1. At that time many distinguished Likkhavis were sitting together assembled in
the town-hall and spoke in many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and
of the Samgha. At that time Sîha, the general-in-chief (of the Likkhavis), a
disciple of the Nigantha sect, was sitting in that assembly. And Sîha, the
general, thought: 'Truly
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he, the Blessed One, must be the Arahat Buddha, since these many distinguished
Likkhavis, who are sitting here together assembled in the town-hall, speak in so
many ways in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Samgha. What if I
were to go and visit him, the Arahat Buddha.'
2. And Sîha, the general, went to the place where the Nigantha Nâtaputta 1 was;
having approached him, he said to the Nigantha Nâtaputta: 'I wish, Lord, to go
and visit the Samana Gotama.'
'Why should you, Sîha, who believe in the result of actions 2 (according to
their moral merit), go to visit the Samana Gotama, who denies the result of
actions? For the Samana Gotama, Sîha, denies the result of actions; he teaches
the doctrine of non-action; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples.'
Then the desire to go and to visit the Blessed One, which had arisen in Sîha,
the general, abated in him.
3. And a second time many distinguished Likkhavis were sitting together (&c., as
in §§ 1, 2, down to the end).
And a third time many distinguished Likkhavis were sitting together, &c. And a
third time Sîha, the general, thought: 'Truly he, the Blessed One, must be the
Arahat Buddha, since these many distinguished Likkhavis, who are sitting here
together assembled in the town-hall, speak in so many ways
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in praise of the Buddha, of the Dhamma, and of the Samgha. What are the
Niganthas to me, whether they give their consent or not? What if I were to go
without asking the Niganthas for their consent, to visit him, the Blessed One,
the Arahat Buddha.'
4. And Sîha, the general, went out of Vesâlî with five hundred vehicles at broad
daylight in order to visit the Blessed One. He went in the carriage as far as
the ground was passable for carriages; there he alighted; and he proceeded on
foot to the place where the Blessed One was. Having approached him, and
respectfully saluted the Blessed One, he sat down near him. When he was sitting
near him, Sîha, the general, said to the Blessed One: 'I have heard, Lord, that
the Samana Gotama denies the result of actions; he teaches the doctrine of
non-action, and in this doctrine he trains his disciples. Now, Lord, those who
speak thus: "The Samana Gotama denies the result of actions," &c.--do they say
the truth of the Blessed One, and do they not bear false witness against the
Blessed One and pass off a spurious Dhamma as your Dhamma? And there is nothing
blameworthy in a discourse and dispute like this regarding matters of the
Dhamma; for it is our intention, Lord, to avoid bringing false accusations
against the Blessed One.'
5 1. 'There is a way, Sîha, in which one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama denies action 2; he teaches the doctrine of non-action; and in
this doctrine he trains his disciples."
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'And again, Sîha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me:
"The Samana Gotama maintains action 1; he teaches the doctrine of action; and in
this doctrine he trains his disciples."
'And again, Sîha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me:
"The Samana Gotama maintains annihilation 2; he teaches the doctrine of
annihilation; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."
'And again, Sîha, there is a way in which one speaking truly could say of me:
"The Samana Gotama proclaims contemptibleness 3; he teaches the doctrine of
contemptibleness; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."
'And again, &c.: "The Samana Gotama proclaims Vinaya 4; he teaches the doctrine
of Vinaya; and in this doctrine he trains his disciples."
'And again, &c.: "The Samana Gotama proclaims Tapas 5, &c."
'And again, &c.: "The Samana Gotama is apagabbha 6; he teaches the doctrine of
apagabbhatâ, &c."
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'And again, &c.: "The Samana Gotama is confident 1; he teaches the doctrine of
confidence, &c."
6. 'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama denies action; he teaches the doctrine of non-action; and in this
doctrine he trains his disciples?" I teach, Sîha, the not-doing of such actions
as are unrighteous, either by deed, or by word, or by thought; I teach the not
bringing about of the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not
good. In this way, Sîha, one speaking truly could say of me: "The Samana Gotama,
&c."
'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama maintains action; he teaches the doctrine of action; and in this
doctrine he trains his disciples?" I teach, Sîha, the doing of such actions as
are righteous, by deed, by word, and by thought; I teach the bringing about of
the manifold conditions (of heart) which are good and not evil. In this way,
&c."
7. 'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama maintains annihilation; he teaches the doctrine of annihilation;
and in this doctrine he trains his disciples?" I proclaim, Sîha, the
annihilation of lust, of ill-will, of delusion; I proclaim the annihilation of
the manifold conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way,
&c."
