mn26:1.1So I have heard.This discourse is known in Pali manuscripts and commentaries either as “The Noble Quest” or “The Pile of Snares”, whereas the Chinese parallel at MA 204 is titled “The Discourse at Rāma’s Hermitage”. It is one of several discourses in the Majjhima that include a partial account of Siddhattha’s practice before awakening, an account that became one of the key events in the Buddha’s biography. This particular version focuses on his experience with Brahmanical teachers, while MN36, MN85, and MN100 include a long passage detailing his Jain-like fervent austerities. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

mn26:2.1Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. Then several mendicants went up to Venerable Ānanda and said to him, “Reverend, it’s been a long time since we’ve heard a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.Why was the Buddha reluctant to teach? This is puzzling because where we find this trope elsewhere there is a clear reason: at AN7.52 the Buddha was making one of his rare visits to Campā, while at SN22.81 he had left the squabbling Sangha for the seclusion of the forest. Here, in the central teaching location of Sāvatthī, there is no such reason. Rather, the events are best understood as narrative foreshadowing. His reluctance requires an intervention by others, and when the teaching finally takes place it is not in a Buddhist monastery but on Brahmanical grounds. The story goes on to tell how, after his awakening, he was reluctant to teach until the intervention of Brahmā (below). This narrative mirroring creates a hidden link (sandhi) that frames the awakening in a Brahmanical context. The very obscurity of the connection is the point, for “the gods love hidden things”. The theme of reluctance is extended further to the reluctance of the five mendicants to receive the Buddha. It draws on the precedent of Yājñavalkya’s reluctance to teach Janaka (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.1). It would be good if we got to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.”

mn26:2.5“Well then, reverends, go to the brahmin Rammaka’s hermitage.Rammaka appears only here, and the commentary offers no information. His name presumably signifies that he was a follower of the teacher Rāma who appears below. This complements AN3.126, where the Buddha stays in the hermitage of Bharaṇḍu the Kālāma, who was apparently a student of Āḷāra Kālāma. Hopefully you’ll get to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.”

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mn26:2.7“Yes, reverend,” they replied.

mn26:3.1Then, after the meal, on his return from almsround, the Buddha addressed Ānanda,The narrative sequence from the Buddha returning from alms round to coming out from his bath is also found at AN6.43. There, there is a clear justification for the story, as the discourse concerns a royal elephant parade seen after bathing. Here, once more, the purpose is implicit: a brahmanical student must bathe before any ritual. “Come, Ānanda, let’s go to the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother in the Eastern Monastery for the day’s meditation.”After the Jetavana, this was the best-known monastery in Sāvatthī. It was offered by the lady Visākhā, known as Migāra’s mother.

mn26:3.3“Yes, sir,” Ānanda replied. So the Buddha went with Ānanda to the Eastern Monastery for the day’s meditation. In the late afternoon the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed Ānanda, “Come, Ānanda, let’s go to the eastern gate to bathe.”

mn26:3.7“Yes, sir,” Ānanda replied.

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mn26:3.8So the Buddha went with Ānanda to the eastern gate to bathe. When he had bathed and emerged from the water he stood in one robe drying his limbs. Then Ānanda said to the Buddha, “Sir, the hermitage of the brahmin Rammaka is nearby. It’s so delightful, so lovely. Please visit it out of sympathy.” The Buddha consented with silence.

mn26:4.1He went to the brahmin Rammaka’s hermitage. Now at that time several mendicants were sitting together in the hermitage talking about the teaching.Here (and at MN92:4.1) a “hermitage” (assama, “ashram”) is a sizable building suitable for gatherings, whereas at SN11.9 it is a gated compound with leaf huts. It is normally used for Brahmanical places. The Buddha stood outside the door waiting for the talk to end. When he knew the talk had ended he cleared his throat and knocked on the door-panel.As at AN9.4. The mendicants opened the door for the Buddha, and he entered the hermitage, where he sat on the seat spread out and addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?”

mn26:4.9“Sir, our unfinished discussion on the teaching was about the Buddha himself when the Buddha arrived.”

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mn26:4.10“Good, mendicants! It’s appropriate for gentlemen like you, who have gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness, to sit together and talk about the teaching. When you’re sitting together you should do one of two things: discuss the teachings or keep noble silence.“Noble silence” is narrowly defined as the second absorption (SN21.1).

mn26:5.1Mendicants, there are these two quests:The Buddha picks up from the fact that the mendicants were talking about him, but continues in a depersonalized manner.
The substance of this passage is taught more briefly at AN4.255. the noble quest and the ignoble quest.These opposing quests (or “searches”, pariyesanā) respond to Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.22, which we have already noted as a source for the phrase so attā so loko (MN22:15.1). It says that the wise ones of old, renouncing the search for sons, for wealth, and for the heavenly worlds, lived the mendicant’s life (putraiṣaṇāyāśca vittaiṣaṇāyāśca lokaiṣaṇāyāśca vyutthāyātha bhikśācaryaṁ caranti). The inner self sought by the brahmins is described as unborn, made of consciousness, undecaying, unattached, and unaffected by karma; knowing it one becomes a sage.

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mn26:5.3And what is the ignoble quest? It’s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn seeks what is also liable to be reborn. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, they seek what is also liable to these things.

mn26:6.1And what should be described as liable to be reborn?The Pali includes “gold and money” among those things subject to birth, old age, and defilement. The Chinese parallel MA 204 (T i 776a7; cf. T 765 at T xvii 679b23) does not mention “birth” but says money and jewelry are subject to old age, defilement, etc. Elsewhere in the suttas, rebirth, old age, and defilement are qualities of sentient beings, not inanimate objects, so this might be a textual corruption. Nonetheless, the commentary offers explanations for why gold and money are included under these specific categories and not the rest, and this, together with the Chinese text, shows that if it is a corruption it is an old one. I give the commentarial explanations. Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to be reborn.Gold and money are subject to “birth” because they are produced by heat (utusamuṭṭhāna).
The word for “gold” here, one of several in Pali, is jātarūpa, literally “born form”, i.e. that which is naturally beautiful. In Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.4.25, a newborn infant is to be fed mixed curd, honey, and ghee with a piece of jātarūpa, thus placing “golden” Vedic speech in him. This rare early instance of jātarūpa shows that it had a felt connection with the idea of birth. Perhaps this connection prompted its inclusion here. From that, “money” (rajata) was brought in as the two form a stock phrase, and they were then applied elsewhere in the list. These attachments are liable to be reborn. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to being reborn, seeks what is also liable to be reborn.

mn26:7.1And what should be described as liable to grow old? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to grow old.Gold and money grow old due to rust or grime. These attachments are liable to grow old. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to grow old, seeks what is also liable to grow old.

mn26:8.1And what should be described as liable to fall sick? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to fall sick. These attachments are liable to fall sick. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to falling sick, seeks what is also liable to fall sick.

mn26:9.1And what should be described as liable to die? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to die. These attachments are liable to die. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to die, seeks what is also liable to die.

mn26:10.1And what should be described as liable to sorrow? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and elephants and cattle are liable to sorrow. These attachments are liable to sorrow. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to sorrow, seeks what is also liable to sorrow.

mn26:11.1And what should be described as liable to corruption? Partners and children, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants and cattle, and gold and currency are liable to corruption.Gold and money are liable to corruption by iron, etc. These attachments are liable to corruption. Someone who is tied, infatuated, and attached to such things, themselves liable to corruption, seeks what is also liable to corruption. This is the ignoble quest.

mn26:12.1And what is the noble quest? It’s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, seeks that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they seek that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment.As pointed out by K.R. Norman in his Mistaken Ideas About Nibbāna (1994), the epithets ajātaṁ (etc.) don’t mean that Nibbāna is “unborn”, but rather that in Nibbāna there is no rebirth. Likewise, amata does not mean “immortal” or “deathless” but “freedom from death”. This is the noble quest.

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mn26:13.1Mendicants, before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I too, being liable to be reborn, sought what is also liable to be reborn. Myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, I sought what is also liable to these things. Then it occurred to me: ‘Why do I, being liable to be reborn, grow old, fall sick, sorrow, die, and become corrupted, seek things that have the same nature? Why don’t I seek that which is free of rebirth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment?’

