1. Sagāthā Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

2. Nidāna Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

3. Khandha Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

4. Saḷāyatana Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

5. Mahā Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

1. Ekaka Nipāta Pāḷi

2. Duka Nipāta Pāḷi

3. Tika Nipāta Pāḷi

4. Catukka Nipāta Pāḷi

5. Pañcaka Nipāta Pāḷi

6. Chakka Nipāta Pāḷi

7. Sattaka Nipāta Pāḷi

8. Aṭṭhaka Nipāta Pāḷi

9. Navaka Nipāta Pāḷi

10. Dasaka Nipāta Pāḷi

11. Ekādasaka Nīpata Pāḷi

1. Khuddakapāṭha Pāḷi

2. The Dhammapada Pāḷi

3. Udāna Pāḷi

4. Itivuttaka Pāḷi

5. Suttanipāta Pāḷi

6. Vimāna Vatthu Pāḷi

7. Peta Vatthu Pāḷi

8. The Thera Gāthā Pāḷi

9. The Therī Gāthā Pāḷi

10. Jātaka Pāḷi

11. Niddesa Pāḷi

12. Paṭisambhidā Magga Pāḷi

13. Apadāna Pāḷi

14. Buddhavaṃsa Pāḷi

15. Cariyā Piṭaka

16. Netti

17. Peṭakopadesa

18. Milindapañha Pāḷi

1. The Dhammasaṅgaṇī Pāḷi

2. Vibhaṅga Pāḷi

3. Dhātukathā Pāḷi

4. Puggalapaññatti Pāḷi

5. Kathāvatthu Pāḷi

6. Yamaka Pāḷi

7. Paṭṭhāna Pāḷi

Preface

VRI would like to extend its gratitude to the Burma Piṭaka
Association and U Ko Lay for permission to publish the Essence of
Tipiṭaka here in India.

Until now, this lucid and inspiring introduction to the word of the Buddha has been difficult to obtain outside Myanmar.

VRI hopes that the Guide will encourage students of Vipassana
both here and abroad in their meditation practice, and also lead them to
further study of the actual texts.

With the permission of U Ko Lay and the Burma Piṭaka
Association, VRI has made some small changes to the general formatting
and style of the book but its substance remains intact. An index has
been added.

U Ko Lay was formerly the Vice-Chancellor of Mandalay
University and was a devoted student of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. He is
presently carrying out translation work in Yangon, where he lives with
his wife.

Note: This book was published in the year 1995 and reprinted in 1998. Index is not available in the web version

1. WHAT IS VINAYA PIṬAKA?

The Vinaya Piṭaka is made up of rules of discipline laid down
for regulating the conduct of the Buddha’s disciples who have been
admitted into the order as bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns). These
rules embody authoritative injunctions of the Buddha on modes of
conduct and restraints on both physical and verbal actions. They deal
with transgressions of discipline, and with various categories of
restraints and admonitions in accordance with the nature of the offence.

The rules of discipline first laid down by the Buddha are called mūlapaññatti (the root regulation). Those supplemented later are known as anupaññatti. Together they are known as sikkhāpadas (rules of discipline). The act of transgressing these rules of discipline, thereby incurring a penalty by the guilty bhikkhu, is called āpatti, which means “reaching”, “committing”.

The offences for which penalties are laid down may be classified under seven categories depending on their nature:

An offence in the first category of offences (pārājika), is classified as a grave offence (garukāpatti), which is irremediable (atekicchā), and entails the removal of the offender from bhikkhuhood.

An offence in the second category (saṅghādisesa) is also classified as a grave offence but it is remediable (satekicchā).
The offender is put on a probationary period of penance, during which
he has to undertake certain difficult practices and after which he is
rehabilitated by the Sangha assembly.

The remaining five categories consist of light offences (lahukāpatti),
which are remediable and incur the penalty of having to confess the
transgression to another bhikkhu. After carrying out the prescribed
penalty, the bhikkhu transgressor becomes cleansed of the offence.

For twenty years after the establishment of the order there was neither injunction nor rule concerning pārājika and saṅghādisesa offences. The members of the order of the early days were all ariyas, the least advanced of whom was a stream-winner (one who had attained the first magga and phala-i.e. nibbāna), and there was no need for prescribing rules relating to grave offences.

But as the years went by the Sangha grew in strength.
Undesirable elements lacking the purest of motives and only attracted by
the fame and gain of the bhikkhus began to get into the Buddha’s order.
Some twenty years after the founding of the order it became necessary
to begin establishing rules relating to grave offences.

It was through Bhikkhu Sudinna, a native of Kalanda Village
near Vesāli, who committed the offence of having sexual intercourse with
his ex-wife, that the first pārājika rule came to be introduced. It was laid down to deter bhikkhus from indulging in sexual intercourse.

When such grave offences occurred, where the laying down of a
prohibitory rule became necessary, the Buddha convened an assembly of
the bhikkhus. It was only after questioning the bhikkhu concerned and
after the undesirability of committing such an offence had been made
clear, that a new rule was laid down in order to prevent future lapses
of similar nature.

The Buddha also followed the precedence set by earlier Buddhas.
Using his supernormal powers he reflected on what rules the earlier
Buddhas would lay down under certain given conditions. Then he adopted
similar regulations to meet the situation that had arisen in his time.

After spending four vassas (residence period during the
rains) after his enlightenment, the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu, his
native royal city, at the request of his ailing father, King Suddhodana.
At that time, Mahāpajāpatī, Buddha’s foster mother requested him to
admit her into the order.

After his father’s death, the Buddha went back to Vesāli,
refusing the repeated request of Mahāpajāpatī for admission into the
order. The determined foster mother of the Buddha and widow of the
recently deceased King Suddhodana, having cut off her hair and put on
bark-dyed clothes, and accompanied by five hundred Sakyan ladies, made
her way to Vesāli where the Buddha was staying in the Mahāvana, in the
Kūṭāgāra Hall.

The Venerable Ānanda saw them outside the gateway of the
Kūṭāgāra Hall, dust-laden with swollen feet, dejected, tearful, standing
and weeping. Out of great compassion for the ladies, the Venerable
Ānanda interceded with the Buddha on their behalf and requested him to
accept them into the order. The Buddha continued to stand firm. But when
the Venerable Ānanda asked the Buddha whether women were not capable of
attaining magga and phala insight (i.e. nibbāna), the Buddha replied that women were indeed capable of doing so, provided they left the household life like their menfolk.

Thus Ānanda made his request again saying that Mahāpajāpatī had
been of great service to the Buddha waiting on him as his guardian and
nurse, suckling him when his mother died. And as women were capable of
attaining the magga and phala insight, she should be permitted to join the order and become a bhikkhuni.

The Buddha finally acceded to Ānanda’s request: “Ānanda, if Mahāpajāpatī accepts eight special rules (garu-dhammā), let such acceptance mean her admission to the order.”

The eight special rules are:

Mahāpajāpatī accepted unhesitatingly these eight conditions imposed by the Buddha and was consequently admitted into the order.

2. VINAYA PIṬAKA

The Vinaya Piṭaka is made up of five books:

(c) Opamma Vagga

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi in
connection with bhikkhu Moḷiyaphagguna, who was friendly with
bhikkhunis. When others censured him for being too friendly with
bhikkhunis, he lost his temper and broke into a quarrel with the
bhikkhus who criticized him.

When the Buddha admonished and advised him to keep away from
bhikkhunis and to control his temper, he remained recalcitrant. The
Buddha showed the harmfulness of ill-temper and advised other bhikkhus
to keep tight check on their temper, not losing it even when someone was
sawing their limbs into bits.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi. Bhikkhu
Ariṭṭha misunderstood the Buddha’s teaching and maintained that the
Buddha showed how to enjoy sensuous pleasure without jeopardizing one’s
progress on the path. When the Buddha remonstrated with him for his
wrong views he remained unrepentant.

