Brahmajāla Sutta

Introduction to the Brahma-Jāla Sutta
THE phase of beliefs which this Suttanta is intended to meet, into which its argument fits, has been set out in some detail in the opening chapter of my ‘American Lectures.’ As there pointed out, the discussion which thus opens this series of dialogues forms also the first question in the Kathā Vatthu, and the first question in the Milinda. We cannot be far wrong if, in our endeavours to understand the real meaning of the original Buddhism, we attach as much weight to this question as did the author or authors of these ancient and authoritative Buddhist books.

The Suttanta sets out in sixty-two divisions various speculations or theories in which the theorisers, going out always from various forms of the ancient view of a ‘soul’-a sort of subtle manikin inside the body but separate from it, and continuing, after it leaves the body, as a separate entity-attempt to reconstruct the past, or to arrange the future. All such speculation is condemned. And necessarily so, since the Buddhist philosophy is put together without this ancient idea of ‘soul.’

The Buddhist scheme endeavours, in other words, to include all the truth which previous thinkers had grafted on to the old savage theories of a semi-material, subtle, permanent entity inside the body, while rejecting those theories themselves; it endeavours to retain all the philosophic truth which previous thinkers had grafted on to the theosophies-the corollaries of the soul theories-while rejecting those theosophies themselves. The reasons given for this position are threefold firstly, that such speculators about ultimate things, [\q xxvi/] either in the past or the future, have insufficient evidence. see only one side of the shield; secondly, that such speculations do not lead to emancipation, to Arahatship; and thirdly, that such theories are really derived from the hopes, the feelings, and the sensations arising from evanescent phenomena -they belong, in other words, to the realm of hastily formed, empirical opinion (diṭṭhi), not to that of’ the higher wisdom (paññā). So that Buddhism, in the first place, holds a position somewhat similar to the modern Agnostic position. Secondly, while acknowledging the importance of feeling and of intellect, it lays special stress upon the regulation, the cultivation, of the Will. And thirdly, it distinguishes between a lower and a higher wisdom,.

Several scholars, and especially—with more knowledge and detail—Dr. Karl Neumann, have maintained that the position of Buddhism in the history of Indian philosophy is analogous to that of Schopenhauer in European philosophy. On the other hand, it is maintained by Professor Deussen that Schopenhauer’s position is analogous to that of the Upanishads. The reconciliation will probably be found to be that what Buddhism took over, with more or less of modification, from the Upanishads, is about the same as that part of the Upanishad doctrine which is found, in European phraseology, in Schopenhauer; and what Buddhism rejected alto-ether is not to be found in Schopenhauer. He himself, who however knew both systems only from second-hand and inaccurate authorities, says, ‘If I am to take the results of my own Philosophy as the standard of truth, I should be obliged to concede to Buddhism the pre-eminence over other (systems of philosophy).’

However this question may be decided-and its discussion, at the necessary length, by a competent student of philosophy, is a very pressing want-it is certain from the details given in our Suttanta that there were then current in Northern India many other philosophic and theosophic speculations besides those the priests found it expedient to adopt, and have preserved for us in the Upanishads. And who can doubt but that some, if not all of them, may also have had their influence on the new doctrine? There was always much philosophising in India outside the narrow and inexact limits [\q xxvii/] of the so-called six Darsanas; and we have to thank Buddhist scholars for preserving, in their Pāli and Sanskrit works, the evidences of such philosophy as the priests wished to exclude from notice.

[\q 001/] == Brahmajāla Sutta - The Perfect Net ==

1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once going along the high road between Rājagaha and Nālandā with a great company of the brethren, with about five hundred brethren. And Suppiya the mendicant too was going along the high road between Rājagaha and Nālandā with his disciple the youth Brahmadatta. Now just then Suppiya the mendicant was speaking in many ways in dispraise of the Buddha, in dispraise of the Doctrine, in dispraise of the Order. But young Brahmadatta, his pupil, gave utterance, in many ways, to praise of the Buddha, to praise of the Doctrine, to praise of the Order. Thus. they two, teacher and pupil, holding opinions in direct contradiction one to the other, were following, step by [\q 002/] step, after the Blessed One and the company of the brethren.

2. Now the Blessed One put up at the royal rest-house in the Ambalaṭṭhikā. pleasance to pass the night, and with him the company of the brethren. And so also did Suppiya the mendicant, and with him his young disciple Brahmadatta. And there, at the rest-house, these two carried on the same discussion as before.

3. And in the early dawn a number of the brethren assembled, as they rose up, in the pavilion; and this was the trend of the talk that sprang up among them, as they were seated there. ‘How wonderful a thing is it, brethren, and how strange that the Blessed One, he who knows and sees, the Arahat, the Buddha Supreme, should so clearly have perceived how various are the inclinations of men! For see how while Suppiya the mendicant speaks in many ways in dispraise of the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order, his own disciple young Brahmadatta, speaks, in as many ways, in praise of them. So do these two, teacher and pupil, follow step by step after the Blessed One and the company of the brethren, giving utterance to views in direct contradiction one to the other.’

4. Now the Blessed One, on realising what was the drift of their talk, went to the pavilion, and took his seat on the mat spread out for him. And when he had sat down he said: ‘What is the talk on which you are engaged sitting here, and what is the subject of the conversation between you?’ And they told him all. And he said:

[\q 003/]

5. ‘Brethren, if outsiders should speak against me, or against the Doctrine, or against the Order, you should not on that account either bear malice, or suffer heart-burning, or feel ill will. If you, on that account, should be angry and hurt, that would stand in the way of your, own self-conquest. If, when others speak against us, you feel angry at that, and displeased, would you then be able to judge how far that speech of theirs is well said or ill?’

‘That would not be so, Sir.’

‘But when outsiders speak in dispraise of me, or of the Doctrine, or of the Order, you should unravel what is false and point it out as wrong, saying: “For this or that reason this is not the fact, that is not so, such a thing is not found among us, is not in us.”

6. ‘But also, brethren, if outsiders should speak in praise of me, in praise of the Doctrine, in praise of the Order, you should not, on that account, be filled with pleasure or gladness, or be lifted up in heart. Were you to be so that also would stand in the way of your self-conquest. When outsiders speak in praise of me, or of the Doctrine, or of the Order, you should acknowledge what is right to be the fact, saying: “For this or that reason this is the fact, that is so, such a thing is found among us, is in us.”

7. ‘It is in respect only of trifling things, of matters of little value, of mere morality, that an unconverted man, when praising the Tathāgata, would speak. And what are such trifling, minor details of mere morality that he would praise.

