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#### Aṅguttara Nikāya
VIII. Aṭṭhaka Nipāta
III: Gahapati-Vagga

#### The Book of the Gradual Sayings
The Book of the Eights
III: On Householders

#### Sutta 30

# The Venerable Anuruddha[1]

Translated from the Pali by E.M. Hare.

Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
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[228] [154]

[1][than][bodh][olds] Thus have I heard:

Once the Exalted One was staying among the Bhaggis,[2]
on Crocodile Hill
at the Deer Park in Bhesakaḷa Grove.

Now at that time the venerable Anuruddha was dwelling [155] among the Cetis[3]
in the Eastern Bamboo Forest;
and there these reflections occurred to him as he dwelt alone and secluded:

This Dhamma is for one who wants little,[4]
this Dhamma is not for one who wants much.

This Dhamma is for the contented,
not for the discontented.

This Dhamma is for the secluded,
not for one fond of society.

This Dhamma is for the energetic,
not for the lazy.

This Dhamma is for one who has set up mindfulness,
not for the laggard in mindfulness.

This Dhamma is for the composed,
not for the flustered.

This Dhamma is for the wise,
not for the unwise.

§

Now the Exalted One, knowing these reflections of the venerable Anuruddha,
as easily as a strong man might stretch forth and bend back his arm,
disappeared from the Deer Park of Bhesakaḷa Grove
and appeared before him.

And the Exalted One sat down on the seat which was made ready.

Then the venerable Anuruddha saluted him and sat down at one side.

So seated, the Exalted One addressed him thus:

'Well done! Well done, Anuruddha!

Well have you pondered over the seven thoughts of a great man![5]

That is to say:

This Dhamma is for one who wants little,
this Dhamma is not for one who wants much.

This Dhamma is for the contented,
not for the discontented.

This Dhamma is for the secluded,
not for one fond of society.

This Dhamma is for the energetic,
not for the lazy.

This Dhamma is for one who has set up mindfulness,
not for the laggard in mindfulness.

This Dhamma is for the composed,
not for the flustered.

This Dhamma is for the wise,
not for the unwise.

But, Anuruddha, do you also ponder over this eighth thought of a great man, to wit:

"This Dhamma is for the precise
and for one who delights in exactness;
this Dhamma is not for the diffuse
or for him who delights in diffuseness."[6]

■

[156] When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man,
you may,
an you will,
aloof from sense desires,
aloof from evil ideas,
enter and abide in the first musing,
wherein applied and sustained thought works,
which is born of solitude
and is full of zest and ease.

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man,
you may,
an you will,
suppressing applied and sustained thought,
enter and abide in the second musing,
which is self-evolved,
born of concentration,
full of zest and ease,
free from applied and sustained thought,
wherein the mind becomes calm and one-pointed.

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man,
you may,
an you will,
free from the fervour of zest,
mindful and self-possessed,
enter and abide in the third musing,
and experience in your being
that ease whereof the Ariyans declare:

"He that is tranquil and mindful dwells at ease."

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man,
you may,
an you will,
by putting away ease and by putting away ill,
by the passing away of happiness and misery you were wont to feel,
enter and abide in the fourth musing,
which is utter purity of mindfulness and poise
and is free of ease and ill.[7]

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man
and obtain easily,
at will
and without trouble
these four musings,
wholly mental,
bringing comfort both here and now;
then will your dust-heap robe
seem to you as seems a clothes-chest,[8]
full of many coloured garments,
to some householder or some householder's son, -
a thing designed to satisfy,
for joy,
for health,
for well-being,
for faring to the cool.

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man
and obtain easily,
at will
and without trouble
these four musings,
wholly mental,
bringing comfort both here and now;
then will your scraps of alms-food
seem to you as seems a mess of rice,
cleaned of black grains,
served with assorted curries and condiments,
to some householder or his son[9] -
a thing designed to satisfy,
for joy,
for health,
for well-being,
for faring to the cool.

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man
and obtain easily,
at will
and without trouble
these four musings,
wholly mental,
bringing comfort both here and now;
then will your lodging,
at the root of some tree,
seem to you as seems a gabled house,
all plastered over,
with doors barred and shutters closed,
draught free,[10]
to a householder or his son -
a thing designed to satisfy,
for joy,
for health,
for well-being,
for faring to the cool.

■

When, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man
and obtain easily,
at will
and without trouble
these four musings,
wholly mental,
bringing comfort both here and now;
then will your bed and seat,
bestrewn with grass,
seem to you as seems a divan,
with a fleecy cover,
woollen cloth or coverlet,
spread with rugs of deer-skins,
with awnings over it,
with crimson cushions at either end,[11]
to a householder or his son -
a thing designed to satisfy,
for joy,
for health,
for well-being,
for faring to the cool.

