Digha Nikaya - Mahali Sutta

VI. MAHÂLI SUTTA.
[THE AIM OF THE BRETHREN.]

[150] 1. Thus have I heard. The Blessed One was once staying at Vesâlî at the
Gabled Hall in the Great Wood{1}. Now at that time a number of Brahmans, who had
been sent on pressing business of one kind or another from Kosali and Magadhâ,
were lodging at Vesâlî.
And they heard the news: 'They say that the Samana Gotama of the Sâkya clan,
who went out from a Sâkya family to adopt the religious life, is now staying at
Vesâlî at the Gabled Hall in the Great Wood. Now regarding that venerable
Gotama, such is the high reputation that has been noised abroad: "That Blessed
One is an Arahat, a fully awakened one, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy,
who knows all worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be led, a
teacher for gods and men, a Blessed One, a Buddha. He, by himself, thoroughly
knows and sees, as it were, face to face this universe,--including the worlds
above of the gods, the Brahmâs, and the Mâras, and the world below with its
recluses and Brahmans, its princes and peoples,--and having known it, he makes
his knowledge known to others. The truth, lovely in its origin, lovely in its
progress, lovely in its
{1. The Great Wood stretched from Vesâlî northwards to the Himâlaya range. In it
they had laid out a pleasaunce for the Order, and made there a storied house,
with a hall below surrounded by pillars only, and facing the west, and above it
the gabled apartments in which the Buddha so often stayed.}
{p. 198}
consummation, doth he proclaim, both in the spirit and in the letter, the higher
life doth he make known, in all its fullness and in all its purity. And good is
it to pay visits to Arahats like that."'
2. So those Brahmans from Kosala and Magadhâ went out to the Great Wood, and
to the Gabled Hall. Now at that time the venerable Nâgita was acting as the
personal attendant on the Blessed One. And they went to him, and said: 'Where is
it, Nâgita, that that venerable Gotama is lodging now, for we wish to see him.
[151] 'It is not a fitting time, Sirs, to call upon the Blessed One. He has
retired into solitude.'
Then they sat down round about, saying, 'We will not go away without seeing
the venerable Gotama.'
3. And Hare-lip the Likkhavi, too, came to the Great Wood, and to the Gabled
Hall, with a retinue of his clan; and going up to the venerable Nâgita, he
saluted him, and reverently standing apart, he said to him: 'Where, venerable
Nâgita, is the Blessed One now lodging, the Arahat, the Buddha; for we wish to
see him?' And on receiving a similar reply he, too, sat down apart, saying: 'I
will not go till I have seen the August One, the Arahat, the Buddha.'
4. But Sîha, a novice{1}, came up to the venerable Nâgita, and saluted him,
and standing reverently apart, he said to him: 'These envoys of the Brahmans
from Kosalâ and Magadhâ, many of them, have come, O Kassapa{2}, to call upon the
Blessed One; and Hare-lip the Likkhavi, too, with a retinue of his clan, has
come to do the same. 'Twere best, O Kassapa, that all this folk should be
allowed to see the Blessed One.'
{1. He was the son of Nâgita's sister. He had joined the Order as a novice when
only seven years old, and shown so much intelligence as a learner that he was a
favourite with all, even with the Buddha himself. He must therefore be different
from the other Sîha, also a Likkhavi, who is the hero of the story told at Vin.
I, 233-238 = A. IV, 179-188, as the latter is not a member of the Order at all.
Professor Edward Müller (J. P. T. S., 1888, p. 97) confounds the two.
2. This is the gotta, the gens, to which Nâgita belonged.}
{p. 199}
'Very well, then, Sîha. Tell the Blessed One yourself.'
'Very good, Sir,' said Sîha the novice in assent to the venerable Nâgita. And
he went where the Blessed One was, and saluted him, and standing reverently
apart, he said to him even as he had said to Nâgita.
[152] 'Very well, Sîha. Spread out a mat for me in the shade in front of the
house.'
5. And Sîha did so. And the Blessed One came out from the house, and sat
down. And the Brahmans from Kosalâ and Magadhâ exchanged with him the greetings
and compliments of politeness and courtesy, and took their seats on one side.
And Hare-lip the Likkhavi also, with the retinue of his clan, bowed down to the
Blessed One, and seated himself on one side. And when he was thus seated he
addressed the Blessed One, and said:
'Some few days ago, Sir, Sunakkhatta of the Likkhavis{1} came to me, and
said: "It is only three years, Mahâli{2}, since I first came under the Blessed
One, and I can see heavenly forms, pleasant to behold, fitted to satisfy all
one's desires, exciting longing in one's heart. But I cannot hear heavenly
sounds like that." Now, Sir, are there such heavenly sounds, which he could not
hear, or have they no existence?'