The Buddha then spoke to the bhikkhus on the wrong way and the
right way of learning the Dhamma, giving the simile of a snake catcher,
and the simile of the raft.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi. Venerable Kumārakassapa was asked by a deva
a set of fifteen questions which he brought to the Buddha for
elucidation. The Buddha explained to him the meaning of the questions
and assisted him in their solution.

This sutta recounts the dialogue between the Venerable
Sāriputta and the Venerable Puṇṇa at Sāvatthi on the seven stages of
purity, such as purity of sīla, purity of mind, purity of view etc., that must be passed before attaining nibbāna.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi on the
snares that waylay bhikkhus on their path, making use of the simile of
the hunter, the hunter’s followers, the green pasture and four different
herds of deer. The hunter was likened to māra, the hunter’s crowd to māra’s
followers, the green pasture he had set up to the sensuous pleasures,
and four different herds of deer to four different types of recluses who
left homelife.

This sutta given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi is also known by the
name of Ariyapariyesanā Sutta. The Buddha recounted his life from the
time he was born in the human world as the son of King Suddhodana until
the moment of the great “Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of
Dhamma”, giving details of his renunciation, initial wrong practices of
severe asceticism and final discovery of the Noble Path of Eight
Constituents. In particular, stress was laid on two different types of
quests, the noble and the ignoble. He explained that it is extremely
unwise to go after sensual pleasures which subject one to ageing,
disease and death. The most noble quest is to seek out that which will
liberate one from ageing, disease and death.

This sutta was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi. The brahmin
Jāṇussoṇi asked the wandering ascetic Pilotika, who had just come back
from the Buddha, whether he knew all the virtues and accomplishments of
the Buddha. The wandering ascetic replied that only a Buddha who could
match another Buddha in attainments could know all the virtues of the
other. As for him, he could only exercise his imagination in this
respect, just as a hunter would judge the measurements of an elephant
from the size of its footprints.

Later when the brahmin Jāṇussoṇi went to see the Buddha and
recounted his conversation with the wandering ascetic, the Buddha told
him that the size of an elephant’s footprint might still be misleading.
Only when one followed the footprints and could see the animal grazing
in the open, could one accurately judge its true measurements. So also
one could fully appreciate and understand the virtues of the Buddha and
his teaching only when one followed his teaching and practised as he
taught until the final goal of arahatship was reached.

This discourse was given by the Venerable Sāriputta to the
bhikkhus at Sāvatthi using the simile of the elephant’s footprint. He
explained that just as the footprint of all animals could be contained
within the footprint of an elephant, all wholesome dhammas are comprised in the Four Noble Truths.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Rājagaha in
connection with Devadatta, who remained contented with gain and fame
because of his attainment of supernormal powers and left the teaching to
cause a schism in the order. The Buddha said that this teaching was not
for the purpose of gain and fame, which were like the external shoots
and branches of a tree; nor just for the accomplishment in sīla,
which may be likened to the outer crust of a tree; nor for mere
establishing of concentration to achieve supernormal powers, which were
like the bark of a tree. The Dhamma was taught for the attainment of
arahatship, the noble liberation, which alone resembled the inner pith
of a tree.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi in
connection with the Brahmin Pingalakoccha who asked the Buddha whether
all the six teachers claiming to be Buddhas were really enlightened. The
Buddha explained the brahmacariya practice taught by a Buddha led to arahatship, not just to the achievement of gain and fame or supernormal powers. §

(d) Mahāyamaka Vagga

The Venerable Anuruddha, the Venerable Nandiya and the
Venerable Kimbila were staying in the Gosiṅga Sal tree woodland. The
Buddha visited them and praised them on their way of living, practising
the holy life with perfect harmony and concord amongst themselves, thus
forming an adornment to the lovely woodland park.

Once, while the Buddha was residing in the Gosiṅga Sal tree
woodland, the Venerable Sāriputta asked the Buddha: “Who would most
adorn this woodland park and enhance its beauty?” The discourse records
the different answers provided by the Venerables Revata, Anuruddha, Mahā
Kassapa, Mahā Moggallāna, Sāriputta and by the Buddha himself.

This discourse, given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi, explains the
conditions under which the teaching would grow and prosper and the
conditions under which it would decline and decay. The example of a
cowherd is given. When a cowherd is equipped with eleven skills of
managing and tending his cattle there is progress and growth in his
work. So also when the bhikkhu is skilled and accomplished in eleven
factors such as knowledge of truth about the khandhas, practice of sīla, samādhi and paññā etc., the teaching will grow and prosper.

This discourse deals with eleven factors, the failure to fulfil
which would contribute to the downfall and ruin of the teaching. Just
as the cattle under the care of an unwise and unskillful cowherd cross
the river from a wrong quay on the bank and meet with destruction
instead of reaching the other shore, so also the followers of the
teachers who are not accomplished in the knowledge of truth, khandhas, etc., will only end up in disaster.

This discourse, given at Vesāli, gives an account of the debate
between the Buddha and Saccaka, the wandering ascetic, on the subjects
of atta. Saccaka maintained the rūpa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra and viññāṇa were one’s atta. It was atta
which enjoyed the fruits of good deeds and suffered the consequences of
bad deeds. The Buddha refuted his theory, pointing out that none of the
khandhas was atta, each being subjected to the laws of anicca, dukkha and anattā, and not amenable to anyone’s control. Saccaka had to admit his defeat in the presence of his followers.

The same Saccaka, the wandering ascetic, came again to the
Buddha the next day and asked about the cultivation of mind and body. He
knew only the wrong methods of developing concentration. The Buddha
explained to Saccaka the various practices he himself had followed and
mistakes he had made until he found the middle path that finally led him
to the realization of nibbāna.

On enquiry by the king of devas how a disciple of the Buddha trained himself to realize nibbāna,
the Buddha gave him a short description of how a householder, after
leaving his home, put himself on a course of training that gradually
purified his mind of all moral defilements and led him to the final
goal.

A disciple of the Buddha, Sāti by name, held the view that the
Buddha taught: “The same consciousness transmigrates and wanders about.”
Other disciples tried to rid him of this wrong view but to no avail.
The Buddha told him that he never taught such wrong views. He only
taught: “Consciousness arises out of conditions; there is no arising of
consciousness without conditions.”

The people of Assapura, a market town of Aṅga country, were
ardently devoted to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, helping and
assisting the members of the order by offering them the bhikkhu
requisites. Out of gratitude for such support, the Buddha urged the
bhikkhus to make strenuous efforts in their training and practice of
Dhamma, gradually going from stage to stage, starting with avoidance of
evil deeds by restraint of physical and vocal actions, proceeding with
mental restraint through meditation, then progressing towards attainment
of four stages of jhāna, and finally reaching the stage where all moral defilements are eliminated and nibbāna attained.

Out of gratitude for the support given by the lay devotees of
Assapura, a market town in the country of Aṅga, the Buddha urged the
bhikkhus to be worthy of the name of samaṇa and brāhmaṇa. Samaṇa means one who has stilled his passions; brāhmaṇa,
one who has rid himself of defilements. A bhikkhu should therefore
subject himself to the course of discipline and practice as laid down by
the Buddha until he has eliminated the twelve defilements such as envy,
ill-will, deceit, wrong views etc. §

(e) Cūḷayamaka Vagga

This exposition was given to villagers of Sālā on ten
demeritorious deeds that would lead to states of misery and woe and ten
meritorious deeds that would give rise to rebirth in happy realms.