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mn26:14.1Some time later, while still with pristine black hair, blessed with youth, in the prime of life—though my mother and father wished otherwise, weeping with tearful faces—I shaved off my hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness.This contrasts with the legend that he slipped away in the dead of night.

mn26:15.1Once I had gone forth I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Āḷāra Kālāma and said to him,“To discover what is skillful” (kiṅkusalagavesī) might also be translated, “seeking to answer the question, ‘what is good?’.” At this point he did not know the path so he sought an answer from the best teachers of his day.
At MN102:25.1, the “supreme state of sublime peace” (santivarapada) is said to be “liberation without grasping” (anupādāvimokkha).
Āḷāra Kālāma was a senior teacher in the contemplative and renunciate tradition of the Upaniṣads. His meditative prowess is praised by his student Pukkusa the Mallian at DN16:4.26.1, but is seen to be inferior to the Buddha’s. At AN3.126 an apparent former student of Āḷāra advocates that teachers who teach full understanding of different things are nonetheless leading to the same goal. Thus, in line with Upaniṣadic philosophy, Āḷāra saw the apparent diversity of phenomena as partial manifestations of the immanent cosmic divinity. Āḷāra is usually understood to be named after his people, the Kālāmas. But it is possible we should accept the variant Kālāpa, indicating that he follows the Black Yajurveda. ‘Reverend Kālāma, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.’Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11.5.4.1 sets out the initiation (upanayana) into “spiritual life” (brahmacarya) according to Yājñavalkya. The student says, “I have come for brahmacarya” or “Let me be a brahmacāri”. The teacher responds by asking, “What is your name” (ko nāmāsīti). The same phrase is used in the Buddhist ordination procedure (kiṁnāmosi, Khandhaka 1). But whereas in Buddhism this is merely a personal identification, for the brahmins this naming signifies a mystical identity with the creator Prajāpati, who is ka.

mn26:15.3Āḷāra Kālāma replied, ‘Stay, venerable.Āḷāra Kālāma calls his student āyasmā (Sanskrit āyuṣmant), an honorific that in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa is reserved for the god Agni (13.8.4.8–9). By this he indicates the student’s divine status.
Compare with the first phrase used by the Buddha to ordain his students, “Come, mendicant” (ehi bhikkhu, Khandhaka 1). This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own tradition with their own insight and live having achieved it.’“Their own tradition” (sakaṁ ācariyakaṁ), literally “what belongs to their own teacher” (ācariya, Sanskrit ācarya). In the Brahmanical initiation, having accepted the student, the brahmin takes him by the hand and says, “Agni is your teacher, I am your teacher” (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11.5.4.2). This claims both the universal authority of the divine lineage as well as the personal lineage of that teacher.
“Their own insight” (sayaṁ abhiññā); Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa repeatedly emphasizes that the benefits of initiation are for “one who knows this” (ya evaṁ veda, 11.5.4.2, etc.).

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mn26:15.6I quickly memorized that teaching.The text does not specify the scripture that he learned, but it must have been Brahmanical, for they were the only scriptures known. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11.5.4.13 instructs the new student to first learn the Sāvitrī, specifying the version in Gāyatrī metre (see also Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.14). The Buddha refers to this as the foremost verse (MN92:26.1), and he even specifies the Gāyatrī version (Snp3.4 verse 457). Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 11.5.7 goes on to encourage the student in daily recitation of the four Vedas and ancillary literature. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others.“I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine” (ñāṇavādañca vadāmi theravādañca). Taken together, the sense is that his personal understanding agreed with tradition. A less literal translation might be, “I spoke with knowledge and authority.”
For ñāṇavāda, compare such passages as Snp4.3 verse 781, “as you know, so you speak” (yathā hi jāneyya tathā vadeyya). In the Brāhmaṇas and Upaniṣads, knowledge refers to the hidden connections between the Vedas and the world which reveal the divinity immanent in all things.
Thera (Sanskrit sthavira) has the senses “steady, strong” (so commentary’s thirabhāva) as well as “elder”, for which see Kauṣītaki Brāhmaṇa 26.2.5, where Jātūkarṇya, a teacher of old, is called sthavira. I take it to mean the “lasting doctrine of the ancients”. This is the oldest use of the word theravāda, long before it was applied to a Buddhist school.

mn26:15.8Then it occurred to me, ‘It is not solely by mere faith that Āḷāra Kālāma declares: “I realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.”“Faith” (or “trust”, saddhā, Sanskrit śraddhā) was regarded as a quality of the “heart” through which one gained remuneration in the form of fees for priestly services (Rig Veda 10.151.4, Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.9.21). It is like the “trust” that one would place in a bank: an investment is made in expectation of a reward.
For the syntax here, compare with kevalaṁ vassagaṇanamattena at AN7.43. Surely he meditates knowing and seeing this teaching.’

mn26:15.11So I approached Āḷāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, to what extent do you say you’ve realized this teaching with your own insight?’ When I said this, he declared the dimension of nothingness.This is said to be the best of the four perceptions at (AN10.29). Buddhist texts portray this as a favorite meditation among brahmin contemplatives (eg. Snp5.15, Snp5.7). While one might expect that the brahmins would identify their goal in a positive sense, this is not always the case. A text of the Black Yajurveda, Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.11, says that beyond the great Soul, beyond the unmanifest, beyond the Person, is nothing: and that is the ultimate goal (puruśān na paraṃ kiṃcit). See too Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.12.1, which illustrate how divinity is too subtle for normal perception. The teacher, breaking the kernel of a seed, asked the student, ““What do you see there?’ ‘Nothing’” (kimatra paśyasīti, na kiṁcana). Compare the description of this state at Snp5.15, “one sees nothing at all” (natthi kiñcīti passato). This is also similar to the teaching of Uddaka (MN26:16.1).

mn26:15.14Then it occurred to me, ‘It’s not just Āḷāra Kālāma who has faith,The Buddha called these the five “faculties” (SN48.10) or “powers” (AN5.14). All except “immersion” (samādhi) are frequently mentioned in pre-Buddhist texts, but not as a set of five. energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don’t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that Āḷāra Kālāma says he has realized with his own insight?’ I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it.This phrasing echoes part of the description of arahantship (MN85:51.12).

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mn26:15.22So I approached Āḷāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, is it up to this point that you realized this teaching with your own insight, and declare having achieved it?’Having achieved that state, Āḷāra Kālāma “declares” (pavedeti) it as the teacher, while the Bodhisatta “dwells” in it (viharati).

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mn26:15.24‘I have, reverend.’

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mn26:15.25‘I too, reverend, have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.’

mn26:15.26‘We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that I’ve realized with my own insight, and declare having achieved it, you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. The teaching that you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it, I’ve realized with my own insight, and declare having achieved it. So the teaching that I know, you know, and the teaching that you know, I know.Almost exactly the same words were spoken by Pokkharasāti to his student Ambaṭṭha (DN3:1.3.2). This connects Pokkharasāti with Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, suggesting that the uplifting of a talented student in this way was a regular practice of wise brahmins. I am like you and you are like me. Come now, reverend! We should both lead this community together.’This invitation shows his grace and humility.

mn26:15.33And that is how my tutor Āḷāra Kālāma placed me, his pupil, on the same position as him, and honored me with high praise.

mn26:15.34Then it occurred to me, ‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of nothingness.’It does not fulfill the requirements of the “noble quest”.
Compare the pre-Buddhist meditation practice of Govinda (DN19:43.1), Mātaṅga (Snp1.7 verse 137- ), and Maghadeva (MN83:21.1), which in all cases “leads to rebirth in the Brahmā realm” (brahmalokūpapattiyā). Kaṭha Upaniṣad 1.3.16, concluding the ancient portion of this text, says that the wise man attains glory in the world of divinity (medhāvī brahmaloke mahīyate). Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.

mn26:16.1I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him,Uddaka’s teachings are cited at SN35.103 and DN29:16.8. In the former, his obscure verse assumes the identity of “this” (the impersonal cosmic divinity) with himself, while the latter is a distorted reference to Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1.4.7. Further, AN10.29 implies that he taught the “ultimate purity of the spirit”. While “spirit” (yakkha, Sanskrit yakṣa) is normally a worldly deity, it is identified with the ultimate Brahman at Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.4.1 and Kena Upaniṣad 4.1. Uddaka is apparently the “ascetic Rāmaputta” who was revered by the king, criticized by some brahmins, but defended by Todeyya, a leading brahmin of Kosala often mentioned along with Pokkharasāti (AN4.187). ‘Reverend, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.’In contrast with Āḷāra Kālāma, here the name is omitted.

