1.
The Discourse at Verañjā
11.
Thus have I heard -
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Verañjā at the root of the Naḷeru's Pucimanda tree.
Then the Verañja brahmin approached the Blessed One;
having approached, he exchanged friendly greetings with the Blessed One.
Having concluded the pleasant and memorable talk, he sat down to one side.
Seated to one side, the Verañja brahmin said this to the Blessed One -
"I have heard this, Master Gotama - 'The ascetic Gotama does not pay respect to brahmins who are old, aged, elderly, who have traversed the span of life, who have reached advanced years, or rise up for them or invite them with a seat.' This, Master Gotama, is indeed so. For indeed the Venerable Gotama does not pay respect to brahmins who are old, aged, elderly, who have traversed the span of life, who have reached advanced years, or rise up for them or invite them with a seat. This, Master Gotama, is not proper." "I do not see anyone, brahmin, in the world with its gods, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, among the generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans, to whom I should pay respect or rise up for or invite with a seat. For if, brahmin, the Truth-finder were to pay respect or rise up for or invite with a seat, even his head would split apart."
"The Venerable Gotama is without taste!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is without taste.' Those tastes of forms, tastes of sounds, tastes of odours, tastes of flavours, tastes of tangible objects, brahmin - these have been abandoned by the Truth-finder, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is without taste,' but not with reference to what you say."
"The Venerable Gotama is without enjoyment!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is without enjoyment.' Those enjoyments of forms, enjoyments of sounds, enjoyments of odours, enjoyments of flavours, enjoyments of tangible objects, brahmin - these have been abandoned by the Truth-finder, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is without enjoyment,' but not with reference to what you say."
"The Venerable Gotama is a proponent of the inefficacy of action!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is a proponent of the inefficacy of action.' For I, brahmin, teach the non-doing of bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct; I teach the non-doing of various evil unwholesome mental states. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is a proponent of the inefficacy of action,' but not with reference to what you say."
"Master Gotama is an annihilationist!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is an annihilationist.' For I, brahmin, teach the annihilation of lust, hate, and delusion; I teach the annihilation of various evil unwholesome mental states. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is an annihilationist,' but not with reference to what you say."
"Master Gotama is one who detests!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one who detests.' For I, brahmin, detest bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct; I detest the attainment of various evil unwholesome mental states. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one who detests,' but not with reference to what you say."
"Master Gotama is one who removes!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one who removes.' For I, brahmin, expound the Teaching for the removal of lust, hate, and delusion; I expound the Teaching for the removal of various evil unwholesome mental states. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one who removes,' but not with reference to what you say."
"Master Gotama is an austere ascetic!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is an austere ascetic.' I call causing remorse, brahmin, evil unwholesome mental states - bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct. For whom, brahmin, those evil unwholesome mental states causing remorse have been abandoned, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future, him I call 'an austere ascetic.' For the Truth-finder, brahmin, those evil unwholesome mental states causing remorse have been abandoned, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is an austere ascetic,' but not with reference to what you say."
"Master Gotama is one without a womb!" "There is indeed, brahmin, a method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one without a womb.' For whom, brahmin, lying in a womb in the future, the production of rebirth, has been abandoned, its root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future, him I call 'one without a womb.' For the Truth-finder, brahmin, lying in a womb in the future, the production of rebirth, has been abandoned, its root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future. This, brahmin, is the method by which method one speaking rightly would say of me - 'The ascetic Gotama is one without a womb,' but not with reference to what you say.
"Just as, brahmin, a hen's eggs, eight or ten or twelve. If they were properly sat upon by the hen, properly warmed, properly incubated. Whichever of those chicks first, having broken through the egg shell with the tips of their claws or with their beaks, would hatch out safely, how should that one be called - 'the eldest or the youngest'?" "That one, Master Gotama, should be called the eldest. For he, Master Gotama, is the eldest among them."
"So too, brahmin, having broken through the shell of ignorance for the generation gone to ignorance, become like an egg, enveloped, I alone in the world have fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. For I, brahmin, am the eldest, the foremost in the world. My energy, brahmin, was aroused and unsluggish, mindfulness was established and unconfused, the body was calm and not excited, the mind was concentrated and fully focused.
"So I, brahmin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome mental states, entered and dwelt in the first meditative absorption, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion; with the subsiding of applied and sustained thought, I enter and dwell in the second meditative absorption, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without applied thought and without sustained thought, with rapture and happiness born of concentration; with the fading away of rapture, I dwell equanimous, mindful and fully aware, and experience happiness with the body - that which the noble ones declare: 'One who is equanimous and mindful, one who dwells in happiness' - I enter and dwell in the third meditative absorption; with the abandoning of pleasure and with the abandoning of pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and displeasure, I enter and dwell in the fourth meditative absorption, which has neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, pure, bright, without blemish, free from impurities, supple, wieldy, stable, and having attained imperturbability, I directed and inclined the mind towards the knowledge of recollecting past lives. I recollect manifold past lives, that is - one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction, many cosmic cycles of universe-expansion, many cosmic cycles of universe-contraction and expansion - 'There I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span. Passing away from there, I arose there; there too I was, having such a name, such a clan, such beauty, such food, experiencing such pleasure and pain, with such a life span. Passing away from there, I arose here.' Thus with aspects and terms I recollect manifold past lives.
"This, brahmin, was the first true knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night; ignorance was destroyed, true knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed, light arose, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my first breaking forth, like a chick from the egg-shell.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, pure, bright, without blemish, free from impurities, supple, wieldy, stable, and having attained imperturbability, I directed and inclined the mind towards the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of beings. With the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand beings according to their actions - 'These beings indeed, sirs, endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, holding wrong views, undertaking actions based on wrong views. Upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell. But these beings, sirs, endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, holding right views, undertaking actions based on right views. Upon the body's collapse at death, they have arisen in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, which is pure and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and arising, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand beings according to their actions.
"This, brahmin, was the second true knowledge attained by me in the middle watch of the night; ignorance was destroyed, true knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed, light arose, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my second breaking forth, like a chick from the egg-shell.
"When the mind was thus concentrated, pure, bright, without blemish, free from impurities, supple, wieldy, stable, and having attained imperturbability, I directed and inclined the mind towards the knowledge of the elimination of mental corruptions. I directly knew as it really is: 'This is suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the practice leading to the cessation of suffering'; I directly knew as it really is: 'These are the mental corruptions'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of mental corruptions'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of mental corruptions'; I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the practice leading to the cessation of mental corruptions.' For me knowing thus, seeing thus, the mind became liberated from the mental corruption of sensuality, the mind became liberated from the mental corruption of existence, the mind became liberated from the mental corruption of ignorance. When liberated, there was the knowledge: 'Liberated.' I directly knew: 'Birth is eliminated, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming back to any state of being.'
"This, brahmin, was the third true knowledge attained by me in the last watch of the night; ignorance was destroyed, true knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed, light arose, as happens for one dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my third breaking forth, like a chick from the egg-shell."
When this was said, the Verañja brahmin said this to the Blessed One - "Master Gotama is the elder, Master Gotama is the foremost. Excellent, Master Gotama, excellent, Master Gotama! Just as, Master Gotama, one might set upright what had been overturned, or reveal what had been concealed, or point out the path to one who was lost, or hold up an oil lamp in the darkness - so that those with good eyesight might see forms; so too, the Teaching has been made clear by Master Gotama in many ways. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the Teaching, and to the Community of monks. May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forth for life." The first.