mn7:1.1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!”

mn7:1.5“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

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mn7:2.1“Suppose, mendicants, there was a cloth that was dirty and soiled. No matter what dye the dyer applied—whether blue or yellow or red or magenta—it would look poorly dyed and impure in color. Why is that? Because of the impurity of the cloth.

mn7:2.5In the same way, when the mind is corrupt, a bad destiny is to be expected.A “bad destiny” (duggati) is any realm below the human, namely the animal, ghost, and hell realms. Suppose there was a cloth that was pure and clean. No matter what dye the dyer applied—whether blue or yellow or red or magenta—it would look well dyed and pure in color. Why is that? Because of the purity of the cloth.

mn7:2.10In the same way, when the mind isn’t corrupt, a good destiny is to be expected.

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mn7:3.1And what are the corruptions of the mind?Here the text shifts from saṅkiliṭṭha (“corrupt”) to upakkilesa (“corruption”). These are general terms for unskillful qualities of mind and the change in prefix has no particular significence. Covetousness and immoral greed, ill will, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, deceit, deviousness, obstinacy, aggression, conceit, arrogance, vanity, and negligence are corruptions of the mind.

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mn7:4.1A mendicant who understands that covetousness and immoral greed are corruptions of the mind gives them up. A mendicant who understands that ill will … negligence is a corruption of the mind gives it up.

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mn7:5.1When they have understood these corruptions of the mind for what they are, and have given them up, they have experiential confidence in the Buddha:“Experiential” is avecca, literally “having undergone”. “Experiential confidence” is the faith of a stream-enterer, who has seen for themselves. ‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’They have experiential confidence in the Buddha as a teacher because they have followed his path and realized the results that he speaks of.

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mn7:6.1They have experiential confidence in the teaching: ‘The teaching is well explained by the Buddha—apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.’A stream-enterer has direct experience of the four noble truths, so they have confirmed that the teaching is indeed realizable in this very life.

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mn7:7.1They have experiential confidence in the Saṅgha: ‘The Saṅgha of the Buddha’s disciples is practicing the way that’s good, direct, systematic, and proper. It consists of the four pairs, the eight individuals. This is the Saṅgha of the Buddha’s disciples that is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of greeting with joined palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.’The suttas distinguish between two senses of Saṅgha. The “mendicant Saṅgha” (bhikkhusaṅgha) is the conventional community of monks and nuns. The “Saṅgha of disciples” (sāvakasaṅgha) is classified as fourfold according to the stages of awakening: stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and perfection. Each of these stages is further subdivided into those of the path who are practicing for realization and those of the fruit who have realized. These are referred to as “noble disciples”, four of the path and four of the fruit, making eight individuals in total. Saṅgha is not used in the sense of “spiritual community”.

mn7:8.1When a mendicant has discarded, eliminated, released, given up, and relinquished to this extent, thinking, ‘I have experiential confidence in the Buddha … the teaching … the Saṅgha,’ they find inspiration in the meaning and the teaching, and find joy connected with the teaching. Thinking: ‘I have discarded, eliminated, released, given up, and relinquished to this extent,’ they find inspiration in the meaning and the teaching, and find joy connected with the teaching. When they’re joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when they’re blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.Reflection on one’s progress brings joy and spurs further progress. This can be so powerful as to be a basis for samādhi.

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mn7:12.1When a mendicant of such ethics, such qualities, and such wisdom eats boiled fine rice with the dark grains picked out and served with many soups and sauces, that is no obstacle for them.An offering of delicious food is normally the most sensual temptation in a mendicant’s day. In the Chinese parallel at EA 13.5, this is mentioned only after arahantship. Compare with cloth that is dirty and soiled; it can be made pure and clean by pure water. Or native gold, which can be made pure and bright by a forge. In the same way, when a mendicant of such ethics, such qualities, and such wisdom eats boiled fine rice with the dark grains picked out and served with many soups and sauces, that is no obstacle for them.

