Majjhima Nikāya
1. Mūla-Paṇṇāsa
5. Cūḷa Yamaka Vagga
Sutta 47
Vīmaṃsaka Suttaṃ
Remembrance
Adapted from:
Middle Length Sayings I, #47
Discourse on Inquiring,
PTS ed, Horner trans, pp 372ff;
Wisdom, ed, Nanamoli/Bodhi trans, pp415ff
by
Michael M. Olds
[1][chlm][pts][ntbb][upal] I Hear Tell:
Once upon a time the Lucky Man,
Sāvatthi-town revisiting,
Anāthapiṇḍika's Jeta Grove.
There he said to the beggars gathered round:
"Beggars!"
And "Bhante!" they responded.
And the Lucky Man said:
"Beggars, a Beggar who does not know,
trying to figure out the scope of some individual,
should examine the individual
and his remembrance
of what he has heard
about the Tathāgata
and by comparison determine
whether that individual
is a fully self-awakened one or not.
Two things should be examined:
things that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
and things that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said.
He should ask himself:
'Do I remember seeing or hearing
any clearly wrong thing in the Tathāgata?'
He will come to the conclusion:
'I do not remember seeing or hearing
any impure thing in the Tathāgata.'
And he makes comparison.
If the comparison is favorable,
then he should ask himself:
'Do I remember seeing or hearing
any questionable thing in the Tathāgata?'
He will come to the conclusion:
'I do not remember seeing or hearing
any questionable thing in the Tathāgata.'
And he makes comparison.
If the comparison is favorable,
then he should ask himself:
'Do I remember seeing any absolutely pure things
in the Tathāgata.'
He will come to the conclusion:
'I do remember seeing and hearing absolutely pure things
in the Tathāgata.'
And he makes comparison.
If the comparison is favorable,
he should ask himself:
'Has this Venerable One
been possessed of these skills
for a long time
or is this a recent development?'
If this individual
has been possessed of these skills
for a long time
and this is not a recent development,
he should ask himself:
'Do the sorts of problems
that exist only for individuals
who have attained to fame
exist for this individual or not?'
How come?
Because it is only after an individual
has attained fame
that certain problems become apparent.
If he determines:
'This Venerable One
has been possessed of these skills
for a long time
and those problems that exist for an individual
only after he has attained fame
do not exist for him,'
he should ask himself:
'Does this individual
behave himself out of fear
or is he fearless?'
If he determines:
'This individual is fearless
and abstains from indulgence in the pleasures of the senses
not from fear
but because he has ended attachment
for the pleasures of the senses.'
If some other Beggar comes along and says:
'How do you know this?
I mean, how do you know of some other individual
that he is fearless
and abstains from indulgence in the pleasures of the senses
not from fear
but because he has ended attachment
for the pleasures of the senses?'
then he should be able to answer:
'It is because I have seen and heard
for myself
that this individual,
whether he is in a retreat or in company,
whether his companions are making progress or not making progress,
whether they are leaders of men
or whether they are engaged in worldly pursuits
or whether they are not,
this individual treats them all alike
according to the same standard,
he does not despise anyone.'
If the comparison is favorable
to this point,
that individual should be questioned directly:
'Do wrong states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said
exist in the Venerable One or not?'
If he is an enlightened being,
he should be able to say:
'Those wrong states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said
do not exist in me.'
If the individual is able to answer in this way,
he should be questioned further:
'Do questionable states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said
exist in the Venerable One or not?'
If he is an enlightened being,
he should be able to say:
'Those questionable states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said
do not exist in me.'
If the individual is able to answer in this way,
he should be questioned further:
'Do absolutely pure states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said
exist in the Venerable One or not?'
If he is an enlightened being,
he should be able to say:
'Those absolutely pure states that can be understood
by what is seen of what is done,
or that can be understood
by what is heard of what is said exist in me.
And this is my manner of living,
this is my chosen path.'
Beggars, a Beggar should visit such an individual
so as to hear Dhamma.
Such a teacher will reveal the dark and its results
and the light and its results.
Such a teacher will lead one who listens
gradually higher and higher,
from the excellent to the more excellent,
point after point.
And he will lead one to fulfillment in this Dhamma.
And leading him to attaining fulfillment in this Dhamma
he will lead him to know of the Tathāgata:
"The Buddha was the #1 Highest Self Awakened One.
Well taught by the Tathāgata is Dhamma.
Those who follow,
follow the Highest Way."
