Mahavagga, Khandaka 6, Chapter 31

1. At that time many distinguished Licchavis were sitting together assembled in the town-hall and spoke in many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Saṃgha. At that time Sīha, the general-in-chief (of the Licchavis), a disciple of the Nigaṇṭha sect, was sitting in that assembly. And Sīha, the general, thought: 'Truly he, the Blessed One, must be the Arahat Buddha, since these many distinguished Licchavis, who are sitting here together assembled in the town-hall, speak in so many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Saṃgha. What if I were to go and visit him, the Arahat Buddha.'

2. And Sīha, the general, went to the place where the Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta^[1] was; having approached him, he said to the Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta: 'I wish, Lord, to go and visit the Samaṇa Gotama.'

'Why should you, Sīha, who believe in the result of actions^[2] (according to their moral merit), go to visit the Samaṇa Gotama, who denies the result of actions? For the Samaṇa Gotama, Sīha, denies the result of actions; he teaches the doctrine of non-action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples.'

Then the desire to go and to visit the Blessed One, which had arisen in Sīha, the general, abated in him.

3. And a second time many distinguished Licchavis were sitting together (&c., as in §§ 1, 2, down to the end).

And a third time many distinguished Licchavis were sitting together, &c. And a third time Sīha, the general, thought: 'Truly he, the Blessed One, must be the Arahat Buddha, since these many distinguished Licchavis, who are sitting here together assembled in the town-hall, speak in so many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Saṃgha. What are the Nigaṇṭhas to me, whether they give their consent or not? What if I were to go without asking the Nigaṇṭhas for their consent, to visit him, the Blessed One, the Arahat Buddha.'

4. And Sīha, the general, went out of Vesālī with five hundred vehicles at broad daylight in order to visit the Blessed One. He went in the carriage as far as the ground was passable for carriages; there he alighted; and he proceeded on foot to the place where the Blessed One was. Having approached him, and respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him. When he was sitting near him, Sīha, the general, said to the Blessed One: 'I have heard, Lord, that the Samaṇa Gotama denies the result of actions; he teaches the doctrine of non-action, and in this doctrine he trains his disciples. Now, Lord, those who speak thus: "The Samaṇa Gotama denies the result of actions," &c.—do they say the truth of the Blessed One, and do they not bear false witness against the Blessed One and pass off a spurious Dhamma as your Dhamma? And there is nothing blameworthy in a discourse and dispute like this regarding matters of the Dhamma; for it is our intention, Lord, to avoid bringing false accusations against the Blessed One.'

5^[3]. 'There is a way, Sīha, in which one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama denies action^[4]; he teaches the doctrine of non-action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."

'And again, Sīha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama maintains action^[5]; he teaches the doctrine of action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."

'And again, Sīha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama maintains annihilation^[6]; he teaches the doctrine of annihilation; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."

'And again, Sīha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims contemptibleness^[7]; he teaches the doctrine of contemptibleness; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."

'And again, &c.: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims Vinaya^[8]; he teaches the doctrine of Vinaya; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."

'And again, &c.: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims Tapas^[9], &c."

'And again, &c.: "The Samaṇa Gotama is apagabbha^[10]; he teaches the doctrine of apagabbhatā, &c."

'And again, &c.: "The Samaṇa Gotama is confident^[11]; he teaches the doctrine of confidence, &c."

6. 'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama denies action; he teaches the doctrine of non-action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples?" I teach, Sīha, the not-doing of such actions as are unrighteous, either by deed, or by word, or by thought; I teach the not bringing about of the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, Sīha, one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama, &c."

'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama maintains action; he teaches the doctrine of action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples?" I teach, Sīha, the doing of such actions as are righteous, by deed, by word, and by thought; I teach the bringing about of the manifold conditions (of heart) which are good and not evil. In this way, &c."

7. 'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama maintains annihilation; he teaches the doctrine of annihilation; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples?" I proclaim, Sīha, the annihilation of lust, of ill-will, of delusion; I proclaim the annihilation of the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, &c."

'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims contemptibleness, &c.?" I deem, Sīha, unrighteous actions contemptible, whether they be performed by deed, or by word, or by thought; I proclaim the doctrine of the contemptibleness of falling into the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, &c.