'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama
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proclaims contemptibleness, &c.?" I deem, Sîha, unrighteous actions
contemptible, whether they be performed by deed, or by word, or by thought; I
proclaim the doctrine of the contemptibleness of falling into the manifold
conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, &c.
8. 'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama proclaims Vinaya, &c.?" I teach, Sîha, the doing away 1 with lust,
with ill-will, with delusion; I teach the doing away with the manifold
conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good. In this way, &c.
'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama proclaims Tapas, &c.?" I teach, Sîha, that all the conditions (of
heart) which are evil and not good, unrighteous actions by deed, by word, and by
thought must be burnt away 2. He who has freed himself, Sîha, from all
conditions (of heart) which are evil and not good, which ought to be burnt away,
who has rooted them out, and has done away with them as a palm tree is rooted
out 3, so that they are destroyed 4 and cannot grow up again--such a
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person do I call accomplished in Tapas. Now the Tathâgata, Sîha, has freed
himself from all conditions, &c. In this way, &c.
9. 'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama is apagabbha (irresolute 1), &c.?" He who has freed himself, Sîha,
from the necessity of returning in future into a mother's womb 2, and of being
reborn into new existences, who has rooted out (his being subject to) rebirth,
and has done away with it as a palm tree is rooted out, so that it is destroyed
and cannot grow up again--such a person do I call apagabbha. Now the Tathâgata,
Sîha, has freed himself, &c. In this way, &c.
'And in which way is it, Sîha, that one speaking truly could say of me: "The
Samana Gotama is confident, &c.?" I am confident, Sîha, by the highest
confidence; and thus I teach the doctrine of confidence and train my disciples
in it. In this way, &c.'
10. When he had spoken thus, Sîha, the general, said to the Blessed One:
'Glorious, Lord! glorious, Lord! (&c., as in chap. 26. 9, down to:) may the
Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life lasts as a disciple who
has taken his refuge in him.'
'Consider first, Sîha, what you are doing. It is becoming that well-known
persons like you should do nothing without due consideration.'
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'By this, Lord, my joy and my faith in the Blessed One has still increased, in
that the Blessed One says to me: "Consider first, &c." Had the other Titthiya
teachers, Lord, got me as their disciple, they would carry around their banners
through the whole of Vesâlî (and cry): "Sîha, the general, has become our
disciple!" But the Blessed One says to me: "Consider first, &c." For the second
time, Lord, I take my refuge in. the Blessed One, and in the Dhamma, and in the
Bhikkhu-samgha: may the Blessed One receive me from this day forth while my life
lasts as a disciple who has taken his refuge in him.'
11. 'For a long time, Sîha, drink has been offered to the Niganthas in your
house 1. You should therefore deem it right (also in the future) to give them
food when they come (to you on their alms-pilgrimage).'
'By this, Lord, my joy and my faith in the Blessed One has still increased, in
that the Blessed One says to me: "For a long time, &c." I have been told, Lord:
"The Samana Gotama says: 'To me alone gifts should be given; to nobody else
gifts should be given. To my pupils alone gifts should be given; to no one
else's pupils gifts should be given. Only what is given to me has great reward;
what is given to others has not great reward. Only what is given to my pupils
has great reward; what is given to the pupils of others has not great reward.'"
But the Blessed One exhorts me to give also to the Niganthas. Well, Lord, we
will see what will be seasonable.
p. 116
[paragraph continues] For the third time, Lord, I take my refuge in the Blessed
One, &c.'
12. And the Blessed One preached to Sîha, the general, in due course; that is to
say, he talked about the merits obtained by almsgiving, about the duties of
morality (&c., in the usual way; see, for instance, I, 8, 2, 3, down to:)
dependent on nobody else for knowledge of the doctrine of the Teacher, he said
to the Blessed One; 'Lord, may the Blessed One consent to take his meal with me
to-morrow, together with the fraternity of Bhikkhus.'
The Blessed One expressed his consent by remaining silent. Then Sîha, the
general, when he understood that the Blessed One had accepted his invitation,
rose from his seat, respectfully saluted the Blessed One, and, passing round him
with his right side towards him, went away.
And Sîha, the general, gave order to a certain man (among his subalterns,
saying), 'Go, my friend, and see if there is any meat to be had 1: And when that
night had elapsed, Sîha, the general, ordered excellent food (&c., as in chap.
23. 5, down to the end).