This discourse was given to the householders of Verañjā dealing with identical subjects as in the Sāleyyaka Sutta.

The Venerable Mahākoṭṭhika asked many questions to the Venerable Sāriputta at Sāvatthi regarding an uninstructed person with no paññā, and instructed persons with paññā; many questions in viññāṇa and vedanā, on the difference between paññā and viññāṇa, and many other things. The Venerable Sāriputta obliged him with detailed answers.

Therī Dhammadinnā was asked many questions by the householder Visākhā about personality (sakkāya), the origin of sakkāya, the cessation of sakkāya and the way leading to the cessation of sakkāya. All the questions were satisfactorily answered by the Therī.

This sutta describes four practices involving: (i) happy living
now, followed by dire consequences in the future; (ii) unhappy living
now, followed by dire consequences in the future; (iii) unhappy living
now, followed by a happy life in the future; (iv) happy living now,
followed by a happy life in the future.

In this discourse, the four practices as described in
Cuḷadhammasamādāna Sutta are explained with more details giving similes
of poisoned fruit juice, delicious cordial and medicinal preparation of
cow’s urine.

Any claim to Buddhahood may be put to acid tests as provided in
this sutta. A detailed procedure to scrutinize such a claim is laid
down here.

This discourse on how loving-kindness should be the basis of
their relations was given by the Buddha to the bhikkhus of Kosambī, who
were living in discord because of disagreement over trifling matters.

The Brahmā Baka held the wrong view of eternity believing in
permanence, stability, and endurance. The Buddha showed him how wrong
his belief was.

This is an account given by the Venerable Mahā Moggallāna of how māra
once troubled him by causing pains and aches in the stomach. He had to
coax him to stop annoying him by telling him that he had been māra’s uncle at the time of Kakusandha Buddha.

2 Majjhima Paṇṇāsa Pāḷi

(a) Gahapati Vagga

This discourse was delivered at Campā in connection with
Kandaraka, the wandering ascetic, and Pessa, son of an elephant rider,
who marvelled at the silence maintained by the huge congregation of
bhikkhus not making any sound, not even a sneeze or a cough. The Buddha
explained that their silence was due to their accomplishments in samādhi
and to their training in four methods of steadfast mindfulness. The
Buddha also elucidated the four types of individuals engaged in
meditation.

The householder Dasama of Aṭṭhaka wanted to know if there was a single dhamma which could cause liberation and realization of nibbāna. The Venerable Ānanda informed him there was a group of dhammas, eleven in number, namely the four jhānas, the four brahmavihāra practices, and ākāsānañcāyatana, viññāṇañcāya, ākiñcaññāyatana. Contemplating the impermanent nature of each of these dhammas would lead one to nibbāna.

This discourse was given by the Venerable Ānanda to the Sakyans
headed by Prince Mahānāma. The Venerable Ānanda explained the path
consisting of three steps-sīla, samādhi and paññā-to be followed by an aspirant to higher knowledge culminating in the knowledge of cessation of āsava.

Potaliya had left worldly affairs behind with a view to leading
the holy life. When the Buddha saw him dressed in ordinary everyday
attire, the Buddha addressed him as gahapati (householder), which
Potaliya resented. The Buddha explained to him that in the vocabulary
of the Vinaya one was said to have cut oneself off from the world only
when one refrained from killing, stealing, telling lies, slandering, and
only when one was abstemious, not conceited, and controlled in one’s
temper.

This discourse was given at Rājagaha in connection with Jīvaka,
the great physician, who enquired whether it was true that the Buddha
ate the meat of animals killed purposely for him. The Buddha told him
that he had made it a rule for the bhikkhus not to partake of any meat
which they saw or heard or had reason to suspect to be especially
prepared for them. Further, a bhikkhu should not show eagerness for food
nor be greedy in eating; he should eat with reflection that he took the
meal only to sustain the body in order to pursue the path of
liberation.

A prominent, wealthy lay disciple of Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta was
sent by his master to meet the Buddha and defeat him in argument on
certain aspects of the theory of kamma. Whereas the Nigaṇṭha
stressed the physical and vocal actions being more productive of
resultant effects, the Buddha maintained that it was volition or mental
action that was paramount. By means of his discourse the Buddha
converted Upāli, while Nāṭaputta died, overwhelmed by intense wrath over
the loss of his most prominent disciple.

This discourse, given by the Buddha to two naked ascetics named
Puṇṇa and Seniya at the market town of Koliya, deals with four kinds of
actions and four kinds of resultant effects arising therefrom: (i) a
black deed leading to a black result; (ii) a white deed leading to a
white result; (iii) a deed which is both black and white leading to a
result which is both black and white and (iv) a deed which is neither
black nor white leading to a result which is neither black nor white.

Prince Abhayarājakumāra was sent by Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta to ask
the Buddha whether he uttered unpleasant words about the destiny of
Devadatta. The Buddha enumerated six modes of utterances out of which he
would make two modes of utterances: words which are true, profitable
but not pleasant to others; and words which are true, profitable and
pleasant to others.

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi to explain the various kinds of vedanā which might be two in number-sukha and dukkha vedanās; or three in number by including the upekkhā vedanā;
or five, six, eighteen or thirty-six, or one hundred and eight,
depending on the method of enumeration. Ordinarily sensations that arise
from pleasures of the senses are regarded as sukha or happiness. But the Buddha explains that the acme of happiness is attainment of nirodha samāpatti.

This discourse was given by the Buddha to the villagers of Sālā
in the country of Kosala who had not yet accepted any of the teachings
taught by leaders of the various sects visiting their village. The
Buddha showed them the right path which would not lead them astray. The
wrong views of the sectarians were contrasted against the right views
propounded by the Buddha; the disadvantages of wrong views, and the
advantages of right views were explained. §

(b) Bhikkhu Vagga

In this discourse, given at Rājagaha, the Buddha exhorted his son Rāhula, a sāmaṇera
aged seven, on the necessity of observing the fundamental moral precept
of truthfulness, and of practising mindfulness, by giving the similes
of the upturned water pot, the royal elephant and the mirror.

This discourse on the five khandhas was given at
Sāvatthi by the Buddha to Rāhula at the age of eighteen. The Venerable
Sāriputta also taught Rāhula the meditation on Anapana. The Buddha
further explained to him the advantages of Anapana meditation and gave
him another discourse on the four great elements.

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi to Bhikkhu Mālukya.
Bhikkhu Mālukya interrupted his meditation one afternoon, went to the
Buddha and asked him the well known classical questions: is the universe
eternal or not etc.; is the soul the same as the body, is the soul one
thing and body another, etc.; does life exist after death, or does it
not exist after death.

The Buddha explained to him that the practice of the holy life
did not depend upon these views. Whatever view one may hold about them,
there would still be birth, ageing, decay, death, sorrow, lamentation,
pain, grief, distress. The Buddha said that he taught only about dukkha, the cause of dukkha, the cessation of dukkha and the way leading to the cessation of dukkha.

This discourse was given to Bhikkhu Mālukya at Sāvatthi to
explain the five fetters, namely, personality belief, doubt, attachment
to wrong practice, sensual desires and ill-will, which lead beings to
lower destinations.

This discourse, given at Sāvatthi, is an exhortation to Bhikkhu
Bhaddāli who refused to obey the disciplinary rule of not eating after
midday and in the evening. The Buddha explained why bhikkhus in the
teaching should respect disciplinary rules laid down by him.

This discourse was given to the Venerable Udāyī in connection
with observance of disciplinary rules and precepts. When the five
strengths (balas), namely, faith, energy, mindfulness,
concentration and insight are not well developed, the bhikkhu finds even
a paltry restraint like refraining from eating meals in the afternoon
and in the evening very irksome and onerous. But when the five balas are fully developed, even stringent rules can be observed without any difficulty or discomfort.

This discourse was given at Cātumā to the disciples of the
Venerable Sāriputta and the Venerable Mahā Moggallāna, who came with
five hundred bhikkhus to see the Buddha. The five hundred bhikkhus made a
lot of noise while settling down. The Buddha refused to see them at
first, but later relented and taught them the dangers in the life of a
bhikkhu. Just as there are dangers and hazards in a sea such as stormy
waves, crocodiles, whirlpools and sharks, so also there are dangers
against which the bhikkhu must be always on guard, namely, ill-will
against those who instruct them and guide them; dissatisfaction with
training rules such as those concerning taking of meals or dealing with
womenfolk; and pleasures of the senses.

This discourse was given to the Venerable Anuruddha and to the
villagers of Naḷakapāna to explain that unless a bhikkhu has attained
the higher stages of magga and phala, accomplishments in
supernormal psychic powers may prove to be harmful to him. The Buddha
himself talked about the destinations of departed persons not to earn
praise and admiration but to arouse enthusiasm and faith in his
disciples.

This discourse was given at Rājagaha by the Venerable Sāriputta to Goliyāni Bhikkhu concerning eighteen dhammas which a forest dwelling bhikkhu should observe.

This discourse was given at the market town of Kīṭāgiri on the
advantages of taking meals only before noon and the disadvantages of
eating in the evening. §

(c) Paribbājaka Vagga

Vacchagotta, the wandering ascetic, questioned the Buddha whether it would be true to say that sabbaññuta ñāṇa
was constantly and continuously present to him all the time, while
walking or standing, asleep or awake. The Buddha replied that it would
not be true to say so. It would be true to say only that the Buddha was
accomplished in the three kinds of knowledge, namely, knowledge of the
past, power of divine seeing, and knowledge of liberation.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi in
connection with Vacchagotta who approached the Buddha quite often to ask
many questions about atta. On this occasion too he asked the Buddha whether there was atta; whether atta was permanent, etc. The Buddha told him he held no theories about atta because he had seen the nature of things as they really were. Then he explained to him the Dhamma in some detail.

This discourse was given by the Buddha to Vacchagotta at
Rājagaha. On his visit to the Buddha after a long interval, Vacchagotta
no longer troubled the Buddha with his speculations about atta, loka, etc. Instead, he requested to be taught on good and bad deeds (kusalākusalaṃ kammaṃ) in brief. The Buddha explained to him the Dhamma on good and bad deeds in brief as well as in detail.

Vacchagotta became a disciple of the Buddha and received
admission into the order. Then, practising the Dhamma as instructed, he
ultimately attained arahatship, realizing nibbāna. The problems of atta, loka, etc., no longer obsessed him.

This important discourse was given by the Buddha in the
Sūkarakhata Cave near Rājagaha to Dīghanakha, the wandering ascetic and a
nephew of the Venerable Sāriputta, in order to remove his wrong views
of annihilation. As the Buddha taught him the dhamma on contemplation of the body and contemplation of sensation (sukha, dukkha, adukkhamasukha),
his uncle the Venerable Sāriputta was standing behind the Buddha,
fanning him. It was only fifteen days ago that the Venerable Sāriputta
had been admitted into the order by the Buddha. While following the
progress of the discourse, as though sharing the food prepared for
another, the Venerable Sāriputta advanced rapidly from the stage of a sotāpanna, which he had already reached, and attained the perfect state of arahatship with the fourfold analytical knowledge (paṭisambhidā ñāṇa). At the end of the discourse his nephew, the wandering ascetic Dīghanakha, became a sotāpanna.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at the market town of
Kammāsadhamma in the Kuru country in connection with Māgandiya, the
wandering ascetic, who resented the Buddha’s criticism of his wrong
beliefs. The Buddha exhorted him to practise control of the senses and
sensuous thoughts. He told the wandering ascetic the story of his
renunciation, how he had left his luxurious palaces and how, on
discovering the truth, he found happiness in arahattaphala which was far superior to any of the sensuous pleasures. Māgandiya gave up his wrong views to become a disciple of the Buddha.

This discourse was given at Kosambī to Sandaka, the wandering
ascetic, and his followers by the Venerable Ānanda. The Venerable Ānanda
explained to them the four wrong views of sect-leaders who held that
there was no existence after death, that there was neither evil nor
good, no cause for any phenomena, and that there were only aggregates of
seven elements. Finally he taught the wandering ascetics the Dhamma as
expounded by the Buddha. As a consequence of his teaching Sandaka and
his followers abandoned their wrong views and became disciples of the
Buddha.

At one time the Buddha and his company of bhikkhus were
residing at Rājagaha where six leaders of sects were also spending the
rains with their respective followers. Then Udāyī, the wandering
ascetic, who was visited by the Buddha, extolled the virtues of the
Buddha saying that other leaders were sometimes criticized even by their
followers, whereas the Buddha was the exception. Even if the Buddha’s
disciples left the order, they did not find fault with the Buddha or the
Dhamma. They only blamed themselves for not being able to follow his
teaching. Udāyī attributed this difference in reverential respect
enjoyed by the Buddha to five aspects of his virtues. The Buddha
rejected Udāyī’s enumeration of his virtues which were mostly attributed
to ascetic practices, and explained to him the real cause of the total
veneration bestowed on him by his followers.

The wandering ascetic Uggāhamāna, son of Samaṇamuṇḍika, was
teaching that any recluse who refrained from wrong deed, wrong word,
wrong thought, and wrong livelihood was a fully accomplished arahat.
The Buddha rejected his assertion, saying that in that case, even an
infant sleeping innocently upon his bed could claim to the state of
arahatship. He then explained that it was only the Noble Path of Eight
Constituents leading to Right Knowledge and Right Liberation that could
bring about realization of arahatship.

This discourse was given at Rājagaha. The wandering ascetic Sakuludāyī asked the Buddha many questions about atta and sīla,
and the Buddha explained to him the practice of the teaching beginning
with the precept of not taking the life of a being and ending with the
realization of nibbāna.

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi. The Buddha explained to
Vekhanasa, the wandering ascetic, how happiness accruing from spiritual
attainments was superior to that derived from sensuous pleasures. The
Buddha also gave the assurance that any honest worker who would follow
his instructions sincerely could enjoy the bliss of spiritual
attainments. §

(d) Rāja Vagga

This discourse, given by the Buddha while journeying in Kosala,
recounts the story of high devotion of Ghaṭīkāra, the potter, who
looked after his blind parents and who at the same time attended upon
Kassapa Buddha with great reverence. There was also the account of how
Ghaṭīkāra forcibly pulled along his friend, young Jotipāla, to where
Kassapa Buddha was, to pay respect. After hearing the Dhamma discourses
young Jotipāla left the household life to be admitted into the order by
Kassapa Buddha. This interesting ancient episode that had happened in
Kassapa Buddha’s time many aeons ago was recounted to the Venerable
Ānanda by Gotama Buddha standing on the very spot where once stood, a
long, long time ago, the house of Ghaṭīkāra, the potter. The Buddha
concluded his story by revealing that young Jotipāla was none other than
the present Gotama Buddha.

Raṭṭhapāla, the son of a wealthy brahmin obtained his parents’
permission with great difficulty to become a bhikkhu under the guidance
of the Buddha. After twelve years of strenuous endeavour, when he became
a fully-fledged arahat, he visited his parents’ home. His
parents attempted to entice him with wealth and wife back to household
life but to no avail. He taught his parents the law of impermanence (anicca). He said he saw nothing alluring in wealth and marriage.

