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#### Dīgha Nikāya

#### The Long Discourses of the Buddha

#### Sutta 1

#### The Brahma-Jāla Suttantaṁ

# The Supreme Net
What the Teaching Is Not

Translated from the Pali by Maurice Walshe.

© Maurice Walshe 1987.
Used with the permission of Wisdom Publications.

Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, The Fully-Enlightened Buddha

[1][pts][olds][bodh][than] THUS HAVE I HEARD.[11]

Once the Lord was travelling along the main road between Rājagaha and Nā'andā[12]
with a large company of some five hundred monks.
And the wanderer Suppiya was also travelling on that road with his pupil the youth Brahmadatta.
And Suppiya[13] was finding fault in all sorts of ways
with the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha,
whereas his pupil Brahmadatta was speaking in various ways in their praise.

And so these two, teacher and pupil,
directly opposing each other's arguments,
followed close behind the Lord and his order of monks.

[2][pts][olds] Then the Lord stopped for one night with his monks
at the royal park of Ambalaṭṭhikā.

And Suppiya too stopped there for the night
with his pupil Brahmadatta.

And Suppiya went on abusing the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha,
while his [2] pupil Brahmadatta defended them.

And thus disputing,
they followed close behind the Buddha and his order of monks.

[3][pts][olds] Now in the early morning
a number of monks,
having got up,
gathered together and sat in the Round Pavilion,
and this was the trend of their talk:

'It is wonderful, friends, it is marvellous
how the Blessed Lord, the Arahant,
the fully-enlightened Buddha
knows, sees and clearly distinguishes
the different inclinations of beings!
For here is the wanderer Suppiya
finding fault in all sorts of ways
with the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha,
while his pupil Brahmadatta
in various ways defends them.
And, still disputing,
they follow closely behind the Blessed Lord and his order of monks.'

[4][pts][olds] Then the Lord,
being aware of what those monks were saying,
went to the Round Pavilion
and sat down on the pre- [68] pared seat.
Then he said:

'Monks, what was the subject of your conversation just now?
What talk have I interrupted?'

And they told him.

[5][pts][olds] 'Monks, if anyone should speak in disparagement of me,
of the Dhamma
or of the Saṅgha,
[3] you should not be angry, resentful or upset on that account.

If you were to be angry or displeased
at such disparagement,
that would only be a hindrance to you.
For if others disparage me,
the Dhamma
or the Saṅgha,
and you are angry or displeased,
can you recognise whether what they say
is right or not?'

'No, Lord.'

'If others disparage me,
the Dhamma
or the Saṅgha,
then you must explain
what is incorrect
as being incorrect, saying:
"That is incorrect, that is false,
that is not our way,[14]
that is not found among us."

[6][pts][olds] 'But, monks, if others should speak in praise of me,
of the Dhamma
or of the Saṅgha,
you should not on that account be pleased, happy or elated.
If you were to be pleased, happy or elated
at such praise,
that would only be a hindrance to you.
If others praise me,
the Dhamma
or the Saṅgha,
you should acknowledge the truth of what is true, saying:
"That is correct,
that is right,
that is our way,
that is found among us."

[7][pts][olds] 'It is, monks, for elementary,
inferior matters of moral practice[15]
that the worldling[16] would praise the Tathāgata.[17]

And what are these elementary,
inferior matters
for which the worldling would praise him?'

#### Short Section on Morality[18]

[8][pts][olds] [4] 1.8. '"Abandoning the taking of life,
the ascetic Gotama dwells refraining from taking life,
without stick or sword,
scrupulous, compassionate,
trembling for the welfare of all living beings."
Thus the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.[19]

"Abandoning the taking of what is not given,
the ascetic Gotama dwells refraining from taking what is not given,
living purely,
accepting what is given,
awaiting what is given,
without stealing.

Abandoning unchastity,
the ascetic Gotama lives far from it,
aloof from the village-practice of sex.[20]

[9][pts][olds] '"Abandoning false speech,
the ascetic Gotama dwells refraining from false speech,
a truth-speaker,
one to be relied [69] on,
trustworthy, dependable,
not a deceiver of the world.

Abandoning malicious speech,
he does not repeat there
what he has heard here
to the detriment of these,
or repeat here
what he has heard there
to the detriment of those.
Thus he is a reconciler of those at variance
and an encourager of those at one,
rejoicing in peace,
loving it,
delighting in it,
one who speaks up for peace.

Abandoning harsh speech,
he refrains from it.
He speaks whatever is blameless,
pleasing to the ear,
agreeable,
reaching the heart,
urbane,
pleasing and attractive to the multitude.

Abandoning idle chatter,
he speaks at the right time,
what is correct and to the point,[21]
of Dhamma and discipline.
He is a speaker whose words are to be treasured,
seasonable,
[5] reasoned,
well-defined and connected with the goal."[22]

Thus the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.

[10][pts][olds] "'The ascetic Gotama is a refrainer
from damaging seeds and crops.

He eats once a day
and not at night,
refraining from eating at improper times.[23]

He avoids watching dancing,
singing,
music and shows.

He abstains from using garlands,
perfumes,
cosmetics,
ornaments and adornments.

He avoids using high or wide beds.

He avoids accepting gold and silver.[24]

He avoids accepting raw grain or raw flesh,
he does not accept women and young girls,
male or female slaves,
sheep and goats,
cocks and pigs,
elephants, cattle,
horses and mares,
fields and plots;[25]
he refrains from running errands,
from buying and selling,
from cheating with false weights and measures,
from bribery and corruption,
deception and insincerity,
from wounding, killing, imprisoning,
highway robbery,
and taking food by force."

Thus the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.'

#### Middle Section on Morality

[11][pts][olds] "'Whereas, gentlemen, some ascetics and Brahmins,
feeding on the food of the faithful,
are addicted to the destruction
of such seeds as are propagated from roots,
from stems,
from joints,
from cuttings,
from seeds,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such destruction."

Thus the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.

[6] [12][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins,
feeding on the [70] food of the faithful,
remain addicted to the enjoyment
of stored-up goods
such as food, drink, clothing,
carriages, beds, perfumes, meat,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such enjoyment.

[13][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
feeding on the food of the faithful,
remain addicted to attending such shows
as dancing, singing, music,
displays, recitations, hand-music,
cymbals and drums,
fairy-shows,[26] acrobatic and conjuring tricks,[27]
combats of elephants, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, cocks and quail,
fighting with staves, boxing, wrestling, sham-fights,
parades, manoeuvres and military reviews,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from attending such displays.

[14][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to such games and idle pursuits as
eight- or ten-row chess,[28]
'chess in the air',[29]
hopscotch, spillikins, dicing,
hitting sticks,
'hand-pictures',
ball-games,
blowing through toy pipes,
playing with toy ploughs,
turning somersaults,
playing with toy windmills, measures, carriages, [7] and bows,
guessing letters,[30]
guessing thoughts,[31]
mimicking deformities,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such idle pursuits.