=== [THE MORALITIES. PART I.] ===

Cūla Sīla
8. “Putting away the killing of living things, Gotama the recluse holds aloof from the destruction [\q 004/] of life. He has laid the cudgel and the sword aside, and ashamed of roughness, and full of mercy, he dwells compassionate and kind to all creatures that have life” It is thus that the unconverted man, when-speaking in praise of the Tathāgata, might speak.

‘Or he might say: “Putting away the taking of what has not been given, Gotama the recluse lived aloof from grasping what is not his own. He takes only what is given, and expecting that gifts will come, he passes his life in honesty and purity of heart.”

Or he might say: “Putting away unchastity, Gotama the recluse is chaste. He holds himself aloof, far off, from the vulgar practice, from the sexual act .”

9. ‘Or he might say: “Putting away lying words, Gotama the recluse holds himself aloof from falsehood. He speaks truth, from the truth he never swerves; faithful and trustworthy, he breaks not his word to the world.”

‘Or he might say: “Putting away slander, Gotama the recluse holds himself aloof from calumny. What he hears here he repeats not elsewhere to raise a quarrel [\q 005/] against the people here; what he hears elsewhere he repeats not here to raise a quarrel against the people there. Thus does he live as a binder together of those who are divided, an encourager of those who are friends, a peacemaker, a lover of peace, impassioned for peace, a speaker of words that make for peace.”

‘Or he might say: “Putting- away rudeness of speech, Gotama the recluse holds himself aloof from harsh language. Whatsoever word is blameless, pleasant to the car, lovely, reaching to the heart, urbane, pleasing to the people, beloved of the people-such are words he speaks.”

‘Or he might say: “Putting away frivolous talk ,Gotama the recluse holds himself aloof from vain conversation. In season he speaks, in accordance with the facts, words full of meaning, on religion, on the discipline of the Order. He speaks, and at the right time, words worthy to be laid up in one’s heart, [5] fitly illustrated, clearly divided, to the point.”

10. ‘Or he might say:

“Gotama the recluse holds himself aloof from causing injury to seeds or plants. He takes but one meal a day, not eating at night, refraining from food after hours (after midday). He refrains from being a spectator at shows at fairs, with nautch dances, singing, and music. He abstains from wearing, adorning, or ornamenting himself with garlands, scents, and unguents. He abstains from the use of large and lofty beds. He abstains from accepting silver or gold. He abstains from accepting uncooked grain. He abstains from accepting raw meat. He abstains from accepting women or girls. He abstains from accepting bondmen or bondwomen. [\q 006/] He abstains from accepting sheep or goats. He abstains from accepting fowls or swine. He abstains from accepting elephants, cattle. horses, and mares. He abstains from accepting cultivated fields or waste. He abstains from the acting as a, go-between or messenger. He abstains from buying and selling. He abstains from cheating with scales or bronzes or measures. He abstains from the crooked ways of bribery, cheating, and fraud. He abstains from maiming, murder, putting in bonds, highway robbery, dacoity, and violence.” ‘Such are the things, brethren, which an unconverted man, when speaking in praise of the Tathāgata, might say.’

Here ends the Cūla Sīla [the Short Paragraphs on Conduct]

Majjhima Sīla
11. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the injury of seedlings and growing plants whether propagated from roots or cuttings or joints or buddings or seeds -Gotama the [\q 007/] recluse holds aloof from such injury to seedlings and growing plants.”

12. [6] ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of things stored up; stores, to wit, of foods, drinks, clothing, equipages, bedding, perfumes, and curry-stuffs - Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such use of things stored up.”

13. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to visiting shows ; that is to say,

(1) Nautch dances (naccaṃ). (2) Singing of songs (gītaṃ). (3) Instrumental music (vāditaṃ). (4) Shows at fairs (pekkhaṃ) Literally ‘shows.’ This word, only found here, has always been rendered ‘theatrical representations.’ Clough first translated it so in his Sinhalese Dictionary, p. 665, and he was followed by Gogerly, Burnouf, myself (in ‘Buddhist Suttas,’ p. 192), and Dr. Neumann (p. 69),-and Weber (Indian Literature, pp. 199, 319) seems to approve this. But it is most unlikely that the theatre was already known in the fifth century B. C. And Buddhaghosa (p. 84) explains it, quite simply, as naṭa-samajjā. Now samajjo is a very interesting old word (at least in its Pāli form). The Sanskrit, according to the Petersburg Dictionary, has only been found in modern dictionaries. The Pāli occurs in other old texts such as Vinaya 11, 107; IV, 267 (both times in the very same context as it does here); ibid. II, 150; 1V, 85; Sigālovāda Sutta, p.300; and it is undoubtedly the same word as samāja in the first of the fourteen Edicts of Asoka. In the Sigālovāda there are said to be six dangers at such a samajjo; to wit, dancing, singing, music, recitations, conjuring tricks, and acrobatic shows. And in the Vinaya passages we learn that at a samajjo not only amusements but also food was provided; that high officials were invited, and had special seats; and that it took place at the top of a bill. This last detail of ‘high places’ (that is sacred places) points to a religious motive as underlying the whole procedure. The root aj (??greak??agw??, ago, whence our ‘act’) belongs to the stock of common Aryan roots, and means carrying on. What was the meaning of this ‘carrying on together’? Who were the people who took part? Were they confined to one village? or have we here a survival from old exogamic communistic dancings together? Later the word means simply fair,’ as at Jātaka III, 541:

‘Many the bout 1 have played with quarterstaves at the fair,’ with which Jātaka I, 394 may be compared. And it is no doubt this side of the festival which is here in the mind of the author; but ‘fair’ is nevertheless a very inadequate rendering. The Sinhalese has rapid movement in dance-figures’ (ranga-maṇḍalu). . [\q 008/] (5) Ballad recitations (akkhānaṃ). (6) Hand music (pāṇissaraṃ). (7) The chanting of bards (vetālaṃ). (8) Tam - tam playing (kumbhathūnaṃ). [\q 009/] (9) Fairy scenes (sobhanagarakaṃ). (10) Acrobatic feats by Caṇḍālas (caṇḍāla-vaṃsa-dhopanaṃ). (11) Combats of elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, cocks, and quails. (12) Bouts at quarter- staff, boxing, wrestling. (13-16) Sham-fights, roll-calls, manoeuvres, reviews .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from visiting such shows.’

