Digha Nikaya - Kutadanta Sutta

V. KÛTADANTA SUTTA.
[THE WRONG SACRIFICE AND THE RIGHT.]

[127] 1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One once, when going on a tour
through Magadhâ, with a great multitude of the brethren, with about five hundred
brethren, came to a Brahman village in Magadhâ called Khânumata. And there at
Khânumata he lodged in the Ambalatthikâ pleasaunce{1}.
Now at that time the Brahman Kûtadanta was dwelling at Khânumata, a place
teeming with life, with much grassland and woodland and water and corn, on a
royal domain presented him by Seniya Bimbisâra the king of Magadhâ, as a royal
gift, with power over it as if he were the king.
And just then a great sacrifice was being got ready on behalf of Kûtadanta
the Brahman. And a hundred bulls, and a hundred steers, and a hundred heifers,
and a hundred goats, and a hundred rams had been brought to the post for the
sacrifice.
2. Now the Brahmans and householders of Khânumata heard the news of the
arrival of the Samana Gotama{2}. [128] And they began to leave Khânumata in
companies and in bands to go to the Ambalatthikâ pleasaunce.
3. And just then Kûtadanta the Brahman had gone apart to the upper terrace of
his house for his siesta; and seeing the people thus go by. he asked his
doorkeeper the reason. And the doorkeeper told him{3}.
{1. Not the same as the one with the same name half way between Râgagaha and
Nâlânda (above, p. 1 of the text). Buddhaghosa (p. 294) says it was like it.
2. The whole of § 2 of the Sonadanda is here repeated.
3. All given in the text in full, as in the Sonadanda Sutta.}
{p. 174}
4. Then Kûtadanta thought: 'I have heard that the Samana Gotama understands
about the successful performance of a sacrifice with its threefold method and
its sixteen accessory instruments. Now I don't know all this, and yet I want to
carry out a sacrifice. [129] It would be well for me to go to the Samana Gotama,
and ask him about it.'
So he sent his doorkeeper to the Brahmans and householders of Khânumata, to
ask them to wait till he could go with them to call upon the Blessed One.
5. But there were at that time a number of Brahmans staying at Khânumata to
take part in the great sacrifice. And when they heard this they went to
Kûtadanta, and persuaded him, on the same grounds as the Brahmans had laid
before Sonadanda, not to go. But he answered them in the same terms as Sonadanda
had used to those Brahmans. [134] Then they were satisfied, and went with him to
call upon the Blessed One{1}.
9. And when he was seated there Kûtadanta the Brahman told the Blessed One
what he had heard{2}, and requested him to tell him about success in performing
a sacrifice in its three modes{3} and with its accessory articles of furniture
of sixteen kinds{4}.
{1. §§ 3-7 inclusive of the Sonadanda are here repeated in full in the text.
2. As in § 4.
3. Vidhâ. Childers gives 'pride' as the only meaning of this word. But he has
made a strange muddle between it and vidho. All that he has under both words
should be struck out. All that he has under vidho should be entered under vidhâ,
which has always the one meaning 'mode, manner, way.' Used ethically of the
Arahats it refers, no doubt, to divers 'modes' of pride or delusion (as for
instance in vidhâsu na vikampanti at S. I, 84, and in the passage quoted in
Childers). He makes vidhâ a very rare word, and vidho a common one. It is just
the contrary. Vidhâ is frequent, especially at the end of adjectival compounds.
Vidho is most rare. It is given doubtfully by Buddhaghosa, in discussing a
doubtful reading at Sum. I, 269, in the sense of 'yoke'; and is a possible
reading at Vin. II, 136, 319; IV, 168, 363 in the sense of 'brooch' or 'buckle.'
Here vidhâ in Kûtadanta's mouth means, of course, mode of rite or ritual. Gotama
lays hold of the ambiguity of the word, and twists it round to his ethical
teaching in the sense of mode of generosity.
4. Parikkhârâ, 'accessories, fillings, equipments, appurtenances,'--the
furniture of a room, the smallest things one wears, the few objects a wandering
mendicant carries about with him, and so on. Here again the word is turned into
a riddle, the solution of which is the basis of the dialogue.}
{p. 175}
'Well then, O Brahman, give ear and listen attentively and I will speak.'
'Very well, Sir,' said Kûtadanta in reply; and the Blessed One spake as
follows:--
10. 'Long ago, O Brahman, there was a king by name Wide-realm (Mahâ
Vigita){1}, mighty, with great wealth and large property; with stores of silver
and gold, of aids to enjoyment{2}, of goods and corn; with his treasure-houses
and his garners full. Now when King Wide-realm was once sitting alone in
meditation he became anxious at the thought: "I have in abundance all the good
things a mortal can enjoy. The whole wide circle of the earth is mine by
conquest to possess. 'Twere well if I were to offer a great sacrifice that
should ensure me weal and welfare for many days."
