Majjhima Nikāya
II. Majjhima-Paṇṇāsa
3. Paribbājaka Vagga

The Middle Length Sayings
II. The Middle Fifty Discourses
3. The Division on Wanderers

Sutta 79

Cūḷa Sakuludāyi Suttaɱ

Translated from the Pali by I.B. Horner, O.B.E., M.A.
Associate of Newham College, Cambridge
First Published in 1954

Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved

For details see Terms of Use.

[228]

[1][chlm][upal] THUS have I heard:

At one time the Lord was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove at the squirrels’ feeding place.

Now at that time the wanderer Sakuludāyin was living in the wanderers’ park
at the peacocks’ feeding place
together with a large company of wanderers.

Then the Lord, having dressed in the morning,
taking his bowl and robe,
entered Rājagaha for almsfood.^[1]

Then it occurred to the Lord:

“It is too early to walk for almsfood in Rājagaha.

Suppose I were to approach the wanderers’ park,
the peacocks’ feeding place
and the wanderer Sakuludāyin

“Then the Lord approached the peacocks’ feeding place
in the wanderers’ park.

Now at that time the wanderer Sakuludāyin was sitting down
with the great company of wanderers
shouting out with a loud noise,
a great noise,
talking various kinds of inferior talk
that is to say
talk on kings,
thieves,
great ministers,
armies,
fears,
battles,
food,
drink,
clothes,
beds,
garlands,
scents,
relations,
vehicles,
villages,
market towns,
towns,
the country,
women,
heroes,
streets,
wells,
those departed before,
talk of diversity,
speculation about the world,
speculation about the sea,
talk about becoming or not becoming
thus or thus.

The wanderer Sakuludāyin saw the Lord coming in the distance;
seeing him, he called his own company to order, saying:

“Good sirs, let there be little noise;
do not, good sirs, make a noise;
this is the recluse Gotama who is coming

The the recluse Gotama wishes for little noise,
is trained to little noise,
praises little noise.

So he may consider approaching
if he knows that this is a company of little noise.”

Then these wanderers fell silent.

Then the Lord approached the wanderer Sakuludāyin.

The wanderer Sakuludāyin spoke thus to the Lord:

“Let the revered one come,
there is a welcome for the revered one;
it is long since the revered one made this opportunity!

That is to say for coming here.

Let the revered one sit down,
this seat is ready.”

Then the Lord sat down on the seat that was ready.

And the wanderer Sakuludāyin,
having taken a low seat,
sat down at a respectful distance.

The Lord spoke thus to the wanderer Sakuludāyin
as he was sitting down at a respectful distance:

“What is the talk
for which you are now gathered together here, Udāyin?

And what was your talk
that was interrupted?”

“Let be that talk, revered sir,
for which we are now gathered together here.

It will not be difficult
for the Lord to hear this talk later.

When I, Lord,
am not near this company,
then this company is sitting down
talking a variety of inferior talk.

But when I, Lord,
am near this company,
then this company is sitting down
gazing at my face,
saying:

‘We will listen to whatever Dhamma
the recluse Udāyin speaks to us.’

But when, Lord, the Lord is near this company,
then I and this company
are alike sitting down
gazing at the Lord’s face,
and saying:

‘We will listen to whatever Dhamma
the Lord speaks to us.'”

“Well then, Udāyin,
let something occur to you here
so that you can speak it to me.”

“Some time ago, revered sir,
one who was all-knowing,
all-seeing,
claiming all-embracing knowledge-and-vision,
said:

‘Whether I am walking
or standing still
or asleep
or awake,
knowledge-and-vision is constantly
and perpetually
before me.’^[2]

He, on being asked a [229] question by me
concerning the past,
shelved the question by (asking) another,
answered off the point
and evinced temper
and ill-will
and sulkiness.^[3]

It was because of this, revered sir,
that rapture arose in me
respecting the Lord,
and I thought:

‘Ah, indeed it is the Lord,
ah, indeed it is the Well-farer
that is skilled in these matters.'”