This discourse was given at the royal mango grove at Mithilā.
The Buddha told the Venerable Ānanda about the noble tradition laid down
by the righteous King Maghādeva. When his hair began to turn white, he
gave up the household life leaving his dominions to his eldest son. This
tradition was handed down from king to son for generations and
generations, over thousands and thousands of years until the reign of
King Nimi.

King Nimi had a son by the name of Kaḷārajanaka who did not go
forth from home life into homelessness when the time came like his
predecessors. Kaḷārajanaka terminated the noble practice laid down by
the tradition. He thus became the last person of that tradition.

The Buddha revealed that he was the King Maghādeva of that
ancient time laying down the noble tradition. The Buddha said that noble
tradition did not lead to calm, to higher knowledge. It only led to the
realm of the Brahmās. But the noble practice which he was leading now
as a Buddha certainly led to the disillusionment with the five khandhas, the abandonment of attachment and the cessation of dukkha, and to calm, higher knowledge, penetrative insight and realization of nibbāna.
The Buddha then exhorted, “Ānanda, continue to follow this good
practice which I have laid down. Let you not be the person with whom my
tradition ends.”

This discourse was given by the Venerable Mahākaccāna at
Madhurā. He refuted the brahmins’ claim that only brahmins were noble
and superior, and that others were inferior. He explained to King
Mādhura that it was one’s morality, not birth, that established one’s
nobility. Anyone whether brāhmaṇa, khattiya, vessa or sudda,
committing a wrong deed would be born again in the states of woe;
anyone doing a good deed would be born again in a happy realm. After
this discourse by the Venerable Mahākaccāna, King Madhurā, formerly of
another faith, took refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Susumāragira in the
country of Bhaggā in connection with the statement made by Prince Bodhi
that “sukha (happiness) cannot be attained through sukha; sukha can be attained only through dukkha“.
The Buddha said he had also once thought in a similar manner, and
recounted the whole story of his renunciation, his struggles with wrong
practices, his frantic search for the truth, and his ultimate
enlightenment. When asked by the prince how long would it take a bhikkhu
to achieve, in this very lifetime the supreme goal of the holy life,
arahatship, the Buddha stipulated five attributes for the aspiring
bhikkhu. If he was equipped with five attributes: faith, good health,
integrity (not being deceitful), unrelenting zeal, and sufficient
intellect to understand the phenomena of “arising and passing away”, and
having the tathāgata as his instructor and guide, a bhikkhu
would achieve arahatship within seven years at most. Under the most
favorable circumstances he could become accomplished within half a day.

This discourse, given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi, describes how
Aṅgulimāla, the notorious robber and murderer, was tamed by the Buddha,
and how he took refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.
Although he had the name of Ahiṃsaka (non-violence), he was formerly
cruel and murderous and was called Aṅgulimāla by people. Being tamed now
by the Buddha, he ceased hurting anyone, and started living a life true
to his name. He had become an arahat.

A householder of Sāvatthi whose son had died went to see the
Buddha who told him that dear beloved ones formed a source of sorrow as
they brought pain and grief. The householder was displeased with what
the Buddha said. Gamblers playing with dice just close by the Buddha’s
monastery told him differently. They said that loved ones surely brought
joy and happiness. King Pasenadi concurred with the gamblers but his
queen Mallikā maintained that only what the Buddha said must be true.
She justified her faith in the Buddha by giving many illustrations of
the Buddha’s penetrating and illuminating wisdom. King Pasenadi was
finally won over to her view.

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi by the Venerable Ānanda to
King Pasenadi on the bank of the River Aciravatī. He dealt with
unwholesome deeds, words and thoughts which were blameworthy and
wholesome deeds, words and thoughts which were praiseworthy. King
Pasenadi was pleased with the discourse and made a gift of cloth from
the country of Bāhiti to the Venerable Ānanda.

King Pasenadi of Kosala once came to see the Buddha. Entering
the dwelling where the Buddha was staying, he fell on his forehead at
the feet of the Buddha. When asked by the Buddha why he was showing such
extreme humbleness and respect to the body of the Buddha, the king
launched eloquently on a eulogy of the Buddha, praising his virtues. The
Buddha told his bhikkhus that the words uttered by the king constituted
a memorial in honour of the Dhamma and urged them to learn this
memorial and recite it frequently.

This discourse, given by the Buddha at Ujuñña, contains answers
to King Pasenadi Kosala’s questions about four classes of people and
their destinations after death, about sabbaññuta ñāṇa, and about the great Brahmā. §

(e) Brāhmaṇa Vagga

The Brahmin Brahmāyu was one hundred and twenty years old when
he heard of the fame of the Buddha. He sent his disciple Uttara who was
well versed in Vedas to find out by examining the thirty-two physical
characteristics of a great man whether Gotama was indeed an enlightened
Buddha. On Uttara’s good report testifying to the Buddha having the
requisite characteristics of a Buddha, Brahmāyu went himself to see the
Buddha. Fully satisfied after hearing the graduated discourse that
Gotama was indeed an enlightened Buddha, he became a devoted disciple
and achieved the third stage of the path and fruition (anāgāmi), before he passed away.

Sela was a brahmin of Āpana market-town who, on hearing about
the fame of the Buddha from Keṇiya the hermit, went to see the Buddha
accompanied by three hundred young brahmins. After hearing a discourse
from the Buddha he became fully convinced that he had indeed seen a
truly enlightened Buddha. All of them requested to join the order and
received permission from the Buddha.

Some five hundred brahmins who had come to Sāvatthi on business
attempted to challenge the Buddha on his views with regard to the
purity and nobility of the four classes of people. They sent Assalāyana,
a highly talented young man well-versed in the Vedas, to contest with
the Buddha. The young man’s meeting with the Buddha ended up in his
conversion.

A discussion took place between the Venerable Udena and a
brahmin by the name of Ghoṭamukha on the subject of the practice of the
holy life. The Venerable Udena described four kinds of persons engaged
in ascetic practices. After the discourse the brahmin became a disciple
of the Venerable Udena and took his refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and
the Sangha.

Caṅkī, a brahmin of Opasāda Village, came to see the Buddha
with a large crowd amongst whom was a young brahmin by the name of
Kāpaṭika. The young man entered into a discussion with the Buddha about
the “Three Vedas” which had been handed down from generation to
generation in unbroken tradition. The tradition which the brahmins
believed to be the only truth was likened by the Buddha to a line of
blind men each one clinging on to the preceding one.

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi in connection with a
brahmin named Esukārī. In this sutta too the Buddha rejected the brahmin
classification of society into four classes claiming the highest
position for the brahmins. It was not only the brahmins who could
develop loving-kindness, free from enmity and ill-will. Members of other
classes also could develop loving-kindness. It was not birth but the
practice of wholesome dhamma that made a person noble.

Dhanañjāni was an old devoted lay disciple of the Buddha. After
the death of his first wife who had great faith in the Buddha, the
Dhamma and the Sangha, he was no longer diligent in and mindful of the
practice of Dhamma. His second wife was without faith in the teaching of
the Buddha. To maintain his family he resorted to wrongful means of
livelihood. The Venerable Sāriputta put him back on the right path. On
his deathbed, he sent for the Venerable Sāriputta who solaced him with
the Dhamma. This caused him on his death to be reborn in the Brahmā
world. The Buddha asked the Venerable Sāriputta why he had put the old
brahmin only on the way to the inferior Brahmā world when a higher
attainment was possible for him.

