The Connected Discourses of the Buddha Page 23
And devas who exercise control.
Direct your mind there [to those realms]
And you’ll experience delight.”353
[The bhikkhunī Upacālā:]541 “There are Tāvatiṃsa and Yāma devas,
And devatās of the Tusita realm,
Devas who take delight in creating,
And devas who exercise control.
They are still bound by sensual bondage,
They come again under Māra’s control.
542 “All the world is on fire,
All the world is burning,
All the world is ablaze,
All the world is quaking.
543 “That which does not quake or blaze,
That to which worldlings do not resort,
Where there is no place for Māra:
That is where my mind delights.”354
Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Upacālā knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.
8 Sīsupacālā
<293> At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then Māra the Evil One approached the bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā and said to her: “Whose creed do you approve of, bhikkhunī?”
“I don’t approve of anyone’s creed, friend.”
544 “Under whom have you shaved your head?
You do appear to be an ascetic,
Yet you don’t approve of any creed,
So why wander as if bewildered?”355
[The bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā:]545 “Outside here the followers of creeds
Place their confidence in views.
I don’t approve of their teachings;
They are not skilled in the Dhamma. [134]
546 “But there’s one born in the Sakyan clan,
The Enlightened One, without an equal, <294>
Conqueror of all, Māra’s subduer,
Who everywhere is undefeated,
Everywhere freed and unattached,
The One with Vision who sees all.
547 “Attained to the end of all kamma,
Liberated in the extinction of acquisitions,
That Blessed One is my Teacher:
His is the teaching I approve.”356
Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Sīsupacālā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.
9 Selā
At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Selā dressed … she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.357
Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Selā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:548 By whom has this puppet been created?
Where is the maker of the puppet?
Where has the puppet arisen?
Where does the puppet cease?”358 <295>
Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Selā: “Now who is this…? This is Māra the Evil One … desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”
Then the bhikkhunī Selā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:549 “This puppet is not made by itself,
Nor is this misery made by another.
It has come to be dependent on a cause;
With the cause’s breakup it will cease.
550 “As when a seed is sown in a field
It grows depending on a pair of factors:
It requires both the soil’s nutrients
And a steady supply of moisture:
551 “Just so the aggregates and elements,
And these six bases of sensory contact,
Have come to be dependent on a cause;
With the cause’s breakup they will cease.”359
Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Selā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.
10 Vajirā
<296> At Sāvatthī. Then, in the morning, the bhikkhunī Vajirā dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms.360 When she had walked for alms in Sāvatthī [135] and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Blind Men’s Grove for the day’s abiding. Having plunged into the Blind Men’s Grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then Māra the Evil One, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the bhikkhunī Vajirā, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse:552 “By whom has this being been created?
Where is the maker of the being?
Where has the being arisen?
Where does the being cease?”
Then it occurred to the bhikkhunī Vajirā: “Now who is this that recited the verse—a human being or a nonhuman being?” Then it occurred to her: “This is Māra the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration.”
Then the bhikkhunī Vajirā, having understood, “This is Māra the Evil One,” replied to him in verses:553 “Why now do you assume ‘a being’?
Māra, is that your speculative view? <297>
This is a heap of sheer formations:
Here no being is found.
554 “Just as, with an assemblage of parts,
The word ‘chariot’ is used,
So, when the aggregates exist,
There is the convention ‘a being.’
555 “It’s only suffering that comes to be,
Suffering that stands and falls away.
Nothing but suffering comes to be,
Nothing but suffering ceases.”361
Then Māra the Evil One, realizing, “The bhikkhunī Vajirā knows me,” sad and disappointed, disappeared right there.
[136] <298>
Chapter VI
6 Brahmasaṃyutta Connected Discourses with Brahmās
I. THE FIRST SUBCHAPTER (THE REQUEST)
1 (1) Brahmā’s Request
Thus have I heard.362 On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvelā on the bank of the river Nerañjarā at the foot of the Goatherd’s Banyan Tree just after he had become fully enlightened. Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus: “This Dhamma that I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful and sublime, not within the sphere of reasoning, subtle, to be experienced by the wise. But this generation delights in adhesion, takes delight in adhesion, rejoices in adhesion.363 For such a generation this state is hard to see, that is, specific conditionality, dependent origination. And this state too is hard to see, that is, the stilling of all formations, <299> the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbāna.364 If I were to teach the Dhamma and if others would not understand me, that would be wearisome for me, that would be troublesome.”
Thereupon these astounding verses, not heard before in the past, occurred to the Blessed One:365 556 “Enough now with trying to teach
What I found with so much hardship;
This Dhamma is not easily understood
By those oppressed by lust and hate.
557 “Those fired by lust, obscured by darkness,
Will never see this abstruse Dhamma,
Deep, hard to see, subtle,
Going against the stream.” [137]
As the Blessed One reflected thus, his mind inclined to living at ease, not to teaching the Dhamma.366 <300>
Then Brahmā Sahampati, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One’s mind, thought: “Alas, the world is lost! Alas, the world is to perish, in that the mind of the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, inclines to living at ease, not to teaching the Dhamma.”367 Then, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahmā Sahampati disappeared from the brahmā world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He arranged his
upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the ground, raised his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to him: “Venerable sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma; let the Fortunate One teach the Dhamma. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are falling away because they do not hear the Dhamma. There will be those who will understand the Dhamma.”
