3.
The Discourse on Bhaddiya
193.
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesālī in the Great Wood in the Pinnacled Hall.
Then Bhaddiya the Licchavi approached the Blessed One;
having approached, he paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.
Seated to one side, Bhaddiya the Licchavi said this to the Blessed One -
"I have heard this, venerable sir - 'The ascetic Gotama is deceitful; he knows an enticing magic by which he entices the disciples of other sects.' Those who, venerable sir, say thus - 'The ascetic Gotama is deceitful; he knows an enticing magic by which he entices the disciples of other sects' - 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? For we do not wish to misrepresent the Blessed One, venerable sir."
"Come, Bhaddiya, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage of teaching, do not go by hearsay, do not go by a collection of scriptures, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inferential reasoning, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance of a view after pondering it, do not go by the seeming competence of a speaker, do not go by the thought 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Bhaddiya, would know for yourselves - 'These mental states are unwholesome, these mental states are blameworthy, these mental states are censured by the wise, these mental states, when complete and taken upon oneself, lead to harm and suffering' - then, Bhaddiya, you should abandon them.
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, does greed arising internally in a person arise for his welfare or for his harm?" "For his harm, venerable sir." "But this greedy person, Bhaddiya, overcome by greed, with mind consumed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes to another's wife, speaks falsely, and instigates others to do likewise, which is for his harm and suffering for a long time." "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, does hate in a person... etc. does delusion in a person... etc. does impetuosity arising internally in a person arise for his welfare or for his harm?" "For his harm, venerable sir." "But this impetuous person, Bhaddiya, overcome by impetuosity, with mind consumed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes to another's wife, speaks falsely, and instigates others to do likewise, which is for his harm and suffering for a long time." "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, are these mental states wholesome or unwholesome?" "Unwholesome, venerable sir." "Blameworthy or blameless?" "Blameworthy, venerable sir." "Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?" "Censured by the wise, venerable sir." "Complete and taken upon oneself, do they lead to harm and suffering, or not? Or how is it here?" "Complete, venerable sir, and taken upon oneself, they lead to harm and suffering. Thus it is for us here."
"Thus indeed, Bhaddiya, what we said to you - come, Bhaddiya, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage of teaching, do not go by hearsay, do not go by a collection of scriptures, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inferential reasoning, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance of a view after pondering it, do not go by the seeming competence of a speaker, do not go by the thought 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Bhaddiya, would know for yourselves - 'These mental states are unwholesome, these mental states are blameworthy, these mental states are censured by the wise, these mental states, complete and taken upon oneself, lead to harm and suffering,' then, Bhaddiya, you should abandon them - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"Come, Bhaddiya, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage of teaching, do not go by hearsay, do not go by a collection of scriptures, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inferential reasoning, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance of a view after pondering it, do not go by the seeming competence of a speaker, do not go by the thought 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Bhaddiya, would know for yourselves - 'These mental states are wholesome, these mental states are blameless, these mental states are praised by the wise, these mental states, complete and taken upon oneself, lead to welfare and happiness,' then, Bhaddiya, having attained them, you should dwell in them."
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, when non-greed arises internally in a person, does it arise for his welfare or for his harm?" "For his welfare, venerable sir." "Now this non-greedy person, Bhaddiya, not overcome by greed, with mind not consumed, does not kill living beings, does not take what is not given, does not go to another's wife, does not speak falsely, and does not instigate others to do likewise, which is for his welfare and happiness for a long time." "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, when non-hate arises internally in a person... etc. when non-delusion arises internally in a person... etc. when non-impetuosity arises internally in a person, does it arise for his welfare or for his harm?" "For his welfare, venerable sir." "Now this non-impetuous person, Bhaddiya, not overcome by impetuosity, with mind not consumed, does not kill living beings, does not take what is not given, does not go to another's wife, does not speak falsely, and does not instigate others to do likewise, which is for his welfare and happiness for a long time." "Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Bhaddiya, are these mental states wholesome or unwholesome?" "Wholesome, venerable sir." "Blameworthy or blameless?" "Blameless, venerable sir." "Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?" "Praised by the wise, venerable sir." "Complete and taken upon oneself, do they lead to welfare and happiness, or not? Or how is it here?" "Complete, venerable sir, and taken upon oneself, they lead to welfare and happiness. Thus it is for us here."
"Thus indeed, Bhaddiya, what we said to you - come, Bhaddiya, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage of teaching, do not go by hearsay, do not go by a collection of scriptures, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inferential reasoning, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance of a view after pondering it, do not go by the seeming competence of a speaker, do not go by the thought 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Bhaddiya, would know for yourselves - 'These mental states are wholesome, these mental states are blameless, these mental states are praised by the wise, these mental states, complete and taken upon oneself, lead to welfare and happiness,' then, Bhaddiya, having attained them, you should dwell in them - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"Those good persons in the world who are peaceful, they exhort their disciple thus - 'Come, my good man, dwell having removed greed. Dwelling having removed greed, you will not do action born of greed by body, speech, or mind. Dwell having removed hate. Dwelling having removed hate, you will not do action born of hate by body, speech, or mind. Dwell having removed delusion. Dwelling having removed delusion, you will not do action born of delusion by body, speech, or mind. Dwell having removed vehemence. Dwelling having removed vehemence, you will not do action born of vehemence by body, speech, or mind.'"
When this was said, Bhaddiya the Licchavi 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."
"Did I ever say thus to you, Bhaddiya - 'Come, Bhaddiya, be my disciple; I will be the Teacher'?" "No, Venerable Sir." "Though I speak thus and explain thus, Bhaddiya, some ascetics and brahmins accuse me with what is untrue, hollow, false, and not factual - 'The ascetic Gotama is deceitful; he knows an enticing magic by which he entices the disciples of other sects.'" "Excellent, venerable sir, is the enticing magic. Beautiful, venerable sir, is the enticing magic. May my dear relatives and blood-relations be enticed by this enticing magic, venerable sir; it would be for the welfare and happiness of my dear relatives and blood-relations for a long time. If even all the warriors, venerable sir, were to be enticed by this enticing magic, it would be for the welfare and happiness of all the warriors for a long time. If even all the brahmins, venerable sir... merchants... workers were to be enticed by this enticing magic, it would be for the welfare and happiness of all the workers for a long time."
"So it is, Bhaddiya, so it is, Bhaddiya! If even all the warriors, Bhaddiya, were to be enticed by this enticing magic for the abandoning of unwholesome mental states and for the undertaking of wholesome mental states, it would be for the welfare and happiness of all the warriors for a long time. If even all the brahmins, Bhaddiya... merchants... workers were to be enticed for the abandoning of unwholesome mental states and for the undertaking of wholesome mental states, it would be for the welfare and happiness of all the workers for a long time. If even the world with its gods, Bhaddiya, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, the generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans, were to be enticed by this enticing magic for the abandoning of unwholesome mental states and for the undertaking of wholesome mental states, it would be for the welfare and happiness of the world with its gods, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, of the generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans, for a long time. If even these great sal trees, Bhaddiya, were to be enticed by this enticing magic for the abandoning of unwholesome mental states and for the undertaking of wholesome mental states, it would be for the welfare and happiness of these great sal trees for a long time. What then to say of a human being!" The third.