“But who was this, Udāyin,
that all-knowing,
all-seeing,
claiming all-embracing knowledge-and-vision,
said:

‘Whether I am walking
or standing still
or asleep
or awake,
knowledge-and-vision is constantly
and perpetually before me,’
and who,
on being asked a question by you
concerning the past,
shelved the question by (asking) another,
answered off the point
and evinced temper
and ill-will
and sulkiness?”

“Revered sir, it was Nātaputta the Jain.”

“Udāyin,
whoever could recollect a variety of former habitations,
that is to say:

One birth,
two births,
three births,
four births,
five births,
ten births,
twenty births,
thirty births,
forty births,
fifty births,
a hundred births,
a thousand births,
a hundred thousand births,
and many an eon of integration
and many an eon of disintegration
and many an eon of integration-disintegration;
such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I came to be in another state
where such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I arose here
and could recollect thus
in all their mode and detail
a variety of former habitations,

either he could ask me a question concerning the past
or I could ask him a question concerning the past;
either he could turn his mind
to answering my question concerning the past
or I could turn my mind
to answering his question concerning the past.

Udāyin,
whoever could with the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
behold beings as they are passing hence
and coming to be,
mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going
according to the consequences of their deeds,
thinking:

Indeed these worthy beings
who were possessed of wrong conduct in body,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of speech,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of thought,
scoffers at the ariyans,
holding a wrong view,
incurring deeds consequent on a wrong view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a sorrowful state,
a bad bourn,
the abyss,
Niraya Hell.

But these worthy beings
who were possessed of good conduct in body,
who were possessed of good conduct in speech,
who were possessed of good conduct in thought,
who did not scoff at the ariyans,
holding a right view,
incurring deeds consequent on a right view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a good bourn,
a heaven world.

And thus with the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
see beings as they pass hence,
as they arise;
could comprehend that beings are mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going
according to the consequences of their deeds,

either he could ask me a question concerning the future
or I could ask him a question concerning the future;
either he could turn his mind
to answering my question concerning the future
or I could turn my mind
to answering his question concerning the future.

Wherefore, Udāyin,
let be the past,
let be the future.

I will teach you dhamma:

If this is,
that comes to be;
from the arising of this,
that arises;
if this is not,
that does not come to be;
from the stopping of this,
that is stopped.”

“But I, revered sir,
even to the extent that I have realized this individuality of mine,
am not able to recollect it with its mode and detail.

How then should I recollect a variety of former habitations,
that is to say:

One birth,
two births,
three births,
four births,
five births,
ten births,
twenty births,
thirty births,
forty births,
fifty births,
a hundred births,
a thousand births,
a hundred thousand births,
and many an eon of integration
and many an eon of disintegration
and many an eon of integration-disintegration;
such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I came to be in another state
where such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I arose here

and say that I recollect a variety of former habitations
in all their mode and detail,
like the Lord?

Then I, revered sir,
do not even see a mud-sprite^[4] at present.

How then should I
with the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
behold beings as they are passing hence
and coming to be,
mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going according to the consequences of their deeds,
thinking:

Indeed these worthy beings
who were possessed of wrong conduct in body,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of speech,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of thought,
scoffers at the ariyans,
holding a wrong view,
incurring deeds consequent on a wrong view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a sorrowful state,
a bad bourn,
the abyss,
Niraya Hell.

But these worthy beings
who were possessed of good conduct in body,
who were possessed of good conduct in speech,
who were possessed of good conduct in thought,
who did not scoff at the ariyans,
holding a right view,
incurring deeds consequent on a right view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a good bourn,
a heaven world.

And thus with the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
see beings as they pass hence,
as they arise;
and comprehend that beings are mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going
according to the consequences of their deeds,

like the [230] Lord?

So that when, revered sir, the Lord spoke thus to me:

‘Let be the past,
let be the future.

I will teach you dhamma:

If this is,
that comes to be;
from the arising of this,
that arises;
if this is not,
that does not come to be;
from the stopping of this,
that is stopped.”

– then that is not abundantly clear to me.