[15][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to high and wide beds and long chairs,
couches adorned with animal figures,[32]
fleecy or variegated coverlets,
coverlets with hair on both sides or one side,
silk coverlets, embroidered with gems or without,
elephant-, horse- or chariot-rugs,
choice spreads of antelope-hide,
couches with awnings,
or with red cushions at both ends,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such high and wide beds.

[16][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to such forms of self-adornment and embellishment as
rubbing the body with perfumes,
massaging, bathing in scented water,
shampooing,
using mirrors, ointments, garlands,
scents, unguents, cosmetics,
bracelets, headbands,
fancy sticks, bottles, swords, sunshades,
decorated sandals, turbans, gems,
yak-tail fans,
long-fringed white robes,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such self-adornment.

[17][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to such unedifying conversation[33] as
about kings, rob- [71] bers, ministers, armies,
dangers, wars,
food, drink,
clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes,
relatives,
carriages,
villages, towns and cities, countries,
women, [8] heroes,
street- and well-gossip,
talk of the departed,
desultory chat,
speculations about land and sea,[34]
talk about being and non-being,[35]
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such conversation.

[18][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to disputation such as:
'You don't understand this doctrine and discipline — I do!'
'How could you understand this doctrine and discipline?'
'Your way is all wrong — mine is right!'
'I am consistent — you aren't!'
'You said last what you should have said first,
and you said first what you should have said last!'
'What you took so long to think up has been refuted!'
'Your argument has been overthrown, you're defeated!'
'Go on, save your doctrine — get out of that if you can!'
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such disputation.[36]

[19][pts][olds] "'Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to such things as
running errands and messages,
such as for kings,
ministers, nobles, Brahmins,
householders and young men who say:
'Go here — go there!
Take this there
bring that from there!'
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such errand-running.

[20][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
remain addicted to deception,
patter,
hinting,
belittling,
and are always on the make
for further gains,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such deception."

Thus the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.'[37]

#### Large Section on Morality

[21][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins,
feeding on the food of the faithful,
make their living by such base arts,
such wrong means of livelihood as
palmistry,[38]
divining by signs, portents, dreams,
body-marks, mouse-gnawings, fire-oblations,
oblations from a ladle,
of husks, rice-powder, rice-grains, ghee or oil,
from the mouth or of blood,
reading the finger-tips,
house- and garden-lore,
skill in charms,
ghost-lore,
earth-house lore,[39] snake-lore,
poison-lore,
rat-lore,
bird- [72] lore,
crow-lore,
foretelling a person's life-span,
charms against arrows,
knowledge of animals' cries,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts
and wrong means of livelihood.

[22][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
make their living by such base arts as
judging the marks of gems, sticks, clothes,
swords, spears, arrows, weapons,
women, men, boys, girls,
male and female slaves,
elephants, horses, buffaloes,
bulls, cows, goats,
rams, cocks, quail,
iguanas, bamboo-rats,[40] tortoises, deer,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts.

[23][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
make their living by such base arts as predicting:
'The chiefs[41] will march out
— the chiefs will march back',
'Our chiefs [10] will advance
and the other chiefs will retreat',
'Our chiefs will win
and the other chiefs will lose',
'The other chiefs will win
and ours will lose',
'Thus there will be victory for one side
and defeat for the other',
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts.

[24][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
make their living by such base arts as predicting
an eclipse of the moon, the sun, a star;
that the sun and moon will go on their proper course
— will go astray;
that a star will go on its proper course
— will go astray;
that there will be a shower of meteors,
a blaze in the sky,
an earthquake, thunder;
a rising, setting,
darkening, brightening
of the moon, the sun, the stars;
and 'such will be the outcome of these things',
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts
and wrong means of livelihood.

[11] [25][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
make their living by such base arts as predicting
good or bad rainfall;
a good or bad harvest;
security, danger; disease, health;
or accounting, computing, calculating,
poetic composition, philosophising,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts
and wrong means of livelihood.

[26][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins
make their living by such base arts as
arranging the giving and taking
in marriage, engagements and divorces;
[declaring the time for] saving and spending,
bringing good or bad luck,
procuring abortions,[42]
using spells to bind the tongue,
binding the jaw,
making the hands jerk,
causing deafness,
getting answers [73] with a mirror,
a girl-medium, a deva;
worshipping the sun or Great Brahmā,
breathing fire,
invoking the goddess of luck,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts
and wrong means of livelihood.

[27][pts][olds] '"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins,
feeding on the food of the faithful,
make their living by such base arts,
such wrong means of livelihood as
appeasing the devas
and redeeming vows to them,
making earth-house spells,
causing virility or impotence,
preparing and consecrating building sites,
giving ritual rinsings and bathings,
making sacrifices,
giving emetics, purges, expectorants and phlegmagogues,
giving ear-, eye-, nose-medicine, ointments and counter-ointments,
eye-surgery, surgery, pediatry,
using balms to counter the side-effects of previous remedies,
the ascetic Gotama refrains from such base arts
and wrong means of livelihood."[43]

It is, monks, for such elementary,
inferior matters of moral practice
that the worldling would praise the Tathāgata.

[12] [28][pts][olds] 'There are, monks, other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent,
beyond mere thought, subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

And what are these matters?'

#### The Sixty-Two Kinds of Wrong Views

[29][pts][olds] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
having fixed views about the past,
and who put forward [13] various speculative theories about the past,
in eighteen different ways.

On what basis, on what grounds do they do so?

[30][pts][olds] 'There are some ascetics and Brahmins
who are Eternalists,
who proclaim the eternity of the self and the world
in four ways.

On what grounds?

Wrong view 1[44]

[31][pts][olds] 'Here, monks, a certain ascetic or Brahmin has
by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attained to such a state of mental concentration
that he thereby recalls past existences
— one birth, [74] two births, three, four, five,
ten births, a hundred, a thousand,
a hundred thousand births,
several hundred,
several thousand,
several hundred thousand births.

"There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
Having passed away from there,
I arose there.
There my name was soand-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
And having passed away from there,
I arose here."

Thus he remembers various past [14] lives,
their conditions and details.
And he says:
"The self and the world are eternal,
barren[45] like a mountain-peak,
set firmly as a post.

These beings rush round,
circulate,
pass away and re-arise,
but this remains eternally.

Why so?

I have by means of effort, exertion,
attained to such a state of mental concentration
that I have thereby recalled various past existences
— one birth, two births, three, four, five,
ten births, a hundred, a thousand,
a hundred thousand births,
several hundred,
several thousand,
several hundred thousand births.

"There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
Having passed away from there,
I arose there.
There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
And having passed away from there,
I arose here."

That is how I know the self and the world are eternal,
barren like a mountain-peak,
set firmly as a post.

These beings rush round,
circulate,
pass away and re-arise,
but this remains eternally.

That is the first way
in which some ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world.

Wrong view 2

[32][pts][olds] 'And what is the second way?

Here, monks, a certain ascetic or Brahmin
by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attained to such a state of mental concentration
that he thereby recalls one period of contraction and expansion,[46]
two such periods,
three, four, five,
ten periods of contraction and expansion:

"There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
Having passed away from there,
I arose there.
There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
And having passed away from there,
I arose here."

That is how I know the self and the world are eternal,
barren like a mountain-peak,
set firmly as a post.