mn7:13.1They 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. **Here the Buddha introduces the so-called “divine meditations” (brahmavihāra) or “immeasurables” (appamañña). These are four wholesome emotional states that can be developed as a basis for samādhi. They were evidently pre-Buddhist, although they have not been traced as a group in pre-Buddhist texts. However, they are shared with later non-Buddhist texts such as Yogasūtra 1.33 and the Jain Tattvārthasūtra 7.11.
“Love” (mettā) is a universal positive regard and well-wishing free of personal desires or attachments. They meditate spreading a heart full of compassion 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 compassion to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. “Compassion” (karuṇā) is the quality of empathy with the suffering of another or oneself and the wish to remove it. They meditate spreading a heart full of rejoicing 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 rejoicing to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. “Rejoicing” (muditā) is joyful celebration in the success of others or oneself, free of jealousy or cynicism. 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. Equanimity (upekkhā) is literally “close watching”, not interfering but standing ready when needed. It is not indifference, which is why it emerges only at the end, after the positive emotions are developed.

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mn7:17.1They understand: ‘There is this, there is what is worse than this, there is what is better than this, and there is an escape beyond the scope of perception.’This is a description of advanced insight by a stream-enterer. The meditator understands the current state of their experience, namely the mind developed through samādhi. They know that this is conditioned and hence liable to decline to a lower state “worse than this”. They know that there are still higher states of mind that can be developed. And they know that, while all states of meditation fall within the scope of perception, there is an ultimate escape, namely Nibbāna.

mn7:18.1Knowing and seeing like this, their mind is freed from the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed.

mn7:18.3They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’ This is called a mendicant who is bathed with the inner bathing.”“Bathed” is sināta, a rare variant spelling of nhata (Sanskrit snāta. Sināta also occurs at SN7.9).
Later Brahmanical texts regarded external bathing as spiritually effective only when accompanied by inner bathing or purity of soul. The Mahābhārata says that “he who is bathed in the bath of self-disciple is clean inside and out” (13.111.9c, sa snāto yo damasnātaḥ sabāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ), while the Liṅga-purāṇa (1.8.33) insists that one who has bathed externally “must also practice the inner bathing” (snānaṁ … ābhyantaraṁ caret).

mn7:19.1Now at that time the brahmin Bhāradvāja of Sundarikā was sitting not far from the Buddha.It seems that the Buddha mentioned the inner bathing to provoke the brahmin.
Four of the six Chinese parallels to this passage situate it on the bank of a river. He said to the Buddha, “But does the worthy Gotama go to the river Bāhuka to bathe?”

mn7:19.4“Brahmin, why go to the river Bāhuka? What can the river Bāhuka do?”

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mn7:19.6“Many people deem that the river Bāhukā leads to a heavenly world and bestows merit. And many people wash off their bad deeds in the river Bāhukā.”Lokkha, elsewhere unattested in Pali, is Sanskrit lokya, which occurs several times in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa in the sense “conducive to a (heavenly) world” (9.5.2.16, 10.5.2.12, 11.3.3.7). The root sense of loka is “light” and it was originally the bright sky with its devas (eg. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa Mādyandina 11.2.3.1–6, Kāṇva 3.2.5.1), later being extended to include all worlds. The PTS reading mokkha is an unwarranted normalization, although it is supported by the parallel at MA 93, which has 度. Note that the expected form lokiya, although common in later Pali, occurs only in one early verse (Theragatha 2 verse 156).
Bathing for purity from misdeeds as a pre-Buddhist Brahmanical custom is attested in Śukla Yajurveda 3.48. The bhikkhunī Puṇṇikā pointed out that if this were true then the fish, frogs, and turtles would go to heaven (Therigatha 12 verse 239+); her argument was echoed by the Jains (Sūyagaḍa 1.7.14–16) and later Brahmins (Liṅga-purāṇa 1.8.33–4).

mn7:20.1Then the Buddha addressed Bhāradvāja of Sundarikā in verse:

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mn7:21.1When he had spoken, the brahmin Bhāradvāja of Sundarikā said to the Buddha, “Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, worthy Gotama has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the worthy Gotama, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha. May I receive the going forth, the ordination in the worthy Gotama’s presence?”

mn7:22.1And the brahmin Bhāradvāja of Sundarikā received the going forth, the ordination in the Buddha’s presence. Not long after his ordination, Venerable Bhāradvāja, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. He lived having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.

mn7:22.3He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this place.” And Venerable Bhāradvāja became one of the perfected.

