MN55: Jīvakasutta - With Jīvaka
- © Translated from the Pali by Bhante Sujato. (More copyright information)
mn55:1.1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Mango Grove of Jīvaka Komārabhacca.Jīvaka was the Buddha’s doctor. His story is told in Khandhaka 8, where we learn that he was abandoned on a trash heap by his mother Sālavatī, only to be discovered and raised by Prince Abhaya of Magadha, a Jain MN58. He was called “Survivior” (jīvaka) and “Raised by a Prince” (komārabhacca). In later Ayurveda, kaumārabhṛtya means “paediatrics”, and a lost treatise on that subject is attributed to Jīvaka (Jīvakatantra).
mn55:2.1Then Jīvaka went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to the Buddha:
mn55:3.1“Sir, I have heard this: ‘They slaughter living creatures specially for the ascetic Gotama. The ascetic Gotama knowingly eats meat prepared on his behalf: this is a deed he caused.’This was an accusation made against the Buddha by Jains (AN8.12, Khandhaka 6). They objected only to eating meat “killed on purpose for him”, and so by implication not all eating of meat. This is consistent with several Jain scriptural passages indicating that ascetics may, under certain strictures, eat meat (Ācaraṅgasūtra 2.1.10.5–6, Bhagavatīsūtra 557 (p. 1261a), Kalpasūtra (Sāmācārī 17), Dasaveyāliyasutta 5–1.73). I trust that those who say this repeat what the Buddha has said, and do not misrepresent him with an untruth? Is their explanation in line with the teaching? Are there any legitimate grounds for rebuttal and criticism?”
mn55:4.1“Jīvaka, those who say this do not repeat what I have said. They misrepresent me with what is false and untrue.
mn55:5.1In three cases I say that meat may not be eaten: it’s seen, heard, or suspected.The relevant Vinaya rule makes the meaning clear: “When you know it was killed on purpose for you” (Khandaka 6). To allay suspicion of improper meat, mendicants are also required to check the provenance of meat before eating. These are three cases in which meat may not be eaten.
mn55:5.4In three cases I say that meat may be eaten: it’s not seen, heard, or suspected. These are three cases in which meat may be eaten.
mn55:6.1Take the case of a mendicant living supported by a town or village. They meditate spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. A householder or their child approaches and invites them for the next day’s meal. The mendicant accepts if they want.
mn55:6.5When the night has passed, they robe up in the morning, take their bowl and robe, and approach that householder’s home, where they sit on the seat spread out. That householder or their child serves them with delicious almsfood. It never occurs to them, ‘It’s so good that this householder serves me with delicious almsfood! I hope they serve me with such delicious almsfood in the future!’ They don’t think that. They eat that almsfood untied, uninfatuated, unattached, seeing the drawback, and understanding the escape.
mn55:6.12What do you think, Jīvaka? At that time is that mendicant intending to hurt themselves, hurt others, or hurt both?”
mn55:6.14“No, sir.”
mn55:6.15“Aren’t they eating blameless food at that time?”
mn55:7.1“Yes, sir. Sir, I have heard that The Divinity abides in love. Now, I’ve seen the Buddha with my own eyes,Reading taṁ … idaṁ as the accusative of relation, and me as instrumental, for which compare yena brahmā sakkhidiṭṭho at DN13:12.1. The point of the passage is that he has merely heard that Brahmā abides in love, but he witnesses that the Buddha does so. and it is the Buddha who truly abides in love.”
mn55:7.6“Any greed, hate, or delusion that might give rise to ill will has been given up by the Realized One, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and is unable to arise in the future.Greed, hate, and delusion are the fundamental underlying defilements that give rise to “ill will”, the opposite of love. If that’s what you were referring to, I acknowledge it.”
mn55:7.8“That’s exactly what I was referring to.”
mn55:8-10.1“Take the case, Jīvaka, of a mendicant living supported by a town or village. They meditate spreading a heart full of compassion … They meditate spreading a heart full of rejoicing … They meditate spreading a heart full of equanimity to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of equanimity to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. A householder or their child approaches and invites them for the next day’s meal. The mendicant accepts if they want.
mn55:8-10.8When the night has passed, they robe up in the morning, take their bowl and robe, and approach that householder’s home, where they sit on the seat spread out. That householder or their child serves them with delicious almsfood. It never occurs to them, ‘It’s so good that this householder serves me with delicious almsfood! I hope they serve me with such delicious almsfood in the future!’ They don’t think that. They eat that almsfood untied, uninfatuated, unattached, seeing the drawback, and understanding the escape.
mn55:8-10.15What do you think, Jīvaka? At that time is that mendicant intending to hurt themselves, hurt others, or hurt both?”
mn55:8-10.17“No, sir.”
mn55:8-10.18“Aren’t they eating blameless food at that time?”
mn55:11.1“Yes, sir. Sir, I have heard that The Divinity abides in equanimity. Now, I’ve seen the Buddha with my own eyes, and it is the Buddha who truly abides in equanimity.”