'And he had the Brahman, his chaplain, called; and telling him all that he
had thought, [135] he said: "So I would fain, O Brahman, offer a great
sacrifice--let the venerable one instruct me how--for my weal and my welfare for
many days."
11. 'Thereupon the Brahman who was chaplain said to the king: "The king's
country, Sire, is harassed and harried. There are dacoits abroad who pillage the
villages and townships, and who make the roads unsafe. Were the king, so long as
that is so, to levy a fresh tax, verily his majesty would be acting wrongly. But
perchance his majesty might think: 'I'll soon put a stop to these scoundrels'
game by degradation and banishment, and fines and bonds and death!' But their
licence cannot be satisfactorily put a stop to so. The remnant left unpunished
would still go on harassing the realm. Now there is one method to adopt to
{1. Literally 'he who has a great realm'--just as we might say Lord Broadacres.
2. 'Such as jewels and plate,' says Buddhaghosa (p. 295).}
{p. 176}
put a thorough end to this disorder. Whosoever there be in the king's realm who
devote themselves to keeping cattle and the farm, to them let his majesty the
king give food and seed-corn. Whosoever there be in the king's realm who devote
themselves to trade, to them let his majesty the king give capital. Whosoever
there be in the king's realm who devote themselves to government service{1}, to
them let his majesty the king give wages and food. Then those men, following
each his own business, will no longer harass the realm; the king's revenue will
go up; the country will be quiet and at peace; and the populace, pleased one
with another and happy, dancing their children in their arms. will dwell with
open doors."
'Then King Wide-realm, O Brahman, accepted the word of his chaplain, [136]
and did as he had said. And those men, following each his business, harassed the
realm no more. And the king's revenue went up. And the country became quiet and
at peace. And the populace, pleased one with another and happy, dancing their
children in their arms, dwelt with open doors.
12. 'So King Wide-realm had his chaplain called, and said: "The disorder is
at an end. The country is at peace. I want to offer that great sacrifice--let
the venerable one instruct me how--for my weal and my welfare for many days."
'Then let his majesty the king send invitations to whomsoever there may be in
his realm who are Kshatriyas, vassals of his, either in the country or the
towns; or who are ministers and officials of his, either in the country or the
towns; or who are Brahmans of position, either in the country or the towns; or
who are householders of substance, either in the country or the towns, saying:
"I intend to offer a great sacrifice. Let the venerable ones give their sanction
to what will be to me for weal and welfare for many days."
'Then King Wide-realm, O Brahman, accepted the
{1. Râga-porise. On this word, the locative singular of a neuter abstract form,
compare M. I, 85.}
{p. 177}
word of his chaplain, [137] and did as he had said, And they each--Kshatriyas
and ministers and Brahmans and householders--made alike reply: "Let his majesty
the king celebrate the sacrifice. The time is suitable, O king{1}!"
'Thus did these four, as colleagues by consent, become wherewithal to furnish
forth that sacrifice{2},
13. 'King Wide-realm was gifted in the following eight ways:--
'He was well born on both sides, on the mother's side and on the father's, of
pure descent back through seven generations, and no slur was cast upon him, and
no reproach, in respect of birth--
'He was handsome, pleasant in appearance, inspiring trust, gifted with great
beauty of complexion, fair in colour, fine in presence, stately to behold--
'He was mighty, with great wealth, and large property, with stores of silver
and gold, of aids to enjoyment, of goods and corn, with his treasure-houses and
his garners full--
'He was powerful, in command of an army, loyal and disciplined, in four
divisions (of elephants, cavalry, chariots, and bowmen), burning up, methinks,
his enemies by his very glory--
'He was a believer, and generous, a noble giver, keeping open house, a
welling spring s whence Samanas and Brahmans, the poor and the wayfarers,
beggars, and petitioners might draw, a doer of good deeds--
'He was learned in all kinds of knowledge--
'He knew the meaning of what had been said, and could explain: "This saying
has such and such a meaning, and that such and such"--
{1. 'Because it was right and fit to do such deeds when one was young and rich.
To spend one's days in selfishness, and then, in old age to give gifts would be
no good,' says Buddhaghosa (p. 297).