1Evaṁ me sutaṁ — ​ ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: "bhikkhavo"ti.

"Bhadante"ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

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2"Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, vatthaṁ saṁkiliṭṭhaṁ malaggahitaṁ; tamenaṁ rajako yasmiṁ yasmiṁ raṅgajāte upasaṁhareyya — yadi nīlakāya yadi pītakāya yadi lohitakāya yadi mañjiṭṭhakāya durattavaṇṇamevassa aparisuddhavaṇṇamevassa. Taṁ kissa hetu? Aparisuddhattā, bhikkhave, vatthassa.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, citte saṁkiliṭṭhe, duggati pāṭikaṅkhā. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, vatthaṁ parisuddhaṁ pariyodātaṁ; tamenaṁ rajako yasmiṁ yasmiṁ raṅgajāte upasaṁhareyya — yadi nīlakāya yadi pītakāya yadi lohitakāya yadi mañjiṭṭhakāya — surattavaṇṇamevassa parisuddhavaṇṇamevassa. Taṁ kissa hetu? Parisuddhattā, bhikkhave, vatthassa.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, citte asaṁkiliṭṭhe, sugati pāṭikaṅkhā.

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3Katame ca, bhikkhave, cittassa upakkilesā? Abhijjhāvisamalobho cittassa upakkileso, byāpādo cittassa upakkileso, kodho cittassa upakkileso, upanāho cittassa upakkileso, makkho cittassa upakkileso, paḷāso cittassa upakkileso, issā cittassa upakkileso, macchariyaṁ cittassa upakkileso, māyā cittassa upakkileso, sāṭheyyaṁ cittassa upakkileso, thambho cittassa upakkileso, sārambho cittassa upakkileso, māno cittassa upakkileso, atimāno cittassa upakkileso, mado cittassa upakkileso, pamādo cittassa upakkileso.

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4Sa kho so, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ‘abhijjhāvisamalobho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā abhijjhāvisamalobhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘byāpādo cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā byāpādaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘kodho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā kodhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘upanāho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā upanāhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘makkho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā makkhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘paḷāso cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā paḷāsaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘issā cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā issaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘macchariyaṁ cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā macchariyaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘māyā cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā māyaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘sāṭheyyaṁ cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā sāṭheyyaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘thambho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā thambhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘sārambho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā sārambhaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘māno cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā mānaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘atimāno cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā atimānaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘mado cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā madaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati; ‘pamādo cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā pamādaṁ cittassa upakkilesaṁ pajahati.

5Yato kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno ‘abhijjhāvisamalobho cittassa upakkileso’ti – iti viditvā abhijjhāvisamalobho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti, ‘byāpādo cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā byāpādo cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘kodho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā kodho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘upanāho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā upanāho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘makkho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā makkho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘paḷāso cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā paḷāso cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘issā cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā issā cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘macchariyaṁ cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā macchariyaṁ cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘māyā cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā māyā cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘sāṭheyyaṁ cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā sāṭheyyaṁ cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘thambho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā thambho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘sārambho cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā sārambho cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘māno cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā māno cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘atimāno cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā atimāno cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘mado cittassa upakkileso’ti — iti viditvā mado cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti; ‘pamādo cittassa upakkileso’ti – iti viditvā pamādo cittassa upakkileso pahīno hoti.

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6So buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti: ‘itipi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathi satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā’ti;

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dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti: ‘svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko opaneyyiko paccattaṁ veditabbo viññūhī’ti;

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saṅghe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti: ‘suppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ujuppaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, ñāyappaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, sāmīcippaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho, yadidaṁ cattāri purisayugāni, aṭṭha purisapuggalā. Esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho āhuneyyo pāhuneyyo dakkhiṇeyyo añjalikaraṇīyo, anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā’ti.