mn26:16.3Uddaka replied, ‘Stay, venerable. This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own tradition with their own insight and live having achieved it.’

mn26:16.6I quickly memorized that teaching. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others.

mn26:16.8Then it occurred to me, ‘It is not solely by mere faith that Rāma declared: “I realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.”The text shifts from Rāmaputta to just Rāma, while at the same time shifting to the past tense. Uddaka was thus the (spiritual and/or biological) “son of Rāma”. This detail is preserved reliably in the different versions of the text. It seems that Rāmaputta had not personally attained the meditation he was teaching. This would also explain why, just a little below, he invites the Bodhisatta to lead the community rather than to share leadership like Āḷāra Kālāma (MN36:15.26). SN35.103 shows that he did, however, make claims to being spiritually attained. Surely he meditated knowing and seeing this teaching.’

mn26:16.11So I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him, ‘Reverend, to what extent did Rāma say he’d realized this teaching with his own insight?’

mn26:16.13When I said this, Uddaka son of Rāma declared the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.In Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.4.12 and 4.5.13, the sage Yājñavalkya says that the true Self is a sheer mass of “consciousness” (vijñāna, Pali viññāṇa), which is “great, endless, infinite reality”. After realizing this, he says, there is no “perception” (saṁjñā, Pali saññā). This passage seems to have sparked the conversation at DN9:6.4, where the Buddha goes on to speak of meditative training to refine perception. Notably, there he mentions all the jhānas and formless attainments except the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, which is beyond the topic of perception under discussion. This meditative state may be related to the state with “no perception” spoken of by Yājñavalkya. However, it is not possible to literally identify such subtle meditative states on such slender evidence. The point is simply that the contemplative brahmins of the Upaniṣadic tradition of Yājñavalkya did indeed describe their highest state in terms of perception.

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mn26:16.14Then it occurred to me, ‘It’s not just Rāma who had faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don’t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that Rāma said he had realized with his own insight?’ I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it.

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mn26:16.22So I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him, ‘Reverend, had Rāma realized this teaching with his own insight up to this point, and declared having achieved it?’

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mn26:16.24‘He had, reverend.’

mn26:16.25‘I too have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.’

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mn26:16.26‘We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that Rāma had realized with his own insight, and declared having achieved it, you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. The teaching that you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it, Rāma had realized with his own insight, and declared having achieved it. So the teaching that Rāma directly knew, you know, and the teaching you know, Rāma directly knew. Rāma was like you and you are like Rāma. Come now, reverend! You should lead this community.’

mn26:16.33And that is how my spiritual companion Uddaka son of Rāma placed me in the position of a tutor and honored me with high praise.An ācariya is special teacher who has a close, ongoing relationship with a student, signified by the fact that the student of an ācāriya is called an antevāsī, literally “one who lives within” the teacher’s home. This passage confirms that this usage carries over from the Brahmanical tradition, where it is a common term in the same sense. Thus Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.1.2 speaks of “mother, father, and teacher”, while Chāndogya Upaniṣad 2.23.1 enjoins a student to “live with the teacher until death”, and at 4.9.1 ff. we see the journey of a student to their teacher’s house, where he is looked after by the teacher and his wife. The same sense prevails throughout the suttas and Vinaya, so I translate as “tutor” to identify a close personal teacher.

mn26:16.34Then it occurred to me, ‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.’ Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.

mn26:17.1I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. Traveling stage by stage in the Magadhan lands, I arrived at the town of Senā in Uruvelā.In modern times this is the pilgrimage site Bodhgaya in the Gaya district of Bihar. It lies by a wide river that is dry in summer but abundant in the rains. Today it is named Līlajan and in Pali Nerañjarā, although that name is not mentioned in this passage. Uruvelā, which aptly means “Broadbanks”, was a locality centered around the market town of Senānigama (“Marshalltown”). There was also a sizable hermitage nearby with matted-hair Brahmanical ascetics (jaṭilā) who ritually bathed in the water (Khandhaka 1). After teaching the five monks in Varanasi, the Buddha returned here to teach them, but there is no record of him visiting subsequently. There I saw a delightful park, a lovely grove with a flowing river that was clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby was a village to resort to for alms.The Buddha’s rejection of sensual pleasures does not preclude his appreciation of nature’s beauty.
The local alms villages in Uruvelā are named in Mahāvastu 2.207 as Praskandaka, Balākalpa, Ujjaṁgala, and Jaṁgala.

mn26:17.3Then it occurred to me, ‘This park is truly delightful, a lovely grove with a flowing river that’s clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby there’s a village to resort to for alms. This is good enough for striving for a gentleman wanting to strive.’Padhāna means to “strive”. It is frequently used in the sense of applying oneself to meditation, but here it leads into the painful “striving” of fervent austerity (MN36:20.1). So I sat down right there, thinking, ‘This is good enough for striving.’

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mn26:18.1And so, being myself liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, I sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and I found it. Being myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, I sought that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and I found it.While this skips directly from his arrival in Uruvelā to his awakening, other texts describe his practice of fervent austerities here, which must have taken a considerable time (MN36:16.1, MN85:19.10). See note on MN26:17.3.

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mn26:18.2Knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My freedom is unshakable; this is my last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’This is the realization of arahantship. Elsewhere the Buddha goes into more detail as to the process of meditation that led to this point.

mn26:19.1Then it occurred to me, ‘This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute.A similar account is told of Gotama Buddha at SN6.1, MN85:43.1, and Khandhaka 1, and of Vipassī at DN14:3.1.3. But people like clinging, they love it and enjoy it. It’s hard for them to see this topic; that is, specific conditionality, dependent origination.The Buddha identifies the two most difficult topics in his philosophy: dependent origination and Nibbana. It’s also hard for them to see this topic; that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. And if I were to teach this principle, others might not understand me, which would be wearying and troublesome for me.’Up to this point, the Bodhisatta has been solely concerned with finding the answer to his quest, and only now does he think of sharing it with others. The idea that he had made an aspiration for Buddhahood in the long ago past out of a desire to help all sentient beings is not supported in early texts.

mn26:19.7And then these verses, which were neither supernaturally inspired, nor learned before in the past, occurred to me:

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mn26:19.16So, as I reflected like this, my mind inclined to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.Had he followed this inclination he would have been a paccekabuddha, a Buddha “awakened for himself”.

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mn26:20.1Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing my train of thought, thought,While Sahampati features prominently in the suttas, no deity of that name is found in early Brahmanical texts. He seems, however, to be the Buddhist version of Brahmā Svayambhū, the “Self-born Divinity”, to whom Yājñavalkya traces the authority of his teaching lineage (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 2.6.3, 4.5.3, 6.5.4). Yājñavalkya identifies this “self-born” with the sun (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 1.9.3.16; see also Maitrāyaṇī Saṁhitā 4.6.6) and with Prajāpati (13.5.3.1). Explaining the origin of the soma rite of the “All-Sacrifice”, he says that Brahmā Svayambhū, while performing fervent austerities, decided to offer his self to all creatures and all creatures to his self, thus establishing lordship (adhipatya) over all creatures (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 13.7.1.1). The root pati (“lord”) here establishes a linguistic link with sahampati. Further, in the earliest use of svayambhū at Rig Veda 10.83.4, the “self-born” deity Manyu “prevails” (sahuriḥ sahāvān) in battle. Thus we can identify Sahampati, the “Lord Who Prevails”, with the highest divinity recognized by Yājñavalkya, who originated as victor in battle, whose physical manifestation is the sun, whose spiritual function is to imbue all creatures with divinity, and who serves as the ultimate source of authority. Meanwhile, the epithet sayambhū was taken for the Buddha (Khandhaka 11). ‘Oh lord! The world will be lost, the world will perish! For the mind of the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha, inclines to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.’Having surpassed the greatest of the Brahmanical contemplatives, the Buddha’s achievement is recognized by the chief Brahmanical divinity.

