THE PATH
OF PURIFICATION
(VISUDDHIMAGGA)
BY
BHADANTACARIYA BUDDHAGHOSA
Translated from the Pali
by
BHIKKHU NANAMOLI
FIFTH EDITION
BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
Kandy Sri Lanka
101. [37] When not undertaken thus, virtue of Patimokkha restraint is
unenduring: it does not last, like a crop not fenced in with branches. And
it is raided by the robber defilements as a village with open gates is by
thieves. And lust leaks into his mind as rain does into a badly-roofed
house. For this is said:
'Among the visible objects, sounds, and smells,
And tastes, and tangibles, guard the faculties;
For when these doors are open and unguarded,
Then thieves will come and raid as 'twere a village' (?).
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And just as with an ill-roofed house
The rain comes leaking in, so too
Will lust come leaking in for sure
Upon an undeveloped mind' (Dh. 13).
102. When it is undertaken thus, virtue of Patimokkha restraint is endur-
ing: it lasts, like a crop well fenced in with branches. And it is not raided
by the robber defilements, as a village with well-guarded gates is not by
thieves. And lust does not leak into his mind, as rain does not into a
well-roofed house. For this is said:
'Among the visible objects, sounds and smells,
And tastes and tangibles, guard the faculties;
For when these doors are closed and truly guarded,
Thieves will not come and raid as 'twere a village' (?).
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And just as with a well-roofed house
No rain comes leaking in, so too
No lust comes leaking in for sure
Upon a well-developed mind' (Dh. 14).
103. This, however, is the teaching at its very highest.
This mind is called 'quickly transformed' (A.i,10), so restraint of -
the faculties should be undertaken by removing arisen lust with the con-
templation of foulness, as was done by the Elder Vanglsa soon after he
had gone forth. [38]
As the elder was wandering for alms, it seems, soon after going
forth, lust arose in him on seeing a woman. Thereupon he said to the
venerable Ananda:
'I am afire with sensual lust.
And burning flames consume my mind;
In pity tell me, Gotama,
How to extinguish it for good' (S.i,188).
The elder said:
'You do perceive mistakenly,
That burning flames consume your mind.
Look for no sign of beauty there,
For that it is which leads to lust.
See foulness there and keep your mind
Harmoniously concentrated;
Formations see as alien,
As ill, not self, so this great lust
May be extinguished, and no more
Take fire thus ever and again' (S.i,188).
The elder expelled his lust and then went on with his alms round.
104. Moreover, a bhikkhu who is fulfilling restraint of the faculties should
be like the Elder Cittagutta resident in the Great Cave at Kurandaka, and
like the Elder Maha-Mitta resident at the Great Monastery of Coraka.
105. In the Great Cave of Kurandaka, it seems, there was a lovely paint-
ing of the Renunciation of the Seven Buddhas. A number of bhikkhus
wandering about among the dwellings saw the painting and said, 'What
a lovely painting, venerable sir!'. The elder said: 'For more than sixty
years, friends, I have lived in the cave, and I did not know whether there
was any painting there or not. Now, today, I know it through those who
have eyes'. The elder, it seems, though he had lived there for so long,
had never raised his eyes and looked up at the cave. And at the door of
his cave there was a great ironwood tree. And the elder had never looked
up at that either. He knew it was in flower when he saw its petals on the
ground each year.
106 The king heard of the elder's great virtues, and he sent for him three
times, desiring to pay homage to him. When the elder did not go, he had
the breasts of all the women with infants in the town bound and sealed
off, [saying] 'As long as the elder does not come let the children go
without milk'. [39] Out of compassion for the children the elder went to
Mahagama. When the king heard [that he had come, he said] 'Go and
bring the elder in. I shall take the precepts'. Having had him brought up
into the inner palace, he paid homage to him and provided him with a
meal. Then, saying 'Today, venerable sir, there is no opportunity. I shall
take the precepts tomorrow', he took the elder's bowl. After following
him for a little, he paid homage with the queen and turned back. As
seven days went by thus, whether it was the king who paid homage or
whether it was the queen, the elder said, 'May the king be happy'.
107. Bhikkhus asked: 'Why is it, venerable sir, that whether it is the king
who pays the homage or the queen you say "May the king be happy"?'.
The elder replied: 'Friends, I do not notice whether it is the king or the
queen'. At the end of seven days [when it was found that] the elder was
not happy living there, he was dismissed by the king. He went back to
the Great Cave at Kurandaka. When it was night he went out onto his
walk. A deity who dwelt in the ironwood tree stood by with a torch of
sticks. Then his meditation subject became quite clear and plain. The
elder, [thinking] 'How clear my meditation subject is today!', was glad,
and immediately after the middle watch he reached Arahantship, making
the whole rock resound.
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108. So when another clansman seeks his own good:
Let him not be hungry-eyed,
Like a monkey in the groves,
Like a wild deer in the woods,
Like a nervous little child.
Let him go with eyes downcast
Seeing a plough yoke's length before,
That he fall not in the power
Of the forest-monkey mind.
109. The Elder Maha-Mitta's mother was sick with a poisoned tumour.
She told her daughter, who as a bhikkhuni had also gone forth, 'Lady, go
to your brother. Tell him my trouble and bring back some medicine'.
She went and told him. The elder said: 'I do not know how to gather root
medicines and such things and concoct a medicine from them. But rather
I will tell you a medicine: since I went forth I have not broken [my vir-
tue of restraint of] the sense faculties by looking at the bodily form of
the opposite sex with a lustful mind. By this [40] declaration of truth
may my mother get well. Go and tell the lay devotee and rub her body*.
She went and told her what had happened and then did as she had been
instructed. At that very moment the lay devotee's tumour vanished, shrink-
ing away like a lump of froth. She got up and uttered a cry of joy:
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If the
Fully Enlightened One were still alive, why should he not stroke with his
net-adorned hand the head of a bhikkhu like my son?'. So:
110. Let another noble clansman
Gone forth in the Dispensation
Keep, as did the Elder Mitta,
Perfect faculty restraint.
111. (c) As restraint of the faculties is to be undertaken by means of
mindfulness, so livelihood purification is to be undertaken by means of
energy. For that is accomplished by energy, because the abandoning of
wrong livelihood is effected in one who has rightly applied energy.
Abandoning, therefore, unbefitting wrong search, this should be under-
taken with energy by means of the right kind of search consisting in
going on alms round, etc., avoiding what is of impure origin as though it
were a poisonous snake, and using only requisites of pure origin.
112. Herein, for one who has not taken up the ascetic practices, any
requisites obtained from the Community, from a group of bhikkhus, or
from laymen who have confidence in his special qualities of teaching the
Dhamma, etc., are called 'of pure origin'. But those obtained on alms
round, etc., are of extremely pure origin. For one who has taken up the
ascetic practices, those obtained on alms round, etc., and—as long as
this is in accordance with the rules of the ascetic practices—from people
who have confidence in his special qualities of asceticism, are called 'of
pure origin'. And if he has got putrid urine with mixed gall nuts and
'four sweets'
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for the purpose of curing a certain affliction, and he eats
only the broken gall nuts, thinking 'Other companions in the life of
purity will eat the "four-sweets" \ his undertaking of the ascetic prac-
tices is befitting, for he is then called a bhikkhu who is supreme in the
noble ones' heritages (see A.ii,28).
113. As to the robe and the other requisites, no hint, indication, round-
about talk, or intimation about robes and alms food is allowable for a
bhikkhu who is purifying his livelihood. But a hint, indication, or round-
about talk about a resting place is allowable for one who has not taken
up the ascetic practices. [41]
114. Herein, a 'hint' is when one who is getting the preparing of the
ground, etc., done for the purpose of [making] a resting place is asked,
'What is being done, venerable sir? Who is having it done?' and he
replies, 'No one'; or any other such giving of hints. An 'indication' is
saying 'Lay follower, where do you live?'—'In a mansion, venerable
sir'.—'But, lay follower, a mansion is not allowed for bhikkhus'. Or any
other such giving of indication. 'Roundabout talk' is saying, 'The resting
place for the Community of Bhikkhus is crowded'; or any other such
oblique talk.
115. All, however, is allowed in the case of medicine. But when the dis-
ease is cured, is it or is it not allowed to use the medicine obtained in this
way? Herein, the Vinaya specialists say that the opening has been given
by the Blessed One, therefore it is allowable. But the Suttanta specialists
say that though there is no offence, nevertheless the livelihood is sullied,
therefore it is not allowable.