2. Yaññassa parikkhârâ. The latter word is here twisted round to a new sense.
3. Opâna = udapâna. Compare M. I, 379; Vin. I, 236; Mil.411; Sum. I, 298; and
the note at 'Vinaya Texts,' II, 115.}
{p. 178}
'He was intelligent, expert and wise, and able to think out things present or
past or future{1}--
'And these eight gifts of his, too, became wherewithal to furnish forth that
sacrifice.
[138] 14. 'The Brahman his chaplain was gifted in the following four ways:--
'He was well born on both sides, on the mother's and on the father's, of pure
descent back through seven generations, with no slur cast upon him, and no
reproach in respect of birth--
'He was a student repeater who knew the mystic verses by heart, master of the
Three Vedas, with the indices, the ritual, the phonology, and the exegesis (as a
fourth ), and the legends as a fifth, learned in the idioms and the grammar,
versed in Lokâyata (Nature-lore) and in the thirty marks on the body of a great
man--
'He was virtuous, established in virtue, gifted with virtue that had grown
great--
'He was intelligent, expert, and wise; foremost, or at most the second, among
those who hold out the ladle.'
'Thus these four gifts of his, too, became wherewithal to furnish forth that
sacrifice.
15. 'And further, O Brahman, the chaplain, before the sacrifice had begun,
explained to King Wide-realm the three modes:
'Should his majesty the king, before starting on the great sacrifice, feel
any such regret as: "Great, alas, will be the portion of my wealth used up
herein," let not the king harbour such regret. Should his majesty the king,
whilst he is offering the great sacrifice, feel any such regret as: "Great,
alas, will be the portion of my wealth used up herein," let not the king harbour
such regret. Should his majesty the king, when the great sacrifice has been
offered, feel any such regret as: "Great, alas, has been the portion of my
wealth used up herein," let not the king harbour such regret:
{1. Buddhaghosa explains this as meaning that he knew the result of Karma, he
knew that his present prosperity was a gift to him by the good deeds done to
others in the past, and that there would be a similar result in future for his
good deeds done now.}
{p. 179}
'Thus did the chaplain, O Brahman, before the sacrifice had begun, explain to
King Wide-realm the three modes.
16. 'And further, O Brahman, the chaplain, before the sacrifice had begun, in
order to prevent any compunction that might afterwards, in ten ways, arise as
regards those who had taken part therein, said: "Now there will come to your
sacrifice, Sire, men who destroy the life of living things, and men who refrain
therefrom--men who take what has not been given, and men who refrain
therefrom--men who act evilly in respect of lusts, and men who refrain
therefrom--men who speak lies, and men who do not--men who slander, and men who
do not-men who speak rudely, and men who do not--men who chatter vain things,
and men who refrain therefrom--[139, 140] men who covet, and men who covet
not--men who harbour illwill, and men who harbour it not--men whose views are
wrong, and men whose views are right. Of each of these let them, who do evil,
alone with their evil. For them who do well let your majesty offer, for them,
Sire, arrange the rites, them let the king gratify, in them shall your heart
within find peace."
17. 'And further, O Brahman, the chaplain, whilst the king was carrying out
the sacrifice, instructed and aroused and incited and gladdened his heart in
sixteen ways: "Should there be people who should say of the king, as he is
offering the sacrifice: 'King Wide-realm is celebrating sacrifice without having
invited the four classes of his subjects, without himself having the eight
personal gifts, without the assistance of a Brahman who has the four personal
gifts;' then would they speak not according to the fact. For the consent of the
four classes has been obtained, the king has the eight, and his Brahman has the
four, personal gifts. With regard to each and everyone of these sixteen
conditions the king may rest assured that it has been fulfilled. He can
sacrifice, and be glad, and possess his heart in peace{1}."
{1. This whole closing sentence is repeated, in the text, of each of the
sixteen.}
{p. 180}
[141] 18. 'And further, O Brahman, at that sacrifice neither were any oxen
slain, neither goats, nor fowls, nor fatted pigs, nor were any kinds of living
creatures put to death. No trees were cut down to be used as posts, no Dabbha
grasses mown to strew around the sacrificial spot. And the slaves and messengers
and workmen there employed were driven neither by rods nor fear, nor carried on
their work weeping with tears upon their faces. Whoso chose to help, he worked;
whoso chose not to help, worked not. What each chose to do, he did; what they
chose not to do, that was left undone. With ghee, and oil, and butter, and milk,
and honey, and sugar only was that sacrifice accomplished.
[142] 19. 'And further, O Brahman, the Kshatriya vassals, and the ministers
and officials, and the Brahmans of position, and the householders of substance,
whether of the country or of the towns, went to King Wide-realm, taking with
them much wealth, and said: "This abundant wealth, Sire, have we brought hither
for the king's use. Let his majesty accept it at our hands!"
