Vinaya (2): The Mahavagga

by T. W. Rhys Davids | 1881 | 156,382 words

The Mahavagga (part of the Vinaya collection) includes accounts of Gautama Buddha’s and the ten principal disciples’ awakenings, as well as rules for ordination, rules for reciting the Patimokkha during uposatha days, and various monastic procedures....

Mahavagga, Khandaka 1, Chapter 6

1. Now the Blessed One thought: 'To whom shall I preach the doctrine first? Who will understand this doctrine easily?' And the Blessed One thought: 'There is Āḷāra Kālāma[1]; he is clever, wise, and learned; long since have the eye of his mind been darkened by scarcely any dust. What if I were to preach the doctrine first to Āḷāra Kālāma? He will easily understand this doctrine.'

2. Then an invisible deity said to the Blessed One: 'Āḷāra Kālāma has died, Lord, seven days ago.' And knowledge sprang up in the Blessed One's mind that Āḷāra Kālāma had died seven days ago. And the Blessed One thought: 'Highly noble was Alāra Kālāma. If he had heard my doctrine, he would easily have understood it.'

3. Then the Blessed One thought: 'To whom shall I preach the doctrine first? Who will understand this doctrine easily?' And the Blessed One thought: 'There is Uddaka Rāmaputta[1]; he is clever, wise, and learned; long since have the eye or his mind been darkened by scarcely any dust. What if I were to preach the doctrine first to Uddaka Rāmaputta? He will easily understand this doctrine.'

4. Then an invisible deity said to the Blessed One: 'Uddaka Rāmaputta has died, Lord, yesterday evening.' And knowledge arose in the Blessed One's mind that Uddaka Rāmaputta had died the previous evening. And the Blessed One thought: 'Highly noble was Uddaka Rāmaputta. If he had heard my doctrine, he would easily have understood it.'

5. Then the Blessed One thought: 'To whom shall I preach the doctrine first? Who will understand this doctrine easily?' And the Blessed One thought: 'The five Bhikkhus[2] have done many services to me[3]; they attended on me during the time of my exertions (to attain sanctification by undergoing austerities). What if I were to preach the doctrine first to the five Bhikkhus?'

6. Now the Blessed One thought: 'Where do the five Bhikkhus dwell now?' And the Blessed One saw by the power of his divine, clear vision, surpassing that of men, that the five Bhikkhus were living at Benares, in the deer park Isipatana[4]. And the Blessed One, after having remained at Uruvelā as long as he thought fit, went forth to Benares.

7. Now Upaka, a man belonging to the Ājīvaka sect (i.e. the sect of naked ascetics), saw the Blessed One travelling on the road, between Gayā and the Bodhi tree; and when he saw him, he said to the Blessed One: 'Your countenance, friend, is serene; your complexion is pure and bright. In whose name, friend, have you retired from the world? Who is your teacher? Whose doctrine do you profess?'

8. When Upaka the Ājīvaka had spoken thus, the Blessed One addressed him in the following stanzas: 'I have overcome all foes; I am all-wise; I am free from stains in every way; I have left everything; and have obtained emancipation by the destruction of desire. Having myself gained knowledge, whom should I call my master? I have no teacher; no one is equal to me; in the world of men and of gods no being is like me. I am the holy One in this world, I am the highest teacher, I alone am the absolute Sambuddha; I have gained coolness (by the extinction of all passion) and have obtained Nirvāṇa. To found the Kingdom of Truth I go to the city of the Kāsis (Benares); I will beat the drum of the Immortal in the darkness of this world.'

9. (Upaka replied): 'You profess then, friend, to be the holy, absolute Jina[5].'

(Buddha said): 'Like me are all Jinas who have reached extinction of the Āsavas[6]; I have overcome (jitā me) all states of sinfulness; therefore, Upaka, am I the Jina.'

When he had spoken thus, Upaka the Ājīvaka replied: 'It may be so, friend;' shook his head, took another road, and went away.

