6.
The Discourse to Sāḷha
67.
Thus have I heard -
On one occasion the Venerable Nandaka was dwelling at Sāvatthī in the Eastern Park, in Migāramātā's mansion.
Then Sāḷha, the grandson of Migāra, and Sāṇa, the grandson of Sekhuniya, approached the Venerable Nandaka;
having approached, they paid respect to the Venerable Nandaka and sat down to one side.
To Sāḷha, the grandson of Migāra, seated to one side, the Venerable Nandaka said this -
"Come, you Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reflection on appearances, by acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or by thinking 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Sāḷhas, 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, Sāḷhas, you should abandon them.
"What do you think, Sāḷhas, is there greed?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"Covetousness is what I call this meaning, Sāḷhas. This greedy one, Sāḷhas, being covetous, 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, Sāḷhas, is there hate?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"Anger is what I call this meaning, Sāḷhas. This hateful one, Sāḷhas, with a mind of ill-will, 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, Sāḷhas, is there delusion?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"Ignorance is what I call this meaning, Sāḷhas. This deluded one, Sāḷhas, gone to ignorance, 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, Sāḷhas, 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, Sāḷha, what we said - 'Come, you Sāḷha, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reflection on appearances, by acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or by thinking "The ascetic is our teacher." When you, Sāḷha, 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, Sāḷha, you should abandon them' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"Come, you Sāḷhas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reflection on appearances, by acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or by thinking 'The ascetic is our teacher.' When you, Sāḷha, 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, Sāḷha, having attained them, you should dwell in them.
"What do you think, Sāḷha, is there non-greed?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"Non-covetousness, Sāḷha, I say is the meaning of this. This non-greedy person, Sāḷha, being non-covetous, 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, Sāḷha, is there non-hate?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"Non-anger, Sāḷha, I say is the meaning of this. This non-hateful person, Sāḷha, with a mind without ill-will, 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, Sāḷha, is there non-delusion?"
"Yes, venerable sir."
"True knowledge, Sāḷha, I say is the meaning of this. This unconfused person, Sāḷha, gone to true knowledge, 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, Sāḷhas, 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, Sāḷha, what we said - 'Come, you Sāḷha, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reflection on appearances, by acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or by thinking "The ascetic is our teacher." When you, Sāḷha, 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 for a long time" - then, Sāḷha, having attained them, you should dwell in them' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"That noble disciple, Sāḷha, thus free from covetousness, free from ill-will, undeluded, fully aware, and mindful, with a mind accompanied by friendliness, etc. compassion, etc. altruistic joy, etc. he dwells having pervaded one direction with a mind accompanied by equanimity, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, across, everywhere, and in every respect, he dwells having pervaded the entire world with a mind accompanied by equanimity, extensive, exalted, limitless, without enmity, without ill-will. He thus understands: 'There is this, there is the inferior, there is the superior, there is a further escape from this attainment of perception.' For one knowing thus, seeing thus, the mind becomes liberated from the mental corruption of sensuality, the mind becomes liberated from the mental corruption of existence, the mind becomes liberated from the mental corruption of ignorance. when liberated, there is the knowledge: 'Liberated.' He understands: '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.'
"He thus understands: 'Formerly there was greed, that was unwholesome, that now does not exist, thus this is wholesome; formerly there was hate, etc. formerly there was delusion, that was unwholesome, that now does not exist, thus this is wholesome.' He, in this very life, dwells without hunger, quenched, become cool, experiencing happiness, with a self become divine." The sixth.