which once have been and now can be no more. Such, Almsmen, was Mara’s failure to cajole me and Brahma’s appeal. So this homily’s title is Brahma’s appeal. [832] Thus have I heard. Once while the vener¬ able Maha Moggallana was staying in the Bhagga country at Sumsumara-gira in Bhesakala wood in the deer-park, he was pacing to and fro in the open when Mara, the Evil One, entered his belly and got into his stomach. Wondering to himself why his belly should feel as heavy as if he had had a meal of beans, MoggallAna, his walk over, went to his cell and sat down to think it out by himself. Detecting Mara’s presence in his inside, he exclaimed : — Begone, Evil Mara ; begone ! Do not annoy a truth-finder or a truth-finder’s disciple, lest you lay up for yourself enduring hurt and harm.

Thought Mara to himself : — This recluse says all this without knowing or discerning that it is I. Why, even his master would take time to know it was I ; and how should this disciple know ? Hereon, Moggallana said : — Yes, 1 know you, Evil One. Imagine not that I do not. You are Mara, Evil One ; and you are thinking that it was without knowing or discerning that it was you, that I bade you begone and not annoy a truth-finder or a truthfinder’s disciple, lest you should lay up for yourself enduring hurt and harm ; but you imagine that even my master would take time to know it was you ; and how should a disciple know ? So this recluse really does know and discern that it is I, thought Mira ; and he [338] issued from Moggallana’s mouth and perched on the crutch to hold the door-bar. Seeing him perched there, and informing him that there too his presence was detected, Moggallana said : — In bygone days, Evil One, I myself was a Mara, DOsi by name ; Kaji was my sister’s name ; you were her son and so my nephew. Now in those days Kakusandha had appeared in the world as the Arahat all-enlightened, — with Vidhura and Sanjiva as his two chief disciples, a noble pair. Among all Kakusandha’s disciples there were none who could compare with the reverend Vidhura as a preacher of the Doctrine ;

and so he got his name of Vidhura (the peerless). The reverend Sanjiva, on the other hand, dwelling in the wilds or beneath trees or in the homes of solitude, attained without difficulty to cessation of feelings and perception, and in this ecstatic state was sitting under a tree. Here, as he sat without feelings or perception, he was seen by neatherds, goatherds, ploughmen, and wayfarers, who marvelled exceedingly at the sight of the recluse — sitting there dead, as they deemed — and set about burning the body. So they collected bracken and sticks and dry cowdung which they heaped over Sanjiva’s body, lit the pile, and went their way. Rising from his trance when night had passed away, Sanjiva shook his raiment and in the morning early, duly robed and bowl in hand, went into the village for alms. At the sight of him on his rounds, tne neatherds, goatherds, ploughmen, and way¬ farers marvelled exceedingly to see the recluse whom they had deemed to be sitting there dead, now alive again and quick once more ; [834] and thus he got the name of Sanjiva (Quick).

Thought Dosi the Mara : — I know neither the whence nor the whither of these virtuous and good Almsmen. Come, let me enter into the brahminhouseholders and incite them to denounce, abuse, revile, and harry these virtuous and good Almsmen so that, being thus despitefully treated, they may haply change to another frame of mind and thus give me my opening. So DusT the Mara entered into those brahmin-householders and incited them accordingly; and they then proceeded to denounce, abuse, revile, and harry those virtuous and good Brethren in these terms : These shavelings of recluses — who are only black riff-raff, sprung from the feet of our kinsman Brahma — while professing to be plunged in ecstasies, hunch up their shoulders and cast down their gaze in their befuddlement as they trance and en-trance and un-trance and de-trance. Yes! they trance away like the owl in trance on a bough — on the look-out for a mouse ; or like the jackal in trance on the river’s bank — on the look-out for fish ; or like the cat in trance by scrap-heap or midden — on the look-out for a mouse ; or like the donkey, when at last his yoke is off, in trance by the side of scrap-heap or midden. That’s the way these shavelings trance and en-trance and un- trance and de- trance.

Evil One, the people who die in such a belief, all of them, at the body’s dissolution after death, pass to re-birth in a doom of suffering and woe or purgatory. [335] Then Kakusandha the Lord, Arahat allenlightened, addressed the Almsmen, saying : — It is DusI the Mara who has entered into the brahminhouseholders to incite them to denounce, abuse, revile, and harry virtuous and good Almsmen so that, being thus despitefully treated, they may haply change to another frame of mind and thus give him his opening. Be it yours to dwell with radiant good-will pervading first one quarter of the world — then the second — then the third— and then the fourth quarter — yea, pervading the whole length and breadth of the world, above, below, around, everywhere, with radiant good-will all- 242 L. MARA-TA/JANIYA-SUTTA. M. i. 336. embracing, vast, boundless, wherein no hate or malice finds a place. And, as with good-will, so, in turn, be it yours to pervade with radiant pity, and sympathy, and poised equanimity the whole length and breadth of the world. Thus exhorted and instructed by Kakusandha the Lord, Arahat all-enlightened, those Almsmen, Evil One, retired to the wilds or under trees or to homes of solitude there to dwell with radiant good-will pervading . . . poised equanimity the whole length and breadth of the world.