Nevertheless I, revered sir,
could satisfy the Lord’s mind
with an explanation of a question
that belongs to our own teachers.”

“What do your own teachers say, Udāyin?”

“Revered sir, our own teachers speak thus:

‘This is the highest lustre,^[5]
this is the highest lustre.'”

“But when your own teachers speak thus to you, Udāyin:

‘This is the highest lustre,
this is the highest lustre,’

which is this highest lustre?”

“Revered sir, there is no other lustre
superior to
or more excellent than this lustre,
it is the highest lustre.”

“But which is this lustre, Udāyin,
than which there is no other lustre
superior or more excellent?”

“Revered sir, there is no other lustre
superior to
or more excellent than that lustre,
it is the highest lustre.”

“You would be long in expanding this, Udāyin.

You say:

‘Revered sir, there is no other lustre
superior to
or more excellent than this lustre,
it is the highest lustre,’

but you do not point to this lustre.

Udāyin, it is as though a man should say:^[6]

‘Whoever is the belle of this countryside,
I want her,
I desire her.’

Another man might say to him:

‘My good man,
do you know whether this belle of the countryside
whom you want and desire
is a noble maiden
or a brahmin
or a merchant
or a worker?’

Asked this, he would say:

‘No.’

The other might say to him:

‘My good man,
do you know the name
or the clan
of this belle of the countryside
whom you want and desire?’

Asked this, he would say:

‘No.’

The other might say to him:

‘My good man,
do you know whether she is tall
or short
or of medium height,
or dark
or brown
or sallow;
or what village
or market town
or what town
she belongs to?’

Asked this, he might say:

‘No.’

The other might speak to him thus:

‘My good man,
do you want and desire
her whom you know not,
see not?’

Asked this, he might say:

‘Yes.’

What do you think about this, Udāyin?

This being so,
surely that man’s irresponsible talk
does not prosper him?”^[7]

[231] “Certainly, revered sir,
this being so,
that man’s irresponsible talk
does not prosper him.”

“But even so do you, Udāyin, say:

‘Revered sir, there is no other lustre
superior to
or more excellent than this lustre,
it is the highest lustre.’

But you do not point to this lustre.”

“Revered sir, as an emerald jewel^[8],
of lovely water,
well cut into eight facets,
if placed on a pale piece of cloth
shines and gleams and glows –
of such a lustre
is the hale self^[9]
after dying.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
that emerald jewel,
of lovely water,
cut into eight facets
that, if placed on a pale piece of cloth
shines and gleams and glows;
or some glow-worm
or fire-fly
in the dense darkness of the night?”

“Why, revered sir, of these two lustres,
the surpassing and more excellent
is the glow-worm
or fire-fly
in the dense darkness of the night.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
the glow-worm
or fire-fly
in the dense darkness of the night
or an oil-lamp
in the dense darkness of the night?”

“Why, revered sir, the oil-lamp.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
the oil-lamp
in the dense darkness of the night
or a great blaze of fire
in the dense darkness of the night?”

“Why, revered sir,
the great blaze of fire
in the dense darkness of the night.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
the great blaze of fire
in the dense darkness of the night
or the morning star
in a clear cloudless sky
towards dawn?”

“Why, revered sir,
the morning star
in a clear cloudless sky
towards dawn
is the surpassing and more excellent
of these two lustres.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
the morning star
in a clear cloudless sky
towards dawn
or the moon at its zenith^[10]
in [232] a clear cloudless sky
at midnight
on an Observance day,
a fifteenth?”

“Why, revered sir,
on an Observance day,
a fifteenth,
the moon at its zenith
in a clear cloudless sky
at midnight.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Of these two lustres,
which is the surpassing and more excellent:
the moon at its zenith
in a clear cloudless sky
at midnight
on an Observance day,
a fifteenth,
or the sun at its zenith
in a clear cloudless sky
at noonday
in the last month of the rains
in the autumn?”

“Why, revered sir,
the sun at its zenith
in a clear cloudless sky
at noonday
in the last month of the rains
in the autumn
is of these two lustres
the surpassing and more excellent.”

