3. “What, bhikkhus, are the imperfections that defile the mind?86 Covetousness and unrighteous greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind. Ill will…anger…resentment…contempt… insolence...envy...avarice...deceit...fraud...obstinacy... rivalry...conceit...arrogance...vanity… [37]…negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind.87
4. “Knowing that covetousness and unrighteous greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a bhikkhu abandons it.88 Knowing that ill will…negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind, a bhikkhu abandons it.
5. “When a bhikkhu has known that covetousness and unrighteous greed is an imperfection that defiles the mind and has abandoned it; when a bhikkhu has known that ill will…negligence is an imperfection that defiles the mind and has abandoned it, he acquires unwavering confidence in the Buddha thus:89 ‘The Blessed One is accomplished, fully enlightened, perfect in true knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds, incomparable leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened, blessed.’
6. “He acquires unwavering confidence in the Dhamma thus: ‘The Dhamma is well proclaimed by the Blessed One, visible here and now, immediately effective, inviting inspection, onward leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves.’ onward leading, to be experienced by the wise for themselves.’
7. “He acquires unwavering confidence in the Sangha thus: ‘The Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples is practising the good way, practising the straight way, practising the true way, practising the proper way, that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals; this Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.’
8. “When he has given up, expelled, released, abandoned, and relinquished [the imperfections of the mind] in part,90 he considers thus: ‘I am possessed of unwavering confidence in the Buddha,’ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains inspiration in the Dhamma,91 gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is glad, rapture is born in him; in one who is rapturous, the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tranquil feels pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated.92
9. “He considers thus: ‘I am possessed of unwavering confidence in the Dhamma,’ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is glad…the mind becomes concentrated. [38]
10. “He considers thus: ‘I am possessed of unwavering confidence in the Sangha,’ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is glad…the mind becomes concentrated.
11. “He considers thus: ‘[The imperfections of the mind] have in part been given up, expelled, released, abandoned, and relinquished by me,’ and he gains inspiration in the meaning, gains inspiration in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is glad, rapture is born in him; in one who is rapturous, the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tranquil feels pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated.
12. “Bhikkhus, if a bhikkhu of such virtue, such a state [of concentration], and such wisdom93 eats almsfood consisting of choice hill rice along with various sauces and curries, even that will be no obstacle for him.94 Just as a cloth that is defiled and stained becomes pure and bright with the help of clear water, or just as gold becomes pure and bright with the help of a furnace, so too, if a bhikkhu of such virtue…eats almsfood…that will be no obstacle for him.
13. “He abides pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness,95 likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above, below, around, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he abides pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.
14–16. “He abides pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion…with a mind imbued with altruistic joy…with a mind imbued with equanimity, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above, below, around, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he abides pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with equanimity, abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.
17. “He understands thus: ‘There is this, there is the inferior, there is the superior, and beyond there is an escape from this whole field of perception.’96
18. “When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’ [39] Bhikkhus, this bhikkhu is called one bathed with the inner bathing.”97
19. Now on that occasion the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja was sitting not far from the Blessed One. Then he said to the Blessed One: “But does Master Gotama go to the Bāhukā River to bathe?”
“Why, brahmin, go to the Bāhukā River? What can the Bāhukā River do?”
“Master Gotama, the Bāhukā River is held by many to give liberation, it is held by many to give merit, and many wash away their evil actions in the Bāhukā River.”
20. Then the Blessed One addressed the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja in stanzas:“Bāhukā and Adhikakkā,
Gayā and Sundarikā too,
Payāga and Sarassatī,
And the stream Bahumatī—98
A fool may there forever bathe
Yet will not purify dark deeds.
What can the Sundarikā bring to pass?
What the Payāga? What the Bāhukā?
They cannot purify an evil-doer,
A man who has done cruel and brutal deeds.
One pure in heart has evermore
The Feast of Spring, the Holy Day;99
One fair in act, one pure in heart
Brings his virtue to perfection.
It is here, brahmin, that you should bathe,
To make yourself a refuge for all beings.
And if you speak no falsehood
Nor work harm for living beings,
Nor take what is offered not,
With faith and free from avarice,
What need for you to go to Gayā?
For any well will be your Gayā.”
21. When this was said, the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja said: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. I would receive the going forth under Master Gotama, I would receive the full admission.”100
22. And the brahmin Sundarika Bhāradvāja received the going forth under the Blessed One, and he received the full admission. [40] And soon, not long after his full admission, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the venerable Bhāradvāja, by realising for himself with direct knowledge, here and now entered upon and abided in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. He directly knew: “Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.” And the venerable Bhāradvāja became one of the arahants.
Sallekha Sutta
Effacement
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD.101 On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.