Thought Dus! the Mara now : — I still know naught of the whence or the whither of these virtuous and good Almsmen. Come, let me enter into the brahminhouseholders and incite them to pay these Almsmen honour and reverence, devotion and [836] worship, so that, being thus exalted, they may haply change to another frame of mind and thus give me my opening. And this he did. When now he had entered into the brahmin-householders accordingly, they paid those virtuous and good Brethren honour and reverence, devotion and worship. Evil One, the people who die in such a belief, all of them, at the body’s dissolution after death, pass to re-birth in states of bliss in heaven. Then Kakusandha the Lord, Arahat all-enlightened, addressed the Almsmen, saying : — It is DiisI the MSra who has entered into the brahmin-householders to incite them to pay virtuous and good Almsmen honour and reverence, devotion and worship, so that, being thus exalted, they may haply change to another frame of mind and thus give him his opening. Yours be it to realize the foulness of the body, and to perceive how disgusting a thing food is, how’ empty of delight the world is, and how fleeting and transitory all things are.

Early in the day, Kakusandha the Lord, Arahat allenlightened, duly robed and bowl in hand, went into the village for alms, followed by the reverend Vidhura as his Almsman in attendance. Entering into a brahmin lad, DusI the Mara flung a potsherd which hit Vidhura’s head and broke it. Albeit with broken head streaming with blood, the reverend Vidhura [337] still kept following steadily on in Kakusandha’s wake. Turning full round, as an elephant turns to .gaze, Kakusandha the Lord, Arahat all-enlightened, exclaimed — This Mara Dusi knows no bounds 1 Even as he gazed, Dusi passed out of that existence and was reborn in Great Purgatory. Evil One, Great Purgatory bears three names, — Sixfold Contact, Meeting Spikes, and Pang-uponpang. Said the wardens of Purgatory to me : When barb meets barb inside your heart, then your Excel¬ lency will know you have been in torment for a thousand years. Tormented was I, Evil One, in Great Purgatory for many a long year, — for many hundreds of years and thousands of years ; for ten thousand years was I tormented in the heart of Great Purgatory, suffering pangs that grew and grew. My body was like a man’s, but my head was like the head of a fish.

1 You ask what hell \ what torment , Dusi knew, who durst assail disciple Vidhura and holy Kdkusdndha, brahmin true ? A hundred barbs of steel it had, and each wrought its own griding agony of pain ; — such hell, such torment, Dusi came to know, who durst assail disciple Vidhura and holy Kdkusdndha, brahmin true. — For thine assault on me, who know so much , who Buddha's leal disciple am, there waits, foul fiend of darkness, vengeance dire and sure. I know where, ageless, through the ages stand gods' jewelld mansions, in mid-ocean set , shining , resplendent, bright with dancing nymphs. — For thine assault . . . vengeance dire and sure. 1 These lines occur also at Theragdtlm, p. 106 (transd. at p. 391 of Psalms of the Early Buddhists). At His command, while Almsmen watched around, my toe Visakha's palace rudely shook. 1 — For thine assault , . . vengeance dire and sure. [338] By magic might , while godlings quaked with dread , my toe the Vcjayanta palace rocked 2 — For thine assault . . . vengeance dire and sure. In Vejayanta palace Sakha's self I straitly question'd: Undcrstandeth thou how Cravings quelled Deliver heart of man ?

A nd he, proud Sakka, answer humbly made. — For thine assault . . . vengeance dire and sure. I know who, face to face in Brahma's halls} thus straitly question'd BrahmU : Holdest thou today thy former views ? Or see'st thou now how all thy heaven! s glories fade away ? And he, great Brahma, answer humbly made that he stick views no longer held, but saw how all his heavens glories fade and pass, and how he erred, erred grievously, of old, to claim eternal, everlasting life. — For thine assault . . . vettgeance dire and sure. / know who Merits summit won in trance 4 and saw the four great continents of earth 5 6 with all the peoples that on earth do dwell. — For thine assault . . . vettgeance dire and sure. No malice yet drove fire to bum a fool ; 'lis still the fool who first assails the fire and feeds the flames his folly first provoked. So, Mara, thou who durst assail a Saint } shalt burn thyself like fools who play with fire. 1 Cf. Therdgatha, p. 105 (trans. at p. 392 of Psalms of the Early 3 See Sutta 37. 3 See Sutta 49.

* Bu. refers to the NandSpanatida-damana (see Jataka V, 65). 6 See Dlgha, Sutta No. 32, transd. at Dialogues III, 188 et seqq. 6 Bu. is here silent on the meaning in the text oftathagata — “ here clearly, and in the Commentary [of DhammapSla on the Theragatha] explicitly, applied to a Thera Arahant ” ( Psalms , P- 393, n- 4)-! Evil thou didst wko durst assail a Saint, imagining — how fondly ! — evil's curse to flee. Thitte evil-doing garner'd stands ; and woe, 0 Death, through ages shall thy portion be ! • Leave then the Buddha ; let his Almsmen be ! Thus in those woodlands did that Alms/nan rate fell Mara, till the cowed and abject fiend , quitting the contest, vanished out of sight.