“Greater than these
are those many devas, Udāyin,
who do not share in^[11] the brilliance
of these moons and suns –
that I comprehend.

But then I do not say:

‘There is no other lustre
superior to
or more excellent than this lustre.’

But you, Udāyin,
although this lustre of a glow-worm
or a fire-fly
is feebler and poorer,
say it is the highest lustre.

And you do not point to that lustre.

“The Lord has settled the talk, the Well-farer has settled the talk.”

“But why do you, Udāyin, speak thus:

‘The Lord has settled the talk, the Well-farer has settled the talk?'”

“Revered sir, our own teachers speak thus:

‘This is the highest lustre,
this is the highest lustre.’

But these teachers of ours, revered sir,
on being questioned,
cross-questioned
and pressed for reasons by the Lord,
are empty,
void
and have fallen short.”^[12]

“But, Udāyin, is there a world that is exclusively happy?

Is there a reasoned course^[13]
for realising a world that is exclusively happy?”

“Revered sir, our own teachers speak thus:

‘There is a world that is exclusively happy;
there is a reasoned course
for realising a world that ia exclusively happy.'”

“And which, Udāyin, is this reasoned course
for reaching a world that is exclusively happy?”

“As to this, revered sir, someone,
giving up onslaught on creatures,
abstains from onslaught on creatures;
giving up taking what has not been given,
he abstains from taking what has not been given;
giving up wrong conduct in regard to sense-pleasures,
he abstains from wrong conduct in regard to sense-pleasures;
giving up lying [233] speech,
he abstains from lying speech;
or he lives undertaking a certain asceticism.^[14]

This, revered sir, is a reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

At the time when,
giving up onslaught on creatures,
he abstains from onslaught on creatures,
is the self at that time exclusively happy
or is it happy and sorrowful?”

“It is happy and sorrowful, revered sir.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

At the time when giving up taking what has not been given,
he abstains from taking what has not been given,
is the self at that time exclusively happy
or is it happy and sorrowful?”

“It is happy and sorrowful, revered sir.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

At the time when giving up wrong conduct in regard to sense-pleasures,
he abstains from wrong conduct in regard to sense-pleasures,
is the self at that time exclusively happy
or is it happy and sorrowful?”

“It is happy and sorrowful, revered sir.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

At the time when, giving up lying speech,
he abstains from lying speech,
is the self at that time exclusively happy
or is it happy and sorrowful?”

“It is happy and sorrowful, revered sir.”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

At the time when he lives undertaking some asceticism,
is the self at that time exclusively happy
or is it happy and sorrowful?”

“It is happy and sorrowful, revered sir,”

“What do you think about this, Udāyin?

Is not then the course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy
one that is both happy and sorrowful?”

“The Lord has settled this talk,
the Well-farer has settled this talk.”

“But why do you, Udāyin, speak thus:

‘The Lord has settled this talk,
the Well-farer has settled this talk’?”

“Revered sir, our own teachers speak thus:

‘There is a world that is exclusively happy,
there is a reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy.’

But these teachers of ours, revered sir,
on being questioned,
cross-questioned
and pressed for reasons by the Lord,
are empty,
void,
and have fallen short.

But, revered sir, is there a world that is exclusively happy?

Is there a reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy?”

“There is indeed, Udāyin, a world that is exclusively happy.

There is a reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy.”

“And which, revered sir,
is this reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy?’

“As to this, Udāyin, a monk,
aloof from pleasures of the senses,
aloof from unskilled states of mind,
enters and abides in the first meditation,
which is accompanied by initial thought and discursive thought,
is born of aloofness
and is rapturous and joyful.

By allaying initial and discursive thought,
the mind subjectively tranquillised
and fixed on one point,
he enters and abides in the second [234] meditation,
which is devoid of initial and discursive thought,
is born of concentration
and is rapturous and joyful.

By the fading out of rapture,
he dwells with equanimity,
attentive and clearly conscious,
and experiences in his person
that joy of which the ariyans say:

‘Joyful lives he who has equanimity and is mindful’,

and he enters and abides in the third meditation.