A discussion had arisen between two brahmin youths Vāseṭṭha and Bhāradvāja on the origin of a brāhmaṇa. Bhāradvāja maintained it was birth, lineage and caste that made a person a brāhmaṇa. Vāseṭṭha believed moral conduct and performance of customary duties were essential qualifications to be a brāhmaṇa. They went to the Buddha for settlement of their dispute.

The Buddha told them that a person was not a brāhmaṇa
just because of his birth if he was full of worldly attachments, or was
harnessed to greed, ill-will, craving and ignorance. A person became a brāhmaṇa,
whatever his birth, when he had cut off his fetters of defilements,
removed the obstacles of ignorance and attained the knowledge of the
Four Noble Truths. The most perfect brāhmaṇa was an arahat.

This discourse was given on account of Subha, son of the
brahmin Todeyya, at Sāvatthi. Like other brahmins, Subha believed that
only householders could accomplish meritorious deeds in a right manner,
not those who had gone forth from the household life. The occupation of
householders produced great benefits whereas the occupation of the
recluse brought little benefits. The Buddha removed his wrong views and
Subha became a devoted disciple of the Buddha.

Saṅgārava was a young brahmin who was full of pride with
learning in the Vedas, entertaining wrong views of his birth. He went to
ask the Buddha whether the Buddha claimed, like some samaṇas and brāhmaṇas,
to have attained in this very life special knowledge and vision and to
have reached the other shore. The Buddha explained that there were three
kinds of samaṇas and brāhmaṇas who made such claims:
those who made the claim through hearsay, having learnt things by
hearsay only; those who made the claim by mere reasoning and logic; and
finally those who made the claim by personally realizing the penetrative
insight of the Dhamma unheard of before.

The Buddha told Saṅgārava that he was of this third type and
recounted how he had become accomplished in the Dhamma by practice and
self-realization.

3 Uparipaṇṇāsa Pāḷi

(a) Devadaha Vagga

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Devadaha in the
country of the Sakyans to refute the wrong views of the Nigaṇṭhas. The
Nigaṇṭhas believed that whatever a person experienced in this life was
caused by former action. They practised austerity as a penance to put an
end to the result of former action. The Buddha taught them the right
path that would lead to the end of suffering.

This discourse was given by the Buddha to bhikkhus at Sāvatthi
to explain the wrong beliefs of other sects speculating on whether the
world is finite or infinite, etc.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Pisinārā. The Buddha
explained that he taught the Dhamma not for the sake of gain, such as
robes, alms-food, lodgings, etc., nor in expectation of future happy
existences. His teachings, namely, the four methods of steadfast
mindfulness, the four right efforts, etc., in short, the thirty-seven
factors of enlightenment were for the attainment of higher knowledge
leading to the end of suffering. Whenever there was a dispute over the
doctrine with regard to meanings and words, it should be resolved
strictly in accordance with these dhammas.

Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta had recently died at Pāvā and his followers
had split into two groups. On being informed by Ānanda that he was
worried lest there be such a schism among the order, after the passing
away of the Buddha, the Buddha taught this discourse on imperfect and
perfect teachers and disciples, on disputes and their origin, and on the
essentials of his teaching.

Bhikkhu Sunakkhatta, a former Licchavi prince, once enquired of
the Buddha whether all the bhikkhus who came to the Buddha and declared
their attainment of arahatship actually attained it. The Buddha said
some of them actually did attain arahatship whereas some deceived
themselves; again others claimed arahatship, knowing full well that they
were not entitled to it, simply to trouble him with unnecessary
questions. The Buddha then taught him the essential dhammas in which one must become accomplished before one could claim arahatship.

This discourse was given by the Buddha while he was staying
once at Kammāsadhamma, in the country of the Kurus. The Buddha explained
to the bhikkhus the dangers of enjoying sensual pleasures, which were
transitory, empty and deceptive. He said he had shown them the path
leading to imperturbability (āneñja-sappāya), to the realm of nothingness, to the realm of neither consciousness nor non-consciousness, and ultimately to nibbāna. He then urged the bhikkhus: “Go to the forest, to solitude. Strive hard in meditation.”

The Buddha was once asked by the Brahmin Gaṇaka Moggallāna
whether there were systematic rules, practices and methods in his
teaching, just as there were training rules, manuals, guidances in
various branches of worldly knowledge. The Buddha told him about the
Dhamma giving details about precepts to be observed, disciplinary rules
to be followed, various concentrations to be developed and jhānas and paññās to be achieved step by step.

Two leading brahmins of Rājagaha asked the Venerable Ānanda whether the Buddha had appointed a particular thera
to be the head of the Sangha after he passed away. Ānanda informed them
there was no such person. No person could substitute for the Buddha.
They wanted to know the if the Sangha had agreed upon a certain bhikkhu
to be their head. When Ānanda told them there was no such person, they
wondered how the Sangha could remain in agreement and unity. Ānanda then
explained to them that they had refuge in the Dhamma, and that the
Sangha of each locality recited together the Pāṭimokkha, the summary of
disciplinary rules, every half month.

The Buddha was sitting in the midst of a large number of
bhikkhus out in the open on a full moon night. All the bhikkhus were
intently engaged in meditation. The silence of the night was broken by
the oldest of the meditating bhikkhus who, with the permission of the
Buddha, asked him about the five aggregates of grasping, how craving
developed with respect to each aggregate, and how craving would cease.
The Buddha explained each point raised by the bhikkhu to the great
benefit of the assembled Sangha.

This discourse was given on how to differentiate between a good
man and a bad man, with detailed description of the characteristics of
good and bad men. §

(b) Ānupada Vagga

This discourse was given at Sāvatthi. The Buddha brought out in
full detail the virtues of one of his two chief disciples, the
Venerable Sāriputta, extolling his wisdom which was extensive like the
big earth, describing how, unlike other ordinary disciples who had
attained arahatship, the Venerable Sāriputta went through the practices
for development of sīla, samādhi and paññā in a
very thorough manner, step by step, contemplating very intensely on the
minutest phenomenon of “arising and perishing” until he gained the
highest goal of the holy life. The Buddha explained also how the
Venerable Sāriputta was fully accomplished in the Dhamma to deserve the
honour of being a chief disciple of the Buddha.

The Buddha said that when any bhikkhu claimed the attainment of
arahatship, his claim should not be admitted or rejected outright. His
claim should be carefully scrutinized according to the guiding
principles provided in this discourse.

This describes how a good, worthy man is to be distinguished
from a bad, unworthy person enumerating twenty-six characteristics by
which each individual is to be judged.

This discourse was given briefly by the Buddha, and the
Venerable Sāriputta continued to expound it in more detail. It deals
with practices and actions which a bhikkhu should or should not resort
to. Whatever action or practice of object is conducive to one’s
spiritual progress and development should be resorted to and made use
of; whatever is detrimental to one’s spiritual advancement should be
rejected.

This discourse is an analytical study of elements (dhātu), bases (āyatana),
the Law of Dependent Origination, and the right of wrong causes. Only
the bhikkhu skilled in these studies may be reckoned as a wise person.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Isigili, one of the
hills surrounding Rājagaha. This is an account of why this hill was
called by that name and of the many paccekabuddhas who used to dwell there.

This discourse is a detailed exposition on Right Concentration
which has its base in the other seven constituent parts of the Noble
Path, and on twenty meritorious dhammas.

Ānāpānassati as a method of meditation was explained to a large
gathering of bhikkhus including nearly all well-known senior disciples
such as the Venerable Sāriputta, Mahā Moggallāna, Mahā Kassapa,
Anuruddha, Ānanda etc. Development of mindfulness of respiration
establishes a person in the four methods of steadfast mindfulness. The
four methods of steadfast mindfulness, being developed, establishes a
person in the seven factors of enlightenment. The seven factors of
enlightenment, being developed, brings about insight knowledge and
emancipation.