2. Then, when it was evening, the venerable Mahā Cunda rose from meditation and went to the Blessed One. After paying homage to the Blessed One he sat down at one side and said to him:
3. “V
enerable sir, various views arise in the world associated either with doctrines of a self or with doctrines about the world. 102 Now does the abandoning and relinquishing of those views come about in a bhikkhu who is attending only to the beginning [of his meditative training]?”103
“Cunda, as to those various views that arise in the world associated either with doctrines of a self or with doctrines about the world: if [the object] in relation to which those views arise, which they underlie, and which they are exercised upon104 is seen as it actually is with proper wisdom thus: ‘This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self,’ then the abandoning and relinquishing of those views comes about.105
(THE EIGHT ATTAINMENTS)
4. “It is possible here, Cunda, that quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement. ’ But it is not these attainments that are called ‘effacement’ in the Noble One’s Discipline: these are called ‘pleasant abidings here and now’ [41] in the Noble One’s Discipline.106
5. “It is possible here that with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhāna, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But…these are called ‘pleasant abidings here and now’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
6. “It is possible here that with the fading away as well of rapture, some bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna, on account of which noble ones announce: ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.’ He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But…these are called ‘pleasant abidings here and now’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
7. “It is possible here that with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But it is not these attainments that are called ‘effacement’ in the Noble One’s Discipline: these are called ‘pleasant abidings here and now’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
8. “It is possible here that with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But it is not these attainments that are called ‘effacement’ in the Noble One’s Discipline: these are called ‘peaceful abidings’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
9. “It is possible here that by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But…these are called ‘peaceful abidings’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
10. “It is possible here that by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ But…these are called ‘peaceful abidings’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
11. “It is possible here that by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, some bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. He might think thus: ‘I am abiding in effacement.’ [42] But these attainments are not called ‘effacement’ in the Noble One’s Discipline: these are called ‘peaceful abidings’ in the Noble One’s Discipline.
(EFFACEMENT)
12. “Now, Cunda, here effacement should be practised by you:107
(1) ‘Others will be cruel; we shall not be cruel here’: effacement should be practised thus.108
(2) ‘Others will kill living beings; we shall abstain from killing living beings here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(3) ‘Others will take what is not given; we shall abstain from taking what is not given here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(4) ‘Others will be uncelibate; we shall be celibate here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(5) ‘Others will speak falsehood; we shall abstain from false speech here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(6) ‘Others will speak maliciously; we shall abstain from malicious speech here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(7) ‘Others will speak harshly; we shall abstain from harsh speech here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(8) ‘Others will gossip; we shall abstain from gossip here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(9) ‘Others will be covetous; we shall be uncovetous here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(10) ‘Others will have ill will; we shall be without ill will here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(11) ‘Others will be of wrong view; we shall be of right view here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(12) ‘Others will be of wrong intention; we shall be of right intention here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(13) ‘Others will be of wrong speech; we shall be of right speech here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(14) ‘Others will be of wrong action; we shall be of right action here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(15) ‘Others will be of wrong livelihood; we shall be of right livelihood here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(16) ‘Others will be of wrong effort; we shall be of right effort here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(17) ‘Others will be of wrong mindfulness; we shall be of right mindfulness here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(18) ‘Others will be of wrong concentration; we shall be of right concentration here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(19) ‘Others will be of wrong knowledge; we shall be of right knowledge here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(20) ‘Others will be of wrong deliverance; we shall be of right deliverance here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(21) ‘Others will be overcome by sloth and torpor; we shall be free from sloth and torpor here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(22) ‘Others will be restless; we shall not be restless here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(23) ‘Others will be doubters; we shall go beyond doubt here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(24) ‘Others will be angry; we shall not be angry here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(25) ‘Others will be resentful; we shall not be resentful here’: effacement should be practised thus. [43]
(26) ‘Others will be contemptuous; we shall not be contemptuous here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(27) ‘Others will be insolent; we shall not be insolent here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(28) ‘Others will be envious; we shall not be envious here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(29) ‘Others will be avaricious; we shall not be avaricious here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(30) ‘Others will be fraudulent; we shall not be fraudulent here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(31) ‘Others will be deceitful; we shall not be deceitful here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(32) ‘Others will be obstinate; we shall not be obstinate here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(33) ‘Others will be arrogant; we shall not be arrogant here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(34) ‘Others will be difficult to admonish; we shall be easy to adm
onish here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(35) ‘Others will have bad friends; we shall have good friends here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(36) ‘Others will be negligent; we shall be diligent here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(37) ‘Others will be faithless; we shall be faithful here’: effacement should be practised thus.
(38) ‘Others will be shameless; we shall be shameful here’: effacement should be practised thus.
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha Page 13