'They are real, those heavenly sounds, pleasant, fitted to satisfy one's
desires, exciting longing in one's heart, which he could not hear. They are not
things of nought.'
{1. This young man became the Buddha's personal attendant; but afterwards, when
the Buddha was in extreme old age (M. I, 68), he went over to the creed of Kora
the Kshatriya, and left the Buddhist Order. Kora's doctrine was the efficacy of
asceticism, of rigid self-mortification. And it was to show how wrong this
doctrine, as put forth by Sunakkhatta, was, that the Buddha told the story (Gât.
I, 398) of the uselessness of the efforts he himself had made when
'Now scorched, now frozen, lone in fearsome woods,
Naked, without a fire, afire within,
He, as a hermit, sought the crown of faith.'


But we do not hear that Sunakkhatta ever came back to the fold.
2. This is again the name of the gotta, the gens. Buddhaghosa (p. 316) calls him
a râga.}
{p. 200}
6. 'But what then is the proximate, and what the ultimate cause, why he could
not hear them, they being thus real and not things of nought?'
[153] 7. 'Suppose a recluse, Mahâli, to have practised one-sided
concentration of mind with the object of seeing such heavenly forms in any one
direction,--in the East, or the South, or the West, or the North, or above; or
below, or across,--and not with the object of hearing such heavenly sounds. Then
since he has practised one-sided concentration, with the one object only in
view, he only sees the sights, he hears not the sounds. And why not? Because of
the nature of his self-concentration [samâdhi].
[154] 8, 9. 'And so also, Mahâli, if he have practised one-sided
concentration with the object of hearing, in any one direction, the heavenly
sounds. Then, and for the same reason, he hears the sounds, but he sees not the
sights.
[155] 10, 11. 'But suppose, Mahâli, he has practised self-concentration with
the double object in view of seeing and hearing, in any one direction, those
heavenly sights and those heavenly sounds. Then since he has practised
self-concentration with the double object in view, he both sees the sights and
hears the sounds. And why so? Because of the nature of his self-concentration.'
12. 'Then, Sir, is it for the sake of attaining to the practice of such
self-concentration that the brethren lead the religious life under the Blessed
One?'
'No, Mahâli. There are things, higher and sweeter than that, for the sake of
which they do so.'
[156] 13. 'And what, Sir, may those other things be?'
'In the first place, Mahâli, a brother by the complete destruction of the
Three Bonds (the Delusions of self, Doubt, and Trust in the efficacy of good
works and ceremonies){1} becomes a converted man, one who cannot be reborn in
any state of woe, and is assured of
{1. See my 'American Lectures' (London, 1896, pp. 142-149) for the full meaning
of these three, and of the following Bonds.}
{p. 201}
attaining to the Insight (of the stages higher still){1}. That, Mahâli, is a
condition, higher and sweeter, for the sake of which the brethren lead the
religious life under me.
'And then further, Mahâli, a brother by the complete destruction of those
Three Bonds, and by reducing to a minimum lust, illwill, and dullness, becomes a
Once-returner, one who on his first return to this world shall make an end of
pain. That, Mahâli, is a condition higher still and sweeter, for the sake of
which the brethren lead the religious life under me.
'And then further, Mahâli, a brother by the complete destruction of the Five
Bonds that bind people to this world{2} becomes an inheritor of the highest
heavens{3}, there to pass away, thence never to return{4}. That, Mahâli, is a
condition higher still and sweeter, for the sake of which the brethren lead the
religious life under me.
'And then further. Mahâli, when a brother by the destruction of the Deadly
Floods (or Intoxications--Lusts, Becomings, Delusion, and Ignorance) has, by
himself, known and realised and continues to abide here, in this visible world,
in that emancipation of mind, that emancipation of heart, which is
Arahatship--that, Mahâli, is a condition higher still and sweeter still, for the
sake of which the brethren lead the religious life under me.
'Such, Mahâli, are the conditions higher and sweeter
{1. Sambodhi-parâyano. So Buddhaghosa on this (p. 313) and my Introduction to
this Sutta.
2. The above three, and Sensuality and Illwill.
3. Opapâtiko, literally 'accidental'; but the use of such a word would only
mislead the reader, the real connotation of the word being that of the words I
have chosen. Those who gain the highest heavens are so called because there is
no birth there in the ordinary way. Each being, who is there, has appeared there
suddenly, accidentally as it were, without generation, conception, gestation or
any of the other means attending the birth of beings in the world.
4. It is impossible to ignore a reference here to the view expressed in the
Brihad Âranyaka Upanishad (VI, 2, 15). 'There do they dwell far away, beyond, in
the Brahmâ-worlds. And for them there is no return.'}
{p. 202}
(than seeing heavenly sights and hearing heavenly sounds), for the sake of which
the brethren lead the religious life under me.'
14. 'But is there, Sir, a path, is there a method, for the realisation of
these conditions?'
'Yes, Mahâli, there is.'
[157] 'And what, Sir, may be that path, what that method?'
'Verily it is this Noble Eightfold Path, that is to say: Right views, right
aspirations, right speech, right action, a right means of livelihood, right
effort, right mindfulness, and right ecstasy in self-concentration{1}. This,
Mahâli, is the path, and this the method, for the realisation of these
conditions.
15. 'One day, Mahâli, I was staying at Kosambî, in the Ghosita pleasaunce.
There two recluses, Mandissa the wandering mendicant, and Gâliya the pupil of
Dârupattika (the man with the wooden bowl), came to me, and exchanged with me
the greetings and compliments of politeness and courtesy, and stood reverently
apart. And so standing they said to me:
'How is it then, O venerable Gotama, is the soul the same thing as the body?
Or is the soul one thing and the body another?'
'Listen then, Sirs, and give heed attentively, and I will speak.'
'Very good. Sir: said those two mendicants in assent, and I spake as
follows:--
[Here follows the whole of the exposition given in the Sâmañña-Phala Sutta,
§§ 40-75, that is to say:
1. The appearance of a Buddha and his preaching.
2. The awakening of a hearer, and his entry into the Order.
3. His self-training in act, word, and speech.
4. The minor details of morality which he observes.
5. The absence of fear, confidence of heart thence resulting.
{1. See my' American Lectures,' pp. 136-141; and Sum. I, 314-316.}
{p. 203}
6. The way in which he learns to guard the door of his senses.
7. The Constant self-possession he thus gains.
8. The power of being content with little, with simplicily of life.
9, The emancipation of heart from the five hindrances--covelousness, illwill,
sloth of body and mind, excitement and worry, and perplexity.
10. The resulting joy and peace that he gains.]
16. 'Then estranged from lusts, aloof from evil states, he enters into and
remains in the First Rapture--a state of joy and ease, born of detachment,
reasoning and investigation going on the while. Now, Sirs, when a Bhikshu knows
thus and sees thus, would that make him ready to take up the subject: "Is the
soul the same thing as the body, or is the soul one thing and the body
another?"'
'Yes, it would, Sir{1}.'
'But I, Sirs, know thus and see thus, And nevertheless I do not say either
the one or the other,'
[158] 17, 18. [The cases are then put of a Bhikshu who has acquired the
second, third, and fourth Raptures (D. II, 77-81) and the knowledge arising from
insight (Ñâna-dassana; D. II, 83, 84); and the same question, reply, and
rejoinder are given in each case.]
19, 'With his heart thus serene (&c. above, p, 85), he directs and bends down
his mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the Deadly Floods, He knows as
it really is: "This is pain." He knows as it really is: "This is the origin of
pain." He knows as it really is: "This is the cessation of pain." He knows as it
really is: "This is the Path that leads to the cessation of pain." He knows as
they really are: "These are the Deadly Floods." He knows as it really is: "This
is the origin of the Deadly Floods." He knows as it really is: "This is the
cessation of the Deadly Floods." He knows as it really is: "This is the
{1. The Siamese edition reads: 'No, it would not, Sir.' On the idiom kallam etam
vakanâya compare A. I, 144; M. II, 211.}
{p. 204}
Path that leads to the cessation of the Deadly Floods." To him, thus knowing,
thus seeing, the heart is set free from the Deadly Taint of Lusts, is set free
from the Deadly Taint of Becomings, is set free from the Deadly Taint of
Ignorance. In him, thus set free, there arises the knowledge of his
emancipation, and he knows: "Rebirth has been destroyed. The higher life has
been fulfilled. What had to be done has been accomplished. After this present
life there will be no beyond!"
'When a Bhikshu, Sirs, knows thus and sees thus, would that make him ready to
take up the question: "Is the soul the same as the body, or is the soul one
thing and the body another?"'
'No, Sir, it would not{1}.'
'And I, Sirs, know thus and see thus. And nevertheless I do not say either
the one or the other.'
Thus spake the Blessed One; and Hare-lip the Likkhavi, pleased at heart,
exalted the word of the Blessed One.



Here ends the Mahâli Sutta.
{1. So three Sinhalese and two Burmese MSS. and the Siamese edition. Two
Sinhalese MSS. read: 'Yes, Sir, it would.' But Buddhaghosa had clearly, both
here and above, § 16, the reading we have followed. And he gives a
characteristic explanation--that whereas the Arahat (in § 19) would have too
much wisdom to be led astray, following the false trail of the soul theory, the
Bhikshu who had only reached up to the Jhânas might, being still a puthujjana,
an unconverted man, have leanings that way.
To hold that the soul is the same as the body is the heresy referred to in the
Brahma-jâla (above, p. 46). See also the Introduction to the Kûtadanta (above,
p. 167).}