mn26:20.3Then, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from the realm of divinity and reappeared in front of me. He arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his joined palms toward me, and said, ‘Sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes. They’re in decline because they haven’t heard the teaching. There will be those who understand the teaching!’Sahampati is the one who recognizes the potential in all beings, since it was he who imbued them with divinity. He did this to ensure dominance, but now his motive has transformed into compassion.

mn26:20.8That’s what the divinity Sahampati said. Then he went on to say:

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mn26:21.1Then, understanding the Divinity’s invitation, I surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha, because of my compassion for sentient beings. And I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes; with keen faculties and with weak faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach. And some of them lived seeing the danger in the fault to do with the next world, while others did not.Here we see the sense of indriya as “spiritual potential”. Originally it was the state of excited energy produced by soma that allowed Indra to manifest his full power and overcome his foes. It implicitly links back to the five spiritual qualities that the Buddha attributed to his teachers, which he later formalized as “faculties”. Here as there, the idea creates a connection between beings, a recognition of shared qualities that, when properly nurtured, can mature into awakening. It’s like a pool with blue water lilies, or pink or white lotuses. Some of them sprout and grow in the water without rising above it, thriving underwater. Some of them sprout and grow in the water reaching the water’s surface. And some of them sprout and grow in the water but rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to them. In the same way, I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes.

mn26:21.5Then I replied in verse to the divinity Sahampati:

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mn26:21.10Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing that his request for me to teach the Dhamma had been granted, bowed and respectfully circled me, keeping me on his right, before vanishing right there.

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mn26:22.1Then I thought, ‘Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?’

mn26:22.4Then it occurred to me, ‘That Āḷāra Kālāma is astute, competent, clever, and has long had little dust in his eyes. Why don’t I teach him first of all? He’ll quickly understand the teaching.’

mn26:22.8But a deity came to me and said, ‘Sir, Āḷāra Kālāma passed away seven days ago.’

mn26:22.10And knowledge and vision arose in me, ‘Āḷāra Kālāma passed away seven days ago.’

mn26:22.12I thought, ‘This is a great loss for Āḷāra Kālāma. If he had heard the teaching, he would have understood it quickly.’

mn26:23.1Then I thought, ‘Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?’

mn26:23.4Then it occurred to me, ‘That Uddaka son of Rāma is astute, competent, clever, and has long had little dust in his eyes. Why don’t I teach him first of all? He’ll quickly understand the teaching.’

mn26:23.8But a deity came to me and said, ‘Sir, Uddaka son of Rāma passed away just last night.’

mn26:23.10And knowledge and vision arose in me, ‘Uddaka son of Rāma passed away just last night.’

mn26:23.12I thought, ‘This is a great loss for Uddaka. If he had heard the teaching, he would have understood it quickly.’While this passage is clearly heightened for dramatic effect, it is not surprising that they have passed away. It has been several years since he studied with these teachers, and they were probably elderly at the time, as perhaps hinted in their eagerness to appoint Siddhattha as heirs.

mn26:24.1Then I thought, ‘Who should I teach first of all? Who will quickly understand this teaching?’

mn26:24.4Then it occurred to me, ‘The group of five mendicants were very helpful to me. They looked after me during my time of resolute striving.The five mendicants appear abruptly here and the reason for their behavior is only clear in light of the fuller accounts (MN36:33.4, MN85:33.1, MN100:30.5). The Buddha’s praise for them is more muted than for the Brahmanical teachers, showing how he valued advanced meditation over austerities.
Note that he calls them “mendicants”, a term typically reserved for Buddhist renunciates. For a similar usage, see MN140:3.1. Why don’t I teach them first of all?’

mn26:24.7Then I thought, ‘Where are the group of five mendicants staying these days?’ With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman I saw that the group of five mendicants were staying near Varanasi, in the deer park at Isipatana.

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So, when I had stayed in Uruvelā as long as I pleased, I set out for Varanasi.Several suttas relate further details in this period (eg. SN47.43, Ud 1.3–4, etc.)

mn26:25.1While I was traveling along the road between Gayā and Bodhgaya, the Ājīvaka ascetic Upaka saw meFor the Ājīvakas, see MN5:31.4 and DN2:20.1. Upaka is met only here; his name means “nearly there”.
The place of awakening is referred to as bodhi. These places are about twenty kilometers apart. and said, ‘Reverend, your faculties are so very clear, and your complexion is pure and bright.Here “faculties” refers to visible features such as bright eyes. Compare Chāndogya Upaniṣad 4.14.2, where a students face is seen as bright and glowing due to their recent insights. In whose name have you gone forth, reverend? Who is your Teacher? Whose teaching do you believe in?’

mn26:25.5I replied to Upaka in verse:

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mn26:25.22‘According to what you claim, reverend, you ought to be the Infinite Victor.’“Infinite Victor” (anantajina) is unknown elsewhere and may be an Ājīvaka term. It relates to the epithet jina of the teacher Mahāvīra, after which his followers the Jains were named. Mahāvīra and the Ājīvaka founder Gosāla practiced together for six years, so it comes as no surprise that they shared terminology.

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mn26:25.27When I had spoken, Upaka said: ‘If you say so, reverend.’ Shaking his head, he took a wrong turn and left.

mn26:26.1Traveling stage by stage, I arrived at Varanasi, and went to see the group of five mendicants in the deer park at Isipatana. The group of five mendicants saw me coming off in the distance and stopped each other, saying,For “they stopped each other” (aññamaññaṁ saṇṭhapesuṁ), see AN10.93. ‘Here comes the ascetic Gotama. He’s so indulgent; he strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence. We shouldn’t bow to him or rise for him or receive his bowl and robe. But we can set out a seat; he can sit if he likes.’ Yet as I drew closer, the group of five mendicants were unable to stop themselves as they had agreed. Some came out to greet me and receive my bowl and robe, some spread out a seat, while others set out water for washing my feet. But they still addressed me by name and as ‘reverend’.These ways of address are suitable for a senior speaking to a junior (DN16:6.2.1).

mn26:27.1So I said to them, ‘Mendicants, don’t address me by name and as “reverend”. The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. You will live having achieved with your own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.’

mn26:27.6But they said to me, ‘Reverend Gotama, even by that conduct, that practice, that grueling work you did not achieve any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. How could you have achieved such a state now that you’ve become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence?’Where “that practice” appears in MN12:56.1 and MN85:51.6, it refers to the austere practices that have just been described. Taken together with the abrupt skip at MN26:18.1 above, and the equally abrupt mention of the five mendicants at MN26:24.4 above, it seems likely the passage on the austerities has been removed in order to focus on the Brahmanical context.

mn26:27.8So I said to them, ‘The Realized One has not become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence. The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life.’

mn26:27.13But for a second time they said to me, ‘Reverend Gotama … you’ve returned to indulgence.’

mn26:27.15So for a second time I said to them, ‘The Realized One has not become indulgent …’

mn26:27.18But for a third time they said to me, ‘Reverend Gotama, even by that conduct, that practice, that grueling work you did not achieve any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. How could you have achieved such a state now that you’ve become indulgent, strayed from the struggle and returned to indulgence?’

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mn26:28.1So I said to them, ‘Mendicants, have you ever known me to speak like this before?’

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mn26:28.3‘No sir, we have not.’Here they adopt the more respectful term of address bhante (“sir”).

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mn26:28.4‘The Realized One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen up, mendicants: I have achieved freedom from death! I shall instruct you, I will teach you the Dhamma. By practicing as instructed you will soon realize the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. You will live having achieved with your own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.’

mn26:29.1I was able to persuade the group of five mendicants.Again the narrative skips. Here the Buddha taught the “Rolling Forth of the Wheel of the Dhamma” (SN56.11). The full sequence of events is related in Khandhaka 1. Then sometimes I advised two mendicants, while the other three went for alms. Then those three would feed all six of us with what they brought back. Sometimes I advised three mendicants, while the other two went for alms. Then those two would feed all six of us with what they brought back.