'"Sufficient wealth have I, my friends, laid up, the produce of taxation that
is just. Do you keep yours, and take away more with you!"
'When they had thus been refused by the king, they went aside, and considered
thus one with the other: "It would not beseem us now, were we to take this
wealth away again to our own homes. King Wide-realm is offering a great
sacrifice. Let us too make an after-sacrifice!"
20. 'So the Kshatriyas established a continual largesse to the east of the
king's sacrificial pit, and the officials to the south thereof, and the Brahmans
to the west thereof, and the householders to the north thereof. And the things
given, and the manner of their gift, was in all respects like unto the great
sacrifice of King Wide-realm himself.
[143] 'Thus, O Brahman, there was a fourfold co-operation, and King
Wide-realm was gifted with
{p. 181}
eight personal gifts, and his officiating Brahman with four. And there were
three modes of the giving of that sacrifice. This, O Brahman, is what is called
the due celebration of a sacrifice in its threefold mode and with its furniture
of sixteen kinds!'--
21. And when he had thus spoken, those Brahmans lifted up their voices in
tumult, and said: 'How glorious the sacrifice, how pure its accomplishment!' But
Kûtadanta the Brahman sat there in silence.
Then those Brahmans said to Kûtadanta: 'Why do you not approve the good words
of the Samana Gotama as well-said?'
'I do not fail to approve: for he who approves not as well-said that which
has been well spoken by the Samana Gotama, verily his head would split in twain.
But I was considering that the Samana Gotama does not say: "Thus have I heard,"
nor "Thus behoves it to be," but says only "Thus it was then," or "It was like
that then." So I thought: "For a certainty the Samana Gotama himself must at
that time have been King Wide-realm, or the Brahman who officiated for him at
that sacrifice. Does the venerable Gotama admit that he who celebrates such a
sacrifice, or causes it, to be celebrated, is reborn at the dissolution of the
body, after death, into some state of happiness in heaven?'
'Yes, O Brahman, that I admit. And at that time I was the Brahman who, as
chaplain, had that sacrifice performed.'
22. 'Is there, O Gotama, any other sacrifice less difficult and less
troublesome, with more fruit and more advantage still than this?'
[144] 'Yes, O Brahman, there is.'
'And what, O Gotama, may that be?'
'The perpetual gifts kept up in a family where they are given specifically to
virtuous recluses.
23. 'But what is the reason, O Gotama, and what the cause, why such perpetual
givings specifically to virtuous recluses, and kept up in a family, are less
difficult and troublesome, of greater fruit and greater
{p. 182}
advantage than that other sacrifice with its three modes and its accessories of
sixteen kinds?'
'To the latter sort of sacrifice, O Brahman, neither will the Arahats go, nor
such as have entered on the Arahat way. And why not? Because at it beating with
sticks takes place, and seizing by the throat{1}. But they will go to the
former, where such things are not. And therefore are such perpetual gifts above
the other sort of sacrifice.'
24. 'And is there, O Gotama, any other sacrifice less difficult and less
troublesome, of greater fruit and of greater advantage than either of these?'
[145] 'Yes, O Brahman, there is.'
'And what, O Gotama, may that be?'
'The putting up of a dwelling place (Vihâra) on behalf of the Order in all
the four directions.'
25. 'And is there, O Gotama, any other sacrifice less difficult and less
troublesome, of greater fruit and of greater advantage than each and all of
these three?'
'Yes, O Brahman, there is.'
'And what, O Gotama, may that be?'
'He who with trusting heart takes a Buddha as his guide, and the Truth, and
the Order--that is a sacrifice better than open largesse, better than perpetual
alms, better than the gift of a dwelling place.'
[146] 26. 'And is there, O Gotama, any other sacrifice less difficult and
less troublesome of greater fruit and of greater advantage than all these four?'
'When a man with trusting heart takes upon himself the precepts--abstinence
from destroying life; abstinence from taking what has not been given; abstinence
from evil conduct in respect of lusts; abstinence from lying words; abstinence
from strong, intoxicating, maddening drinks, the root of carelessness--that is a
sacrifice better than open largesse, better than perpetual alms, better than the
gift of dwelling places, better than accepting guidance.'
{1. The attendants, at such a general largesse, says Buddhaghosa (p. 303), push
the recipients about, make them stand in a queue, and use violence in doing so.}
{p. 183}
27. 'And is there, O Gotama, any other sacrifice less difficult and less
troublesome, of greater fruit and of greater advantage than all these five?'