This is what Brahmā Sahampati said. Having said this, he further said this:558 “In the past there appeared among the Magadhans
An impure Dhamma devised by those still stained.
Throw open this door to the Deathless! Let them hear
<301>
The Dhamma that the Stainless One discovered.368
559 “Just as one standing on a mountain peak
Might see below the people all around,
So, O wise one, universal eye,
Ascend the palace made of the Dhamma.
Being yourself free from sorrow, behold the people
Submerged in sorrow, oppressed by birth and decay.
560 “Rise up, O hero, victor in battle!
O caravan leader, debt-free one, wander in the world.
Teach the Dhamma, O Blessed One:
There will be those who will understand.”369 [138]
Then the Blessed One, having understood Brahmā’s request, out of compassion for beings surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha.370 As he did so, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and difficult to teach, <302> and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world.371 Just as in a pond of blue or red or white lotuses, some lotuses might be born in the water, grow up in the water, and thrive while submerged in the water, without rising up from the water; some lotuses might be born in the water, grow up in the water, and stand at an even level with the water; some lotuses might be born in the water and grow up in the water, but would rise up from the water and stand without being soiled by the water—so too, surveying the world with the eye of a Buddha, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach, and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world.
Having seen this, he answered Brahmā Sahampati in verse: <303>561 “Open to them are the doors to the Deathless:
Let those who have ears release faith.
Foreseeing trouble, O Brahmā, I did not speak
The refined, sublime Dhamma among human beings.”
Then Brahmā Sahampati, thinking, “The Blessed One has given his consent [to my request] regarding the teaching of the Dhamma,” paid homage to the Blessed One and disappeared right there.372
2 (2) Reverence
Thus have I heard.373 On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvelā on the bank of the river Nerañjarā at the foot of the Goatherd’s Banyan Tree just after he had become fully enlightened. [139] Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus: “One dwells in suffering if one is without reverence and deference. Now what ascetic or brahmin can I honour and respect and dwell in dependence on?”
Then it occurred to the Blessed One: “It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of virtue that I would honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmin. However, in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, <304> in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans, I do not see another ascetic or brahmin more perfect in virtue than myself, whom I could honour and respect and dwell in dependence on.
“It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of concentration that I would honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmin. However ... I do not see another ascetic or brahmin more perfect in concentration than myself….
“It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of wisdom that I would honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmin. However ... I do not see another ascetic or brahmin more perfect in wisdom than myself….
“It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of liberation that I would honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmin. However ... I do not see another ascetic or brahmin more perfect in liberation than myself….
“It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation that I would honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmin. However ... I do not see another ascetic or brahmin more perfect in the knowledge and vision of liberation than myself, whom I could honour and respect, and on whom I could dwell in dependence.374 <305>
“Let me then honour, respect, and dwell in dependence on this very Dhamma to which I have fully awakened.”
Then, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One’s mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahmā Sahampati disappeared from the brahmā world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, raised his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to him: [140] “So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Fortunate One! Venerable sir, those who were the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones in the past—those Blessed Ones too honoured, respected, and dwelt in dependence just on the Dhamma itself. Those who will be the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones in the future—those Blessed Ones too will honour, respect, and dwell in dependence just on the Dhamma itself. Let the Blessed One too, who is at present the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, honour, respect, and dwell in dependence just on the Dhamma itself.”
This is what Brahmā Sahampati said. Having said this, he further said this: <306>562 “The Buddhas of the past,
The future Buddhas,
And he who is the Buddha now,
Removing the sorrow of many—
563 “All have dwelt, will dwell, and dwell,
Deeply revering the true Dhamma:
For the Buddhas
This is a natural law.
564 “Therefore one desiring his own good,
Aspiring for spiritual greatness,
Should deeply revere the true Dhamma,
Recollecting the Buddhas’ Teaching.”375
3 (3) Brahmadeva
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Now on that occasion a certain brahmin lady had a son named Brahmadeva <307> who had gone forth from the household life into homelessness under the Blessed One.
Then, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the Venerable Brahmadeva, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew: “Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.” And the Venerable Brahmadeva became one of the arahants.376
Then, in the morning, the Venerable Brahmadeva dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. Walking on continuous alms round in Sāvatthī, he came to his own mother’s residence.377 [141] Now on that occasion the brahmin lady, the Venerable Brahmadeva’s mother, had been offering a constant oblation to Brahmā.378 Then it occurred to Brahmā Sahampati: “This brahmin lady, the Venerable Brahmadeva’s mother, has been offering a constant oblation to Brahmā. Let me approach her and stir up a sense of urgency in her.”
Then, <308> just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahmā Sahampati disappeared from the brahmā world and reappeared in the residence of the Venerable Brahmadeva’s mother. Then, standing
in the air, Brahmā Sahampati addressed the brahmin lady in verse:565 “Far from here, madam, is the brahmā world
To which you offer a constant oblation.
Brahmā does not eat such food, lady:
So why mumble, not knowing the path to Brahmā?379
566 “This Brahmadeva, madam,
Without acquisitions, has surpassed the devas.
Owning nothing, nourishing no other,
The bhikkhu has entered your house for alms.380
567 “Gift-worthy, knowledge-master, inwardly developed,
<309>
He deserves offerings from humans and devas.
Having expelled all evil, unsullied,
Cooled at heart, he comes seeking alms.
568 “For him there is nothing behind or in front—
Peaceful, smokeless, untroubled, wishless;
He has laid down the rod towards frail and firm: