Majjhima Nikāya
III. Upari-Paṇṇāsa
2. Anupada Vagga
Sacred Books of the Buddhists
Volume VI
Dialogues of the Buddha
Part V
Further Dialogues of the Buddha
Volume II
Translated from the Pali
by Lord Chalmers, G.C.B.
Sometime Governor of Ceylon
London
Humphrey Milford
Oxford University Press
1927
Public Domain
Sutta 115
Bahu-Dhātuka Suttaɱ
Diverse Approaches
[1][pts][upal] THUS have I heard:
Once when the Lord was staying at Sāvatthī in Jeta's grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's pleasaunce, the Lord addressed the Almsmen: -
Whatsoever alarms -
whatsoever perturbations -
whatsoever desolations - arise,
all proceed from the fool,
not from the informed.
Just as it is from the hut of bamboo
or bracken
that the fire breaks out
which consumes even storied mansions
which are cased in plaster
and keep out the wind
with doors that fit
and casements that shut, -
so it is always from the fool
and never from the informed
that there arise those alarms,
perturbations
and desolations
which are present in the fool
and absent in the informed.
For, the informed have neither alarms,
nor perturbations
nor desolations.
Therefore, Almsmen,
train yourselves up to become informed by study.
[62] At what stage, sir, asked the reverendĀnanda,
can an Almsman be rightly described
as informed by study?
When, Ānanda, the Almsman has mastered
(1) the Elements,
(2) the Senses, and
(3) the Chain of Causation,
together with
(4) the rationally possible
and the rationally impossible, -
then can an Almsman be rightly described
as informed by study.
When, sir, can he be rightly described
as having mastered the Elements?
There are eighteen of these elements,
namely the sense-organ,
the object of sense,
and the sense-cognition
for each of the six senses
of sight,
hearing,
smell,
taste,
touch
and mentality.
When the Almsman knows and sees
these eighteen elements,
then he can rightly be described as having mastered the elements.
Can he reach this mastery in another manner?
Yes.
There are these six elements, namely
earth,
water,
air,
fire,
space,
mentality;
and when the [189] Almsman knows and sees these six,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered the elements.
Can he reach this mastery in yet another manner?
Yes.
There are these six elements, namely
comfort and discomfort,
happiness and unhappiness,
poised equanimity
and ignorance;
and when the Almsman knows and sees these six,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered the elements.
Can he reach this mastery in yet another manner?
Yes.
There are these six elements, namely
passion,
renunciation,
rancour and non-rancour,
[68] harmfulness and harmlessness;
and when the Almsman knows and sees these six,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered the elements.
Can he reach this mastery in yet another manner?
Yes.
There are these three elements, namely,
passion,
form and
non-form;
and when the Almsman knows and sees these three,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered the elements.
Can he reach this mastery in yet another manner?
Yes.
There are these two elements,
the derived and the underived;
and when the Almsman knows and sees these two,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered the Elements.
When, sir,
can he rightly be described
as having mastered Sense?
There are six internal
and six external aspects of sense,
the six sense-organs
and the sense-objects of each of the six.
When the Almsman knows and sees
this pair of sixes,
he can rightly be described
as having mastered Sense.
When, sir,
can he rightly be described
as having mastered the Chain of Causation?
Take, Ānanda, an Almsman
who knows the following: -
If this is,
then that comes about;
if this is not,
then that does not come about;
when this is laid to rest,
then that passes to rest.
Factors are conditioned by ignorance,
consciousness by the factors,
Name-and-Form by consciousness,
organs of sense by Name-and-Form,
contact by sense-organs,
feelings by sense-organs,
[190] craving by feelings,
attachment by craving,
[64] existence by attachment,
birth by existence;
and by birth come old-age and death,
with sorrow and lamentation,
pain,
suffering and tribulation.
And this is how all that makes up Ill is laid to rest: -
By laying ignorance to rest
with no trace of passion left behind
the factors are laid to rest,
by laying factors to rest consciousness is laid to rest,
by laying consciousness to rest Name-and-Form are laid to rest,
by laying Name-and-Form to rest the organs of sense are laid to rest,
by laying the organs of sense to rest contact is laid to rest,
by laying contact to rest feelings are laid to rest,
by laying feelings to rest craving is laid to rest,
by laying craving to rest attachment is laid to rest,
by laying attachment to rest existence is laid to rest,
by laying existence to rest birth is laid to rest,
by laying birth to rest old-age and death are laid to rest,
and therewithal disappear sorrow and lamentation,
pain,
suffering and tribulation,
so that all that makes up Ill
is laid to rest.
At this point an Almsman can rightly be described
as having mastered the Chain of Causation.
When, sir, can an Almsman be rightly described
as having mastered the rationally possible
and the rationally impossible?
Take, Ānanda, an Almsman
who knows clearly as follows: -
'It is impossible
and out of the question
for a man of vision
to approach a factor as everlasting;
but it is possible for an ordinary man to do so.
It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible for an ordinary man,
to approach a factor as well-being.
It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible foran ordinary man,
to approach a mental object as Self.
It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible for an ordinary man,
to take his mother's [65] -
or his father's-life.
It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible for an ordinary man,
out of wickedness of heart
to cause the Truth-finder's blood to flow.
[191] It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible for an ordinary man,
to break up the Confraternity.
It is impossible
for a man of vision,
but possible for an ordinary man,
to elect another Master.
It is impossible
that in one universe
there should at one and the same time
be simultaneously
two Arahats all-enlightened;
but it is possible for there to be one.
It is impossible
that in one universe
there should at one and the same time
be simultaneously two Emperors of the World;
but it is possible for there to be one.
It is impossible
for a woman to be an Arahat all-enlightened;
but it is possible for a man to be.
It is impossible
for a woman to be an Emperor of the World;
but it is possible for a man to be.
It is impossible
for a woman to be a Sakka [66] or a Māra or a Brahmā;
but it is possible for a man to be any of these.
It is impossible
for the fruit of bodily misconduct -
or of misconduct in speech or thought -
to be pleasant, agreeable and pleasing;
but it is possible for the fruit
to be unpleasant, disagreeable and unpleasing.
It is possible
that the fruit of right conduct of body -
or of speech
or of thought -
should be pleasant,
agreeable and pleasing;
but it is impossible
for the fruit to be unpleasant, disagreeable and unpleasing.
It is possible
for a man given to misconduct of body -
[67] or of speech
or of thought -
by reason of that cause and condition
to be reborn,
at the body's dissolution after death,
in a state of misery and suffering and calamity
or in purgatory;
but it is impossible
for such a man to be reborn
in a state of bliss in heaven.
It is impossible
for a man of right conduct of body -
or of speech
or of thought -
by reason of that cause and condition
to be reborn,
at the body's dissolution after death,
in a state of misery and suffering and calamity
or in purgatory;
but it is possible
for such a man to be reborn
in a state of bliss in heaven.
At this point, Ānanda,
an Almsman can rightly be [192] described
as having mastered the rationally possible
and the rationally impossible.
Hereupon, the reverent Ānanda said to the Lord: -
Wonderful, sir;
marvellous!
What shall be the name of this exposition?
Well, know it as
'The many elements,' or
'The four in succession,' or
'The mirror of the Doctrine,' or
'The drum of Deathlessness,' or
'Victory in the fight.'
Thus spoke the Lord.
Glad at heart,
the reverendĀnanda rejoiced in what the Lord had said.