This discourse describes the meditation practice involving
contemplation on the thirty-two parts of the body. The practical steps
in the method as well as its advantages are fully explained.

This discourse explains how its possible to have one’s wish fulfilled if one is well established in the five wholesome dhammas, namely: faith, moral conduct, learning, liberality and wisdom. §

(c) Suññata Vagga

The Buddha once told Ānanda that he often dwelt in the liberation of the void, suññata-vihāra.
When requested by Ānanda, he explained what liberation of the void
meant-liberation through insight that discerns voidness of self.

Seeing many bhikkhus living together in a crowded dwelling
place, the Buddha told Ānanda that a bhikkhu should not like living in
company. Solitude is most beneficial for a bhikkhu. He urged bhikkhus to
look upon him as a sincere friend who would repeatedly point out their
faults to help correct them.

This discourse is an account of the twenty marvelous attributes of the Buddha as extolled by the Venerable Ānanda.

Bhikkhu Bākula, aged one hundred and sixty years, met his old
friend, the naked ascetic Kassapa, after he had been in the order of the
Buddha for eighty years. Kassapa asked him how often he had indulged in
sexual intercourse during those eighty years. Bākula told his friend
the marvellous attributes he possessed as an arahat, including the fact that he became an arahat after seven days of strenuous endeavour, after which he was completely rid of moral defilements.

In this discourse the Buddha explained to the novice Aciravata
how a young prince like Prince Jayasena, son of King Bimbisāra could not
hope to know, to see, to realize such dhammas as concentration and jhānas,
living as he did in the lap of luxury, surrounded by pleasures of the
senses, enjoying the pleasures of the senses and consumed and
overwhelmed by the flames of desire. The Buddha pointed out the
difference in outlook between an arahat and an ordinary uninstructed person giving the simile of a tamed elephant and wild elephant of the forest.

This discourse was given by the Venerable Bhūmija to his
nephew, Prince Jayasena to explain how fruition would result by
practising the Noble Path of Eight Constituents. The Buddha confirmed
that only by following the right path, namely, the Noble Path of Eight
Constituents and not any other path, would fruition result. The Buddha
gave the similes of attempting to make oil out of sand, squeezing the
horns of a cow for milk, churning water to make butter, and rubbing two
pieces of wet green wood to make fire.

This discourse was given by the Venerable Anuruddha to Pañcakaṅga, the carpenter, to explain the difference between appamāna cetovimutti-liberation through practice of four brahmavihāra meditations and mahaggata cetovimutti-liberation through kasiṇa meditation using a meditational device.

Once the Buddha left Kosambī because of quarrelling,
contentious bhikkhus and went to Pācīnavaṃsa Park where the Venerable
Anuruddha, the Venerable Nandiya and the Venerable Kimbila were staying.
When these bhikkhus informed the Buddha about the aura (obhāsa) and vision (dassana) of various shapes and forms they perceived in the course of their meditation, the Buddha taught them about upakkilesa
(mental defilements), that appear at a certain stage in the meditation
process. They should be on their guard not to be led astray by these
deceptive defilements.

This discourse was given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi on fools and
the characteristic behaviour of fools; on how evil thoughts, words and
deeds of fools harm themselves and others; and on how these evil actions
lead fools to states of misery and woe. The utter wretchedness and
intense suffering in such states are beyond description. Once a fool
through his evil actions finds himself in one of the nether regions,
there is very little likelihood for him to rise again to the upper
realms. The chances are more remote than that of a blind turtle to get
his head through a single hole in a yoke which is being tossed about in a
stormy sea.

The discourse deals also with the wise and their
characteristics; the wholesome thoughts, words and deeds of the wise,
the wholesome effects resulting from such meritorious actions and the
bliss enjoyed by them in the realms of happiness.

This is a discourse on evil results arising from evil action, giving details of suffering in realms of misery and woe. §

(d) Vibhaṅga Vagga

This sutta, which means “a discourse on a night of good
meditation” gives a detailed description of Vipassana meditation. The
Buddha urged the bhikkhus not to dwell in the past which was gone, nor
to seek the future which was unattained yet, but to perceive the Dhamma
in the phenomena presently occurring and at the same time not to become
involved in and attached to them.

This is a discourse in which the Venerable Ānanda repeated to
the bhikkhus the Bhaddekaratta Sutta, for which performance he was
highly commended by the Buddha.

This is a detailed exposition by the Venerable Mahākaccāna on Vipassana meditation of the five khandhas
as explained by the Buddha in the Bhaddekaratta Sutta. The Venerable
Mahākaccāna was commended by the Buddha for his exposition.

This is a detailed exposition by the Venerable Lomasakaṅgiya on Vipassana meditation of the five khandhas as explained in the Bhaddekaratta Sutta.

Young Subha, son of the brahmin Todeyya, was curious to know
why some were born in high class families, some in low class families;
why some were born rich, others poor; why some were beautiful, others
ugly; why some were of good health with a long span of life, others of
poor health with a short span of life, etc. He approached the Buddha and
asked fourteen questions in all to satisfy his curiosity. The Buddha
gave a long discourse on kamma and its resultant effects. Deeds,
words and thoughts have endless consequences of joy and sorrow to be
experienced in this very life and hereafter. Men depend on their own
deeds and nothing else for their condition and status in life.

This is another discourse on kamma and its resultant effects which are most difficult to foresee. How the workings of kamma are most strange and surprising is explained with reference to four types of individuals.

This discourse is a detailed analytical exposition by the
Buddha on the six internal sense bases, the six external sense bases,
the six types of consciousness arising from the six types of contact,
etc.

In this discourse the Buddha taught briefly how restraint of
the mind with regard to external sense bases and non-attachment to
internal sense bases led to the cessation of suffering. The Venerable
Kaccāna gave an exposition on this subject which earned him praise from
the Buddha.

This discourse is an exhortation on the practice of the middle
path, avoiding the two extremes of indulgence in sensual pleasures and
practice of self-mortification, and on modes of conduct; not indulging
in backbiting; not keeping to colloquial vocabulary only and not
spurning the conventional usage of the language, but speaking gently,
slowly.

This is an important discourse taught to Pukkusāti, a recluse
who had left the home life inspired by the fame of Gotama Buddha whom he
had not yet met and whom he was on his way to see. The Buddha went
purposely to meet this recluse in a potter’s hut to teach this
discourse: a man is made up of six elements, namely, solidity, fluidity,
heat, motion, space and consciousness. On analysis, none of these
elements is found to be “mine” or “me” or “my self”. All of them are
subject to the law of impermanence. So also are the three types of
sensations. When a bhikkhu perceives the real nature of the physical and
mental phenomena, he becomes endowed with absolute wisdom, knowledge of
the noble truth.

In this discourse the Buddha taught the bhikkhus the Four Noble
Truths as he had done at the time of giving the “Discourse on the
Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma” at Isipatana in Vārānasī. He then urged
the bhikkhus to seek guidance from the two theras, the Venerable
Sāriputta and the Venerable Mahā Moggallāna, likening the Venerable
Sāriputta to a mother and the Venerable Mahā Moggallāna to a
foster-mother. The Venerable Sāriputta could analyse and explain the
Four Noble Truths in detail and lead them to the stage of the first path
and fruition. The Venerable Mahā Moggallāna could then lead them on
till the highest path and fruition, arahatship, was achieved.

