5.
The Discourse to the Kesamuttis
66.
Thus have I heard -
On one occasion the Blessed One was wandering on a journey among the Kosalans together with a large Community of monks, and arrived at a market town of the Kālāmas named Kesamutta.
The Kālāmas of Kesamutta heard -
"Indeed, my dear, the ascetic Gotama, a Sakyan son who has gone forth from the Sakyan clan, has arrived at Kesamutta.
And concerning that Master Gotama, such a good reputation has arisen -
'Thus indeed is the Blessed One, etc.
Good indeed is the seeing of such Worthy Ones.'"
Then the Kālāmas of Kesamutta approached the Blessed One; having approached, some paid respect to the Blessed One and sat down to one side; some exchanged friendly greetings with the Blessed One, and having concluded the pleasant and memorable talk, sat down to one side; some, having extended joined palms in salutation towards the Blessed One, sat down to one side; some, having announced their name and clan, sat down to one side; some, remaining silent, sat down to one side. Seated to one side, those Kālāmas of Kesamutta said this to the Blessed One -
"There are, venerable sir, some ascetics and brahmins who come to Kesamutta. They explain and illuminate their own doctrine only, but they jeer at, scoff at, treat with contempt, and disparage the doctrines of others. Then again, venerable sir, other ascetics and brahmins come to Kesamutta. They too explain and illuminate their own doctrine only, but they jeer at, scoff at, treat with contempt, and disparage the doctrines of others. For us, venerable sir, there is indeed uncertainty, there is sceptical doubt - 'Which indeed of these venerable ascetics and brahmins speaks truth, which speaks falsely?'" "Indeed it is enough for you to be uncertain, Kālāmas, enough to have sceptical doubt. Sceptical doubt has arisen in you in a matter that should be doubted."
"Come, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, you should abandon them.
"What do you think, Kālāmas, does greed arising internally in a person arise for his welfare or for his harm?"
"For his harm, venerable sir."
"But this greedy person, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, does hate arising internally in a person arise for his welfare or for his harm?"
"For his harm, venerable sir."
"But this hateful person, Kālāmas, overcome by hate, 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, Kālāmas, when delusion arises internally in a person, does it arise for his welfare or for his harm?"
"For his harm, venerable sir."
"Now this deluded person, Kālāmas, overcome by delusion, 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, what we said - 'Come, you Kālāmas! 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, you should abandon them' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"Come, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, having attained them, you should dwell in them.
"What do you think, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, when non-hate arises internally in a person, does it arise etc. when non-delusion arises internally in a person, does it arise etc. for his welfare and happiness."
"Yes, venerable sir."
"What do you think, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, what we said - 'Come, you Kālāmas! 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, Kālāmas, 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, Kālāmas, having attained, you should dwell therein' - thus what was said, this was said dependent on that.
"That noble disciple, Kālāmas, thus free from covetousness, free from ill-will, undeluded, fully aware, and mindful, dwells having pervaded one direction with a mind accompanied by friendliness, 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 friendliness, extensive, exalted, limitless, without enmity, without ill-will. With a mind accompanied by compassion... etc. with a mind accompanied by 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.
"That noble disciple, Kālāmas, thus with a mind without enmity, thus with a mind without ill-will, thus with an undefiled mind, thus with a pure mind. For him, in this very life, four consolations are attained. 'If there is another world, if there is result and consequence of good and bad actions, then upon the body's collapse at death I will be reborn in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world' - this is his first consolation attained.
'If there is no other world, if there is no result and consequence of good and bad actions, then in this very life I maintain myself without enmity, without ill-will, without trouble, happy' - this is his second consolation attained.
'If evil befalls one who does evil, but I do not intend evil towards anyone. Since I am not doing an evil deed, from where will suffering touch me?' - this is his third consolation attained.
'If evil does not befall one who does evil, then I regard myself as pure in both respects' - this is his fourth consolation attained.
"That noble disciple, Kālāmas, thus with a mind without enmity, thus with a mind without ill-will, thus with an undefiled mind, thus with a pure mind. For him, in this very life, these four consolations are attained."
"So it is, Blessed One, so it is, Fortunate One! That noble disciple, venerable sir, thus with a mind without enmity, thus with a mind without ill-will, thus with an undefiled mind, thus with a pure mind. For him, in this very life, four consolations are attained. 'If there is another world, if there is result and consequence of good and bad actions, then upon the body's collapse at death I will be reborn in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world' - this is his first consolation attained.
'If there is no other world, if there is no result and consequence of good and bad actions, then in this very life I maintain myself without enmity, without ill-will, without trouble, happy' - this is his second consolation attained.
"'But if for one who acts, evil is done, I however - do not intend evil towards anyone. Since I am not doing evil deeds, from where will suffering touch me?' - this is his third comfort attained.
'If evil does not befall one who does evil, then I regard myself as pure in both respects' - this is his fourth consolation attained.
"That noble disciple, venerable sir, with such a mind free from enmity, with such a mind free from affliction, with such an undefiled mind, with such a pure mind. For him in this very life these four comforts are attained.
"Excellent, venerable sir, etc. We, venerable sir, go for refuge to the Blessed One, to the Teaching, and to the Community of monks. May the Blessed One, venerable sir, remember us as lay followers who have gone for refuge from this day forth for life." The fifth.