'Yes, O Brahman, there is.'
[147] 'And what, O Gotama, may that be?'
[The answer is the long passage from the Sâmañña-phala, § 40, p. 62 (of the
text), down to § 75 (p. 74), on the First Ghâna, as follows;--
1. The Introductory paragraphs on the appearance of a Buddha, his preaching,
the conversion of a hearer, and his renunciation of the world.
2. The Sîlas (minor morality).
3. The paragraph on Confidence.
4. The paragraph on 'Guarded is the door of his senses.'
5. The paragraph on 'Mindful and self-possessed.'
6. The paragraph on Content.
7. The paragraph on Solitude.
8. The paragraphs on the Five Hindrances.
9. The description of the First Ghâna.]
'This, O Brahman, is a sacrifice less difficult and less troublesome, of
greater fruit and greater advantage than the previous sacrifices.'
[The same is then said of the Second, Third, and Fourth Ghânas, in succession
(as in the Sâmanna-phala, §§ 77-82), and of the Insight arising from knowledge
(ibid. §§ 83, 84), and further (omitting direct mention either way of §§ 85-96
inclusive) of the knowledge of the destruction of the Âsavas, the deadly
intoxications or floods (ibid. §§ 97-98).]
'And there is no sacrifice man can celebrate, O Brahman, higher and sweeter
than this,'
28. And when he had thus spoken, Kûtadanta the Brahman said to the Blessed
One:
'Most excellent, O Gotama, are the words of thy mouth, most excellent! Just
as if a man were to set up
{p. 184}
what has been thrown down, or were to reveal that which has been hidden away, or
were to point out the right road to him who has gone astray, or were to bring a
light into the darkness so that those who had eyes could see external
forms--just even so has the truth been made known to me in many a figure by the
venerable Gotama. I, even I, betake myself to the venerable Gotama as my guide,
to the Doctrine and the Order. May the venerable One accept me as a disciple, as
one who, from this day forth, as long as life endures, has taken him as his
guide. And I [148] myself, O Gotama, will have the seven hundred bulls, and the
seven hundred steers, and the seven hundred heifers, and the seven hundred
goats, and the seven hundred rams set free. To them I grant their life. Let them
eat green grass and drink fresh water, and may cool breezes waft around them.'
29. Then the Blessed One discoursed to Kûtadanta the Brahman in due order;
that is to say, he spake to him of generosity, of right conduct, of heaven, of
the danger, the vanity, and the defilement of lusts, of the advantages of
renunciation. And when the Blessed One became aware that Kûtadanta the Brahman
had become prepared, softened, unprejudiced, upraised, and believing in heart,
then did he proclaim the doctrine the Buddhas alone have won; that is to say,
the doctrine of sorrow, of its origin, of its cessation, and of the Path. And
just as a clean cloth, with all stains in it washed away, will readily take the
dye, just even so did Kûtadanta the Brahman, even while seated there, obtain the
pure and spotless Eye for the Truth, and he knew: 'Whatsoever has a beginning,
in that is inherent also the necessity of dissolution.'
30. And then the Brahman Kûtadanta, as one who had seen the Truth, had
mastered it, understood it, dived deep down into it, who had passed beyond
doubt, and put away perplexity and gained full confidence, who had become
dependent on no other for his knowledge of the teaching of the Master, addressed
the Blessed One and said:
{p. 185}
'May the venerable Gotama grant me the favour of taking his to-morrow's meal
with me, and also the members of the Order with him.'
And the Blessed One signified, by silence, his consent. Then the Brahman
Kûtadanta, seeing that the Blessed One had accepted, rose from his seat, and
keeping his right towards him as he passed, he departed thence. And at daybreak
he had sweet food, both hard and soft, made ready at the pit prepared for his
sacrifice, and had the time announced to the Blessed One: 'It is time, O Gotama;
and the meal is ready.' And the Blessed One, who had dressed early in the
morning, put on his outer robe, and taking his bowl" with him, went with the
brethren to Kûtadanta's sacrificial pit, and sat down there on the seat prepared
for him. And Kûtadanta the Brahman [149] satisfied the brethren with the Buddha
at their head, with his own hand, with sweet food, both hard and soft, till they
refused any more. And when the Blessed One had finished his meal, and cleansed
the bowl and his hands, Kûtadanta the Brahman took a low seat and seated himself
beside him. And when he was thus seated the Blessed One instructed and aroused
and incited and gladdened Kûtadanta the Brahman with religious discourse; and
then arose from his seat and departed thence.



Kûtadanta Sutta is ended.