This, Udāyin, is that reasoned course for realising a world that is exclusively happy.”

“But this, revered sir,
is not a reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy.

For the world that is exclusively happy
might have been already realized.”

“Indeed, Udāyin,
a world that is exclusively happy
could not have been already realized.

For this is itself the reasoned course
for realising a world that is exclusively happy.”

When this had been said,
the wanderer Sakuludāyin’s company
shouted out with a loud noise,
a great noise:

“We have heard to here from our own teachers,
we have heard to here from our own teachers.

We comprehend nothing more beyond this.”

Then the wanderer Sakuludāyin,
having quietened those wanderers,
spoke thus to the Lord:

“But when could that world
which is exclusively happy
be realized, revered sir?”

“As to this, Udāyin, a monk, by getting rid of joy
by getting rid of anguish,
by the going down of his former pleasures and sorrows,
enters and abides in the fourth meditation,
which has neither anguish nor joy,
and which is entirely purified
by equanimity and mindfulness.

As many as are the devatas that have uprisen
in a world that is exclusively happy,
he remains
and talks
and falls into conversation with these devatas.

Indeed, Udāyin, a world that is exclusively happy
might have been already realized.”

“Now, revered sir,
is it not for realising this world
that is exclusively happy
that monks fare the Brahma-faring under the Lord?”

“No, Udāyin,
it is not for the sake of realising this world
that is exclusively happy
that monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

There simply are, Udāyin, other things
superior and more excellent
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.”

“But what, revered sir,
are these things
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under the Lord?”

“As to this, Udāyin,
a Tathāgata arises in the world,
perfected one,
fully Self-Awakened One,
endowed with (right) knowledge and conduct,
Well-farer,
knower of the worlds,
matchless charioteer of men to be tamed,
teacher of devas and men,
the Awakened One,
the Lord.^[15]

He makes known this world
with the devas,
with Māra,
with Brahmā,
creation
with its recluses and brahmans,
its devas and men,
having realized them
by his own super-knowledge.

He teaches Dhamma
which is lovely at the beginning,
lovely in the middle,
lovely at the ending,
with the spirit and the letter;
he proclaims the Brahma-faring
wholly fulfilled,
quite purified.

A householder
or a householder’s son
or one born in another family
hears that Dhamma.

Having heard that Dhamma,
he gains faith in the Tathāgata.

Endowed with this faith
that he has acquired,
he reflects in this way:

“The household life is confined and dusty;
going forth is of the open;
it is not easy for one who lives in a house
to fare the Brahma-faring
wholly fulfilled,
wholly pure,
polished like a conch-shell.

Suppose now that I,
having cut off hair and beard,
having put on saffron robes,
should go forth from home
into homelessness?’

After a time,
getting rid of his wealth,
be it small or great,
getting rid of his circle of relations,
be it small or great,
having cut off his hair and beard,
having put on saffron robes,
he goes forth from home
into homelessness.

He, being thus one who has gone forth
and who is endowed with the training
and the way of living of monks,
abandoning onslaught on creatures,
is one who abstains from onslaught on creatures;
the stick laid aside,
the knife laid aside,
he lives kindly,
scrupulous,
friendly
and compassionate
towards all breathing things and creatures.

Abandoning the taking of what is not given,
he is one who abstains from taking what is not given;
being one who takes (only) what is given,
who waits for what is given,
not by stealing he lives with a self become pure.

Abandoning unchastity,
he is one who is chaste,
keeping remote (from unchastity),
abstaining from dealings with women.

Abandoning lying speech,
he is one who abstains from lying speech,
a truth-speaker,
a bondsman to truth,
trustworthy,
dependable,
no deceiver of the world.

Abandoning slanderous speech,
he is one who abstains from slanderous speech;
having heard something here
he is not one for repeating it elsewhere
for (causing) variance among these (people),
or having heard something elsewhere
he is not one to repeat it there
for (causing) variance among these (people).

In this way
he is a reconciler of those who are at variance,
and one who combines those who are friends.

Concord is his pleasure,
concord his delight,
concord his joy,
concord is the motive of his speech.