14. ‘Or. he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to games and recreations ; that is to say,

[\q 011/] (13) Playing with toy measures made of palm-leaves.
 * 1) Games on boards with eight, or with ten, rows of squares.
 * 2) The same games [\q 010/] played by imagining such boards in the air.
 * 3) Keeping going over diagrams drawn on the ground so that one steps only where one ought to go.
 * 4) Either removing the pieces or men from a heap with one’s nail, or putting them into a heap, in each case without shaking it. He who shakes the heap, loses
 * 5) Throwing dice
 * 6) Hitting a short stick with a long one.
 * 7) Dipping the hand with the fingers stretched out in lac, or red dye, or flower-water, and striking the wet hand on the ground or on a wall, ‘calling out ‘What shell it be?’ and showing the form required -elephants, horses, &c.
 * 8) Games with balls
 * 9) Blowing through toy pipes made of leaves
 * 10) Ploughing with. toy ploughs
 * 11) Turning summersaults
 * 12) Playing with toy windmills made of palm-leaves.
 * 1) Playing with toy carts or toy bows
 * 2) Guessing at letters traced in the air, or on a. playfellow’s back
 * 3) Guessing the play fellow’s thoughts.,
 * 4) Mimicry of deformities.”

[7] Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such games and recreations.”

15. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of high and large couches; that is to say ,

(1) ‘Moveable settees, high, and six feet long (āsandi) (2) Divans with animal figures carved on the sup-ports (pallanko). [\q 012/] (3) Goats’ hair coverlets with very long fleece (gonako). (4) Patchwork counterpanes of many colours (cittakā). (5) White blankets (Paṭikā). (6) Woollen coverlets embroidered with flowers (paṭalikā). (7) Quilts stuffed with cotton wool (tūlikā). (8) Coverlets embroidered with figures of lions, tigers, &c. (vikatikā). (9) Rugs with fur on both sides (uddalomī). (10) Rugs with fur on one side (ekantalomī). (11) Coverlets embroidered with gems(kaṭṭhissaṃ). (12) Silk coverlets (koseyyaṃ). (13) Carpets large enough for sixteen dancers (kuttakaṃ). (14-16) Elephant, horse, and chariot rugs. (17) Rugs of antelope skins sewn together (ajina-paveṇi). (18) Rugs of skins of the plantain antelope. (19) Carpets with awnings [\q 013/] above them (sauttara-cchadaṃ). (20) Sofas with red pillows for the head and feet.”

16. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of means for adorning and beautifying themselves; that is to say,

Rubbing in scented powders on one’s body, shampooing it, and bathing it, patting the limbs with clubs after the manner of wrestlers. The use of mirrors, eye-ointments, garlands, rouge, cosmetics, bracelets, necklaces, walking-sticks, reed cases for drugs, rapiers, sunshades, embroidered slippers, turbans, diadems, whisks of the yak’s tail, and long-fringed white robes,”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such means of adorning and beautifying the person .”

17. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to such low conversation as these:

Tales of kings, of robbers, of ministers of state, tales of war, of terrors, of battles; talk about foods and drinks, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes; talks about relationships, equipages, villages, town, cities, and countries; tales about women [8], and about heroes; gossip at street corners, or places whence [\q 014/] water is fetched; ghost stories ; desultory talk ; speculations about the creation of the land or sea , or about existence and non-existence .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low conversation.’

18. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to the use of wrangling phrases such as

“You don’t understand this doctrine and discipline, I do. How should you know about this doctrine and discipline? “You have fallen into wrong views. It is I who am in the right.” “I am speaking to the point, you are not ” “You are putting last what ought to come first, first what ought to come last .” “What you’ve excogitated so long, that’s all quite upset.” [\q 015/] “Your challenge has been taken up “You are proved to be wrong .” “Set to work to clear your views .” “Disentangle yourself if you can .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such wrangling phrases.’

19. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, continue addicted to taking messages, going on errands, and acting as go-betweens; to wit, on kings, ministers of state, Kshatriyas, Brahmans, or young men, saying: ‘Go there, come hither, take this with you, bring that from thence.”

‘Gotama the recluse abstains from such servile duties.’

20. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, are tricksters, droners out (of holy words for pay) , [\q 016/] diviners , and exorcists , ever hungering to add gain to gain - Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such deception and patter.”’

Here ends the Majjhima Sīla [the Longer Paragraphs on Conduct].

Mahā Sīla
[9] 2 I. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as these:

(1) Palmistry—prophesying long life, prosperity, &c from marks on child’s hands, feet. &c. . (2) Divining by means of omens and signs. (3) Auguries drawn from thunderbolts and other celestial portents. [\q 017/] (4) Prognostication by interpreting dreams. (5) Fortune-telling from marks on the body. (6) Auguries from the marks on cloth gnawed by mice. (7) Sacrificing to Agni. (8) Offering oblations from a spoon. (9-13) Making offerings to gods of husks, of the red powder between the grain and the husk, of husked grain ready for boiling, of ghee, and of oil. (14) Sacrificing by spewing mustard seeds, &c., into the fire out of one’s mouth. (15) Drawing blood from one’s right knee as a sacrifice to the gods. [\q 018/] (16) Looking at the knuckles, &c., and, after muttering a charm, divining whether a man is well born or lucky or not. (17) Determining whether the site, for a proposed house or pleasance, is lucky or not. (18) Advising on customary law. (19) Laying demons in a cemetery. (20) Laying ghosts. (21) Knowledge of the charms to be used when lodging in an earth house. (22) Snake charming. [\q 019/] (23) The poison craft. (24) The scorpion craft. (25) The mouse craft. (26) The bird craft. (27) The crow craft. (28) Foretelling the number of years that a man has yet to live. (29) Giving charms to ward off arrows. (30) The animal wheel .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

22. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as these:

Knowledge of the signs of good and bad qualities in the following things and of the marks in them denoting the health or luck of their owners: to wit, gems, staves, garments, swords, arrows, bows, other weapons, women , men , boys , girls , slaves, slave-girls, elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, oxen, goats , sheep , fowls , quails , iguanas , earrings , tortoises, and other animals.”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

23. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses [\q 020/] and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as soothsaying, to the effect that:

[10] The chiefs will march out. The chiefs will march back. The home chiefs will attack, and the enemies’ retreat. The enemies’ chiefs will attack, and ours will retreat. The home chiefs will gain the victory, and the foreign chiefs suffer defeat. The foreign chiefs will gain the victory, and ours will suffer defeat Thus will there be victory on this side, defeat on that.”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

2 4. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by such low arts as foretelling

( 1) There will be an eclipse of the moon. (2) There will be en eclipse of the sun. (3) There will be en eclipse of a star (nakshatra). (4) There will be aberration of the sun or the moon. (5) The sun or the moon will return to its usual path. (6) There will be aberrations of the stars. (7) The stars will return to their usual course. [\q 021/] (8) There will be a fall of meteors (9) There will be a jungle fire. (10) The-re will be an earthquake. (11) The god will thunder. (12-15) There will be rising and setting, clearness and dimness, of the sun or the moon or the stars, or foretelling of each of these fifteen phenomena that they will betoken such and such a result.” [11]

25. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as these:

Foretelling an abundant rainfall. Foretelling a deficient rainfall. Foretelling a good harvest Foretelling scarcity of food. Foretelling tranquillity. Foretelling disturbances. Foretelling a pestilence. Foretelling a healthy season. Counting on the fingers. [\q 022/] Counting without using the fingers. Summing up large totals. Composing ballads, poetising. Casuistry, sophistry .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

26. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as

[\q 023/] (1) Arranging a lucky day for marriages in which the bride or bridegroom is brought home. (2) Arranging a lucky day for marriages in which the bride or bridegroom is sent forth. (3) Fixing a lucky time for the conclusion of treaties of peace [or using charms to procure harmony]. (4) Fixing a lucky time for the outbreak of hostilities [or using charms to make discord]. (5) Fixing-a lucky time for the calling in of debts [or charms for success in throwing dice]. (6) Fixing a lucky time for the expenditure of money [or charms to bring ill luck to an opponent throwing dice]. (7) Using charms to make people lucky. (8) Using charms to make people unlucky. (9) Using charms to procure abortion. (10) Incantations to bring on dumbness. (11) Incantations to keep a man’s jaws fixed. (12) Incantations to make a man throw up his hands. (13) Incantations to bring on deafness,. [\q 024/] (14) Obtaining oracular answers by means of the magic mirror. (15) Obtaining oracular answers through a girl possessed. (16) Obtaining oracular answers from a god. (17) The worship of the Sun. (18) The worship of the Great One. (19) Bringing forth flames from one’s mouth. (20) Invoking Siri, the goddess of Luck .”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

[\q 025/] [12] 27. ‘Or he might say: “Whereas some recluses and Brahmans, while living on food provided by, the faithful, earn their living by wrong means of livelihood, by low arts, such as these:

(1) Vowing gifts to a god if a certain benefit be granted. (2) Paying such vows. (3) Repeating charms while lodging in an earth house. (4) Causing virility. (S) Making a man impotent. (6) Fixing on lucky sites for dwelling. (7) Consecrating sites. (8) Ceremonial rinsings of the month. (9) Ceremonial bathings. (10) Offering sacrifices. (11-14) Administering emetics and purgatives. (15) Purging people to relieve the head (that is by giving drugs to make people sneeze). (16) Oiling people’s ears (either to make them grow or to heal sores on them). (17) Satisfying people’s eyes (soothing them by dropping medicinal oils into them). (18) Administering drugs through the nose,. (19) Applying collyrium to the eyes. (20) Giving medical ointment for the eyes. (21) Practising as an oculist. (22) Practising as a surgeon. (23) Practising as a doctor for children. [\q 026/] (24) Administering roots and drugs. (25) Administering medicines in rotation ”

‘Gotama the recluse holds aloof from such low arts.’

‘These, brethren, are the trifling matters, the minor details, of mere morality, of which the unconverted man when praising the Tathāgata, might speak.’

Here end the Long Paragraphs on Conduct.

28. ‘There are, brethren, other things profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise These things the Tathāgata, having himself realised them and seen them face to face, hath set forth; and it is of them that they, who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.

‘And what are they?

29. ‘There are recluses and Brahmans, brethren, who reconstruct the ultimate beginnings of things, whose speculations are concerned with the ultimate past, and who on eighteen grounds put forward various [\q 027/] assertions regarding it. [13] And about what, with reference to what, do those venerable ones do so?

30. ‘There are, brethren, some recluses and Brahmans who are Eternalists, and who, on four grounds, proclaim that both the soul and the world are eternal. And about what, with reference to what, do those venerable ones do so?

31. ‘In the first place, brethren, some recluse or Brahman by means of ardour, of exertion, of application, of earnestness, of careful thought, reaches up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, he calls to mind his various dwelling-places in times gone by-in one birth, or in two, or three, or four, or five, or ten, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, or fifty, or a hundred, or a thousand, or in several hundreds or thousands or laks of births-to the effect that " There I had such and such a name, was of such and such a lineage and caste, lived on such and such food, experienced such and such pains and pleasures, had such and such a span of years. And when I fell from thence I was reborn in such and such a place tinder such and such a name, in such and such a lineage and caste, living on such and such food, experiencing such and such pains and pleasures, with such and such a span of years. And when I fell from thence I was reborn here.” Thus does he recollect, in full detail both of condition and of custom, his various dwelling [\q 028/] places in times zone by. [14] And he says to himself: “Eternal is the soul; and the world, giving birth to nothing new, is stedfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed. and though these living creatures transmigrate and pass away, fall from one state of existence and spring up in another, yet they ale forever and ever. And why must that be so? Because I, by means of ardour of exertion of application of earnestness of careful thought, can reach up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, I can call to mind, and in full detail both of condition and of custom, my various dwelling-places in times gone by-by that is it that I know this-that the soul is eternal; and that the world, giving birth to nothing new, is stedfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed; and that though these living creatures transmigrate and pass away, fall from one state of existence and spring up in another, yet they are forever and ever.”

‘This, brethren, is the first state of things on account of which, starting from which, some recluses and Brahmans are Eternalists, and maintain that both the soul and the world are eternal.

32. [The second case put is in all respects the same save that the previous births thus called to mind extend over a still longer period up to ten world aeons .]

33. [15] [The third case put is in all respects the same save that the previous births thus called to mind extend over a still longer period up to forty world aeons.]

34. [16] ‘And in the fourth place, brethren, on what ground is it, starting from what, that those venerable ones are Eternalists, and maintain that the soul and the world are eternal.

‘In this case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman [\q 029/] is addicted to logic and reasoning. He gives utterance to the following conclusion of his own, beaten out by his argumentations and based on his sophistry ; "Eternal is the soul; and the world, giving birth to nothing new is steadfast as a mountain peak, as a pillar firmly fixed; and these living creatures, though they transmigrate and pass away, fall from one state of existence and spring up in another, yet they are forever and ever.

“’This, brethren, is the fourth state of things on the ground of which, starting from which, some recluses and Brahmans are Eternalists, and maintain that the soul and the world are eternal.

35. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who are Eternalists, and in four ways maintain that both the soul and the world are eternal. For whosoever of the recluses and Brahmans are such and maintain this, they do so in these four ways, or in one or other of the same, and outside these there is no way in which this opinion is arrived at.

36. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. [17] That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations) ; and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them , has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations. their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on; and not grasping after any (of [\q 030/] those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

37. ‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic,. subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

Here ends the First Portion for Recitation.

The Eternalists
1. ‘There are, brethren, some recluses and Brahmans who are Eternalists with regard to some things, and in regard to others Non-Eternalists; who on four grounds maintain that the soul and the world are partly eternal and partly not.

‘And what is it that these venerable ones depend upon, what is it that they start from, in arriving at this conclusion?

2. ‘Now there comes a time, brethren, when, sooner or later, after the lapse of a long long period, this world-system passes away. And when this happens beings have mostly been reborn in the World of Radiance, and there they dwell made of mind, feeding on joy, radiating light from themselves, traversing the air, continuing in glory; and thus they remain for a long long period of time.

3. Now there comes also a time, brethren, when,[\q 031/] sooner or later, this world-system begins to re-evolve. When this happens the Palace of Brahmā appears, but it is empty. And some being or other, either because his span of years has passed or his merit is exhausted, falls from that World -of Radiance, and comes to life in the Palace of Brahmā. And there also he lives made of mind, feeding on joy, radiating light from himself, traversing the air, continuing in glory; and thus does he remain for a long long period of time.

4. ‘Now there arises in him, from his dwelling there so long alone, a dissatisfaction and a longing: “O! would that other beings might come to join me in this place! " And just then, either because their span of years had passed or their merit was exhausted, other beings fall from the World of Radiance, and appear in the Palace of Brahma as companions to him, and in all respects like him. [18]

5. ‘On this, brethren, the one who was first reborn thinks thus to himself: “I am Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Supreme One, the Mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of all, appointing to each his place, the Ancient of days the Father of all that are and are to be. ‘These other beings are of my creation. And why is that so? A while ago I thought, ‘Would that they might come!’ And on my mental aspiration, behold the beings came.”

‘And those beings themselves, too, think thus: “This must be Brahmā,, the Great Brahmā, the Supreme, the Mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of all, appointing to each his place, the Ancient of days, the Father of all that are [\q 032/] and are to be. And we must have been created by him. And why? Because, as we see, it was he who was here first, and we came after that.”

6. ‘On this, brethren, the one who first came into existence there is of longer life, and more glorious, and more powerful than those who appeared after him. And it might well be, brethren, that some being on his falling from that state, should come hither. And having come hither he might go forth from the household life into the homeless state. And having thus become a recluse he, by reason of ardour of exertion of application of earnestness of careful thought, reaches up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, he calls to mind his last dwelling-place, but not the previous ones. He says to himself: “That illustrious Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Supreme One, the Mighty, the All-seeing, the Ruler, the Lord of all, the Maker, the Creator, the Chief of all, appointing to each his place, the Ancient of days, the Father of all that are and are to be, he by whom we were created, he is stedfast immutable eternal, of a nature that knows no change, and he will remain so forever and ever. But we who were created by him have come hither as being impermanent mutable limited in duration of life.

[19] ‘This, brethren, is the first state of things on account of which, starting out from which, some recluses and Brahmans, being Eternalists as to some things, and Non-eternalists as to others, maintain that the soul and the world are partly eternal and partly not.

7. ‘And what is the second?

‘There are, brethren, certain gods called the “Debauched by Pleasure”. ‘For ages they pass their time in the pursuit of the laughter and sport of sensual lusts. In consequence thereof their self-possession is corrupted, and through the loss of their self-control they fall from that state.

[\q 033/] 8. ‘Now it might well be, brethren, that some being, on his falling from that state, should come hither. And having come hither he should, as in the last case, become a recluse, and acquire the power of recollecting his last birth, but only his last one.

9. ‘And he would say to himself: “Those gods who are not debauched by pleasure are stedfast, immutable, eternal, of a nature that knows no change, and they will remain so forever and ever. [20] But we-who fell from that state, having lost our self-control through being debauched by pleasure-we have come hither as being impermanent, mutable, limited in duration of life.”

10. ‘And what is the third?

‘There are, brethren, certain gods called "the Debauched in Mind .” They burn continually with envy one against another, and being thus irritated, their hearts become ill-disposed towards each other, and being thus debauched, their bodies become feeble, and their minds imbecile. And those gods fall from that state.

11. ‘Now it might well be, brethren, that some [\q 034/] being, on his falling from that state, should come hither; and having become a recluse should ‘as in the other cases, acquire the power of recollecting his last birth, but only his last one.

12. ‘And lie would say to himself: “Those gods who are not debauched in mind do not continually burn with envy against each other, so their hearts do not become evil disposed one towards another, nor their bodies feeble and their minds imbecile. Therefore they fall not from that state; they are stedfast, immutable, eternal, of a nature that knows no change, and they will remain so forever and ever. [21] But we were corrupted in mind, being constantly excited by envy against one another. And being thus envious and corrupt our bodies became feeble, and our minds imbecile, and we fell from that state, and have come hither as Being impermanent, mutable, limited in duration of life.”

‘This, brethren, is the third case.

13. ‘And what is the fourth?

In this case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman is addicted to logic and reasoning. He gives utterance to the following conclusion of his own, beaten out by his argumentations and based on his sophistry: “This which is called eye and ear and nose and tongue and body is a self which is impermanent, unstable, not eternal, subject to change. But this which is called heart, or mind, or consciousness is a self which is permanent, stedfast, eternal, and knows no change, and it will remain forever and ever.

This, brethren, is the fourth state of things, on the ground of which, starting from which, some recluses [\q 035/] and Brahmans are Semi-eternalists, and in four ways maintain that the soul and the world are in some respects eternal, and in some not.

14. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who are Semi-eternalists, and in four ways maintain that the soul and the world are eternal in some cases and not in others. For whosoever of the recluses and Brahmans are such and maintain this, they do so in these four ways or in one or other of the same; and outside these there is no way in which this opinion is arrived at.

[22] 15. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations, thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge, he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

The Extensionists
16. ‘There are, brethren, certain recluses and Brahmans who are Extensionists, and who in four ways set forth the infinity or finiteness of the world. And [\q 036/] on what ground, starting out from what, do these venerable ones maintain this?