■

And when, Anuruddha, you ponder over these eight thoughts of a great man
and obtain easily,
at will
and without trouble
these four musings,
wholly mental,
bringing comfort both here and now;
then will your medicament of strong-smelling[12] urine
seem to you as seems the varied medicines:
butter,
fresh [157] and clarified, oil, honey, the juice of sugar-to some householder or his son -
a thing designed to satisfy,
for joy,
for health,
for well-being,
for faring to the cool.

Wherefore, Anuruddha, dwell here in this Eastern Bamboo Forest
among the Cetis[13] during the coming rainy season.'

And the venerable Anuruddha replied:

'Yes, lord,' to the Exalted One.

Then the Exalted One, when he had charged the venerable one with this counsel,
as a strong man might stretch forth
and bend back his arm,
vanished from the Cetis' Eastern Bamboo Forest
and appeared in the Deer Park of Bhesakaḷa Grove
on Crocodile Hill among the Bhaggis.

§

Now the Exalted One sat down on the seat,
which was made ready,
and spoke to the monks thus:

"Monks, I will make known to you
the eight thoughts of a great man.

Listen,
give heed,
I will speak.'

"Yes, lord," they replied,
and the Exalted One said:

"Monks, what are these eight?

This Dhamma is for one who wants little,
this Dhamma is not for one who wants much.

This Dhamma is for the contented,
not for the discontented.

This Dhamma is for the secluded,
not for one fond of society.

This Dhamma is for the energetic,
not for the lazy.

This Dhamma is for one who has set up mindfulness,
not for the laggard in mindfulness.

This Dhamma is for the composed,
not for the flustered.

This Dhamma is for the wise,
not for the unwise.

"This Dhamma is for the precise
and for one who delights in exactness;
this Dhamma is not for the diffuse
or for him who delights in diffuseness."

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for one who wants little,
this Dhamma is not for one who wants much,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, a monk wanting little
does not wish:

May they know me as wanting little;

A monk being contented
does not wish:

May they know me as being contented;

A monk given to seclusion
does not wish:

May they know me as being given to seclusion;

A monk energetic
does not wish:

May they know me as energetic;

A monk mindful
does not wish:

May they know me as being mindful;

A monk composed
does not wish:

May they know me as being composed;

A monk wise
does not wish:

May they know me as being wise;

A monk delighting in precision
delighting in exactness -
does not wish:

May they know me as delighting in precision
delighting in exactness.

Monks: This Dhamma is for one who wants little,
this Dhamma is not for one who wants much -
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

[158] Monks: This Dhamma is for the contented,
this Dhamma is not for the discontented,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, a monk is contented with each requisite -
robe, alms, lodging, the medicaments for illness.

This Dhamma is for the contented,
this Dhamma is not for the discontented,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for the secluded,
this Dhamma is not for one who is fond of society,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, while a monk dwells in seclusion
there come visitors, to wit:
monks and nuns,
lay-brethren and lay-sisters,
rajahs and their chief ministers,
course-setters and their disciples.

Then the monk, with heart inclined towards seclusion,
leaning towards seclusion,
bending towards seclusion,
abiding in seclusion
and delighting in renunciation,
entirely confines his talk
to the subject of going apart.[14]

This Dhamma is for the secluded,
this Dhamma is not for one who is fond of society,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for the energetic,
this Dhamma is not for the lazy,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, a monk abides stirred to energy
to be rid of wrong things
and to take to right things;
firm and steadfast,
he lays not aside the yoke of righteousness.[15]

This Dhamma is for the energetic,
this Dhamma is not for the lazy,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for one who sets up mindfulness,
this Dhamma is not for the laggard in mindfulness,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, a monk is mindful,
he is endowed in the highest degree
with intentness of mind
and discrimination;
he recollects and calls to mind
both the doings and the sayings of long ago.[15]

This Dhamma is for one who sets up mindfulness,
this Dhamma is not for the laggard in mindfulness,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for the composed,
this Dhamma is not for the flustered,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

[159] Herein, monks, a monk aloof from sense desires,
aloof from evil ideas,
enters and abides in the first musing,
wherein applied and sustained thought works,
which is born of solitude
and is full of zest and ease.

■

Suppressing applied and sustained thought,
he enters and abide in the second musing,
which is self-evolved,
born of concentration,
full of zest and ease,
free from applied and sustained thought,
wherein the mind becomes calm and one-pointed.

■

Free from the fervour of zest,
mindful and self-possessed,
he enters and abides in the third musing,
and experience in his being
that ease whereof the Ariyans declare:

"He that is tranquil and mindful dwells at ease."