Abandoning harsh speech,
he is one who abstains from harsh speech.

Whatever speech is gentle,
pleasing to the ear,
affectionate,
going to the heart,
urbane,
pleasant to the manyfolk,
agreeable to the manyfolk –
he comes to be one who utters speech like this.

Abandoning frivolous chatter,
he is one who abstains from frivolous chatter.

He is a speaker at a right time,
a speaker of fact,
a speaker on the goal,
a speaker on Dhamma,
a speaker on discipline,
he speaks words that are worth treasuring,
with similes at a right time
that are discriminating,
connected with the goal.

He comes to be one who abstains
from what involves destruction to seed-growth,
to vegetable growth.

He comes to be one who eats one meal a day,
refraining at night,
abstaining from eating at a wrong time.

He comes to be one who abstains
from watching shows of dancing,
singing,
music.

He comes to be one who abstains
from using garlands,
scents,
unguents,
adornments,
finery.

He comes to be one who abstains
from using high beds,
large beds.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting gold and silver.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting raw grain.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting raw meat.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting women and girls.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting women slaves and men slaves.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting goats and sheep.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting fowl and swine.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting elephants, cows, horses, mares.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting fields and sites.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting messages or going on such.

He comes to be one who abstains from buying and selling.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting from cheating with weights.

He comes to be one who abstains
from accepting from cheating with bronzes.

He comes to be one who abstains
from cheating with measures.

He comes to be one who abstains
from the crooked ways of bribery, fraud and deceit.

He comes to be one who abstains
from maiming, murdering, manacling, highway robbery.

He comes to be contented
with the robes for protecting his body,
with the almsfood for sustaining his stomach.

Wherever he goes
he takes these things with him as he goes.

As a bird on the wing
wherever it flies
takes its’ wings with it as it flies,
so a monk,
contented with the robes for protecting his body,
with the almsfood for sustaining his stomach,
wherever he goes
takes these things with him as he goes.

He, possessed of the ariyan body of moral habit,
subjectively experiences unsullied well-being.

Having seen a material shape with the eye,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he dwells with this organ of sight uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind,
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of sight,
he comes to control over the organ of sight.

Having heard a sound with the ear,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he dwells with this organ of hearing uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind,
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of hearing,
he comes to control over the organ of hearing.

Having smelt a smell with the nose,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he dwells with this organ of smell uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind,
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of smell,
he comes to control over the organ of smell.

Having savoured a taste with the tongue,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he dwells with this organ of taste uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind,
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of taste,
he comes to control over the organ of taste.

Having felt a touch with the body,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he dwells with this organ of touch uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind,
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of touch,
he comes to control over the organ of touch.

Having cognised a mental object with the mind,
he is not entranced by the general appearance,
he is not entranced by the detail.

If he lives with this organ of mind uncontrolled,
covetousness and dejection,
evil unskilled states of mind
might predominate.

So he fares along controlling it;
he guards the organ of mind,
he comes to control over the organ of mind.

If he is possessed of this ariyan control of the (sense-) organs,
he subjectively experiences unsullied well-being.

Whether he is setting out
or returning,
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is looking down
or looking round,
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is bending back
or stretching out (his arm),
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is carrying his outer cloak,
his bowl,
his robe,
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is munching,
drinking,
eating,
savouring,
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is obeying the calls of nature,
he is one who comports himself properly;
whether he is walking,
standing,
asleep,
awake,
talking,
silent,
he is one who comports himself properly.

Possessed of this ariyan body of moral habit
and possessed of this ariyan control of the (sense-) organs
and possessed of this ariyan mindfulness
and clear consciousness,
he chooses a remote lodging in a forest,
at the root of a tree,
on a mountain slope,
in a wilderness,
in a hill-cave,
in a cemetery,
in a forest haunt,
in the open
or on a heap of straw.

He, returning from alms-gathering
after his meal,
sits down cross-legged
holding the back erect,
having made mindfulness
rise up in front of him.