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mn26:30.1As the group of five mendicants were being advised and instructed by me like this, being themselves liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, they sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and they found it. Being themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they sought that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and they found it. Knowledge and vision arose in them: ‘Our freedom is unshakable; this is our last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’This occurred with the teaching of the “Discourse on the Characteristic of Not Self” (SN22.59).

mn26:31.1Mendicants, there are these five kinds of sensual stimulation.The Buddha rather abruptly returns to a direct teaching for the mendicants in Rammaka’s hermitage. The topic harks back to the simile of the sappy log, absent from here, but which in MN36:17.1 is introduced as the Bodhisatta undertook striving at Uruvelā. What five? Sights known by the eye, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing. Sounds known by the ear … Smells known by the nose … Tastes known by the tongue … Touches known by the body, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasant, sensual, and arousing. These are the five kinds of sensual stimulation.

mn26:32.1There are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation tied, infatuated, attached, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. You should understand that theyThe Pali word paribhuñjati means “to have something satisfying” as well as “to take pleasure in”, much like the English word “enjoys”. have met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants.

mn26:32.3Suppose a deer in the wilderness was lying caught on a pile of snares.This image and the teaching that follows links this sutta with the previous. You’d know that it has met with calamity and disaster, and the hunter can do with them what he wants. And when the hunter comes, it cannot flee where it wants.

mn26:32.7In the same way, there are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation tied, infatuated, attached, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. You should understand that they have met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One can do with them what he wants.

mn26:33.1There are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation without being tied, infatuated, or attached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. You should understand that they haven’t met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One cannot do what he wants with them.

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mn26:33.3Suppose a deer in the wilderness was lying on a pile of snares without being caught. You’d know that it hasn’t met with calamity and disaster, and the hunter cannot do what he wants with them. And when the hunter comes, it can flee where it wants.

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mn26:33.7In the same way, there are ascetics and brahmins who enjoy these five kinds of sensual stimulation without being tied, infatuated, or attached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. You should understand that they haven’t met with calamity and disaster, and the Wicked One cannot do what he wants with them.

mn26:34.1Suppose there was a wild deer wandering in the forest that walked, stood, sat, and laid down in confidence. Why is that? Because it’s out of the hunter’s range.

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mn26:34.4In the same way, a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see.

mn26:35.1Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:36.1Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:37.1Furthermore, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:38.1Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:39.1Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite consciousness. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:40.1Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness.This passage and the next affirm that these meditations, learned under Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, were adopted by the Buddha as part of his practice.f This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:41.1Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra …

mn26:42.1Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. This is called a mendicant who has blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. They’ve crossed over clinging to the world. And they walk, stand, sit, and lie down in confidence. Why is that? Because they’re out of the Wicked One’s range.”

mn26:42.6That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

1Evaṁ me sutaṁ — ​ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.

Atha kho bhagavā pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya sāvatthiṁ piṇḍāya pāvisi. Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhū yenāyasmā ānando tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ etadavocuṁ: "cirassutā no, āvuso ānanda, bhagavato sammukhā dhammī kathā. Sādhu mayaṁ, āvuso ānanda, labheyyāma bhagavato sammukhā dhammiṁ kathaṁ savanāyā"ti.

"Tena hāyasmanto yena rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo tenupasaṅkamatha; appeva nāma labheyyātha bhagavato sammukhā dhammiṁ kathaṁ savanāyā"ti.

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"Evamāvuso"ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato ānandassa paccassosuṁ.

2Atha kho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ āmantesi: "āyāmānanda, yena pubbārāmo migāramātupāsādo tenupasaṅkamissāma divāvihārāyā"ti.

"Evaṁ, bhante"ti kho āyasmā ānando bhagavato paccassosi. Atha kho bhagavā āyasmatā ānandena saddhiṁ yena pubbārāmo migāramātupāsādo tenupasaṅkami divāvihārāya. Atha kho bhagavā sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ āmantesi: "āyāmānanda, yena pubbakoṭṭhako tenupasaṅkamissāma gattāni parisiñcitun"ti.

"Evaṁ, bhante"ti kho āyasmā ānando bhagavato paccassosi.

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3Atha kho bhagavā āyasmatā ānandena saddhiṁ yena pubbakoṭṭhako tenupasaṅkami gattāni parisiñcituṁ. Pubbakoṭṭhake gattāni parisiñcitvā paccuttaritvā ekacīvaro aṭṭhāsi gattāni pubbāpayamāno. Atha kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "Ayaṁ, bhante, rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo avidūre. Ramaṇīyo, bhante, rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo; pāsādiko, bhante, rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo. Sādhu, bhante, bhagavā yena rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo tenupasaṅkamatu anukampaṁ upādāyā"ti. Adhivāsesi bhagavā tuṇhībhāvena.

4Atha kho bhagavā yena rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamo tenupasaṅkami. Tena kho pana samayena sambahulā bhikkhū rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assame dhammiyā kathāya sannisinnā honti. Atha kho bhagavā bahidvārakoṭṭhake aṭṭhāsi kathāpariyosānaṁ āgamayamāno. Atha kho bhagavā kathāpariyosānaṁ viditvā ukkāsitvā aggaḷaṁ ākoṭesi. Vivariṁsu kho te bhikkhū bhagavato dvāraṁ. Atha kho bhagavā rammakassa brāhmaṇassa assamaṁ pavisitvā paññatte āsane nisīdi. Nisajja kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: "kāya nuttha, bhikkhave, etarahi kathāya sannisinnā? Kā ca pana vo antarākathā vippakatā"ti?

"Bhagavantameva kho no, bhante, ārabbha dhammī kathā vippakatā, atha bhagavā anuppatto"ti.

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5"Sādhu, bhikkhave. Etaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tumhākaṁ patirūpaṁ kulaputtānaṁ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitānaṁ yaṁ tumhe dhammiyā kathāya sannisīdeyyātha. Sannipatitānaṁ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṁ karaṇīyaṁ — dhammī vā kathā, ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo.

6Dvemā, bhikkhave, pariyesanā — ariyā ca pariyesanā, anariyā ca pariyesanā.

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7Katamā ca, bhikkhave, anariyā pariyesanā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhammaṁyeva pariyesati, attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhammaṁyeva pariyesati, attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhammaṁyeva pariyesati, attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhammaṁyeva pariyesati, attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhammaṁyeva pariyesati, attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

8Kiñca, bhikkhave, jātidhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, jātidhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ jātidhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ jātidhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ jātidhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ jātidhammaṁ, jātarūparajataṁ jātidhammaṁ. Jātidhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

9Kiñca, bhikkhave, jarādhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, jarādhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ jarādhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ jarādhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ jarādhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ jarādhammaṁ, jātarūparajataṁ jarādhammaṁ. Jarādhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

10Kiñca, bhikkhave, byādhidhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, byādhidhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ byādhidhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ byādhidhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ byādhidhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ byādhidhammaṁ. Byādhidhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

11Kiñca, bhikkhave, maraṇadhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, maraṇadhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ maraṇadhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ maraṇadhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ maraṇadhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ maraṇadhammaṁ. Māraṇadhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

12Kiñca, bhikkhave, sokadhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, sokadhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ sokadhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ sokadhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ sokadhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ sokadhammaṁ. Sokadhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhammaṁyeva pariyesati.

13Kiñca, bhikkhave, saṅkilesadhammaṁ vadetha? Puttabhariyaṁ, bhikkhave, saṅkilesadhammaṁ, dāsidāsaṁ saṅkilesadhammaṁ, ajeḷakaṁ saṅkilesadhammaṁ, kukkuṭasūkaraṁ saṅkilesadhammaṁ, hatthigavāssavaḷavaṁ saṅkilesadhammaṁ, jātarūparajataṁ saṅkilesadhammaṁ. Saṅkilesadhammā hete, bhikkhave, upadhayo. Etthāyaṁ gathito mucchito ajjhāpanno attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhammaṁyeva pariyesati. Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, anariyā pariyesanā.

14Katamā ca, bhikkhave, ariyā pariyesanā? Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati, attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati, attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā abyādhiṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati, attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā amataṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati, attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asokaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati, attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asaṅkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesati. Ayaṁ, bhikkhave, ariyā pariyesanā.

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15Ahampi sudaṁ, bhikkhave, pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddho bodhisattova samāno attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi. Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘kiṁ nu kho ahaṁ attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi, attanā jarādhammo samāno … pe … byādhidhammo samāno … maraṇadhammo samāno … sokadhammo samāno … attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhammaṁyeva pariyesāmi? Yannūnāhaṁ attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyaṁ, attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyaṁ, attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā abyādhiṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyaṁ, attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā amataṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyaṁ, attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asokaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyaṁ, attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asaṅkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyeseyyan’ti.

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16So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, aparena samayena daharova samāno susukāḷakeso, bhadrena yobbanena samannāgato paṭhamena vayasā akāmakānaṁ mātāpitūnaṁ assumukhānaṁ rudantānaṁ kesamassuṁ ohāretvā kāsāyāni vatthāni acchādetvā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajiṁ.

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno kiṁkusalagavesī anuttaraṁ santivarapadaṁ pariyesamāno yena āḷāro kālāmo tenupasaṅkamiṁ. Upasaṅkamitvā āḷāraṁ kālāmaṁ etadavocaṁ: ‘icchāmahaṁ, āvuso kālāma, imasmiṁ dhammavinaye brahmacariyaṁ caritun’ti.

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, āḷāro kālāmo maṁ etadavoca: ‘viharatāyasmā; tādiso ayaṁ dhammo yattha viññū puriso nacirasseva sakaṁ ācariyakaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihareyyā’ti.

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So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, nacirasseva khippameva taṁ dhammaṁ pariyāpuṇiṁ. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, tāvatakeneva oṭṭhapahatamattena lapitalāpanamattena ñāṇavādañca vadāmi theravādañca, ‘jānāmi passāmī’ti ca paṭijānāmi ahañceva aññe ca.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Na kho āḷāro kālāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ kevalaṁ saddhāmattakena sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedeti; addhā āḷāro kālāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ jānaṁ passaṁ viharatī’ti.

17Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, yena āḷāro kālāmo tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā āḷāraṁ kālāmaṁ etadavocaṁ: ‘kittāvatā no, āvuso kālāma, imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedesī’ti? Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, āḷāro kālāmo ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ pavedesi.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Na kho āḷārasseva kālāmassa atthi saddhā, mayhampatthi saddhā; na kho āḷārasseva kālāmassa atthi vīriyaṁ, mayhampatthi vīriyaṁ; na kho āḷārasseva kālāmassa atthi sati, mayhampatthi sati; na kho āḷārasseva kālāmassa atthi samādhi, mayhampatthi samādhi; na kho āḷārasseva kālāmassa atthi paññā, mayhampatthi paññā. Yannūnāhaṁ yaṁ dhammaṁ āḷāro kālāmo sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedeti, tassa dhammassa sacchikiriyāya padaheyyan’ti. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, nacirasseva khippameva taṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsiṁ.

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18Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, yena āḷāro kālāmo tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā āḷāraṁ kālāmaṁ etadavocaṁ:

19‘Ettāvatā no, āvuso kālāma, imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedesī’ti?

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20‘Ettāvatā kho ahaṁ, āvuso, imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedemī’ti.

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21‘Ahampi kho, āvuso, ettāvatā imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmī’ti.

22‘Lābhā no, āvuso, suladdhaṁ no, āvuso, ye mayaṁ āyasmantaṁ tādisaṁ sabrahmacāriṁ passāma. Iti yāhaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedemi taṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharasi. Yaṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharasi tamahaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedemi. Iti yāhaṁ dhammaṁ jānāmi taṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ jānāsi, yaṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ jānāsi tamahaṁ dhammaṁ jānāmi. Iti yādiso ahaṁ tādiso tuvaṁ, yādiso tuvaṁ tādiso ahaṁ. Ehi dāni, āvuso, ubhova santā imaṁ gaṇaṁ pariharāmā’ti.

23Iti kho, bhikkhave, āḷāro kālāmo ācariyo me samāno attano antevāsiṁ maṁ samānaṁ attanā samasamaṁ ṭhapesi, uḷārāya ca maṁ pūjāya pūjesi.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘nāyaṁ dhammo nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati, yāvadeva ākiñcaññāyatanūpapattiyā’ti. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, taṁ dhammaṁ analaṅkaritvā tasmā dhammā nibbijja apakkamiṁ.

24So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, kiṁ kusalagavesī anuttaraṁ santivarapadaṁ pariyesamāno yena udako rāmaputto tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā udakaṁ rāmaputtaṁ etadavocaṁ: ‘icchāmahaṁ, āvuso, imasmiṁ dhammavinaye brahmacariyaṁ caritun’ti.

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, udako rāmaputto maṁ etadavoca: ‘viharatāyasmā; tādiso ayaṁ dhammo yattha viññū puriso nacirasseva sakaṁ ācariyakaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihareyyā’ti.

So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, nacirasseva khippameva taṁ dhammaṁ pariyāpuṇiṁ. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, tāvatakeneva oṭṭhapahatamattena lapitalāpanamattena ñāṇavādañca vadāmi theravādañca, ‘jānāmi passāmī’ti ca paṭijānāmi ahañceva aññe ca.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Na kho rāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ kevalaṁ saddhāmattakena sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedesi; addhā rāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ jānaṁ passaṁ vihāsī’ti.

25Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, yena udako rāmaputto tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā udakaṁ rāmaputtaṁ etadavocaṁ: ‘kittāvatā no, āvuso, rāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedesī’ti?

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, udako rāmaputto nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ pavedesi.

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Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Na kho rāmasseva ahosi saddhā, mayhampatthi saddhā; na kho rāmasseva ahosi vīriyaṁ, mayhampatthi vīriyaṁ; na kho rāmasseva ahosi sati, mayhampatthi sati; na kho rāmasseva ahosi samādhi, mayhampatthi samādhi, na kho rāmasseva ahosi paññā, mayhampatthi paññā. Yannūnāhaṁ yaṁ dhammaṁ rāmo sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmīti pavedesi, tassa dhammassa sacchikiriyāya padaheyyan’ti. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, nacirasseva khippameva taṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsiṁ.

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26Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, yena udako rāmaputto tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā udakaṁ rāmaputtaṁ etadavocaṁ:

27‘Ettāvatā no, āvuso, rāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedesī’ti?

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28‘Ettāvatā kho, āvuso, rāmo imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedesī’ti.

29‘Ahampi kho, āvuso, ettāvatā imaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmī’ti.

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30‘Lābhā no, āvuso, suladdhaṁ no, āvuso, ye mayaṁ āyasmantaṁ tādisaṁ sabrahmacāriṁ passāma. Iti yaṁ dhammaṁ rāmo sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedesi, taṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharasi. Yaṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharasi, taṁ dhammaṁ rāmo sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja pavedesi. Iti yaṁ dhammaṁ rāmo abhiññāsi taṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ jānāsi, yaṁ tvaṁ dhammaṁ jānāsi, taṁ dhammaṁ rāmo abhiññāsi. Iti yādiso rāmo ahosi tādiso tuvaṁ, yādiso tuvaṁ tādiso rāmo ahosi. Ehi dāni, āvuso, tuvaṁ imaṁ gaṇaṁ pariharā’ti.

31Iti kho, bhikkhave, udako rāmaputto sabrahmacārī me samāno ācariyaṭṭhāne maṁ ṭhapesi, uḷārāya ca maṁ pūjāya pūjesi.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘nāyaṁ dhammo nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati, yāvadeva nevasaññānāsaññāyatanūpapattiyā’ti. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, taṁ dhammaṁ analaṅkaritvā tasmā dhammā nibbijja apakkamiṁ.

32So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, kiṁ kusalagavesī anuttaraṁ santivarapadaṁ pariyesamāno magadhesu anupubbena cārikaṁ caramāno yena uruvelā senānigamo tadavasariṁ. Tatthaddasaṁ ramaṇīyaṁ bhūmibhāgaṁ, pāsādikañca vanasaṇḍaṁ, nadiñca sandantiṁ setakaṁ supatitthaṁ ramaṇīyaṁ, samantā ca gocaragāmaṁ.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘ramaṇīyo vata bho bhūmibhāgo, pāsādiko ca vanasaṇḍo, nadī ca sandati setakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā, samantā ca gocaragāmo. Alaṁ vatidaṁ kulaputtassa padhānatthikassa padhānāyā’ti. So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, tattheva nisīdiṁ — alamidaṁ padhānāyāti.