These beings rush round,
circulate,
pass away and re-arise,
but this remains eternally.

[15] That is the second way
in which some ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world.

Wrong view 3

[33][pts][olds] 'And what is the third way?

Here, monks, a certain ascetic or Brahmin has by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attained to such a state of mental concentration
that he recalls ten, twenty, thirty,
forty periods of contraction and expansion:

"There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
Having passed away from there,
I arose there.
There my name was so-and-so,
my clan was so-and-so,
my caste was so-and-so,
my food was such-and-such,
I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions,
I lived for so long.
And having passed away from there,
I arose here."

That is how I know the self and the world are eternal,
barren like a mountain-peak,
set firmly as a post.

These beings rush round,
circulate,
pass away and re-arise,
but this remains eternally.

[16] That is the third way
in which some ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world.

Wrong view 4

[34][pts][olds] 'And what is the fourth way?

Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin is a logician,[47] a reasoner.
Hammering it out by reason,
following his own line of thought, he argues:

"The self and the world are eternal,
barren like a mountain-peak,
set firmly as a post.
These beings rush round,
circulate,
pass away and re-arise,
but this remains for ever."

[75] That is the fourth way
in which some ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world.

[35][pts][olds] 'These are the four ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins are Eternalists,
and proclaim the eternity of the self and the world
on four grounds.
And whatever ascetics or Brahmins are Eternalists
and proclaim the eternity of the self and the world,
they do so on one or other of these four grounds.
There is no other way.

[36][pts][olds] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints
thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not [17] attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood
the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

[37][pts][olds] 'There are, monks, other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

And what are these matters?'

#### End of first recitation-section

[38][pts][olds] [2.1.] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists,
who proclaim the partial eternity
and the partial non-eternity
of the self and the world in four ways.

On what grounds?

[39][pts][olds] [2.2.] 'There comes a time, monks,
sooner or later after a long period,
when this world contracts.

At a time of contraction,
beings are mostly reborn in the Abhassara Brahma[48] world.
And there they dwell,
mind-made,[49]
feeding on delight,[50]
self-luminous,
moving through the air,
glorious
— and they stay like that for a very long time.

Wrong view 5

[40][pts][olds] [2.3.] 'But the time comes,
sooner or later after a long period,
when this world begins to expand.

In this expanding world
an empty palace of Brahma[51] appears.
And [76] then one being,
from exhaustion of his life-span or of his merits,[52]
falls from the Abhassara world
and arises in the empty Brahma-palace.
And there he dwells,
mind-made,
feeding on delight,
self-luminous,
moving through the air,
glorious
— and he stays like that for a very long time.

[41][pts][olds] [2.4.] 'Then in this being who has been alone for so long
there arises unrest, discontent and worry,
and he thinks:

"Oh, if only some other beings would come here!"

And other beings,
[18] from exhaustion of their life-span or of their merits,
fall from the Abhassara world
and arise in the Brahmā-palace
as companions for this being.
And there they dwell,
mind-made,
feeding on delight,
self-luminous,
moving through the air,
glorious
— and they stay like that for a very long time.

[40][pts][olds] [2.5.] 'And then, monks,
that being who first arose there thinks:

"I am Brahmā,
the Great Brahmā,
the Conqueror,
the Unconquered,
the All-Seeing,
the All-Powerful,
the Lord,
the Maker and Creator,
Ruler,
Appointer and Orderer,
Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.
These beings were created by me.
How so?
Because I first had this thought:
'Oh, if only some other beings would come here!'
That was my wish,
and then these beings came into this existence!"

But those beings who arose subsequently think:

"This, friends, is Brahmā,
Great Brahmā,
the Conqueror,
the Unconquered,
the All-seeing,
the All-Powerful,
the Lord,
the Maker and Creator,
Ruler,
Appointer and Orderer,
Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.
How so?
We have seen that he was here first,
and that we arose after him."

[43][pts][olds] [2.6.] 'And this being that arose first is longer-lived,
more beautiful and more powerful than they are.
And it may happen that some being falls from that realm
and arises in this world.
Having arisen in this world,
he goes forth from the household life into homelessness.
Having gone forth,
he by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attains to such a degree of mental concentration
that he thereby recalls his last existence,
but recalls none before that.
And he thinks:

"That Brahma,
Great Brahmā,
the Conqueror,
the Unconquered,
the All-seeing,
the All-Powerful,
the Lord,
the Maker and Creator,
Ruler,
Appointer and Orderer,
Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be,
he made us,
and he is permanent, stable, eternal,
not subject to change,
the same for ever and ever.
But we who were [19] created by that Brahmā,
we are impermanent, unstable, short-lived,
fated to fall away,
and we have come to this world."

This is the first case where- [77] by some ascetics and Brahmins
are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists.

Wrong view 6

[44][pts][olds] [2.7.] 'And what is the second way?

There are, monks, certain devas called Corrupted by Pleasure.[53]
They spend an excessive amount of time
addicted to merriment, play and enjoyment,
so that their mindfulness is dissipated,
and by the dissipation of mindfulness
those beings fall from that state.

[40][pts][olds] [2.8.] 'And it can happen that a being,
having fallen from that state,
arises in this world.

Having arisen in this world,
he goes forth from the household life
into homelessness.

Having gone forth,
he by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attains to such a degree of mental concentration
that he recalls his last existence,
but recalls none before that.

[46][pts][olds] [2.9.] 'He thinks:

"Those reverend devas
who are not corrupted by pleasure
do not spend an excessive amount of time
addicted to merriment, play and enjoyment.
Thus their mindfulness is not dissipated,
and so they do not fall from that state.
They are permanent, stable, eternal,
not subject to change,
the same for ever and [20] ever.

But we, who are corrupted by pleasure,
spent an excessive amount of time
addicted to merriment, play and enjoyment.
Thus we, by the dissipation of mindfulness,
have fallen from that state,
we are impermanent, unstable, short-lived,
fated to fall away,
and we have come to this world."

This is the second case.

Wrong view 7

[47][pts][olds] [2.10.] 'And what is the third way?

There are, monks, certain devas called Corrupted in Mind.[54]

They spend an excessive amount of time
regarding each other with envy.
By this means their minds are corrupted.
On account of their corrupted minds
they become weary in body and mind.
And they fall from that place.

[48][pts][olds] [2.11.] 'And it can happen that a being,
having fallen from that state,
arises in this world.

Having arisen in this world,
he goes forth from the household life
into homelessness.

Having gone forth,
he by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attains to such a degree of mental concentration
that he recalls his last existence,
but recalls none before that.

[49][pts][olds] [2.12.] 'He thinks:

"Those reverend devas
who are not corrupted in mind
do not spend an excessive amount of time
regarding each other with envy.
They do not become corrupted in mind,
or weary in body and mind,
and so they do not fall from that state.
They are permanent, stable, eternal,
not subject to change,
the same for ever and ever.
[21] But we, who are corrupted in mind,
spend an excessive amount of time
regarding each other with envy.
We become corrupted in mind,
On account of our corrupted minds,
we become weary in body and mind,
We are impermanent, [78] unstable, short-lived,
fated to fall away,
and we have come to this world."