He, having got rid of covetousness for the world,
lives with a mind devoid of coveting,
he purifies the mind of coveting.

By getting rid of the taint of ill-will,
he lives benevolent in mind;
and compassionate for the welfare
of all creatures and beings,
he purifies the mind of the taint of ill-will.

By getting rid of sloth and torpor,
he lives devoid of sloth and torpor;
perceiving the light,
mindful and clearly conscious,
he purifies the mind of sloth and torpor.

By getting rid of restlessness and worry,
he lives calmly,
the mind subjectively tranquillised,
he purifies the mind of restlessness and worry.

By getting rid of doubt,
he lives doubt-crossed;
unperplexed as to the states that are skilled,
he purifies his mind of doubt.

He, by getting rid Of these five hindrances –
defilements [235] of the mind and weakening to intuitive wisdom –
aloof from pleasure of the senses,
aloof from unskilled states of mind,
enters and abides in the first meditation,
which is accompanied by initial thought and discursive thought,
is born of aloofness
and is rapturous and joyful.

This is a thing, Udāyin,
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

And again, Udāyin, a monk,
by allaying initial and discursive thought,
the mind subjectively tranquillised
and fixed on one point,
enters and abides in the second meditation,
which is devoid of initial and discursive thought,
is born of concentration
and is rapturous and joyful.

This is a thing, Udāyin,
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

And again, Udāyin, a monk,
by the fading out of rapture,
dwells with equanimity,
attentive and clearly conscious,
and experiences in his person
that joy of which the ariyans say:

‘Joyful lives he
who has equanimity and is mindful’,

and he enters and abides in the third meditation.

This is a thing, Udāyin,
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

And again, Udāyin, a monk,
by getting rid of joy,
by getting rid of anguish,
by the going down of his former pleasures and sorrows,
enters and abides in the fourth meditation,
which has neither anguish nor joy,
and which is entirely purified
by equanimity and mindfulness.

This too is a thing, Udāyin,
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

Thus with the mind composed,
quite purified,
quite clarified,
without blemish,
without defilement,
grown soft and workable,
fixed,
immovable,
he directs his mind to the knowledge
and recollection of former habitations,^[16] that is to say:

One birth,
two births,
three births,
four births,
five births,
ten births,
twenty births,
thirty births,
forty births,
fifty births,
a hundred births,
a thousand births,
a hundred thousand births,
and many an eon of integration
and many an eon of disintegration
and many an eon of integration-disintegration;
such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I came to be in another state
where such a one was I by name,
having such and such a clan,
such and such a colour,
so was I nourished,
such and such pleasant and painful experiences were mine,
so did the span of life end.

Passing from this,
I arose here
and could recollect thus
in all their mode and detail
a variety of former habitations.

This too is a thing, Udāyin,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

Thus with the mind composed,
quite purified,
quite clarified,
without blemish,
without defilement,
grown soft and workable,
fixed,
immovable,
he directs his mind to the knowledge
of the passing hence
and coming to be of beings.

With the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
he beholds beings as they are passing hence
and coming to be,
mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going
according to the consequences of their deeds,
thinking:

Indeed these worthy beings
who were possessed of wrong conduct in body,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of speech,
who were possessed of wrong conduct of thought,
scoffers at the ariyans,
holding a wrong view,
incurring deeds consequent on a wrong view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a sorrowful state,
a bad bourn,
the abyss,
Niraya Hell.

But these worthy beings
who were possessed of good conduct in body,
who were possessed of good conduct in speech,
who were possessed of good conduct in thought,
who did not scoff at the ariyans,
holding a right view,
incurring deeds consequent on a right view –
these, at the breaking up of the body after dying,
have arisen in a good bourn,
a heaven world.

And thus with the purified deva-vision
surpassing that of men
he sees beings as they pass hence,
as they arise;
and he comprehends that beings are mean,
excellent,
comely,
ugly,
well-going,
ill-going
according to the consequences of deeds.

This too is a thing,
superior and more excellent, Udāyin,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

Thus with the mind composed,
quite purified,
quite clarified,
without blemish,
without defilement,
grown soft and workable,
fixed,
immovable,
he directs his mind to the knowledge
of the destruction of the cankers.