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33So kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, attanā jātidhammo samāno jātidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamāno ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ, attanā jarādhammo samāno jarādhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamāno ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ, attanā byādhidhammo samāno byādhidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā abyādhiṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamāno abyādhiṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ, attanā maraṇadhammo samāno maraṇadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā amataṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ, attanā sokadhammo samāno sokadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asokaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ, attanā saṅkilesadhammo samāno saṅkilesadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asaṅkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamāno asaṅkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁ.

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Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘akuppā me vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo’ti.

34Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘adhigato kho myāyaṁ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo. Ālayarāmā kho panāyaṁ pajā ālayaratā ālayasammuditā. Ālayarāmāya kho pana pajāya ālayaratāya ālayasammuditāya duddasaṁ idaṁ ṭhānaṁ yadidaṁ — idappaccayatā paṭiccasamuppādo. Idampi kho ṭhānaṁ duddasaṁ yadidaṁ — sabbasaṅkhārasamatho sabbūpadhipaṭinissaggo taṇhākkhayo virāgo nirodho nibbānaṁ. Ahañceva kho pana dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ, pare ca me na ājāneyyuṁ, so mamassa kilamatho, sā mamassa vihesā’ti.

Apissu maṁ, bhikkhave, imā anacchariyā gāthāyo paṭibhaṁsu pubbe assutapubbā:

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37Itiha me, bhikkhave, paṭisañcikkhato appossukkatāya cittaṁ namati, no dhammadesanāya.

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Atha kho, bhikkhave, brahmuno sahampatissa mama cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāya etadahosi: ‘nassati vata bho loko, vinassati vata bho loko, yatra hi nāma tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa appossukkatāya cittaṁ namati, no dhammadesanāyā’ti.

Atha kho, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati – seyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ vā bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ vā bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva — brahmaloke antarahito mama purato pāturahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati ekaṁsaṁ uttarāsaṅgaṁ karitvā yenāhaṁ tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā maṁ etadavoca: ‘desetu, bhante, bhagavā dhammaṁ, desetu sugato dhammaṁ. Santi sattā apparajakkhajātikā, assavanatā dhammassa parihāyanti. Bhavissanti dhammassa aññātāro’ti.

Idamavoca, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati. Idaṁ vatvā athāparaṁ etadavoca:

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41Atha kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, brahmuno ca ajjhesanaṁ viditvā sattesu ca kāruññataṁ paṭicca buddhacakkhunā lokaṁ volokesiṁ. Addasaṁ kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, buddhacakkhunā lokaṁ volokento satte apparajakkhe mahārajakkhe, tikkhindriye mudindriye, svākāre dvākāre, suviññāpaye duviññāpaye, appekacce paralokavajjabhayadassāvine viharante, appekacce na paralokavajjabhayadassāvine viharante. Seyyathāpi nāma uppaliniyaṁ vā paduminiyaṁ vā puṇḍarīkiniyaṁ vā appekaccāni uppalāni vā padumāni vā puṇḍarīkāni vā udake jātāni udake saṁvaḍḍhāni udakānuggatāni antonimuggaposīni, appekaccāni uppalāni vā padumāni vā puṇḍarīkāni vā udake jātāni udake saṁvaḍḍhāni udakānuggatāni samodakaṁ ṭhitāni, appekaccāni uppalāni vā padumāni vā puṇḍarīkāni vā udake jātāni udake saṁvaḍḍhāni udakaṁ accuggamma ṭhitāni anupalittāni udakena; evameva kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, buddhacakkhunā lokaṁ volokento addasaṁ satte apparajakkhe mahārajakkhe, tikkhindriye mudindriye, svākāre dvākāre, suviññāpaye duviññāpaye, appekacce paralokavajjabhayadassāvine viharante, appekacce na paralokavajjabhayadassāvine viharante.

Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, brahmānaṁ sahampatiṁ gāthāya paccabhāsiṁ:

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43Atha kho, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati ‘katāvakāso khomhi bhagavatā dhammadesanāyā’ti maṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyi.

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44Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘kassa nu kho ahaṁ paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ; ko imaṁ dhammaṁ khippameva ājānissatī’ti?

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Ayaṁ kho āḷāro kālāmo paṇḍito viyatto medhāvī dīgharattaṁ apparajakkhajātiko. Yannūnāhaṁ āḷārassa kālāmassa paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ. So imaṁ dhammaṁ khippameva ājānissatī’ti.

Atha kho maṁ, bhikkhave, devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca: ‘sattāhakālaṅkato, bhante, āḷāro kālāmo’ti.

Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘sattāhakālaṅkato āḷāro kālāmo’ti.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘mahājāniyo kho āḷāro kālāmo. Sace hi so imaṁ dhammaṁ suṇeyya, khippameva ājāneyyā’ti.

45Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘kassa nu kho ahaṁ paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ; ko imaṁ dhammaṁ khippameva ājānissatī’ti?

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘Ayaṁ kho udako rāmaputto paṇḍito viyatto medhāvī dīgharattaṁ apparajakkhajātiko. Yannūnāhaṁ udakassa rāmaputtassa paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ. So imaṁ dhammaṁ khippameva ājānissatī’ti.

Atha kho maṁ, bhikkhave, devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca: ‘abhidosakālaṅkato, bhante, udako rāmaputto’ti.

Ñāṇañca pana me dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘abhidosakālaṅkato udako rāmaputto’ti. Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘mahājāniyo kho udako rāmaputto. Sace hi so imaṁ dhammaṁ suṇeyya, khippameva ājāneyyā’ti.

46Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘kassa nu kho ahaṁ paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyaṁ; ko imaṁ dhammaṁ khippameva ājānissatī’ti?

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘bahukārā kho me pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū, ye maṁ padhānapahitattaṁ upaṭṭhahiṁsu. Yannūnāhaṁ pañcavaggiyānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ paṭhamaṁ dhammaṁ deseyyan’ti.

Tassa mayhaṁ, bhikkhave, etadahosi: ‘kahaṁ nu kho etarahi pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū viharantī’ti? Addasaṁ kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena pañcavaggiye bhikkhū bārāṇasiyaṁ viharante isipatane migadāye.

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47Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, uruvelāyaṁ yathābhirantaṁ viharitvā yena bārāṇasī tena cārikaṁ pakkamiṁ.

Addasā kho maṁ, bhikkhave, upako ājīvako antarā ca gayaṁ antarā ca bodhiṁ addhānamaggappaṭipannaṁ. Disvāna maṁ etadavoca: ‘vippasannāni kho te, āvuso, indriyāni, parisuddho chavivaṇṇo pariyodāto. Kaṁsi tvaṁ, āvuso, uddissa pabbajito, ko vā te satthā, kassa vā tvaṁ dhammaṁ rocesī’ti?

Evaṁ vutte, ahaṁ, bhikkhave, upakaṁ ājīvakaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsiṁ:

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52‘Yathā kho tvaṁ, āvuso, paṭijānāsi, arahasi anantajino’ti.

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54Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, upako ājīvako ‘hupeyyapāvuso’ti vatvā sīsaṁ okampetvā ummaggaṁ gahetvā pakkāmi.

55Atha khvāhaṁ, bhikkhave, anupubbena cārikaṁ caramāno yena bārāṇasī isipatanaṁ migadāyo yena pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū tenupasaṅkamiṁ. Addasaṁsu kho maṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū dūrato āgacchantaṁ. Disvāna aññamaññaṁ saṇṭhapesuṁ: ‘Ayaṁ kho, āvuso, samaṇo gotamo āgacchati bāhulliko padhānavibbhanto āvatto bāhullāya. So neva abhivādetabbo, na paccuṭṭhātabbo; nāssa pattacīvaraṁ paṭiggahetabbaṁ. Api ca kho āsanaṁ ṭhapetabbaṁ, sace ākaṅkhīssati nisīdissatī’ti. Yathā yathā kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, upasaṅkamiṁ tathā tathā pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū nāsakkhiṁsu sakāya katikāya saṇṭhātuṁ. Appekacce maṁ paccuggantvā pattacīvaraṁ paṭiggahesuṁ, appekacce āsanaṁ paññapesuṁ, appekacce pādodakaṁ upaṭṭhapesuṁ. Api ca kho maṁ nāmena ca āvusovādena ca samudācaranti.