This is the third case.

Wrong view 8

[50][pts][olds] [2.13.] 'And what is the fourth way?

Here, a certain ascetic or Brahmin
is a logician, a reasoner.
Hammering it out by reason,
following his own line of thought, he argues:

"Whatever is called eye or ear or nose or tongue or body,
that is impermanent, unstable, non-eternal,
liable to change.
But what is called thought,[55] or mind or consciousness,
that is a self that is permanent, stable, eternal,
not subject to change,
the same for ever and ever!"

This is the fourth case.

[51][pts][olds] [2.14.] 'These are the four ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins
are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists,
and proclaim the partial Eternity and partial non-eternity of the self and the world on four grounds.

And whatever ascetics and Brahmins are Partial Eternalists Partial Non-eternalists and proclaim the partial eternity and the partial non-eternity of the self and the world, they do so on one or other of these four grounds. There is no other way.

[52][pts][olds] [2.15.] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These [22] viewpoints
thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[53][pts][olds] [2.16.] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are Finitists and Infinitists,[56]
and who proclaim the finitude and infinitude
of the world on four grounds.
What are they?

Wrong view 9

[54][pts][olds] [2.17.] 'Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin has by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attains to such a degree of mental concentration
that he dwells perceiving the world as finite.

He thinks:

"This [79] world is finite and bounded by a circle.
How so?

Because I have by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attained to such a state of concentration
that I dwell perceiving the world as finite.
Therefore I know
that this world is finite
and bounded by a circle."

This is the first case.

Wrong view 10

[55][pts][olds] [2.18.] 'And what is the second way?

Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin has [23] attained to such a state of concentration that he dwells perceiving the world as infinite.

He thinks:

"This world is infinite and unbounded.
Those ascetics and Brahmins
who say it is finite and bounded are wrong.
How so?
Because I have attained to such a state of concentration
that I dwell perceiving the world as infinite.
Therefore I know
that this world is infinite and unbounded."

This is the second case.

Wrong view 11

[56][pts][olds] [2.19.] 'And what is the third way?

Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin
has attained to such a state of consciousness
that he dwells perceiving the world
as finite up-and-down,
and infinite across.

He thinks:

"The world is finite and infinite.
Those ascetics and Brahmins
who say it is finite are wrong,
and those who say it is infinite are wrong.
How so?
Because I have attained to such a state of concentration
that I dwell perceiving the world
as finite up-and-down,
and infinite across.
Therefore I know that the world
is both finite and infinite."

This is the third case.

Wrong view 12

[57][pts][olds] [2.20.] 'And what is the fourth case?

Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin
is a logician, a reasoner.
Hammering it out by reason, he argues:

"This world is neither finite nor infinite.
Those who say it is finite are wrong,
and so are those [24] who say it is infinite,
and those who say it is finite and infinite.
This world is neither finite nor infinite."

This is the fourth case.[57]

[58][pts][olds] [2.21.] 'These are the four ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
are Finitists and Infinitists,
and proclaim the finitude and infinitude of the world on four grounds.
There is no other way.

[59][pts][olds] [2.22.] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to [80] see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[60][pts][olds] [2.23.] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who are Eel-Wrigglers.[58]
When asked about this or that matter,
they resort to evasive statements,
and they wriggle like eels on four grounds.
What are they?

Wrong view 13

[61][pts][olds] [2.24.] 'In this case there is an ascetic or Brahmin
who does not in truth know
whether a thing is good or bad.

He thinks:

"I do not in truth know
whether this is good [25] or whether it is bad.
Not knowing which is right,
I might declare:
'That is good',
or 'That is bad',
and that might be a lie,
and that would distress me.
And if I were distressed,
that would be a hindrance to me."[59]

Thus fearing to lie,
abhorring to lie,[60]
he does not declare a thing to be good or bad,
but when asked about this or that matter,
he resorts to evasive statements
and wriggles like an eel:
"I don't say this,
I don't say that.
I don't say it is otherwise.
I don't say it is not.
I don't not say it is not."

This is the first case.

Wrong view 14

[62][pts][olds] [2.25.] 'What is the second way?

Here an ascetic or Brahmin
does not in truth know
whether a thing is good or bad.

He thinks:

"I might declare:
'That is good',
or 'That is bad',
and I might feel desire or lust
or hatred or aversion.
If I felt desire, lust, hatred or aversion,
that would be attachment on my part.
If I felt attachment,
that would distress me,
and if I were distressed,
that would be a hindrance to me."

[26] Thus, fearing attachment,
abhorring attachment,
he resorts to evasive statements
and wriggles like an eel:
"I don't say this,
I don't say that.
I don't say it is otherwise.
I don't say it is not.
I don't not say it is not."

This is the second case.

Wrong view 15

[63][pts][olds] [2.26.] 'What is the third way?

Here an ascetic or Brahmin
does not in truth know
whether a thing is good or bad.

He thinks:

"I might declare:
'That is good',
or 'That is bad',
but there are ascetics and Brahmins
who are wise, skilful, practised debaters,
like archers who can split hairs,
who go around destroying others' views with their wisdom,
and they might cross-examine me,
demanding my reasons and arguing.
And I might not be able to reply.
Not being able to [81] reply would distress me,
and if I were distressed,
that would be a hindrance to me."

Thus, fearing debate, abhorring debate, he resorts to evasive statements.

This is the third case.

[27] Wrong view 16

[64][pts][olds] [2.27.] 'What is the fourth way?

Here, an ascetic or Brahmin is dull and stupid.[61]
Because of his dullness and stupidity,
when he is questioned
he resorts to evasive statements
and wriggles like an eel:

"If you ask me whether there is another world
— if I thought so,
I would say there is another world.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Is there no other world?
— if I thought so,
I would say there is no other world.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Is there both another world and no other world?
— if I thought so,
I would say there is both another world
and no other world.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Is there neither another world nor no other world?
— if I thought so,
I would say there is neither another world
nor no other world
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."[62]

"Are there spontaneously-born beings?
— if I thought so,
I would say there are spontaneously-born beings.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."[63]

"Are there not spontaneously-born beings?
— if I thought so,
I would say there are not spontaneously-born beings.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Both spontaneously-born beings,
and not spontaneously-born beings?
— if I thought so,
I would say there are spontaneously-born beings,
and not spontaneously-born beings.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Neither spontaneously-born beings,
nor not spontaneously-born beings?
— if I thought so,
I would say there are neither spontaneously-born beings,
nor not spontaneously-born beings.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

"Does the Tathāgata exist after death?
— if I thought so,
I would say the Tathāgata exists after death.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

Does he not exist after death?
— if I thought so,
I would say the Tathāgata does not exist after death.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

Does he both exist and not exist after death?
— if I thought so,
I would say the Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death.
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

Does he neither exist nor not exist after death?
[64] — if I thought so,
I would say the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death
But I don't say so.
And I don't say otherwise.
And I don't say it is not,
and I don't not say it is not."

This is the fourth case.

