Saṃyutta Nikāya
4. Saḷāyatana Vagga
35. Saḷāyatana Saṃyutta
§ II: Paññāsaka Dutiya
5. Saḷa Vagga
Sutta 95
Māluṇkya-Putta
(Dutiya Saṅṇgaya)
Suttaṃ
Māluṇkyas'son
or
A Concise Teaching, II
Translated from the Pāḷi
[Omitting the Verses]
by
Michael M. Olds
[1][pts][than][bodh] I Hear Tell:
Once upon a time, The Lucky man,
Sāvatthi-town revisiting,
Jeta Grove,
Anathapiṇḍika's Sporting Grounds.
There then Māluṇkyas'son
went to where The Lucky Man was located,
where he drew near and
having drawn near The Lucky Man,
having given salutation,
took a seat to one side.
Having taken a seat to one side then,
Māluṇkyas'son said this
to The Lucky Man:
"It would be a good thing for me, Bhante,
if the Lucky Man were to teach me Dhamma concisely.
As a result of hearing Dhamma
from the Lucky Man
I might be able to live secluded,
without carelessness,
ardent,
self-motivated."
"But what am I to say
to the youthful bhikkhus
in a case like this,[1] Māluṇkyas'son,
when a broken down old man,
weak,
half-gone,[2]
asks for a concise instruction?"
"I am able, Bhante
though a broken down old man,
weak,
half-gone!
Let, Bhante, The Lucky Man,
teach me Dhamma concisely,
let the Well-gone
teach me Dhamma concisely.
Surely, taught by The Lucky Man,
I would reach understanding.
Surely taught by The Lucky Man,
would become his heir."
"Well then, Māluṇkyas'son,
what do you think?
That which is visual consciousness
of the unseen
forms not seen earlier, and
unseen forms
which you have no wish to see —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
That which is auditory consciousness
of the unheard
sounds not heard earlier, and
unheard sounds
which you have no wish to hear —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
That which is olfactory consciousness
of the unsmelt
scents not smelt earlier, and
unsmelt scents
which you have no wish to smell —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
That which is gustatory consciousness
of the untasted
tastes not tasted earlier, and
untasted tastes
which you have no wish to taste —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
That which is tactile consciousness
of the unfelt
touches not felt earlier, and
unfelt touches
which you have no wish to feel —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
That which is mental consciousness
of things
mental states not known earlier, and
unknown mental states
which you have no wish to know —
is there associated with these
desire, or
lust, or
affection?"
"Not in this case, Bhante."
■
In this case, Māluṇkyas'son,
of those things,
which come to be,
seen,
heard,
sensed,
known,
there will be of the seen,
merely the seen,
there will be of the heard,
merely the heard,
there will be of the sensed,
merely the sensed,
there will be of the known,
merely the known.
At such a time, Māluṇkyas'son,
that those things,
which come to be,
seen,
heard,
sensed,
known,
there comes to be of the seen,
merely the seen,
there comes to be of the heard,
merely the heard,
there comes to be of the sensed,
merely the sensed,
there comes to be of the known,
merely the known,
it follows that for you, Māluṇkyas'son,
there will be no resultant "it",
it follows for you, Māluṇkyas'son,
there will be no resultant "at".
It following for you, Māluṇkyas'son,
that there is no resultant "at"
it will follow for you, Māluṇkyas'son,
that there will be no development here
that there will be no there,
that there will be no between either end."
Thus vomited up is one's pain."
[Here Māluṇkyas'son states that he has understood in detail what has been said and utters a long poem to show his understanding. It may well be that this is a case of The Master teaching a Master while the Master's followers are listening, and hopefully, learning.]
[1] Woodward footnotes the commentator here as explaining 'this case' to be that Malunkya-putta was given a teaching in detail [AN 2.248] and was neglectful. But this must be a mistake, because in that sutta too he is already an old man and asks there for a teaching in brief, and is answered in this same way by the Buddha. Again there Woodward gives a similar footnote but leaves out the reference to another sutta. There he gives the commentator's remark as: "The old man had missed his chance in youth."
I think that the idea here is that an older person would profit better from a teaching in detail. The other way around, even more likely, is that the Buddha's question, "What am I to say to the youthful Bhikkhus?" refers to the understanding that an instruction in brief could take some time to work out in detail. Looking at it today and seeing the time it takes for a correct understanding of the Buddha's teaching to reach maturity in an individual, it could take a very long time!).
[2] Addhagato. This description would not be taken amiss in that at this point Gotama himself was an old man, and refers to himself as needing bandages to be kept together.