8. 'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims Vinaya, &c.?" I teach, Sīha, the doing away^[12] with lust, with ill-will, with delusion; I teach the doing away with the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, &c.

'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama proclaims Tapas, &c.?" I teach, Sīha, that all the conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good, unrighteous actions by deed, by word, and by thought must be burnt away^[13]. He who has freed himself, Sīha, from all conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good, which ought to be burnt away, who has rooted them out, and has done away with them as a palm tree is rooted out^[14], so that they are destroyed^[15] and cannot grow up again—such a person do I call accomplished in Tapas. Now the Tathāgata, Sīha, has freed himself from all conditions, &c. In this way, &c.

9. 'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama is apagabbha (irresolute^[16]), &c.?" He who has freed himself, Sīha, from the necessity of returning in future into a mother's womb^[17], and of being reborn into new existences, who has rooted out (his being subject to) rebirth, and has done away with it as a palm tree is rooted out, so that it is destroyed and cannot grow up again—such a person do I call apagabbha. Now the Tathāgata, Sīha, has freed himself, &c. In this way, &c.

'And in which way is it, Sīha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samaṇa Gotama is confident, &c.?" I am confident, Sīha, by the highest confidence; and thus I teach the doctrine of confidence and train my disciples in it. In this way, &c.'

10. When he had spoken thus, Sīha, the general, said to the Blessed One: 'Glorious, Lord! glorious, Lord! (&c., as in chap. 26. 9, down to:) may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken his refuge in him.'

'Consider first, Sīha, what you are doing. It is becoming that well-known persons like you should do nothing without due consideration.'

'By this, Lord, my joy and my faith in the Blessed One has still increased, in that the Blessed One says to me: "Consider first, &c." Had the other Titthiya teachers, Lord, got me as their disciple, they would carry around their banners through the whole of Vesālī (and cry): "Sīha, the general, has become our disciple!" But the Blessed One says to me: "Consider first, &c." For the second time, Lord, I take my refuge in. the Blessed One, and in the Dhamma, and in the Bhikkhu-saṃgha: may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who has taken his refuge in him.'

11. 'For a long time, Sīha, drink has been offered to the Nigaṇṭhas in your house^[18]. You should therefore deem it right (also in the future) to give them food when they come (to you on their alms-pilgrimage).'

'By this, Lord, my joy and my faith in the Blessed One has still increased, in that the Blessed One says to me: "For a long time, &c." I have been told, Lord: "The Samaṇa Gotama says: 'To me alone gifts should be given; to nobody else gifts should be given. To my pupils alone gifts should be given; to no one else's pupils gifts should be given. Only what is given to me has great reward; what is given to others has not great reward. Only what is given to my pupils has great reward; what is given to the pupils of others has not great reward.'" But the Blessed One exhorts me to give also to the Nigaṇṭhas. Well, Lord, we will see what will be seasonable. For the third time, Lord, I take my refuge in the Blessed One, &c.'

12. And the Blessed One preached to Sīha, the general, in due course; that is to say, he talked about the merits obtained by almsgiving, about the duties of morality (&c., in the usual way; see, for instance, I, 8, 2, 3, down to:) dependent on nobody else for knowledge of the doctrine of the Teacher, he said to the Blessed One; 'Lord, may the Blessed One consent to take his meal with me to-morrow, together with the fraternity of Bhikkhus.'

The Blessed One expressed his consent by remaining silent. Then Sīha, the general, when he understood that the Blessed One had accepted his invitation, rose from his seat, respectfully saluted the Blessed One, and, passing round him with his right side towards him, went away.

And Sīha, the general, gave order to a certain man (among his subalterns, saying), 'Go, my friend, and see if there is any meat to be had^[19]: And when that night had elapsed, Sīha, the general, ordered excellent food (&c., as in chap. 23. 5, down to the end).

13. At that time a great number of Nigaṇṭhas (running) through Vesālī, from road to road and from cross-way to cross-way^[20], with outstretched arms, cried: 'To-day Sīha, the general, has killed a great ox and has made a meal for the Samaṇa Gotama; the Samaṇa Gotama knowingly eats this meat of an animal killed for this very purpose, and has thus become virtually the author of that deed (of killing the animal)!'

Then a certain man went to the place where Sīha, the general, was. Having approached him he said to Sīha, the general, into his ear: 'Please, Lord, have you noticed that a great number of Nigaṇṭhas (running) through Vesālī, &c.?'

'Do not mind it, my good Sir. Long since those venerable brethren are trying to discredit the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṃgha; and those venerable brethren do not become tired of telling false, idle, vain lies of the Blessed One. Not for our life would we ever intentionally kill a living being.'

14. And Sīha, the general, served and offered with his own hands excellent food, both hard and soft, to the fraternity of Bhikkhus with the Buddha at its head; and when the Blessed One (&c., as in chap. 23. 7, down to the end).

In consequence of that the Blessed One, having delivered a religious discourse, addressed the Bhikkhus and said:

'Let no one, O Bhikkhus, knowingly eat meat (of an animal) killed for that purpose. Whosoever does so, is guilty of a dukkaṭa offence.

'I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that fish is pure to you in three cases: if you do not see, if you have not heard, if you do not suspect (that it has been caught specially to be given to you).'

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The founder of the Nigaṇṭha sect, who is, according to the important discovery of Professors Bühler and Jacobi, identical with the Mahāvira of the Jain legends. See Jacobi's Preface to the Kalpasūtra, pp. 1 seq.

[2]:

Kiriyavāda.

[3]:

A part of the following discourse is the same as Suttavibhaṅga, Pārāj. I, 1, 3.

[4]:

'The doctrine of non-action,' and 'the doctrine of action,' taken in the ordinary sense of the words, are the doctrines that the actions of sentient beings receive not, or receive, their reward according to the law of moral retribution. In this discourse, however, a peculiar meaning is attached to these two terms; see § 6.

[5]:

See note 2, p. 110.

[6]:

Ucchedavāda ( the doctrine of annihilation') is the doctrine that death is the annihilation of existence ('ucchedavāda sato sattassa ucchedaṃ vināsaṃ vibhavaṃ paññāpenti.' Brahmajālasutta). But in this discourse the word is taken in a peculiar sense; comp. § 7.

[7]:

Gegucchitā. See § 7.

[8]:

'Right conduct.' But in this discourse it is also taken in the sense of 'putting away' (scil. evil); see § 8.

[9]:

'Self-mortification,' literally, 'burning,' in which sense the word is taken in § 8.

[10]:

Apagabbha (apragalbha) and apagabbhatā ordinarily mean 'irresolute' and 'irresolution.' But here the words are taken in quite another sense, with a pun that cannot be rendered in English; see § 9.

[11]:

See § 9.

[12]:

Vinayāya.

[13]:

Tapanīya, connected with tapas.

[14]:

Tālā vatthukatā. See Buddhaghosa's explanation of this phrase in Vinaya Piṭaka, vol. iii, p. 267.

[15]:

Anabhāvaṃ gatā (see the correction, Vinaya Piṭaka, vol. ii, p. 363), literally, 'They are gone to non-existence.' Buddhaghosa takes great pains in explaining anabhāva; and he quotes also a various reading anubhāva; see Vinaya Piṭaka, vol. iii, p. 267. But anabhāva is correct, and must be understood as a synonym of abhāva. As to ana-, equal to a-, compare S. Goldschmidt, Zeitschr. der Deutschen Morg. Ges. vol. xxxii, pp, 100 seq.; Weber, Hāla, p. 16; Pischel's note on Hemacandra II, 190; Curtius, Griechische Etymologie, 5th edition, p. 306 (ἀνάεδνοσ, &c.). Another Pali word containing this prefix ana- is anamata, anamatagga; see, for instance, Jātaka II, p. 56.

[16]:

See § 5 with our note.

[17]:

Into a 'gabbha.' 'Apagabbha' is taken here as 'not subject to returning to a gabbha.'

[18]:

Literally,' your house has been an opāna to the Nigaṇṭhas: Opāna may be either avapāna or, as Buddhaghosa seems to understand it, udapāna (compare oka = udaka).

[19]:

About pavattamaṃsa, see the note at chap. 23. 2.

[20]:

See X, 1, 9.