[65][pts][olds] [2.28.] 'These are the four ways
[28] in which those ascetics and Brahmins who are Eel-Wrigglers
resort to evasive statements
and wriggle like eels on four grounds.
There is no other way.

[66][pts][olds] [2.29.] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[67][pts][olds] [2.30.] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are Chance-Originationists,
and who proclaim the chance origin
of the self and the world on two grounds.

What are they?

Wrong view 17

[68][pts][olds] [2.31.] 'There are, monks, certain devas called Unconscious.[65]
As soon as a perception arises in them,
those devas fall from that realm.

And it may happen
that a being falls from that realm
and arises in this world.

Having arisen in this world,
he goes forth from the household life
into homelessness.

Having gone forth,
he by means of effort, exertion, application,
earnestness and right attention
attains to such a degree of mental concentration
that he recalls his last existence,
but recalls none before that.

'He thinks:

"The self [82] and the world have arisen by chance.

How so?

Before this I did not exist.
Now from not-being
I have been brought to being."

This is the first case.

Wrong view 18

[69][pts][olds] [2.32.] 'What is the second case?

Here, an ascetic or Brahmin is a logician, a reasoner.

He hammers out his own opinion and declares:

"The self and the world have arisen by chance."

This is the second case.

[70][pts][olds] [2.33.] 'These are the two ways
in which those ascetics and Brahmins who are Chance-Originists
proclaim the chance origin of the self and the world.
There is no other way.

[71][pts][olds] [2.34.] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who [30] would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[72][pts][olds] [2.35.] 'And these, monks, are the eighteen ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
are speculators about the past,
having fixed views about the past,
and who put forward various speculative theories about the past,
in eighteen different ways.
There is no other way.

[73][pts][olds] [2.36.] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who [30] would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[74][pts][olds] [2.37] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the future,
having fixed views about the future,
and who put forward various speculative theories about the future
in forty-four different ways.
On what basis, on what grounds do they do so?

[75][pts][olds] [2.38.] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who [31] proclaim a doctrine of Conscious Post-Mortem Survival,
and do so in sixteen different ways.
On what basis?

Wrong views 19-34

'They declare that the self after death is healthy and conscious and
(1) material,[66]
(2) immaterial,[67]
(3) both material and immaterial,
(4) neither material nor immaterial,
(5) finite,
(6) infinite,
(7) both,
(8) neither,
(9) of uniform perception,
(10) of varied perception,
(11) of limited perception,
(12) of unlimited perception,
(13) wholly happy,
(14) wholly miserable,
(15) both,
(16) neither.

[76][pts][olds] [2.39.] 'These are the sixteen ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim a doctrine of conscious post-mortem survival.
There is no other way.

[77][pts][olds] [2.40] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to [83] see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, [32] proclaims,
and about which those who [30] would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

#### End of Second Recitation-Section

[78][pts][olds] [3.1] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who proclaim a doctrine of Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival,
and they do so in eight ways.
On what basis?

Wrong views 35-42

[79][pts][olds] [3.2] They declare that the self after death is healthy and unconscious and
(1) material,
(2) immaterial,
(3) both,
(4) neither,
(5) finite,
(6) infinite,
(7) both,
(8) neither.[68]

[80][pts][olds] [3.3] These are the eight ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim a doctrine of Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival.
There is no other way.

[81][pts][olds] [3.4] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
[33] and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[82][pts][olds] [3.5] 'There are some ascetics and Brahmins
who declare a doctrine of Neither-Conscious-nor-Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival,
and they do so in eight ways.
On what basis?

Wrong views 43-50

[83][pts][olds] [3.6] 'They declare that the self after death is healthy
and neither conscious nor unconscious and
(1) material,
(2) immaterial,
(3) both,
(4) neither,
(5) finite,
(6) infinite,
(7) both,
(8) neither.[69]

[84][pts][olds] [3.7] 'These are the eight ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim a doctrine of Neither-Conscious-nor-Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival.
There is no other way.

[85][pts][olds] [3.8] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[34] [86][pts][olds] [3.9] 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are Annihilationists,
who proclaim the annihilation, destruction
[84] and non-existence of beings,
and they do so in seven ways.
On what basis?

Wrong view 51

[87][pts][olds] [3.10] 'Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin
declares and holds the view:
"Since this self is material,
composed of the four great elements,[70]
the product of mother and father,[71]
at the breaking-up of the body
it is annihilated and perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

Wrong view 52

[88][pts][olds] [3.11] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that self is not wholly annihilated.
For there is another self,
divine,[72] material,
belonging to the sense-sphere,[73]
fed on real food.[74]
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.[75]

Wrong view 53

[89][pts][olds] [3.12] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that self is not wholly annihilated.
For there is another self,
divine, material,
mind-made,[76]
complete with all its parts,
not defective in any sense organ.
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

Wrong view 54

[90][pts][olds] [3.13] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that self is not wholly annihilated.
For there is another self which,
by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations,
by the disappearance of all sense of resistance
and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity,
seeing that space is infinite,
has realized the Sphere of Infinite Space.[77] [35]
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

Wrong view 55

[91][pts][olds] [3.14] 'Another says to him:
"There is another self which,
by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Infinite Space,
seeing that consciousness is infinite,
has realized the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness.
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

Wrong view 56

[92][pts][olds] [3.15] 'Another says to him:
"There is another self which,
by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness,
seeing that there is no thing,
has realized the Sphere of No-Thingness.
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

Wrong view 57

[93][pts][olds] [3.16] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is [85] such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that self is not wholly annihilated.
For there is another self which,
by passing entirely beyond the Sphere of No-Thingness and seeing:
'This is peaceful, this is sublime',
has realized the Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception.
You don't know it or see it, but I do.
It is this self that at the breaking-up of the body perishes,
and does not exist after death.
This is the way in which this self is annihilated."

That is how some proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings.

[94][pts][olds] [3.17] 'These are the seven ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim a doctrine of annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings
in seven ways.
[36] There is no other way.

[95][pts][olds] [3.18] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[96][pts][olds] [3.19] 3.19. 'There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins
who are proclaimers of Nibbāna Here and Now,
and who proclaim Nibbāna here and now
for an existent being
in five ways.
On what grounds?

Wrong view 58

[97][pts][olds] [3.20] 'Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin
declares and holds the view:
"In as far as this self,
being furnished and endowed with the fivefold sense-pleasures,
indulges in them,
then that is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now."[78]
So some proclaim it.

Wrong view 59

[98][pts][olds] [3.21] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that is not where the self
realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now.
Why so?
Because, sir, sense-desires are impermanent,
painful and subject to change,
and from their change and transformation
there arise sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief and distress.
But [37] when this self,
detached from sense-desires,
detached from unwholesome states,
enters and abides in the first jhāna,[79]
which is accompanied by thinking and pondering,[80]
and the delight[81] and happiness[82] born of detachment,
that is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now."

Wrong view 60

[99][pts][olds] [3.22] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is [86] such a self as you say.
But that is not when the self attains Nibbāna.
How so?
Because on account of thinking and pondering,
that state is considered gross.
But when the self
by the subsiding of thinking and pondering
enters and abides in the second jhāna,
with inner tranquillity and oneness of mind,
which is free from thinking and pondering
and is born of concentration,[83]
and accompanied by delight and joy,
that is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now."

