12.
The Discourse on Rāsiya
364.
Then Rāsiya the headman approached the Blessed One;
having approached, he paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.
Seated to one side, Rāsiya the headman said this to the Blessed One -
"I have heard this, venerable sir, 'The ascetic Gotama censures all austere asceticism, he absolutely blames and reproaches every austere ascetic who leads a miserable life.'
Those who, venerable sir, say thus -
'The ascetic Gotama censures all austere asceticism, he absolutely blames and reproaches every austere ascetic who leads a miserable life' - are they, venerable sir, speaking what has been said by the Blessed One, and do they not misrepresent the Blessed One with what is untrue, and do they explain what is in conformity with the Teaching, and does no reasonable counter-argument come to a blameworthy position?"
"Those who, headman, say thus -
'The ascetic Gotama censures all austere asceticism, he absolutely blames and reproaches every austere ascetic who leads a miserable life' - they are not speaking what has been said by me, and they misrepresent me with what is non-existent, hollow, and untrue.
"There are these two extremes, headman, that should not be cultivated by one who has gone forth - that which is the pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, belonging to ordinary people, ignoble, not connected with benefit, and that which is the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, not connected with benefit. Not approaching these two extremes, headman, the middle practice has been fully awakened to by the Truth-finder - giving vision, giving knowledge, leading to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. And what, headman, is that middle practice that has been fully awakened to by the Truth-finder - giving vision, giving knowledge, leading to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna? It is just this noble eightfold path, as follows - right view, etc. right concentration. This, headman, is that middle practice that has been fully awakened to by the Truth-finder - giving vision, giving knowledge, leading to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna.
"There are, headman, three kinds of enjoyers of sensual pleasures existing and found in the world. Which three? Here, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth not by rule, by violence; having sought wealth not by rule, by violence, he does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth not by rule, by violence. Having sought wealth not by rule, by violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, but does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth not by rule, by violence. Having sought wealth not by rule, by violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, and makes merit.
"Here again, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth both by rule and not by rule, both by violence and without violence. Having sought wealth both by rule and not by rule, both by violence and without violence, he does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth both by rule and not by rule, both by violence and without violence. Having sought wealth both righteously and not righteously, both by violence and without violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, but does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain enjoyer of sensual pleasures seeks wealth both by rule and not by rule, both by violence and without violence. Having sought wealth both by rule and not by rule, both by violence and without violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, and makes merit.
"Here again, headman, a certain one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence. Having sought wealth righteously, without violence, he does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence. Having sought wealth righteously, without violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, does not share, does not make merit. Here again, headman, a certain one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence. Having sought wealth righteously, without violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, makes merit. And he consumes that wealth greedy, infatuated, transgressing, not seeing the danger, without wisdom of escape. Here again, headman, a certain one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence. Having sought wealth righteously, without violence, he makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, makes merit. And he consumes that wealth not greedy, not infatuated, not transgressing, seeing the danger, with wisdom of escape.
"Therein, headman, that one enjoying sensual pleasures who seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence, having sought wealth unrighteously, with violence, does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not make merit. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on three grounds. On which three grounds is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not make himself happy, does not please himself' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not share, does not make merit' - by this third ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on these three grounds.
"Therein, headman, that one enjoying sensual pleasures who seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence, having sought wealth unrighteously, with violence, makes himself happy, pleases himself, does not share, does not make merit. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on two grounds, praiseworthy on one ground. On which two grounds is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not share, does not make merit' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. On which one ground is he praiseworthy? 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this one ground he is praiseworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on these two grounds, praiseworthy on this one ground.
"Therein, headman, that one enjoying sensual pleasures who seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence, having sought wealth unrighteously, with violence, makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, makes merit. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on one ground, praiseworthy on two grounds. On which one ground is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this one ground he is blameworthy. On which two grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He shares, makes merit' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is blameworthy on this one ground, praiseworthy on these two grounds.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, and having sought wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not perform meritorious deeds. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on one ground, blameworthy on three grounds. On which one ground is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this one ground he is praiseworthy. On which three grounds is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not make himself happy, does not please himself' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not share, does not make merit' - by this third ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy by this one ground, blameworthy on these three grounds.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, and having sought wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, makes himself happy, pleases himself, does not share, does not perform meritorious deeds. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on two grounds, blameworthy on two grounds. On which two grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. On which two grounds is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not share, does not make merit' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on these two grounds, blameworthy on these two grounds.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, and having sought wealth both righteously and not righteously, both with violence and without violence, makes himself happy, pleases himself, shares, performs meritorious deeds. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on three grounds, blameworthy on one ground. On which three grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. 'He shares, performs meritorious deeds' - by this third ground he is praiseworthy. On which one ground is he blameworthy? 'He seeks wealth unrighteously, with violence' - by this one ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on these three grounds, blameworthy by this one ground.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence, and having sought wealth righteously, without violence, does not make himself happy, does not please himself, does not share, does not perform meritorious deeds. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on one ground, blameworthy on two grounds. On which one ground is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this one ground he is praiseworthy. On which two grounds is he blameworthy? 'He does not make himself happy, does not please himself' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'He does not share, does not make merit' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy by this one ground, blameworthy on these two grounds.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence, and having sought wealth righteously, without violence, makes himself happy and pleased, does not share, does not perform meritorious deeds. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on two grounds, blameworthy on one ground. On which two grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. On which one ground is he blameworthy? 'He does not share, does not perform meritorious deeds' - by this one ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on these two grounds, blameworthy on this one ground.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence, and having sought wealth righteously, without violence, makes himself happy and pleased, shares, performs meritorious deeds, yet he consumes that wealth bound, infatuated, transgressing, not seeing the danger, without wisdom of escape. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on three grounds, blameworthy on one ground. On which three grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. 'He shares, performs meritorious deeds' - by this third ground he is praiseworthy. On which one ground is he blameworthy? 'He consumes that wealth bound, infatuated, transgressing, not seeing the danger, without wisdom of escape' - by this one ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on these three grounds, blameworthy by this one ground.