mn55:11.6“Any greed, hate, or delusion that might give rise to cruelty, discontent, or repulsion has been given up by the Realized One, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and is unable to arise in the future.Just as ill will is the opposite of love, “cruelty” (vihesā), “discontent” (arati), and “repulsion” (paṭigha) are the respective opposites of compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity (MN62:18.1 ff). If that’s what you were referring to, I acknowledge it.”
mn55:11.8“That’s exactly what I was referring to.”
mn55:12.1“Jīvaka, anyone who slaughters a living creature specially for the Realized One or the Realized One’s disciple brims with much wickedness for five reasons.
mn55:12.2When they say: ‘Go, fetch that living creature,’ this is the first reason.
mn55:12.4When that living creature experiences pain and sadness as it’s led along by a collar, this is the second reason.
mn55:12.5When they say: ‘Go, slaughter that living creature,’ this is the third reason.
mn55:12.7When that living creature experiences pain and sadness as it’s being slaughtered, this is the fourth reason.
mn55:12.8When they serve the Realized One or the Realized One’s disciple with unallowable food, this is the fifth reason.
mn55:12.9Anyone who slaughters a living creature specially for the Realized One or the Realized One’s disciple brims with much wickedness for five reasons.”
mn55:13.1When he had spoken, Jīvaka said to the Buddha: “It’s incredible, sir, it’s amazing! The mendicants indeed eat allowable food. The mendicants indeed eat blameless food. Excellent, sir! Excellent! … From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”This sutta marks the occasion of Jīvaka’s conversion. It would seem that he had previously harbored doubts due to his Jain upbringing. Elsewhere he appears as a devotee of the Buddha. AN1.256 records that he was the foremost disciple with “confidence in a person”, establishing that he was a stream-enterer. The occasion of his stream-entry, however, is not recorded in Pali.
1Evaṁ me sutaṁ — ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati jīvakassa komārabhaccassa ambavane.
Atha kho jīvako komārabhacco yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho jīvako komārabhacco bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
"sutaṁ metaṁ, bhante: ‘samaṇaṁ gotamaṁ uddissa pāṇaṁ ārabhanti, taṁ samaṇo gotamo jānaṁ uddissakataṁ maṁsaṁ paribhuñjati paṭiccakamman’ti. Ye te, bhante, evamāhaṁsu: ‘samaṇaṁ gotamaṁ uddissa pāṇaṁ ārabhanti, taṁ samaṇo gotamo jānaṁ uddissakataṁ maṁsaṁ paribhuñjati paṭiccakamman’ti, kacci te, bhante, bhagavato vuttavādino, na ca bhagavantaṁ abhūtena abbhācikkhanti, dhammassa cānudhammaṁ byākaronti, na ca koci sahadhammiko vādānuvādo gārayhaṁ ṭhānaṁ āgacchatī"ti?
2"Ye te, jīvaka, evamāhaṁsu: ‘samaṇaṁ gotamaṁ uddissa pāṇaṁ ārabhanti, taṁ samaṇo gotamo jānaṁ uddissakataṁ maṁsaṁ paribhuñjati paṭiccakamman’ti na me te vuttavādino, abbhācikkhanti ca maṁ te asatā abhūtena.
Tīhi kho ahaṁ, jīvaka, ṭhānehi maṁsaṁ aparibhoganti vadāmi. Diṭṭhaṁ, sutaṁ, parisaṅkitaṁ — imehi kho ahaṁ, jīvaka, tīhi ṭhānehi maṁsaṁ aparibhoganti vadāmi.
Tīhi kho ahaṁ, jīvaka, ṭhānehi maṁsaṁ paribhoganti vadāmi. Adiṭṭhaṁ, asutaṁ, aparisaṅkitaṁ — imehi kho ahaṁ, jīvaka, tīhi ṭhānehi maṁsaṁ paribhoganti vadāmi.
3Idha, jīvaka, bhikkhu aññataraṁ gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā upanissāya viharati. So mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ, tathā tatiyaṁ, tathā catutthaṁ. Iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyābajjhena pharitvā viharati. Tamenaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā upasaṅkamitvā svātanāya bhattena nimanteti. Ākaṅkhamānova, jīvaka, bhikkhu adhivāseti.
So tassā rattiyā accayena pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya yena tassa gahapatissa vā gahapatiputtassa vā nivesanaṁ tenupasaṅkamati; upasaṅkamitvā paññatte āsane nisīdati. Tamenaṁ so gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā paṇītena piṇḍapātena parivisati. Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘sādhu vata māyaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā paṇītena piṇḍapātena pariviseyyāti. Aho vata māyaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā āyatimpi evarūpena paṇītena piṇḍapātena pariviseyyā’ti — evampissa na hoti. So taṁ piṇḍapātaṁ agathito amucchito anajjhopanno ādīnavadassāvī nissaraṇapañño paribhuñjati.
Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, jīvaka, api nu so bhikkhu tasmiṁ samaye attabyābādhāya vā ceteti, parabyābādhāya vā ceteti, ubhayabyābādhāya vā cetetī"ti?