13. At that time a great number of Niganthas (running) through Vesâlî, from road
to road and from cross-way to cross-way 2, with outstretched arms, cried:
'To-day Sîha, the general, has killed a great ox and has made a meal for the
Samana Gotama; the Samana Gotama knowingly eats this meat of an animal killed
for this very purpose, and has thus become virtually the author of that deed (of
killing the animal)!'
Then a certain man went to the place where Sîha,
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the general, was. Having approached him he said to Sîha, the general, into his
ear: 'Please, Lord, have you noticed that a great number of Niganthas (running)
through Vesâlî, &c.?'
'Do not mind it, my good Sir. Long since those venerable brethren are trying to
discredit the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Samgha; and those venerable brethren
do not become tired of telling false, idle, vain lies of the Blessed One. Not
for our life would we ever intentionally kill a living being.'
14. And Sîha, the general, served and offered with his own hands excellent food,
both hard and soft, to the fraternity of Bhikkhus with the Buddha at its head;
and when the Blessed One (&c., as in chap. 23. 7, down to the end).
In consequence of that the Blessed One, having delivered a religious discourse,
addressed the Bhikkhus and said:
'Let no one, O Bhikkhus, knowingly eat meat (of an animal) killed for that
purpose. Whosoever does so, is guilty of a dukkata offence.
'I prescribe, O Bhikkhus, that fish is pure to you in three cases: if you do not
see, if you have not heard, if you do not suspect (that it has been caught
specially to be given to you).'
Footnotes
109:1 The founder of the Nigantha sect, who is, according to the important
discovery of Professors Bühler and Jacobi, identical with the Mahâvira of the
Gain legends. See Jacobi's Preface to the Kalpasûtra, pp. 1 seq.
109:2 Kiriyavâda.
110:1 A part of the following discourse is the same as Suttavibhaṅga, Pârâg. I,
1, 3.
110:2 'The doctrine of non-action,' and 'the doctrine of action,' p. 111 taken
in the ordinary sense of the words, are the doctrines that the actions of
sentient beings receive not, or receive, their reward according to the law of
moral retribution. In this discourse, however, a peculiar meaning is attached to
these two terms; see § 6.
111:1 See note 2, p. 110.
111:2 Ukkhedavâda ( the doctrine of annihilation') is the doctrine that death is
the annihilation of existence ('ukkhedavâda sato sattassa ukkhedam vinâsam
vibhavam paññâpenti.' Brahmagâlasutta). But in this discourse the word is taken
in a peculiar sense; comp. § 7.
111:3 Gegukkhitâ. See § 7.
111:4 'Right conduct.' But in this discourse it is also taken in the sense of
'putting away' (scil. evil); see § 8.
111:5 'Self-mortification,' literally, 'burning,' in which sense the word is
taken in § 8.
111:6 Apagabbha (apragalbha) and apagabbhatâ ordinarily mean p. 112 'irresolute'
and 'irresolution.' But here the words are taken in quite another sense, with a
pun that cannot be rendered in English; see § 9.
112:1 See § 9.
113:1 Vinayâya.
113:2 Tapanîya, connected with tapas.
113:3 Tâlâ vatthukatâ. See Buddhaghosa's explanation of this phrase in Vinaya
Pitaka, vol. iii, p. 267.
113:4 Anabhâvam gatâ (see the correction, Vinaya Pitaka, vol. ii, p. 363),
literally, 'They are gone to non-existence.' Buddhaghosa takes great pains in
explaining anabhâva; and he quotes also a various reading anubhâva; see Vinaya
Pitaka, vol. iii, p. 267. But anabhâva is correct, and must be understood as a
synonym of abhâva. As to ana-, equal to a-, compare S. Goldschmidt, Zeitschr.
der Deutschen Morg. Ges. vol. xxxii, pp, 100 seq.; Weber, Hâla, p. 16; Pischel's
note on Hemakandra II, 190; Curtius, Griechische p. 114 Etymologie, 5th edition,
p. 306 (ἀνάεδνοσ, &c.). Another Pali word containing this prefix ana- is
anamata, anamatagga; see, for instance, Gâtaka II, p. 56.
114:1 See § 5 with our note.
114:2 Into a 'gabbha.' 'Apagabbha' is taken here as 'not subject to returning to
a gabbha.'
115:1 Literally,' your house has been an opâna to the Niganthas: Opâna may be
either avapâna or, as Buddhaghosa seems to understand it, udapâna (compare oka =
udaka).
116:1 About pavattamamsa, see the note at chap. 23. 2.
116:2 See X, 1, 9.
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