"There, headman, whatever one enjoying sensual pleasures seeks wealth righteously, without violence, and having sought wealth righteously, without violence, makes himself happy and pleased, shares, performs meritorious deeds. And he consumes that wealth not greedy, not infatuated, not transgressing, seeing the danger, with wisdom of escape. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on four grounds. On which four grounds is he praiseworthy? 'He seeks wealth righteously, without violence' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'He makes himself happy, pleases himself' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. 'He shares, performs meritorious deeds' - by this third ground he is praiseworthy. 'He consumes that wealth not bound, not infatuated, not transgressing, seeing the danger, with wisdom of escape' - by this fourth ground he is praiseworthy. This, headman, one enjoying sensual pleasures is praiseworthy on these four grounds.
"There are these three austere ascetics living roughly existing and found in the world, headman. Which three? Here, headman, a certain austere ascetic living roughly has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'Perhaps I might attain a wholesome mental state, perhaps I might realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.' He scorches and torments himself, yet does not attain a wholesome mental state, and does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.
"Here again, headman, a certain austere ascetic living roughly, with faith, has gone forth from home into homelessness - 'Perhaps I might attain a wholesome mental state, perhaps I might realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.' He scorches and torments himself, yet he attains a wholesome mental state, but does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.
"Here again, headman, a certain austere ascetic living roughly, with faith, has gone forth from home into homelessness - 'Perhaps I might attain a wholesome mental state, perhaps I might realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.' He scorches and torments himself, and he attains a wholesome mental state, and realises a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.
"There, headman, that austere ascetic living roughly who scorches and torments himself, and does not attain a wholesome mental state, and does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on three grounds. On which three grounds is he blameworthy? 'He scorches and torments himself' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'And he does not attain a wholesome mental state' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. 'And he does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones' - by this third ground he is blameworthy. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on these three grounds.
"There, headman, that austere ascetic living roughly who scorches and torments himself, yet he attains a wholesome mental state, and does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on two grounds, praiseworthy on one ground. On which two grounds is he blameworthy? 'He scorches and torments himself' - by this first ground he is blameworthy. 'And he does not realise a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones' - by this second ground he is blameworthy. On which one ground is he praiseworthy? 'Yet he attains a wholesome mental state' - by this one ground he is praiseworthy. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on these two grounds, praiseworthy on this one ground.
"There, headman, that austere ascetic living roughly who scorches and torments himself, and attains a wholesome mental state, and realises a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on one ground, praiseworthy on two grounds. On which one ground is he blameworthy? 'He scorches and torments himself' - by this one ground he is blameworthy. On which two grounds is he praiseworthy? 'And he attains a wholesome mental state' - by this first ground he is praiseworthy. 'And he realises a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones' - by this second ground he is praiseworthy. This, headman, austere ascetic living roughly is blameworthy on this one ground, praiseworthy on these two grounds.
"There are these three wearings away visible here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the intelligent, headman. Which three? When one who is lustful, because of lust, intends for his own affliction, intends for the affliction of others, intends for the affliction of both. When lust has been abandoned, one does not intend for affliction of oneself, does not intend for affliction of others, does not intend for affliction of both. This is a wearing away visible here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the intelligent. When one who is hateful, because of hate, intends for his own affliction, intends for the affliction of others, intends for the affliction of both. When hate has been abandoned, one does not intend for affliction of oneself, does not intend for affliction of others, does not intend for affliction of both. This is a wearing away visible here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the intelligent. When one who is deluded, because of delusion, intends for his own affliction, intends for the affliction of others, intends for the affliction of both. When delusion has been abandoned, one does not intend for affliction of oneself, does not intend for affliction of others, does not intend for affliction of both. This is a wearing away visible here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the intelligent. These, headman, are the three wearings away visible here and now, immediate, inviting one to come and see, leading onward, to be individually experienced by the intelligent."
When this was said, Rāsiya the headman said this to the Blessed One - "Excellent, venerable sir! Etc. May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forth for life." The twelfth.