4"No hetaṁ, bhante".
5"Nanu so, jīvaka, bhikkhu tasmiṁ samaye anavajjaṁyeva āhāraṁ āhāretī"ti?
6"Evaṁ, bhante. Sutaṁ metaṁ, bhante: ‘brahmā mettāvihārī’ti. Taṁ me idaṁ, bhante, bhagavā sakkhidiṭṭho; bhagavā hi, bhante, mettāvihārī"ti.
"Yena kho, jīvaka, rāgena yena dosena yena mohena byāpādavā assa so rāgo so doso so moho tathāgatassa pahīno ucchinnamūlo tālāvatthukato anabhāvaṁkato āyatiṁ anuppādadhammo. Sace kho te, jīvaka, idaṁ sandhāya bhāsitaṁ anujānāmi te etan"ti.
"Etadeva kho pana me, bhante, sandhāya bhāsitaṁ".
7"Idha, jīvaka, bhikkhu aññataraṁ gāmaṁ vā nigamaṁ vā upanissāya viharati. So karuṇāsahagatena cetasā … pe … muditāsahagatena cetasā … pe … upekkhāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ, tathā tatiyaṁ, tathā catutthaṁ. Iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ upekkhāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyābajjhena pharitvā viharati. Tamenaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā upasaṅkamitvā svātanāya bhattena nimanteti. Ākaṅkhamānova, jīvaka, bhikkhu adhivāseti.
So tassā rattiyā accayena pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya yena gahapatissa vā gahapatiputtassa vā nivesanaṁ tenupasaṅkamati; upasaṅkamitvā paññatte āsane nisīdati. Tamenaṁ so gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā paṇītena piṇḍapātena parivisati. Tassa na evaṁ hoti: ‘sādhu vata māyaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā paṇītena piṇḍapātena pariviseyyāti. Aho vata māyaṁ gahapati vā gahapatiputto vā āyatimpi evarūpena paṇītena piṇḍapātena pariviseyyā’ti — evampissa na hoti. So taṁ piṇḍapātaṁ agathito amucchito anajjhopanno ādīnavadassāvī nissaraṇapañño paribhuñjati.
Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, jīvaka, api nu so bhikkhu tasmiṁ samaye attabyābādhāya vā ceteti, parabyābādhāya vā ceteti, ubhayabyābādhāya vā cetetī"ti?
8"No hetaṁ, bhante".
9"Nanu so, jīvaka, bhikkhu tasmiṁ samaye anavajjaṁyeva āhāraṁ āhāretī"ti?
10"Evaṁ, bhante. Sutaṁ metaṁ, bhante: ‘brahmā upekkhāvihārī’ti. Taṁ me idaṁ, bhante, bhagavā sakkhidiṭṭho; bhagavā hi, bhante, upekkhāvihārī"ti.
"Yena kho, jīvaka, rāgena yena dosena yena mohena vihesavā assa arativā assa paṭighavā assa so rāgo so doso so moho tathāgatassa pahīno ucchinnamūlo tālāvatthukato anabhāvaṅkato āyatiṁ anuppādadhammo. Sace kho te, jīvaka, idaṁ sandhāya bhāsitaṁ, anujānāmi te etan"ti.
"Etadeva kho pana me, bhante, sandhāya bhāsitaṁ".
11"Yo kho, jīvaka, tathāgataṁ vā tathāgatasāvakaṁ vā uddissa pāṇaṁ ārabhati so pañcahi ṭhānehi bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yampi so, gahapati, evamāha: ‘gacchatha, amukaṁ nāma pāṇaṁ ānethā’ti, iminā paṭhamena ṭhānena bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yampi so pāṇo galappaveṭhakena ānīyamāno dukkhaṁ domanassaṁ paṭisaṁvedeti, iminā dutiyena ṭhānena bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yampi so evamāha: ‘gacchatha imaṁ pāṇaṁ ārabhathā’ti, iminā tatiyena ṭhānena bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yampi so pāṇo ārabhiyamāno dukkhaṁ domanassaṁ paṭisaṁvedeti, iminā catutthena ṭhānena bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yampi so tathāgataṁ vā tathāgatasāvakaṁ vā akappiyena āsādeti, iminā pañcamena ṭhānena bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavati.
Yo kho, jīvaka, tathāgataṁ vā tathāgatasāvakaṁ vā uddissa pāṇaṁ ārabhati so imehi pañcahi ṭhānehi bahuṁ apuññaṁ pasavatī"ti.
12Evaṁ vutte, jīvako komārabhacco bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "acchariyaṁ, bhante, abbhutaṁ, bhante. Kappiyaṁ vata, bhante, bhikkhū āhāraṁ āhārenti; anavajjaṁ vata, bhante, bhikkhū āhāraṁ āhārenti. Abhikkantaṁ, bhante, abhikkantaṁ, bhante … pe … upāsakaṁ maṁ bhagavā dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan"ti.
Jīvakasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ pañcamaṁ.