Wrong view 61

[100][pts][olds] [3.23] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
But that is not when the self attains Nibbāna.
How so?
Because on account of the presence of delight
there is mental exhilaration,
and that state is considered gross.
But when the self,
with the waning of delight,
dwells in equanimity,[84]
mindful and clearly aware,[85]
experiencing in his own body
that joy of which the Noble Ones say:
'Happy dwells one who has equanimity and mindfulness',
and so enters and abides in the third jhāna,
that is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now."

Wrong view 62

[101][pts][olds] [3.24] 'Another says to him:
"Sir, there is such a self as you say.
I don't deny it.
But that is not where the self experiences the highest Nibbāna here and now.
Why so?
Because the mind contains the idea of joy,
and that state is considered gross.
But when, with the abandonment of pleasure and pain,
with the disappearance of previous joy and grief,
[38] one enters and abides
in a state beyond pleasure and pain
in the fourth jhāna,
which is purified by equanimity and mindfulness,
that is where the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now."
That is how some proclaim the highest Nibbāna here and now
for an existent being.

[102][pts][olds] [3.25] 'These are the five ways
in which these ascetics and Brahmins
proclaim a doctrine of Nibbāna here and now.
There is no other way.

[103][pts][olds] [3.26] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[104][pts][olds] [3.27] 'These are the forty-four ways
in which those ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the future,
having fixed ideas about the future,
put forward various speculative views about the future.
There is no other way.

[105][pts][olds] [3.28] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

[39] [87] [106][pts][olds] [3.29] 'These are the sixty-two ways
in which those ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
the future,
or both,
put forward views about these.
There is no other way.

[107][pts][olds] [3.30] 'This, monks, the Tathāgata understands:
These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to
will lead to such-and-such destinations in another world.

This the Tathāgata knows, and more,
but he is not attached to that knowledge.
And being thus unattached
he has experienced for himself perfect peace,
and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings,
their attraction and peril
and the deliverance from them,
the Tathāgata is liberated without remainder.

[108] [3.31] 'These, monks, are those other matters,
profound, hard to see,
hard to understand,
peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought,
subtle,
to be experienced by the wise,
which the Tathāgata,
having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims,
and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathāgata
would rightly speak.

#### Conclusion

Wrong views 1-4

[109][pts] [3.32] 'Thus, monks, when those ascetics and Brahmins
who are Eternalists
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world
in four [40] ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 5-8

[110] [3.33] 'When those who are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists
proclaim the partial eternity and the partial non-eternity
of the self and the world
in four ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 9-12

[111] [3.34] 'When those who are Finitists and Infinitists
proclaim the finitude and infinitude of the world
on four grounds,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 13-16

[112] [3.35] 'When those who are Eel-Wrigglers
resort to evasive statements,
and wriggle like eels on four grounds,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 17-18

[88] [113] [3.36] 'When those who are Chance Originationists
proclaim the chance origin
of the self and the world
on two grounds,
this is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 1-18

[114] [3.37] 'When those who are speculators about the past,
having fixed views about the past,
put forward various speculative theories about the past
in eighteen different ways,
this is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 19-34

[115] [3.38] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Conscious Post-Mortem Survival
do so in sixteen different ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 35-42

[41] [116] [3.39] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival
do so in eight different ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 43-50

[117] [3.40] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Neither-Conscious-nor-Unconscious Post-Mortem survival
do so in eight ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 51-57

[118] [3.41] 'When those who are Annihilationists
proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings
in seven ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 58-62

[119] [3.42] 'When those who are proclaimers of Nibbāna Here and Now
proclaim Nibbāna here and now
for an existent being
on five grounds,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 19-62

[120] [3.43] 'When those who are speculators about the future
having fixed views,
put forward views in forty-four different ways
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

Wrong views 1 -62

[121] [3.44] 'When those ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
the future,
or both,
having fixed views,
put forward views in sixty-two different ways,
that is merely the feeling
of those who do not know and see,
the worry and vacillation of those
immersed in craving.

[122][pts] [3.45] 'When those ascetics and Brahmins
who are [42] Eternalists
proclaim the eternity of the self and the world
in four ways,
that is conditioned by contact.[86]

[120] [3.46] 'When those who are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists
proclaim the partial eternity and partial non-eternity
of the self and the world
in four ways
that is conditioned by contact.

[124] [3.47] 'When those who are Finitists and Infinitists
proclaim the finiteness or infiniteness
of the self and the world
in four ways
that is conditioned by contact.[89]

[125] [3.48] 'When those who are Eel-Wrigglers
resort to evasive statements,
and wriggle like eels on four grounds,
that is conditioned by contact.

[126] [3.49] 'When those who are Chance-Originationists
proclaim the chance origin
of the self and the world
on two grounds,
that is conditioned by contact.

[127] [3.50] 'When those who are speculators about the past in eighteen ways
having fixed views about the past,
put forward various speculative theories about the past
in eighteen different ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[128] [3.51] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Conscious Post-Mortem Survival
do so in sixteen different ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[129] [3.52] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival
do so in eight different ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[130] [3.53] 'When those who proclaim a doctrine of Neither-Conscious-Nor-Unconscious Post-Mortem Survival
do so in eight different ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[131] [3.54] 'When those who are Annihilationists
proclaim the annihilation,
destruction and non-existence of beings
in seven ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[132] [3.55] 'When those who are procIaimers of Nibbāna Here and Now
proclaim Nibbāna here and now
for an existent being
on five grounds,
that is conditioned by contact.

[133] [3.56] 'When those who are speculators about the future
having fixed views,
put forward views in forty-four different ways
that is conditioned by contact.

[43] [134] [3.57] 'When those ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
the future,
or both,
having fixed views,
put forward views in sixty-two different ways,
that is conditioned by contact.

[135][pts] [3.58-70] 'That all of these ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
the future,
or both,
having fixed views,
put forward views in sixty-two different ways,
should experience that feeling without contact
is impossible.

[44] [148][pts][olds] [3.71] 'With regard to all of these ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past,
the future,
or both,
having fixed views,
put forward views in sixty-two different ways,
[45] they experience these feelings
by repeated contact through the six sensebases;[87]
feeling conditions craving;
craving conditions clinging;
clinging conditions becoming;
becoming conditions birth;
birth conditions ageing and death,
sorrow, lamentation,
sadness and distress.[88]

'When, monks, a monk understands as they really are
the arising and passing away
of the six bases of contact,
their attraction and peril,
and the deliverance from them,
he knows that which goes beyond all these views.

[44] [149][pts][olds] [3.72] 'Whatever ascetics and Brahmins
who are speculators about the past
or the future
or both,
having fixed views on the matter
and put forth speculative views about it,
these are all trapped in the net
with its sixty-two divisions,
and wherever they emerge
and try to get out,
they are caught and held in this net.

Just as a skilled fisherman
or his apprentice
might cover a small piece of water
with a fine-meshed net, thinking:
"Whatever larger creatures there may be
in this water,
they are all [90] trapped in the net,
[46] caught, and held in the net",
so it is with all these:
they are trapped and caught in this net.

[44] [150][pts][olds] [3.73] 'Monks, the body of the Tathāgata stands
with the link that bound it to becoming cut.[89]

As long as the body subsists,
devas and humans will see him.
But at the breaking-up of the body
and the exhaustion of the life-span,
devas and humans will see him no more.

Monks, just as when the stalk of a bunch of mangoes has been cut,
all the mangoes on it go with it,
just so the Tathāgata's link with becoming has been cut.

As long as the body subsists,
devas and humans will see him.
But at the breaking-up of the body
and the exhaustion of the life-span,
devas and humans will see him no more.'

[44] [151][pts][olds] [3.74] At these words the Venerable Ānanda said to the Lord:

'It is marvellous, Lord,
it is wonderful.
What is the name of this exposition of Dhamma?'

'Ānanda, you may remember this exposition of Dhamma
as the Net of Advantage,[90]
the Net of Dhamma,
the Supreme Net,
the Net of Views,
or as the Incomparable Victory in Battle.'

Thus the Lord spoke,
and the monks rejoiced
and were delighted at his words.
And as this exposition was being proclaimed,
the ten-thousand world-system shook.

[11] There is a separate translation of this Sutta by Bhikkhu Bodhi, The All-Embracing Net of Views: The BrahmajāZa Sutta and its Commentaries (BPS 1978). This is most valuable for its introduction as well as the translated commentarial material. Beside the Rhys Davids translation (RD) there is also the somewhat abridged version by Mrs A.A.G. Bennett in Long Discourses of the Buddha (Bombay 1964, Suttas 1-16 only), and that by David Maurice in The Lion's Roar (London 1962), both of which I have occasionally found useful. I have also consulted the German partial translation (Suttas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16, 21, 26, 27) by R.O. Franke (1913), and, as far as my limited knowledge of Thai would allow, the Thai translation (2nd ed., Bangkok 2521 (1978)). Brahma- in the title has the meaning of 'supreme'.

[12] Nā'andā, afterwards the seat of a famous Buddhist university, was about 12 km north of Rājagaha (modem Rajgir), the Magadhan capital.

[13] A follower of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta (see DN 2.31 f.). Sāriputta and Moggallāna, the Buddha's most famous disciples, were originally followers of Sañjaya, and it was their defection, besides the loss of his gains, that angered Suppiya (DA).

[14] Lit. 'That is not in us'.

[15] DA points out that 'morality is inferior in comparison with higher qualities, for morality does not reach the excellence of concentration, nor concentration the excellence of wisdom.' Cf. verse 28.

[16] Puthujjana: an 'ordinary person' who, not having broken through the first three fetters (personality-view, doubt, attachment to rites and rituals), has not yet 'entered the stream' and so started on the higher (supramundane) path.

[17] The Buddha's usual way of referring to himself. See Introduction, p. 46.

[18] These three sections on morality occur verbatim in all of the first 13 Suttas and may once have formed a separate 'tract' (RD).

[19] This 'refrain' is repeated throughout.

[20] Brahmacariyā is the supreme or holy life, i.e. celibacy.
DA points out that it involves refraining from other forms of erotic behaviour besides intercourse.

[21] Atthavādī: attha may also mean 'that which is profitable' (see next note).

[22] Atthasaṁhitaṁ: here the meaning of attha as 'the profitable' is clear.

[23] 'At improper times' means between midday and the following dawn.

[24] Verses 8-9 embrace the first four precepts undertaken by novices (sāmaṇeras). The elaboration of the different forms of wrong speech here (and elsewhere) reflects the importance of controlling the tongue. Curiously, there is no mention of abstaining from intoxicants, but instead a reference to 'damaging seeds and crops'. The next five items correspond to the novices' precepts 6-10.

[25] The Buddha did, however, accept land from Anathapiṇḍika and others for the Saṅgha.

[26] Sobha-nagarakaṁ: 'of the city Sobha' (this was the city of the gandhabbas or heavenly musicians). RD thinks of a ballet with fairy scenes. BB renders it 'art exhibitions' — which surely gives the wrong impression for modern readers!

[27] Caṇḍālaṁ vaṁsaṁ dhopanaṁ: rather obscure. The performers were presumably low-caste. DA thinks of an iron ball (used for juggling?).

[28] Chess, with a board of 64 or 100 squares, originated in India. Though previously not unknown, it was popularised in Europe by the Crusaders.

[29] Mental chess, played without a board.

[30] Written in the air, or on one's back. Writing was known, but was not used by the Buddha or other teachers of the day.

[31] A guessing game, not telepathy.

[32] Pallanka: (whence, ultimately, our 'palanquin'), also means 'sitting cross-legged' (see n. 519, 520).

[33] Tiracchāna-kathā: lit. 'animal-talk'. As animals walk parallel to the earth, so this kind of talk does not lead upward (DA). See also n. 244.

[34] Lokakkhāyikaṁ: philosophical speculations of a materialist kind (DA).

[35] Iti-bhavābhava-kathā: also rendered 'profit and loss', but the philosophical sense (as in the Homer and Ñāṇamoli translations of MN 76) is preferable.

[36] Also at MN 77, and SN 46.9.

[37] For a detailed account of these practices, see VM 1.61 -82.

[38] Angaṁ: including soles as well as palms.

[39] Knowing charms to be used by one dwelling in an earthen house.

[40] Kaṇṇika-lakkhaṇaṁ: from kaṇṇa 'ear'. DA thinks it means either ear-rings or house-gables, both of which are incongruous here. I follow the Thai translation which, probably following an old tradition, has tun 'bamboo-rat' (see McFarland, Thai-English Dictionary, p. 371). Franke says 'an animal that is always mentioned with the hare', and considers that it must mean an animal with long ears.

[41] Raññaṁ (gen. pl.): i.e. the joint leaders of a republican state.

[42] Viruddha-gabbha-karaṇaṁ: Or perhaps 'reviving the foetus'.

[43] It is the practice of medicine for gain that is here condemned.

[44] These wrong views are summarised in verse 3.32 ff. 45

[45] I.e., producing nothing new.

[46] Saṅvaṭṭaṁ-vivaṭṭaṁ: 'The PED definitions should be reversed' (BB). See VM 13.28 ff.

[47] Takkī: BB renders this 'rationalist', which is somewhat misleading.

[48] This is part of the world of Form (rūpaloka) which escapes destruction. For this and other such 'locations' see Introduction, p. 37.

[49] Manomayā: mentally created, not sexually generated.
They are devas. In another sense, all dhammas are said to be mind-made (Dhp. 1-2).

[50] Not requiring material food, but nourished by the jhāna factor pīti 'delight' (n. 81).

[51] Brahmā is allotted a relatively humble position, and his creator-role explained away, in Buddhism. See also MN 49.8 (= MLS i, 391).

[52] The life-span of beings is fixed in some realms, and variable in others. Merit (puñña) is karmically wholesome action, leading to a favourable rebirth.

[53] Khiḍḍapadosikā: these devas and the next group are mentioned only here and in Suttas 20, 24. They illustrate the consequences of desire and aversion even in the (relatively) 'higher' worlds. Moral progress is virtually impossible outside the human state, so that they are actually fortunate to fall back to that state. Mindfulness (sati) is all-important. DA says the bodies of these devas are so delicate that if by forgetfulness they miss a single meal they will pass away from that place. Even if they eat immediately afterwards, it is too late!

[54] Manopadosikā. DA says these dwell on the plane of the Four Great Kings (i.e. only just above the human realm). Interestingly, if only one of the devas gets angry while the other remains calm, this prevents the first from passing away, which would seem to illustrate the sentiment of Dhp. 5, 6. These devas are not essentially different from those mentioned in verses 1-2, though on a lower level.

[55] Citta: more or less synonymous with mano 'mind', but often used much like 'heart' in English ('to know in one's heart', etc.).

[56] Antānantikā: or 'Extensionists' (RD)

[57] DA associates these various views with the higher jhānas (see Introduction, p. 42), obtained with the aid of the kasiṇas (coloured discs, etc., cf. VM chs. 4, 5). DA says: '(1) Without having extended the counterpart sign to the boundaries of the world-sphere, he abides perceiving the world as finite. (2) But he who has extended the kasiṇa-image to the boundaries of the world-sphere perceives the world to be infinite. (3) Not extending the sign in the upward and downward directions, but extending it across, he perceives the world as finite in the upward and downward directions, and infinite across. (4) The rationalist doctrine should be understood by the method stated.' [This is unexplained, though the SubCommentary attempts an explanation: 'If the self were finite, its rebirth in distant places could not be recollected. And if it were infinite, one living in this world would be able to experience the happiness of the heavenly worlds and the suffering of the hells, etc. If one holds it to be both finite and infinite, one would incur the errors of both the previous positions. Therefore the self cannot be declared to be either finite or infinite.'] (Translated by BB, pp. 172, 171).

[58] Amarā-vikheppikā can be interpreted as either 'eel-wriggling' (RD) or 'endless equivocation' (BB): amarā (lit. 'deathless') is the name of a slippery fish, perhaps an eel, which escapes capture by wriggling (DA). A deliberate pun may well be intended.

[59] Either for the higher training or for a heavenly rebirth (DA). Cf. verse 1.5, where the former is certainly meant.

[60] Due to moral shame and moral dread (hiri-ottappa) (DA), i.e. shame at doing what is wrong, and dread of it. These two qualities are called 'guardians of the world' (cf. Ñyāṇaponika Thera, Abhidhamma Studies, 2nd. ed., Colombo 1965, p. 80). Thus it is recognised that the first three classes of 'eel-wrigglers' have a moral conscience. Their equivocation stems from lack of understanding, not of scruple.

[61] The following views are attributed in DN 2.31 f. to Sañjaya (see n. 13).

[62] The four 'alternatives' of Indian logic: a thing (a) is, (b) is not, (c) both is and is not, (d) neither is nor is not.

[63] See n. 185.

[64] See also DN 9.25 and n. 219.

[65] Having attained a high absorption, and fearing the perils of conscious existence, they have wished for, and gained, an unconscious state. With the first stirring of perception, however, they fall away from that realm (DA).

[66] The view of the Ājīvikas (DA): see DN 2.19-20 and nn. l02-109 there. Cf. A.L. Basham, History and Doctrine of the Ājīvikas, (London 1951).

[67] This is the view of the Jains. DA says the other views mentioned are based on various meditational experiences.

[68] The Sub-Commentary (see BB, p. 190) is helpful here: (1) is based on experience of the unconscious realm (see n. 65), (2) takes perception to be the self, (3) takes the material, or material and immaterial dhammas + perception to be the self, (4) is based on reasoning, (5-8) are to be understood as at n. 57.

[69] (1) is based on a subtle perception incapable of performing this function at death and rebirth-linking (see n. 125). The rest as in n. 68.

[70] 'Earth' (pathavī) or extension, 'water' (āpo) or cohesion, 'fire' (tejo) or temperature, 'air' (vāyo) or motion: the traditional names for the four qualities present, in varying proportions, in all matter.

[71] In the Buddhist view, there is additionally required the presence of the gandhabba or 'being-to-be-born', i.e. the arising of a new 'continuity of consciousness' dependent on that of some being just deceased. Cf. MN 38.1-7. See p. 45.

[72] Dibba (Skt. divya): derived from the same stem as deva: cf. Latin divus.

[73] Kāmâvacara: belonging to the sensuous sphere (kāmaloka), the lowest of the three worlds.

[74] Kabalinkārâhāra generally means 'material food'. Here it denotes the kind of nutriment on which the lower devas subsist.

[75] DA says this one takes the divine form (dibb'atthabhāva), i.e. the form of the devas of the sensuous sphere, for the self. The assumption is that this survives the break-up of the physical body for a period of time (of unspecified duration), 'annihilation' occurring at its cessation, and similarly with the remaining 'selves'. As BB points out (p. 32), 'Only the first form of annihilationism is materialistic; six admit that the doctrine can take on a spiritual garb.'

[76] 'Produced by the jhāna-mind' (OA).

[77] The next four correspond to the 4th-7th 'liberations' (DN 15.35) or the four higher, 'formless' jhānas.

[78] This is not, of course, the real Nibbāna of Buddhism (see Introduction, p. 27). DA says it means the subsiding of suffering (dukkhavūpasama) in this very individual form (subsiding being something far short of cessation). The New Sub-Commentary (quoted by BB, p. 197) adds: 'It is not the supreme fruit and not the unconditioned element (asankhata-dhātu = Nibbāna), for these are beyond the domain of these theorists.'

[79] The various jhānas are mistaken for Nibbāna.

[80] Vitakka-vicāra: otherwise rendered 'initial and sustained thought', and the like. I am indebted to L.S. Cousins for the suggestion that I should adopt the Ven. ñāṇamoli's original rendering 'thinking and pondering' (altered by the editor) in his MN translation (forthcoming). Cf. n. 61l.

[81] Pīti: a difficult word to translate. Renderings vary from 'interest' through 'zest' to 'rapture'. It is classified not as a feeling (vedanā) but as part of the group of mental formations (sankhārā), i.e. as a mental reaction. BDic says: 'It may be described psychologically as "joyful interest'" — for which the simplest term would seem to be 'delight'.

[82] Sukha: pleasant feeling, physical or mental (though for the latter the word somanassa exists). The difference between this and pīti may seem subtle but is important.

[83] Samādhi here has its basic meaning of 'concentration'.

[84] Upekkhaka.

[85] Sampajāna: not 'self-possessed' as so many translators have repeated after RD.

[86] Phassa is the 'contact' between sense-base and its object, e.g. eye and visible object. Such contact is the basis of feeling (vedanā).

[87] Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body as base of the tactile sense, and mind (which is always the sixth sense in Buddhism).

[88] This is the first, partial, exposition of dependent origination (paṭicca-samuppāda) in the Canon. See Introduction, p. 34, and Suttas 14, 15.

[89] All that formerly bound him to the cycle of rebirth.

[90] Attha: cf. nn. 21 and 22.

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