116. But one who does not use hints, indications, roundabout talk, or inti-
mation, though these are permitted by the Blessed One, and who de-
pends only on the special qualities of fewness of wishes, etc., and makes
use only of requisites obtained otherwise than by indication, etc., even
when he thus risks his life, is called supreme in living in effacement, like
the venerable Sariputta.
117. It seems that the venerable one was cultivating seclusion at one
time, living in a certain forest with the Elder Maha-Moggallana. One day
an affliction of colic arose in him, causing him great pain. In the evening
the Elder MahA-Moggallana went to attend upon him. Seeing him lying
down, he asked what the reason was. And then he asked, 'What used to
make you better formerly, friend?'. The elder said, 'When I was a lay-
man, friend, my mother used to mix ghee, honey, sugar and so on, and
give me rice gruel with pure milk. That used to make me better'. Then
the other said, 'So be it, friend. If either you or I have merit, perhaps
tomorrow we shall get some'.
118. Now a deity who dwelt in a tree at the end of the walk overheard
their conversation. [Thinking] 'I will find rice gruel for the lord tomor-
row', he went meanwhile to the family who was supporting the elder
[42] and entered into the body of the eldest son, causing him discomfort.
Then he told the assembled relatives the price of the cure: 'If you pre-
pare rice gruel of such a kind tomorrow for the elder, I will set this one
free'. They said: 'Even without being told by you we regularly supply
the elder's needs', and on the following day they prepared rice gruel of
the kind needed.
119. The Elder MahA-MoggallAna came in the morning and said, 'Stay
here, friend, till I come back from the alms round'. Then he went into the
village. Those people met him. They took his bowl, filled it with the
stipulated kind of rice gruel, and gave it back to him. The elder made as
though to go, but they said, 'Eat, venerable sir, we shall give you more'.
When the elder had eaten, they gave him another bowlful. The elder left.
Bringing the alms food to the venerable SAriputta, he said, 'Here, friend
Sariputta, eat'. When the elder saw it, he thought, 'The gruel is very
nice. How was it got?', and seeing how it had been obtained, he said,
'Friend, the alms food cannot be used'.
120. Instead of thinking, 'He does not eat alms food brought by the likes
of me', the other at once took the bowl by the rim and turned it over on
one side. As the rice gruel fell on the ground the elder's affliction van-
ished. From then on it did not appear again during forty-five years.
121. Then he said to the venerable MahA-MoggallAna, 'Friend, even if
one's bowels come out and trail on the ground, it is not fitting to eat
gruel got by verbal intimation', and he uttered this exclamation:
'My livelihood might well be blamed
If I were to consent to eat
The honey and the gruel obtained
By influence of verbal hints.
And even if my bowels obtrude
And trail outside, and even though
My life is to be jeopardized,
I will not blot my livelihood (Miln. 370).
For I will satisfy my heart
By shunning all wrong kinds of search;
And never will I undertake
The search the Buddhas have condemned'. [43]
122. And here too should be told the story of the Elder Maha-Tissa the
Mango-eater who lived at Ciragumba (see §132 below).
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So in all re-
spects:
A man who has gone forth in faith
Should purify his livelihood
And, seeing clearly, give no thought
To any search that is not good.
123. (d) And as livelihood purification is to be undertaken by means of
energy, so virtue dependent on requisites is to be undertaken by means
of understanding. For that is accomplished by understanding, because
one who possesses understanding is able to see the advantages and the
dangers in requisites. So one should abandon greed for requisites and
undertake that virtue by using requisites obtained lawfully and properly,
after reviewing them with understanding in the way aforesaid.
124. Herein, reviewing is of two kinds: at the time of receiving requisites
and at the time of using them. For use is blameless in one who at the
time of receiving robes, etc., reviews them either as [mere] elements or
as repulsive,
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and puts them aside for later use, and in one who reviews
them thus at the time of using them.
125. Here is an explanation to settle the matter. There are four kinds of
use: use as theft,
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use as a debt, use as an inheritance, use as a master.
Herein, use by one who is unvirtuous and makes use [of requisites], even
sitting in the midst of the Community, is called 'use as theft'. Use with-
out reviewing by one who is virtuous is 'use as a debt'; therefore the
robe should be reviewed every time it is used, and the alms food lump by
lump. One who cannot do this [should review it] before the meal, after
the meal, in the first watch, in the middle watch, and in the last watch. If
dawn breaks on him without his having reviewed it, he finds himself in
the position of one who has used it as a debt. Also the resting place
should be reviewed each time it is used. Recourse to mindfulness both in
the accepting and the use of medicine is proper; but while this is so,
though there is an offence for one who uses it without mindfulness after
mindful acceptance, there is no offence for one who is mindful in using
after accepting without mindfulness.
126. Purification is of four kinds: purification by the Teaching, purifica-
tion by restraint, purification by search, and purification by reviewing.
Herein, virtue of the Patimokkha restraint is called 'purification by the
Teaching'; [44] for that is so called because it purifies by means of
teaching. Virtue of restraint of faculties is called 'purification by re-
straint'; for that is so called because it purifies by means of the restraint
in the mental resolution 'I shall not do so again'. Virtue of livelihood
purification is called 'purification by search'; for that is so called be-
cause search is purified in one who abandons wrong search and gets
requisites lawfully and properly. Virtue dependent on requisites is called
'purification by reviewing'; for that is so called because it purifies by
the reviewing of the kind already described. Hence it was said above
(§125): 'There is no offence for one who is mindful in using after ac-
cepting without mindfulness'.
127. Use of the requisites by the seven kinds of trainers is called 'use as
an inheritance'; for they are the Buddha's sons, therefore they make use
of the requisites as the heirs of requisites belonging to their father. But
how then, is it the Blessed One's requisites or the laity's requisites that
are used? Although given by the laity, they actually belong to the Blessed
One, because it is by the Blessed One that they are permitted. That is
why it should be understood that the Blessed One's requisites are used.
The confirmation here is in the DhammadAyAda Sutta (M. Sutta 3).
Use by those whose cankers are destroyed is called 'use as a mas-
ter'; for they make use of them as masters because they have escaped the
slavery of craving.
128. As regards these kinds of use, use as a master and use as an inheri-
tance are allowable for all. Use as a debt is not allowable, to say nothing
of use as theft. But this use of what is reviewed by one who is virtuous is
use freed from debt because it is the opposite of use as a debt or is
included in use as an inheritance too. For one possessed of virtue is
called a trainer too because of possessing this training.
129. As regards these three kinds of use, since use as a master is best,
when a bhikkhu undertakes virtue dependent on requisites, he should
aspire to that and use them after reviewing them in the way described.
And this is said: [45]
'The truly wise disciple
Who listens to the Dhamma
As taught by the Sublime One
Makes use, after reviewing,
Of alms food, and of dwelling,
And of a resting place,
And also of the water
For washing dirt from robes' (Sn. 391).
'So like a drop of water
Lying on leaves of lotus,
A bhikkhu is unsullied
By any of these matters,
By alms food, [and by dwelling,]
And by a resting place,
And also by the water
For washing dirt from robes' (Sn. 392).
'Since aid it is and timely
Procured from another
The right amount he reckons,
Mindful without remitting
In chewing and in eating,
In tasting food besides:
He treats it as an ointment
Applied upon a wound' (?).
'So like the child's flesh in the desert
Like the greasing for the axle,
He should eat without delusion
Nutriment to keep alive' (?).
130. And in connexion with the fulfilling of this virtue dependent on re-
quisites there should be told the story of the novice Sahgharakkhita the
Nephew. For he made use of requisites after reviewing, according as it is
said:
* Seeing me eat a dish of rice
Quite cold, my preceptor observed:
"Novice, if you are not restrained,
Be careful not to burn your tongue".
On hearing my Preceptor's words,
I then and there felt urged to act
And, sitting in a single session,
I reached the goal of Arahantship.
Since I am now waxed full in thought
Like the full moon of the fifteenth (see M.iii,277),
And all my cankers are destroyed,
There is no more becoming now'. [46]
And so should any other man
Aspiring to end suffering
Make use of all the requisites
Wisely after reviewing them.
So virtue is of four kinds as 'virtue of Patimokkha restraint', and so
on.
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