17. ‘In the first case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman, by means of ardour of exertion of application of earnestness of careful thought, reaches up to such rapture of heart that he, rapt in heart., dwells in the world imagining it finite. And he says thus to himself: “Finite is the world, so that a path could be traced round it. And why is this so? Since I, by means of ardour of exertion of application of earnestness of careful thought, can reach up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, I dwell in the world perceiving it to be finite-by that I know this.”

‘This, brethren, is the first case.

18. ‘The second case is similar, only that the conclusion is: [23] ‘Infinite is the world without a limit. Those recluses and Brahmans who say it is finite, so that a path could be traced round it, are wrong .”

19. ‘The third case is similar, only that the conclusion is that he imagines the world limited in the upward and downward directions, but infinite across; he declares both the former conclusions to be wrong.

20. ‘In the fourth case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman is addicted to logic and reasoning. He gives utterance to the following conclusion of his own, beaten out by his argumentations and based on his sophistry: “This world is neither finite nor yet infinite. Those recluses and Brahmans who maintain either the first, or the second, or the third conclusion, are wrong.[24] Neither is the world finite, nor is it infinite.”

‘This, brethren, is the fourth case.

[\q 037/] 21. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who are Extensionists, and in four ways maintain that the world is finite or infinite. For whosoever of the recluses and Brahmans are such, and maintain this, they do so in these four ways or in one or other of the same; and outside these there is no way in which this opinion is arrived at.

22. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

The Eel-Wrigglers
23. ‘There are, brethren, some recluses and Brahmans who wriggle like eels; and when a question is put to them on this or that they resort to equivocation, to eel-wriggling, and this in four ways.

‘Now on what ground starting out from what, do those venerable ones do so?

24. ‘In the first place, brethren, some recluse or Brahman does not understand the good in its real nature, nor the evil. And he thinks: -"I neither know [\q 038/] the good, as it really is, nor the evil. [25] That being so, were I to pronounce this to be good or that to be evil, I might be influenced therein by my feelings or desires, by ill will or resentment. And under these circumstances I might be wrong; and my having been wrong might cause me the pain of remorse; and the sense of remorse might become a hindrance to me .” Thus fearing and abhorring the being wrong in an expressed opinion, he will neither declare anything to be good, nor to be bad; but on a question being put to him on this or that, he resorts to eel-wriggling. to equivocation, and says: “I don’t take it thus. I don’t take it the other way. But I advance no different opinion. And I don’t deny your position. And I don’t say it is neither the one, nor the other.

‘This is the first case.

‘And what is the second?

25. [The same, reading] Under these circumstances I might fall into that grasping condition of heart which causes rebirth; and my so falling might cause me the pain of remorse; and the sense of remorse might become a hindrance to me.” [26] Thus fearing and abhorring the falling into that state, he will neither declare (&c., as in Section 24).

‘This is the second case.

‘And what is the third?

26. [The same, reading] ‘And he thinks: “I neither know the good, as it really is, nor the evil. Now there are recluses and Brahmans who are clever, subtle, experienced in controversy, hair-splitters, who ,go about, methinks, breaking to pieces by their wisdom [\q 039/] the speculations of others. Were I to pronounce this to be good, or that to be evil, these men might join issue with me, call upon me for my reasons, point out my errors. And on their doing so, I might be unable to explain. And that might cause me the pain of remorse; and the sense of remorse might become a hindrance to me.” Thus fearing and abhorring the joinder of issue, he will neither declare (&c., as in Section 24).

‘This is the third case.[27]

‘And what is the fourth?

27. ‘In this case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman is dull, stupid. And it is by reason of his dullness, his stupidity, that when a question on this or that is put to him, he resorts to equivocation, to wriggling, like an eel: “If you ask me whether there is another world,—well, if I thought there were, I would say so. But I don’t say so. And I don’t think it is thus or thus. And I don’t think it is otherwise. And I don’t deny it. And I don’t say there neither is, nor is not, another world.” Thus does he equivocate, and in like manner about each of such propositions as the following :

a.

(2) There is not another world. (3) There both is, and is not, another world. (4) There neither is, nor is not, another world.

b.

(1) There are Chance Beings (so called because they spring into existence, either here or in another world, without the intervention of parents, and seem therefore to come without a cause). (2) There are no such beings. (3) There both are, and are not, such beings. (4) There neither are, nor are not, such beings.

c

(1) There is fruit, result, of good and bad actions. [\q 040/] (2) There is not. (3) There both is, and is not. (4) There neither is, nor is not.

d.

(1) A man who has penetrated to the truth continues to exist after death. (2) He does not. (3) H e both does, and does not. (4) He neither does, nor does not.

‘This, brethren, is the fourth case.

[28] 28. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who wriggle like eels; and who, when a question is put to them on this or that, resort to equivocation, to eel-wriggling; and that in four ways. For whosoever do so, they do so in these four ways, or in one or other of the same; there is no other way in which they do so.

29. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, [\q 041/] sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

The Fortuitous-Originists
30. ‘There are, brethren, some recluses and Brahmans who are Fortuitous-Originists, and who in two ways maintain that the soul and the world arise without a cause. And on what ground, starting out from what, do they do so?

31. ‘There are, brethren, certain gods called Unconscious Beings. As soon as an idea occurs to them they fall from that state. Now it may well be, brethren, that a being, on falling from that state, should come hither; and having come hither he might go forth from the household life into the homeless state. And having thus become a recluse he, by reason of ardour and so on (as in the other cases) reaches up to such rapture of heart that, rapt in heart, he calls to mind how that idea occurred to him, but not more than that. He says to himself: “Fortuitous [\q 042/] in origin are the soul and the world. And why so? Because formerly I was not, but now am. Having not been, I have come to be.” [29]

‘This, brethren, is the first state of things on account of which, starting out from which some recluses and Brahmans become Fortuitous-Originists, and maintain that the soul and the world arise without a cause.

32,33 ‘And what is the second?

In this case, brethren, some recluse or Brahman is addicted to logic and reasoning. He gives utterance to the following conclusion of his own, beaten out by his argumentations, and based on his sophistry: “The soul and the world arose without a cause.”

‘This, brethren, is the second case.

34. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

[30] 35. ‘These, brethren, are the recluses and Brahmans who reconstruct the ultimate beginnings of things, whose speculations are concerned with the [\q 043/] ultimate past, and who on eighteen grounds put forward various assertions regarding the past. And those who do so, all of them, do so in one or other of these eighteen ways. There is none beside.

36. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

The Believers in Future Life
37. ‘There are, brethren, recluses and Brahmans who arrange the future, whose speculations are concerned with the future, and who on forty-four grounds put forward various assertions regarding the future. And on account of what, starting out from what, do they do so?

38. ‘There are, brethren, recluses and Brahmans who [31] hold the doctrine of a conscious existence after death, and who maintain in sixteen ways that [\q 044/] the soul after death is conscious. And how do they do so?

‘They say of the soul: “The soul after death, not subject to decay, and conscious,

(1) has form , (2 is formless, (3) has, and has not, form, (4) neither has, nor has not, form, (5) is finite, (6) is infinite, (7) is both, (8) is neither, (9) has one mode of consciousness, (10) has various modes of consciousness (11) has limited consciousness (12) has infinite consciousness (13) is altogether happy (14) is altogether miserable (15) is both (16) is neither.”

39. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who hold the doctrine of a conscious existence after death, and who maintain in sixteen ways that the soul after death is conscious. And those who do so, all of them, do so in one or other of these sixteen ways. There is none beside.

40. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations) and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing away of sensations, their sweet taste, their danger, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata, is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible. only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth; and it is concerning these that they who would rightly raise the Tathāgata in accordance with the truth, should speak.’

Here ends the Second Portion for Recitation. [32]

Chapter III
1. ‘There are, brethren, recluses and Brahmans who hold the doctrine of an unconscious existence after death, and who maintain in eight ways that the soul after death is unconscious. And how do they do so?

2. ‘They say of the soul: “The soul after death, not subject to decay, and unconscious,

(1) has form, (2) is formless, (3) has, and has not, form, (4) neither has, nor has not form (5) is finite, (6) is infinite, (7) is both, (8) is neither.

3. ‘These, brethren, are those recluses and Brahmans who hold the doctrine of an unconscious existence after death, and who maintain in eight ways that the soul after death is unconscious. And those who do so, all of them, do so in one or other of those eight ways. There is none beside.

4. ‘Now of these, brethren, the Tathāgata knows that these speculations thus arrived at, thus insisted on, will have such and such a result, such and such an effect on the future condition of those who trust in them. That does he know, and he knows also other things far beyond (far better than those speculations); and having that knowledge he is not puffed up, and thus untarnished he has, in his own heart, realised the [\q 046/] way of escape from them, has understood, as they really are, the rising up and passing, away of sensations, their sweet taste, their dancer, how they cannot be relied on, and not grasping after any (of those things men are eager for) he, the Tathāgata is quite set free.

‘These, brethren, are those other things, profound, difficult to realise, hard to understand, tranquillising, sweet, not to be grasped by mere logic, subtle, comprehensible only by the wise, which the Tathāgata, having himself realised and seen face to face, hath set forth and it is concerning these that they who would rightly praise the Tathāgata in, accordance with the truth, should speak.

5-8. [33] [Similar sections for those who maintain in eight ways that the soul after death is neither conscious nor unconscious.]

The Annihilationists
9. [34] ‘There are, brethren, recluses and Brahmans who are Annihilationists, who in seven ways maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being. And on account of what, starting out from what, do they do so?

10. ‘In the first place, brethren, some recluse or Brahman puts forth the following opinion, the following view: “Since, Sir, this soul has form, is built up of the four elements, and is the offspring of father and mother, it is cut off, destroyed, on the dissolution of the body; and does not continue after death; and then, Sir, the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living, being,

11. ‘To him another says: ‘There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated. For there is a further soul - divine, having form, belonging to the sensuous plane, feeding on solid food. That you neither know of nor perceive. But I know [\q 047/] and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off and destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being.

12. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated. For there is a further soul-divine, having form, made of mind, with all its major and minor parts complete, not deficient in any organ. This you neither know of nor perceive. But I know and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off and destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being.

13. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated. For there is a further soul, which by passing beyond ideas of form, by the dying out of ideas of resistance, by paying no heed to ideas of difference, conscious that space is infinite, reaches up to the plane of the infinity of space. This you neither know of nor perceive. [35] But I know and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off and destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being.

14. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such ,a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated.

[\q 048/] For there is a further soul, which having passed beyond the plane of the infinity of space, knowing that consciousness is infinite, reaches up to the plane of the infinity of consciousness. This you neither know of nor perceive. But I know and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off and destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being.

15. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated. For there is a further soul, which by passing quite beyond the plane of the infinity of consciousness, knowing that there is nothing, reaches up to the plane of no obstruction. This you neither know of nor perceive. But I know and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off and destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living, being.

16. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the whole soul, Sir, is not then completely annihilated. For there is a further soul, which by passing quite beyond the plane of no obstruction, realises ‘This is good, this is excellent,’ and reaches up to the plane of neither ideas nor the absence of ideas This you [\q 049/] neither know of, nor perceive. But I know and have experienced it. And since this soul, on the dissolution of the body, is cut off, destroyed, does not continue after death, then is it, Sir, that the soul is completely annihilated.” Thus is it that some maintain the cutting off, the destruction, !the annihilation of a living being.

17. ‘These, brethren, are the recluses and Brahmans who are Annihilationists and in seven ways maintain the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being. [36] And whosoever do so they, all of them, do so in one or other of these seven ways. There is none beside.

18. [Repetition of Section 40, above p. 44, setting forth that other, higher, knowledge of a Tathāgata, for which alone he can be rightly praised.]

19. ‘There are, brethren, recluses and Brahmans who hold the doctrine of happiness in this life, who in five ways maintain the complete salvation, in this visible world, of a living being. And relying on what, starting out from what, do they do so?

20. ‘Hereon, brethren, some recluse or Brahman may have the following opinion, the following view: “Whensoever the soul, in full enjoyment and possession [\q 050/] of the five pleasures of sense, indulges all its functions, then, Sir, the soul has attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa. " Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living being.

21. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the soul does not by that alone attain to the highest Nirvāṇa. And why not? Sensuous delights, Sir, are transitory, they involve pain, their very nature is to fluctuate. And grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and loathing arise out of their inconstancy and change. [37] But whensoever the soul, putting away sensuous delights and evil dispositions, enters into and abides in the First Jhāna, the state of joy and ease, born of seclusion, accompanied by reflection, accompanied by investigation, then, Sir, has the soul attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa.” Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living being.

22. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the soul does not by that alone attain to the highest Nirvāṇa. And why not? Because inasmuch as that state involves reasoning and investigation it is stamped as being gross. But whensoever, Sir, the soul, suppressing both reasoning and investigation, enters into and abides in the Second Jhāna, the state of joy and case, born of serenity,, without reflection or investigation, a state of elevation of mind, internal calm of heart, then, Sir, has the soul attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa.” Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living being.

[\q 051/] 23. ‘To him another says: “There is, Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the soul does not by that alone attain to the highest Nirvāṇa. And why not? Because inasmuch as that state involves the sense of joy, of exhilaration of heart, it is stamped as being gross. But whensoever, Sir, the soul, by absence of the longing after joy remains in equanimity, mindful and self-possessed, and experiences in the body that ease of which the Arahats speak (when they say) ‘the man serene and thoughtful dwells at case,’ and so enters into and abides in the Third Jhāna-then, Sir, has the soul attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa.” Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living being.

24. ‘To him another says: “There is. Sir, such a soul as you describe. That I do not deny. But the soul does not by that alone attain to the highest Nirvāṇa. And why not? Because inasmuch as that state involves a constant dwelling of the mind on the case it has enjoyed it is stamped as gross. [38] But whensoever, Sir, the soul, by putting away ease, by putting away pain, by the previous dying away both of joys and griefs has entered into and abides in the Fourth Jhāna — a state made pure by self-possession and equanimity, without pain and without ease-then, Sir, has the soul attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa.” Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living, being.

25. ‘These, brethren, are the recluses and Brahmans who hold the doctrine of happiness in this life, who in five ways maintain the complete salvation, in this visible world, of a living being. And those who do [\q 052/] so, all of them, do so in one or other of these five ways. There is none beside.

26. [Repetition of Section 40, above p. 44, setting forth that other, higher, knowledge of a Tathāgata, for which alone he can be rightly praised.]

27. ‘These, brethren, are the recluses and Brahmans who arrange the future, whose speculations are concerned with the future, and who on forty-four grounds put forward various assertions regarding the future. And those who do so, all of them, do so in one or other of these .forty-four ways. There is none beside.

28. [Repetition of Section 40, above p. 44, setting forth that other, higher, knowledge of a Tathāgata, for which alone he can be rightly praised.]

[39] 29. ‘These, brethren, are the recluses and Brahmans who reconstruct the past, and arrange the future, or who do both, whose speculations are concerned with both, and who in sixty-two ways put forward propositions with regard to the past and to the future, and those who do so, all of them, do so in one or other of these sixty-two ways. There is none beside.

30. [Repetition Of Section 40, above p. 44, setting forth that other, higher, knowledge of a ‘Tathāgata, for which alone he can be rightly praised.]

[40] 32. ‘Of these, brethren, those recluses and Brahmans who are Eternalists, who in four ways maintain that the soul and the world are eternal:

(2) those who are Semi-eternalists, who in four ways maintain that the soul and the world are partly eternal and partly not:

(3) those who are Extensionists, who in four ways maintain the infinity or the finiteness of the world:

(4) those who are Eel-wrigglers, who when a question is put to them on this or that resort, in four ways, to equivocation, to wriggling like eels:

(5) those who are Fortuitous-Originists, who in two ways maintain that the soul and the world arose without, a cause:

(6) those who in any of these eighteen ways reconstruct the past:

(7) those who hold the doctrine of a conscious existence after death, who maintain in sixteen ways that the soul after death is conscious:

(8) those who hold the doctrine of an unconscious existence after death, who maintain in eight ways that the soul after death is unconscious:

(9) those who maintain in eight ways that the soul after death is neither conscious nor unconscious:

(10) those who are Annihilationists, who maintain ill seven ways the cutting off, the destruction, the annihilation of a living being:

(11) those who hold the doctrine of happiness in this life, who in five ways maintain the complete salvation, in this visible world, of a living being

That opinion of theirs is based only on the personal sensations, on the worry and writhing consequent thereon, of those venerable recluses and Brahmans, who know not, neither perceive, and are subject to all kinds of craving:

45 foll. [41,42] ‘Those opinions of theirs are therefore based upon contact (through the senses).

58 foll. [43] That they should experience those sensations without such contact, such a condition of things could not be.

71. [44] ‘They all of them, receive those sensations through continual contact in the spheres of touch. To them on account of the sensations arises craving, on account of the craving arises the fuel (that is, the necessary condition, the food, the basis, of future lives), from the fuel results becoming, from the tendency to become arises rebirth, and from rebirth comes death, and grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and despair. It is, brethren, when a brother understands, [\q 054/] as they really are, the origin and the end, the attraction, the danger, and the way of escape from the six realms of contact, that he gets to know what is above, beyond, them all.

72. [45] ‘For whosoever, brethren, whether recluses or Brahmans, are thus reconstructors of the past or arrangers of the future, or who are both, whose speculations are concerned with both, who put forward various propositions with regard to the past and to the future, they, all of them, are entrapped in the net of these sixty-two modes; this way and that they plunge about, but they are in it; this way and that they may flounder, but they are included in it, caught in it.

‘Just, brethren, as when a skilful fisherman or fisherlad should drag a tiny pool of water with a fine-meshed net he might fairly think: “Whatever fish of size may be in this pond, every one will be in this net; flounder about as they may, they will be included in it, and caught"-just so is it with these speculators about the past and the future, in this net, flounder. as they may, they are included and caught. [46]

73. ‘The outward form, brethren, of him who has won the truth, stands before you, but that which binds it to rebirth is cut in twain. So long as his body shall last, so long do gods and men behold him. On the dissolution of the body, beyond the end of his life, neither gods nor men shall see him.

‘Just, brethren, as when the stalk of a bunch of mangoes has been cut, all the mangoes that were hanging on that stalk go with it; just so, brethren, though the outward form of him who has won the truth stands before you, that which binds it to rebirth has been cut in twain. So long as his body shall last, so long do gods and men behold him. On the dissolution of the body, beyond the end of his life, neither gods nor men shall see him.’

[\q 055/] 74. When he had thus spoken, the venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One: ‘Strange, Lord, is this, and wonderful! And what name has this exposition of the truth?’

‘Ānanda, you may remember this exposition as the Net of Advantage, and as the Net of Truth, and as the Supreme Net, and as the Net of Theories; remember it even as the Glorious Victory in the day of battle!’

Thus spake the Blessed One, and glad at heart the brethren exalted his word. And on the delivery of this discourse the thousandfold world-system shook.

Here ends the Brahma-Jāla Sutta.

}}