10. And the Blessed One, wandering from place to place, came to Benares, to the deer park Isipatana, to the place where the five Bhikkhus were. And the five Bhikkhus saw the Blessed One coming from afar; when they saw him, they concerted with each other, saying, 'Friends, there comes the samaṇa Gotama, who lives in abundance, who has given up his exertions, and who has turned to an abundant life. Let us not salute him; nor rise from our seats when he approaches; nor take his bowl and his robe from his hands. But let us put there a seat; if he likes, let him sit down.'

11. But when the Blessed One gradually approached near unto those five Bhikkhus, the five Bhikkhus kept not their agreement. They went forth to meet the Blessed One; one took his bowl and his robe, another prepared a seat, a third one brought water for the washing of the feet, a foot-stool, and a towel[7]. Then the Blessed One sat down on the seat they had prepared; and when he was seated, the Blessed One washed his feet. Now they addressed the Blessed One by his name, and with the appellation 'Friend.'

12. When they spoke to him thus, the Blessed One said to the five Bhikkhus: 'Do not address, O Bhikkhus, the Tathāgata by his name, and with the appellation "Friend." The Tathāgata, O Bhikkhus, is the holy, absolute Sambuddha. Give ear, O Bhikkhus! The immortal (Amata) has been won (by me); I will teach you; to you I preach the doctrine. If you walk in the way I show you, you will, ere long, have penetrated to the truth, having yourselves known it and seen it face to face; and you will live in the possession of that highest goal of the holy life, for the sake of which noble youths fully give up the world and go forth into the houseless state.

13. When he had spoken thus, the five monks said to the Blessed One: 'By those observances, friend Gotama, by those practices, by those austerities, you have not been able to obtain power surpassing that of men, nor the superiority of full and holy knowledge and insight. How will you now, living in abundance, having given up your exertions, having turned to an abundant life, be able to obtain power surpassing that of men, and the superiority of full and holy knowledge and insight?'

14. When they had spoken thus, the Blessed One said to the five Bhikkhus: 'The Tathāgata, O Bhikkhus, does not live in abundance, he has not given up exertion, he has not turned to an abundant life. The Tathāgata, O Bhikkhus, is the holy, absolute Sambuddha. Give ear, O Bhikkhus; the immortal has been won (by me); I will teach you, to you I will preach the doctrine. If you walk in the way I show you, you will, ere long, have penetrated to the truth, having yourselves known it and seen it face to face; and you will live in the possession of that highest goal of the holy life, for the sake of which noble youths fully give up the world and go forth into the houseless state.'

15. And the five Bhikkhus said to the Blessed One a second time (as above). And the Blessed One said to the five Bhikkhus a second time (as above). And the five Bhikkhus said to the Blessed One a third time (as above).

16. When they had spoken thus, the Blessed One said to the five Bhikkhus: 'Do you admit, O Bhikkhus, that I have never spoken to you in this way before this day?'

“You have never spoken so, Lord.”

“The Tathāgata, O Bhikkhus, is the holy, absolute Sambuddha. Give ear, O Bhikkhus, &c. (as above).”

And the Blessed One was able to convince the five Bhikkhus; and the five Bhikkhus again[8] listened willingly to the Blessed One; they gave ear, and fixed their mind on the knowledge (which the Buddha imparted to them).

17. And the Blessed One thus addressed the five Bhikkhus[9]: 'There are two extrernes, O Bhikkhus, which he who has given up the world, ought to avoid. What are these two extremes? A life given to pleasures, devoted to pleasures and lusts: this is degrading, sensual, vulgar, ignoble, and profitless; and a life given to mortifications: this is painful, ignoble, and profitless. By avoiding these two extrernes, O Bhikkhus, the Tathāgata has gained the knowledge of the Middle Path which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to Nirvāṇa.

18. 'Which, O Bhikkhus, is this Middle Path the knowledge of which the Tathāgata has gained, which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to Nirvāṇa? It is the holy eightfold Path, namely, Right Belief, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endeavour, Right Mernory, Right Meditation. This, O Bhikkhus, is the Middle Path the knowledge of which the Tathāgata has gained, which leads to insight, which leads to wisdom, which conduces to calm, to knowledge, to the Sambodhi, to Nirvāṇa.

19. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of Suffering: Birth is suffering; decay is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering. Presence of objects we hate, is suffering; Separation from objects we love, is suffering; not to obtain what we desire, is suffering. Briefly, the fivefold clinging to existence[10] is suffering.

20. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Cause of suffering: Thirst, that leads to re-birth, accornpanied by pleasure and lust, finding its delight here and there. (This thirst is threefold), namely, thirst for pleasure, thirst for existence, thirst for prosperity.

21. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of suffering: (It ceases with) the complete cessation of this thirst,—a cessation which consists in the absence of every passion,—with the abandoning of this thirst, with the doing away with it, with the deliverance from it, with the destruction of desire.

22. 'This, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Path which leads to the cessation of suffering: that holy eightfold Path, that is to say, Right Belief, Right Aspiration, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endeavour, Right Memory, Right Meditation.

23. '"This is the Noble Truth of Suffering;"—thus, O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine, which formerly had not been heard of, have I obtained insight, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intuition. "This Noble Truth of Suffering must be understood," thus, O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine, . . . . (&c., down to intuition). "This Noble Truth of Suffering I have understood," thus, O Bhikkhus, of this doctrine, . . . . (&c.,down to intuition).

24. '"This is the Noble Truth of the Cause of suffering," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.) "This Noble Truth of the Cause of suffering must be abandoned[11] has been abandoned by me," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.)

25. '"This is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of suffering," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.) "This Noble Truth of the Cessation of suffering must be seen face to face . . . . has been seen by me face to face," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.)

26. '"This is the Noble Truth of the Path which leads to the cessation of suffering," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.) "This Noble Truth of the Path which leads to the cessation of suffering, must be realised has been realised by me," thus, O Bhikkhus, (&c.)

27. 'As long, O Bhikkhus, as I did not possess with perfect purity this true knowledge and insight into these four Noble Truths, with its three modifications and its twelve constituent parts[12]; so long, O Bhikkhus, I knew that I had not yet obtained the highest, absolute Sambodhi in the world of men and gods, in Māra's and Brahma's world, among all beings, Samaṇas and Brāhmaṇas, gods and men.

28. 'But since I possessed, O Bhikkhus, with perfect purity this true knowledge and insight into these four Noble Truths, with its three modifications and its twelve constituent parts, then I knew, O Bhikkhus, that I had obtained the highest, universal Sambodhi in the world of men and gods, . . . . (&c., as in § 27).

29. 'And this knowledge and insight arose in my mind: "The emancipation of my mind cannot be lost; this is my last birth; hence I shall not be born again!"'

Thus the Blessed One spoke. The five Bhikkhus were delighted, and they rejoiced at the words of the Blessed One. And when this exposition was propounded, the venerable Koṇḍañña obtained the pure and spotless Eye of the Truth (that is to say, the following knowledge): 'Whatsoever is subject to the condition of origination, is subject also to the condition of cessation.'

30. And as the Blessed One had founded the Kingdom of Truth (by propounding the four Noble Truths), the earth-inhabiting devas shouted: 'Truly the Blessed One has founded at Benares, in the deer park Isipatana, the highest kingdom of Truth, which may be opposed neither by a Samaṇa nor by a Brāhmaṇa, neither by a deva, nor by Māra, nor by Brahma, nor by any being in the world.'

Hearing the shout of the earth-inhabiting devas, the cātumahārājika devas (gods belonging to the world of the four divine mahārājas) shouted, . . . . (&c., as above). Hearing the shout of the cātumahārājika devas, the tāvatiṃsa devas[13], the yāma devas, the tusita devas, the nimmānarati devas, the paranimmitavasavatti devas, the brahmakāyika devas shouted: 'Truly the Blessed One, . . . .' (&c., as above).

31. Thus in that moment, in that instant, in that second the shout reached the Brahma world; and this whole system of ten thousand worlds quaked, was shaken, and trembled; and an infinite, mighty light was seen through the world, which surpassed the light that can be produced by the divine power of the devas.

And the Blessed One pronounced this solemn utterance: 'Truly Koṇḍañña has perceived it ("aññāsi"), truly Koṇḍañña has perceived it!' Hence the venerable Koṇḍañña received the name Aññātakoṇḍañña (Koṇḍañña who has perceived the doctrine).

32. And the venerable Aññātakoṇḍañña, having seen the Truth, having mastered the Truth, having understood the Truth, having penetrated the Truth, having overcome uncertainty, having dispelled all doubts, having gained full knowledge, dependent on nobody else for knowledge of the doctrine of the Teacher, thus spoke to the Blessed One: 'Lord, let me receive the pabbajjā and upasampadā ordinations from the Blessed One.'

'Come, O Bhikkhu,' said the Blessed One, 'well taught is the doctrine; lead a holy life for the sake of the complete extinction of suffering.' Thus this venerable person received the upasampadā ordination.

33. And the Blessed One administered to the other Bhikkhus exhortation and instruction by discourses relating to the Dhamma. And the venerable Vappa, and the venerable Bhaddiya, when they received from the Blessed One such exhortation and instruction by discourses relating to the Dhamma, obtained the pure and spotless Eye of the Truth (that is to say, the following knowledge): 'Whatsoever is subject to the condition of origination is subject also to the condition of cessation.'

34. And having seen the Truth, having mastered the Truth, . . . . (&c., as in § 32), they thus spoke to the Blessed One: 'Lord, let us receive the pabbajjā and upasampadā ordinations from the Blessed One.'

'Come, O Bhikkhus,' said the Blessed One, 'well taught is the doctrine; lead a holy life for the sake of the complete extinction of suffering.' Thus these venerable persons received the upasampadā ordination.

35. And the Blessed One, living on what the Bhikkhus brought him, administered to the other Bhikkhus exhortation and instruction by discourse relating to the Dhamma; in this way the six persons lived on what the three Bhikkhus[14] brought home from their alms pilgrimage.

36, 37. And the venerable Mahānāma and the venerable Assaji, when they received from the Blessed One, . . . . (&c., as in §§ 33, 34, down to:). Thus these venerable persons received the upasampadā ordination.

38. And the Blessed One thus spoke to the five Bhikkhus: 'The body (Rūpa), O Bhikkhus, is not the self. If the body, O Bhikkhus, were the self, the body would not be subject to disease, and we should be able to say: "Let my body be such and such a one, let my body not be such and such a one." But since the body, O Bhikkhus, is not the self, therefore the body is subject to disease, and we are not able to say: "Let my body be such and such a one, let my body not be such and such a one."

39-41. 'Sensation (Vedanā), O Bhikkhus, is not the self, . . . . (&c.[15]) Perception (Saññā) is not the self, . . . . The Saṃkhāras[16] are not the self, . . . . Consciousness (Viññāṇa) is not the self, . . . . (&c.[15])

42. 'Now what do you think, O Bhikkhus, is the body permanent or perishable?'

“It is perishable, Lord.”

“And that which isperishable, does that cause pain or joy?”

“It causes pain, Lord.”

'And that which is perishable, painful, subject to change, is it possible to regard that in this way: 'This is mine, this am I, this is my self?'

“That is impossible, Lord.”

43. 'Is sensation permanent or perishable?' . . . . (&c.[17])

44. 'Therefore, O Bhikkhus, whatever body has been, will be, and is now, belonging or not belonging to sentient beings, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, distant or near, all that body is not mine, is not me, is not my self: thus it should be considered by right knowledge according to the truth.

45. 'Whatever sensation, . . . . (&c.[18])

46. 'Considering this, O Bhikkhus, a learned, noble hearer of the word becomes weary of body, weary of sensation, weary of perception, weary of the Saṃkhāras, weary of consciousness. Becoming weary of all that, he divests himself of passion; by absence of passion he is made free; when he is free, he becomes aware that he is free; and he realises that re-birth is exhausted; that holiness is completed; that duty is fulfilled; and that there is no further return to this world[19].'

47. Thus the Blessed One spoke; the five Bhikkhus were delighted, and rejoiced at the words of the Blessed One. And when this exposition had been propounded, the minds of the five Bhikkhus became free from attachment to the world, and were released from the Āsavas[20].

At that time there were six Arahats (persons who had reached absolute holiness) in the world.

End of the first Bhāṇavāra.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta were the two teachers to whom Gotama had attached himself first after his pabbajjā See Faushöl1's Jātaka, vol. i. p. 66; Rh. D., Buddhism, p. 34.

[2]:

See about the five companions of Buddha's self-mortification, in the time before the sambodhi, the Jātaka, vol. i. p. 67; Hardy, Manual, p. 165; Rh. D., Buddhism, p. 35. The names of the five Bhikkhus were, Koṇḍañña, Vappa, Bhaddiya, Mahānāma, Assaji.

[3]:

Perhaps instead of kho 'me ( = kho ime) we should read kho me.

[4]:

'The Mrigadāwa, or Deer Park, is represented by a fine wood, which still covers an area of about half a mile, and extends from the great tower of Dhamek on the north, to the Chaukundi mound on the south.' Cunningham, Arch. Reports, I, p. 107.

[5]:

Jina, or the victorious One, is one of the many appellations common to the founders of the Bauddha and Jaina sects.

[6]:

Sensuality, individuality, delusion, and ignorance (Kāma, Bhava, Diṭṭhi, and Avijjā).

[7]:

Buddhaghosa, in a note on Cullavagga II, 1, 1, says that pādapīṭha is a stool to put the washed foot on, pādakathalika (or pādakathalikā?), a stool to put the unwashed foot on, or a cloth to rub the feet with (pādaghaṃsana).

[8]:

As they had done before when they underwent austerities together with the Bodhisatta at Uruvelā.

[9]:

Of the literature that exists referring to the discourse which follows now (the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta), it will suffice to quote M. Feer's Études Bouddhiques, I, p. 189 seq., and Rh. D., 'Buddhist Suttas from the Pāli,' pp. 137-155, and in the Fortnightly Review for December 1879.

[10]:

Clinging to the five elements of existence, rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṃkhārā, viññāna. See § 38 seq.

[11]:

I.e. the thirst (taṇhā), which is declared in this Noble Truth to be the cause of suffering, must be abandoned.

[12]:

The three modifications and twelve constituent parts are those specified in §§ 23-26.

[13]:

The thirty-three devas of the Vedic mythology. This enumeration gives the gods who reside in the different worlds, beginning from the lowest (the bhummā devā, who inhabit the earth), and gradually ascending to the higher devalokas. See Hardy, Manual, p. 25

[14]:

Those three Bhikkhus of the five, who had been converted, went about for alms; while the Buddha remained with their two companions, and instructed them.

[15]:

This is shown exactly in the same way and with the same words that are used in § 38 with regard to the body. Body, sensations, perceptions, saṃkhāras, and consciousness are the well-known five classes (khandha) of bodily and mental parts and powers; see Rh. D., 'Buddhism,' p. 90 seq. The self (attā), which, if it exists at all, must be permanent and imperishable, is not to be found in any one of these five classes, which are all subject to origin and decay. This discourse of the Buddha's, which is frequently called the Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta (Sutta of the not having the signs of self), shows the perishable nature of the five khandhas, and that the khandhas are not the self. But it does not deal with the question, whether the self exists or not, in any other way.

[16]:

See the note on chap. 1. 2.

[17]:

Here follow the same questions, answers, and rejoinders, with regard to sensation, perception, the saṃkhāras, and consciousness.

[18]:

The same with regard to the other four khandhas.

[19]:

Compare Burnouf, 'Lotus de la bonne Loi,' p. 481.

[20]:

See the note on § 9.

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