■

By putting away ease and by putting away ill,
by the passing away of happiness and misery he was wont to feel,
he enters and abides in the fourth musing,
which is utter purity of mindfulness and poise
and is free of ease and ill.

This Dhamma is for the composed,
this Dhamma is not for the flustered,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for the wise,
this Dhamma is not for the unwise,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, a monk is wise;[16]
he is wise as to the way of growth and decay,
with Ariyan penetration into the way
to the complete destruction of ill.

This Dhamma is for the wise,
this Dhamma is not for the unwise,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.

§

Monks: This Dhamma is for the precise
and for one who delights in exactness,
this Dhamma is not for the diffuse
or for him who delights therein,
thus it is said.

But why is this said?

Herein, monks, the heart of a monk leaps up at the thought[17]
of the ending of diffuseness,[18]
becomes calm,
composed and free.

This Dhamma is for the precise
and for one who delights in exactness,
this Dhamma is not for the diffuse
or for him who delights therein,
so, what is said,
is said on that account.'

§

And the venerable Anuruddha dwelt among the Cetis
in the Eastern Bamboo Forest
for the duration of the rainy season.

There,[19] dwelling alone,
secluded,
earnest,
zealous,
resolute,
he attained not long after,
in this world,
by his own knowledge,
the realization of that unsurpassed consummation of the godly life,
for the sake of which
sons of clansmen rightly go forth from their homes
to the homeless life.

He realized:

Birth is destroyed;
lived is the godly life;
done is what had to be done;
there is no more life in this state.

And the venerable Anuruddha was numbered among the arahants.

[160] Now at the time of his attaining arahantship,
the venerable Anuruddha uttered these verses:[20]

He knew my (heart's) intent, the Teacher, he
Whose peer the world hath not, and came to me
By power t'effect with body as it were by mind.
Than what was my intent he taught me more.

And he who loved not what was manifold,
The Buddha, taught what is not manifold:
From him I, Dhamma having learnt, abode
Fain for his teaching, the three Vedas won
And done the teaching of the Buddha's word.[21]

[1] He was the Buddha's cousin and the most eminent clairvoyant; see A. i, 23; for his life see A.A. i, 183.

[2] Above, p. 50.

[3] Comy. observes that their country was also known by this name; it was in Nepal; see Buddh. India 26.

[4] Appiccha: Comy. This is fourfold: a monk is not greedy for the requisites; does not allow his attainments to be known; nor his learning; nor that he keeps up the thirteen ascetic practices. See Sn.A. 494; above, p. 147; D. iii, 287; for the whole para. A. v, 40.

[5] Mahāpurisa; see K.S. v, 137 n. and references.

[6] Nippapancarama and papancarama, papanca is lit. diffuseness, illusion, perhaps mystery-mongering; here Comy. glosses tanha-manaṁ diṭṭhi-; cf. Sn.A. 431; Ud.A. 372; Dial. iii, 262 n.; Mil. 262 (trsl. ii, 92).

[7] The text gives in full. [Ed.: Reconstructed for this edition.]

[8] Cf. M. i, 215, 218; S. v, 71 (trsl. 59).

[9] Cf. D. i, 105 (see D.A.. i, 274); M. i, 31; ii, 7;. A. iii, 49; Mil. 16.

[10] Cf. M. i, 76; ii, 8; A. i, 101, 137.

[11] Cf. above, p. 59; below, p. 264.

[12] Pūti; Comy. duggandhattā. Cattle's urine was an ammoniac drug much used and enjoined on monks. The above five resources of a monk are called the nissayas, for which see Vin. i, 58, 96; It. 102. The fourth given here is omitted in Vin. and It.

'Pronounced Chayties' which is pronounced Che tes

— p.p.

[13] Pronounced Chayties.

[14] Aññadatthu uyyojanika-paṭisaṇyutttaṁ yeva kathaṁ kattā hoti; on aññadatthu, see C.P.D. s.v., only, absolutely. Comy. on uyyojanika observes tesaṁ upaṭṭhāna-gamanakaṁ yeva. P.E.D. uyyojana (referring to the text for -ika) renders inciting, but the second meaning of uyyojeti seems necessary.

[15] Above, p. 3.

[16] Above, p. 3.

[17] Comy. ārammaṇa-karaṇa-vasena.

[18] Papañca-nirodhe. Comy. Nibbāna-pade.

[19] D. i, 177; ii, 153; S. i, 140; ii, 17; A. i, 282; ii, 249; Sn., p. 16.

[20] These verses recur at Th. i, 901 (Brethren, p. 327); cf. Sakya 236, and for the first line Cp. i, 8.

[21] Vv.ll. of the Buddhas. We may take the last lines, with the term of conventual outlook nippapañca, and that of buddha as later additions.

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