7Yathodhi kho panassa cattaṁ hoti vantaṁ muttaṁ pahīnaṁ paṭinissaṭṭhaṁ, so ‘buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgatomhī’ti labhati atthavedaṁ, labhati dhammavedaṁ, labhati dhammūpasaṁhitaṁ pāmojjaṁ. Pamuditassa pīti jāyati, pītimanassa kāyo passambhati, passaddhakāyo sukhaṁ vedeti, sukhino cittaṁ samādhiyati;

‘dhamme … pe … saṁghe aveccappasādena samannāgatomhī’ti labhati atthavedaṁ, labhati dhammavedaṁ, labhati dhammūpasaṁhitaṁ pāmojjaṁ; pamuditassa pīti jāyati, pītimanassa kāyo passambhati, passaddhakāyo sukhaṁ vedeti, sukhino cittaṁ samādhiyati.

‘Yathodhi kho pana me cattaṁ vantaṁ muttaṁ pahīnaṁ paṭinissaṭṭhan’ti labhati atthavedaṁ, labhati dhammavedaṁ, labhati dhammūpasaṁhitaṁ pāmojjaṁ; pamuditassa pīti jāyati, pītimanassa kāyo passambhati, passaddhakāyo sukhaṁ vedeti, sukhino cittaṁ samādhiyati.

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8Sa kho so, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṁsīlo evaṁdhammo evaṁpañño sālīnañcepi piṇḍapātaṁ bhuñjati vicitakāḷakaṁ anekasūpaṁ anekabyañjanaṁ, nevassa taṁ hoti antarāyāya. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, vatthaṁ saṅkiliṭṭhaṁ malaggahitaṁ acchodakaṁ āgamma parisuddhaṁ hoti pariyodātaṁ, ukkāmukhaṁ vā panāgamma jātarūpaṁ parisuddhaṁ hoti pariyodātaṁ; evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṁsīlo evaṁdhammo evaṁpañño sālīnañcepi piṇḍapātaṁ bhuñjati vicitakāḷakaṁ anekasūpaṁ anekabyañjanaṁ, nevassa taṁ hoti antarāyāya.

9So 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 abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati; 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 abyāpajjena pharitvā viharati.

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10So ‘atthi idaṁ, atthi hīnaṁ, atthi paṇītaṁ, atthi imassa saññāgatassa uttari nissaraṇan’ti pajānāti.

Tassa evaṁ jānato evaṁ passato kāmāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati, bhavāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati, avijjāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati. Vimuttasmiṁ vimuttamiti ñāṇaṁ hoti.

‘Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā’ti pajānāti. Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave: ‘bhikkhu sināto antarena sinānenā’"ti.

11Tena kho pana samayena sundarikabhāradvājo brāhmaṇo bhagavato avidūre nisinno hoti. Atha kho sundarikabhāradvājo brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "gacchati pana bhavaṁ gotamo bāhukaṁ nadiṁ sināyitun"ti?

"Kiṁ, brāhmaṇa, bāhukāya nadiyā? Kiṁ bāhukā nadī karissatī"ti?

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"Lokkhasammatā hi, bho gotama, bāhukā nadī bahujanassa, puññasammatā hi, bho gotama, bāhukā nadī bahujanassa, bāhukāya pana nadiyā bahujano pāpakammaṁ kataṁ pavāhetī"ti.

Atha kho bhagavā sundarikabhāradvājaṁ brāhmaṇaṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi:

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16Evaṁ vutte, sundarikabhāradvājo brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "Abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama, abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama. Seyyathāpi, bho gotama, nikkujjitaṁ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṁ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṁ dhāreyya — cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantīti; evamevaṁ bhotā gotamena anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito. Esāhaṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca. Labheyyāhaṁ bhoto gotamassa santike pabbajjaṁ, labheyyaṁ upasampadan"ti.

Alattha kho sundarikabhāradvājo brāhmaṇo bhagavato santike pabbajjaṁ, alattha upasampadaṁ. Acirūpasampanno kho panāyasmā bhāradvājo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva – yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ — brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.

"Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā"ti abbhaññāsi. Aññataro kho panāyasmā bhāradvājo arahataṁ ahosīti.

Vatthasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ sattamaṁ.