He comprehends as it really is:

This is anguish,
this the arising of anguish,
this the stopping of anguish,
this the course leading to the stopping of anguish.

He comprehends as it really is:

These are the cankers,
this the arising of the cankers,
this the stopping of the cankers,
this the course leading to the stopping of the cankers.

Knowing thus,
seeing thus,
his mind is freed from the canker of sense-pleasures
and his mind is freed from the canker of becoming
and his mind is freed from the canker of ignorance.

In freedom
the knowledge comes to be:

“I am freed”;

and he comprehends:

Destroyed is birth,
brought to a close the Brahma-faring,
done is what was to be done,
there is no more
of being such or so.

This too is a thing,
superior and more excellent, Udāyin,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.

These, Udāyin, are the things,
superior and more excellent,
for the sake of realising which
monks fare the Brahma-faring under me.”

When this had been said,
the wanderer Sakuludāyin spoke thus to [236] the Lord:

“It is excellent, revered sir,
excellent, revered sir.

It is as if, revered sir,
one might set upright what had been upset,
or might disclose what was covered,
or point out the way
to one who had gone astray,
or might bring an oil-lamp into the darkness
so that those with vision might see material shapes –
even so in many a figure
is dhamma made clear by the Lord.

I, revered sir, am going to the Lord for refuge
and to dhamma
and to the Order of monks.

May I, revered sir,
receive the going forth in the Lord’s presence,
may I receive ordination?”

When this had been said
the company of the wanderer Sakuludāyin
spoke thus to him:

“Do not, good Udāyin,
fare the Brahma-faring
under the recluse Gotama;
do not, good Udāyin,
having been a teacher,
live as a pupil.

As what was once a good water-pot
might spring a leak,
so would be this performance
of the good Udāyin.

Do not, good Udāyin,
fare the Brahma-faring
under the recluse Gotama;
do not, good Udāyin,
having been a teacher,
live as a pupil.”

It was thus that the company of the wanderer Sakuludāyin
made for the wanderer Sakuludāyin
a stumbling-block in (the way of) the Brahma-faring under the Lord.^[17]

Lesser Discourse to Sakuludāyin:
The Ninth

^[1] As in Sta. 77; and cf. Stas. 76, 78.

^[2] As at M. i. 519.

^[3] Cf. M. i. 250.

^[4] paɱsupisācaka.

^[5] Cf. the following with M. ii. 40. Vaṇṇa is a word of several meanings, such as colour, caste, beauty, appearance, praise.

^[6] As at D. i. 241.

^[7] appāṭhīrakata bhāsita, as at M. ii. 41, D. i. 193, 239, 242, 244. MA. iii. 273 explains as anniyānika amūlaka niratthaka, what does not lead onwards, is groundless and without a goal. Cf. appāṭihāriya at M. ii. 9.

^[8] Cf. M. ii. 17.

^[9] Cf. M. ii. 228. MA. iii. 273 says it is said that at the time of dying the self shines as though in the world of the Subhakiṇha devas.

^[10] abhido. MA. iii. 274 says: gaganamajjhe … majjhantike.

^[11] nānubhonti, not to share in, draw on or derive from.

^[12] As at M. i. 233.

^[13] ākāravatī paṭipadā. Cf. ākāravatī saddhā, a reasoned faith, at M. i. 320.

^[14] tapoguṇa.

^[15] As in M. Sta. 27 (see M.L.S. i. 223 ff.), and M. Sta. 51. M. ii. 38 does not repeat.

^[16] See M.L.S. i. 28.

^[17] MA. iii. 275 says because be did not obtain the going forth they made this disturbance; and that later (i.e. anāgate, in the future), in the time of Āsoka, he became the thera called Assagutta (see Miln.. 6 ff., VbhA. 272, Asl. 419) who was topmost of abiders in (the meditation on) friendliness, even extending a mind of friendliness to animals. It is because the Buddha knew that this would be so that he taught Dhamma to Sakuludāyin.