56Evaṁ vutte, ahaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiye bhikkhū etadavocaṁ: ‘mā, bhikkhave, tathāgataṁ nāmena ca āvusovādena ca samudācaratha. Arahaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgato sammāsambuddho. Odahatha, bhikkhave, sotaṁ, amatamadhigataṁ, ahamanusāsāmi, ahaṁ dhammaṁ desemi. Yathānusiṭṭhaṁ tathā paṭipajjamānā nacirasseva – yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ — brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissathā’ti.

Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū maṁ etadavocuṁ: ‘tāyapi kho tvaṁ, āvuso gotama, iriyāya tāya paṭipadāya tāya dukkarakārikāya nājjhagamā uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesaṁ, kiṁ pana tvaṁ etarahi bāhulliko padhānavibbhanto āvatto bāhullāya adhigamissasi uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesan’ti?

Evaṁ vutte, ahaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiye bhikkhū etadavocaṁ: ‘na, bhikkhave, tathāgato bāhulliko, na padhānavibbhanto, na āvatto bāhullāya. Arahaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgato sammāsambuddho. Odahatha, bhikkhave, sotaṁ, amatamadhigataṁ, ahamanusāsāmi, ahaṁ dhammaṁ desemi. Yathānusiṭṭhaṁ tathā paṭipajjamānā nacirasseva – yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ — brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissathā’ti.

57Dutiyampi kho, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū maṁ etadavocuṁ: ‘tāyapi kho tvaṁ, āvuso gotama, iriyāya tāya paṭipadāya tāya dukkarakārikāya nājjhagamā uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesaṁ, kiṁ pana tvaṁ etarahi bāhulliko padhānavibbhanto āvatto bāhullāya adhigamissasi uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesan’ti? Dutiyampi kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiye bhikkhū etadavocaṁ: ‘na, bhikkhave, tathāgato bāhulliko … pe … upasampajja viharissathā’ti.

58Tatiyampi kho, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū maṁ etadavocuṁ: ‘tāyapi kho tvaṁ, āvuso gotama, iriyāya tāya paṭipadāya tāya dukkarakārikāya nājjhagamā uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesaṁ, kiṁ pana tvaṁ etarahi bāhulliko padhānavibbhanto āvatto bāhullāya adhigamissasi uttari manussadhammā alamariyañāṇadassanavisesan’ti?

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59Evaṁ vutte, ahaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiye bhikkhū etadavocaṁ: ‘abhijānātha me no tumhe, bhikkhave, ito pubbe evarūpaṁ pabhāvitametan’ti?

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‘No hetaṁ, bhante’.

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‘Arahaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgato sammāsambuddho. Odahatha, bhikkhave, sotaṁ, amatamadhigataṁ, ahamanusāsāmi, ahaṁ dhammaṁ desemi. Yathānusiṭṭhaṁ tathā paṭipajjamānā nacirasseva — yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ — brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharissathā’ti.

60Asakkhiṁ kho ahaṁ, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiye bhikkhū saññāpetuṁ. Dvepi sudaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhū ovadāmi, tayo bhikkhū piṇḍāya caranti. Yaṁ tayo bhikkhū piṇḍāya caritvā āharanti tena chabbaggiyā yāpema. Tayopi sudaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhū ovadāmi, dve bhikkhū piṇḍāya caranti. Yaṁ dve bhikkhū piṇḍāya caritvā āharanti tena chabbaggiyā yāpema.

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61Atha kho, bhikkhave, pañcavaggiyā bhikkhū mayā evaṁ ovadiyamānā evaṁ anusāsiyamānā attanā jātidhammā samānā jātidhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamānā ajātaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁsu, attanā jarādhammā samānā jarādhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamānā ajaraṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁsu, attanā byādhidhammā samānā … pe … attanā maraṇadhammā samānā … attanā sokadhammā samānā … attanā saṁkilesadhammā samānā saṁkilesadhamme ādīnavaṁ viditvā asaṁkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ pariyesamānā asaṁkiliṭṭhaṁ anuttaraṁ yogakkhemaṁ nibbānaṁ ajjhagamaṁsu. Ñāṇañca pana nesaṁ dassanaṁ udapādi: ‘akuppā no vimutti, ayamantimā jāti, natthi dāni punabbhavo’ti.

62Pañcime, bhikkhave, kāmaguṇā. Katame pañca? Cakkhuviññeyyā rūpā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā, sotaviññeyyā saddā … pe … ghānaviññeyyā gandhā … jivhāviññeyyā rasā … kāyaviññeyyā phoṭṭhabbā iṭṭhā kantā manāpā piyarūpā kāmūpasaṁhitā rajanīyā. Ime kho, bhikkhave, pañca kāmaguṇā.

Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā ime pañca kāmaguṇe gathitā mucchitā ajjhopannā anādīnavadassāvino anissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti, te evamassu veditabbā: ‘anayamāpannā byasanamāpannā yathākāmakaraṇīyā pāpimato’.

63Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, āraññako mago baddho pāsarāsiṁ adhisayeyya. So evamassa veditabbo: ‘anayamāpanno byasanamāpanno yathākāmakaraṇīyo luddassa. Āgacchante ca pana ludde yena kāmaṁ na pakkamissatī’ti.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, ye hi keci samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā ime pañca kāmaguṇe gathitā mucchitā ajjhopannā anādīnavadassāvino anissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti, te evamassu veditabbā: ‘anayamāpannā byasanamāpannā yathākāmakaraṇīyā pāpimato’.

Ye ca kho keci, bhikkhave, samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā ime pañca kāmaguṇe agathitā amucchitā anajjhopannā ādīnavadassāvino nissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti, te evamassu veditabbā: ‘Na anayamāpannā na byasanamāpannā na yathākāmakaraṇīyā pāpimato’.

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64Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, āraññako mago abaddho pāsarāsiṁ adhisayeyya. So evamassa veditabbo: ‘Na anayamāpanno na byasanamāpanno na yathākāmakaraṇīyo luddassa. Āgacchante ca pana ludde yena kāmaṁ pakkamissatī’ti.

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Evameva kho, bhikkhave, ye hi keci samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā ime pañca kāmaguṇe agathitā amucchitā anajjhopannā ādīnavadassāvino nissaraṇapaññā paribhuñjanti, te evamassu veditabbā: ‘Na anayamāpannā na byasanamāpannā na yathākāmakaraṇīyā pāpimato’.

65Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, āraññako mago araññe pavane caramāno vissattho gacchati, vissattho tiṭṭhati, vissattho nisīdati, vissattho seyyaṁ kappeti. Taṁ kissa hetu? Anāpāthagato, bhikkhave, luddassa.

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Evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu andhamakāsi māraṁ apadaṁ, vadhitvā māracakkhuṁ adassanaṁ gato pāpimato.

66Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vitakkavicārānaṁ vūpasamā ajjhattaṁ sampasādanaṁ cetaso ekodibhāvaṁ avitakkaṁ avicāraṁ samādhijaṁ pītisukhaṁ dutiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

67Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu pītiyā ca virāgā upekkhako ca viharati, sato ca sampajāno, sukhañca kāyena paṭisaṁvedeti yaṁ taṁ ariyā ācikkhanti ‘upekkhako satimā sukhavihārī’ti tatiyaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

68Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

69Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sabbaso rūpasaññānaṁ samatikkamā paṭighasaññānaṁ atthaṅgamā nānattasaññānaṁ amanasikārā ‘ananto ākāso’ti ākāsānañcāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

70Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sabbaso ākāsānañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma ‘anantaṁ viññāṇan’ti viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

71Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sabbaso viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma ‘Natthi kiñcī’ti ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

72Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sabbaso ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ samatikkamma nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave … pe … pāpimato.

73Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sabbaso nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ samatikkamma saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ upasampajja viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu andhamakāsi māraṁ apadaṁ, vadhitvā māracakkhuṁ adassanaṁ gato pāpimato. Tiṇṇo loke visattikaṁ vissattho gacchati, vissattho tiṭṭhati, vissattho nisīdati, vissattho seyyaṁ kappeti. Taṁ kissa hetu? Anāpāthagato, bhikkhave, pāpimato"ti.

74Idamavoca bhagavā. Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti.

Pāsarāsisuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.