This discourse was given to the Buddha’s foster-mother
Mahāpajāpatī on the occasion of her offering to the Buddha a set of
robes made by her own hand. The Buddha urged his foster-mother to make
the offering to the Sangha, the community of bhikkhus. He enumerated
fourteen kinds of donations to individuals and seven kinds of donations
to the Sangha, explaining the superior benefit accruing from offerings
made to the Sangha. §

(e) Saḷāyatana Vagga

This discourse was given by the Venerable Sāriputta to
Anāthapiṇḍika on his death-bed. The Venerable Sāriputta directed him not
to grasp at the six internal sense bases, nor the six external sense
bases, nor the feelings that arise in relation to them, nor at the six
elements (including space and consciousness), nor at the five
aggregates, nor the realms of infinite space, of infinite consciousness,
of nothingness, of neither consciousness nor non-consciousness. With no
attachment to any of them, there would come liberation.

The Venerable Channa was very ill. The Venerable Sāriputta and
Cunda paid him a visit. They gave him solace by giving instruction in
Vipassana meditation. The Venerable Channa died an arahat.

This discourse was given to Bhikkhu Puṇṇa by the Buddha on how
to practise the holy life in solitude. When the Buddha asked him how he
would contend with the dangers which infested the locality where he was
going to stay, he told the Buddha of the six categories of fortitude he
was endowed with, including indifference to an attack even on his life.

This discourse was given by the Venerable Nandaka to five hundred bhikkhunis in the presence of the Buddha one full moon night. He dealt with the twelve categories of internal and external sense
bases, the six types of consciousness, their impermanent nature and how
to practise the seven factors of enlightenment. He won the approval of the Buddha for his lucid exposition of the Dhamma.

This discourse was given by the Buddha to his son Rāhula who
was then a bhikkhu of the order fully mature to receive the highest
Dhamma. The Buddha exhorted him, in the form of question and answers on
the impermanent nature of the twelve sense bases, in consequence of
which the Venerable Rāhula attained arahatship.

This discourse was given by the Buddha frequently to many
bhikkhus on the six internal sense bases, the six external sense bases,
six types of consciousness, six types of contacts, six types of
sensation, six kinds of craving and on how their interrelationship led
to continuity of phenomena from one existence to another.

This discourse is an exposition on how the ignorance of the six
categories of dhamma such as the six internal sense bases, etc., gives
rise to craving, and craving to suffering. It also explains how, when
they are seen as they really are by following the Noble Path of Eight
Constituents, the knowledge of the seven factors of enlightenment arises
resulting in the perfect peace of nibbāna.

This is a discourse in which the Buddha explained to the villagers of Nagaravinda the distinction between samaṇas and brāhmaṇas
who deserved honour and homage and those who did not. Only those
religious teachers who had discarded the craving that arose out of āyatana dhammas were worthy of veneration.

This is an exhortation to bhikkhus to keep themselves pure in
mind while going on alms round or while eating their meal, by discarding
craving, removing hindrances and developing the knowledge of the seven
factors of enlightenment through continuous practice.

This discourse was given to the Venerable Ānanda by the Buddha
showing the difference between the control of senses practised by an arahat
and that practised by one still under training. The Buddha explained
that feelings of liking, disliking or of indifference that arise from
conditioned phenomena could be soon eliminated by the practice of
Vipassana meditation.

6. SAṂYUTTA NIKĀYA

This collection of discourses in the Suttanta Piṭaka known as
Saṃyutta Nikāya has 7762 suttas of varied length, generally short,
arranged in a special order according to subject matter into five major
divisions: (1) Sagāthā Vagga (2) Nidāna Vagga (3) Khandha Vagga (4)
Saḷāyatana Vagga and (5) Mahā Vagga. Each major vagga is divided into
fifty-six groups known as saṃyuttas-related subjects grouped together.
The saṃyuttas are named after the subjects they deal with, for example,
Bojjhaṅga Saṃyutta on the seven factors of enlightenment, or after some
principal personalities such as the Venerable Sāriputta, King Pasenadi
of Kosala, or Sakka. Kosala Saṃyutta is a group of discourses concerning
King Pasenadi of Kosala, and Devatā Saṃyutta deals with devas like
Sakka, Indra, Brahmā, etc. Each saṃyutta is further divided into
sections which are made up of individual suttas. Thus the well-known
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta is the first discourse (sutta) in the second
section of Sacca Saṃyutta which comes under the Mahāvagga division of
Saṃyutta Nikāya. In the following excerpts from Saṃyutta Nikāya, only a
few suttas representing each major division are given.

1 Sagāthā Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

This major division of Sagāthā Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi contains eleven saṃyuttas with discourses grouped according to characters appearing in them: the king of devas, the devas, the Brahmā, māra, King of Kosala, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The name of the vagga,
Sagāthā is derived from the fact that various personalities appearing
in the discourses conducted their dialogues or interviews with the
Buddha mostly in verse.

On the request of a Brahmā, the Buddha explains in the Oghataraṇa Sutta of this saṃyutta
that he crossed over the flood of sensuous desire, of existence, of
wrong views and of ignorance neither by remaining inactive, nor by
making strenuous efforts. By remaining inactive he would have been
sucked into the whirlpool; by making frantic efforts he would have been
swept away in the current of the flood. He followed a middle course.

The Buddha also teaches in other suttas of this saṃyutta
that all beings are entangled in the mesh of attachments brought about
by six internal sense bases and six external sense objects. The way to
escape from these entanglements is to become established in sīla,
to develop concentration meditation and insight meditation in order to
be fully accomplished in the higher knowledge of liberation.

Until one becomes fully developed in the knowledge of the path, taṇhā can still give rise to rebirth. This fact is borne out by the story of a deva
named Samaṇa, given in Accharā Sutta. A certain young man having faith
in the teaching of the Buddha gets himself admitted into the order. Then
taking a meditation subject of his choice, he repairs to a solitary
abode in the forest and devotes himself incessantly to the practice of
meditation.

His efforts at meditation are very strenuous. Thus striving day
and night and getting enervated by lack of sufficient food, he is
suddenly seized with a paralytic stroke which causes him instant death.
Although he has put in a great deal of effort in the practice of
meditation, he passes away without even attaining the stage of sotāpanna, the stream-winner.

Because of taṇhā which he has not yet eradicated, he has
to go through the round of existences again; but in the consequence of
the merit he has acquired in the practice of meditation, a magnificent
celestial palace awaits him in the celestial abode of the Tāvatiṃsa.

By spontaneous manifestation he appears as if just awakened
from sleep at the entrance of the palace, a celestial being resplendent
in full celestial attire. He does not realize that he has taken a new
existence in a new world. He thinks he is still a bhikkhu of the human
world. The celestial maidens who are awaiting his arrival bring a
body-length mirror and place it in front of the deva. On seeing
his reflection in the mirror, he finally realizes that he has left the
bhikkhus existence and has arisen in the celestial realm.

The Samaṇa Deva is greatly perturbed then. He reflects that he
has taken up meditation not to be reborn in the celestial land but to
attain the goal of arahatta fruition. So without entering the
palatial building, he repairs hastily to the presence of the Buddha. He
asks of the Buddha how to avoid and proceed past the Mohana garden, the
Tāvatiṃsa celestial abode, full of celestial maidens who to him appear
as demons. The Buddha advises him that the straight path for a quick
escape is the Noble Path of Eight Constituents using the two-wheeler
Vipassana carriage, fitted with the two wheels of physical exertion and
mental exertion. While the Buddha is teaching Dhamma in three verses,
Samaṇa Deva is able to develop quickly successive Vipassana ñāṇas step by step until he attains the first path and fruition.

In Rohitassa Sutta of this saṃyutta Rohitassa Deva comes
to the Buddha with another problem. He tells the Buddha he was in a
former existence a hermit endowed with supernormal psychic power which
enabled him to traverse throughout the universe with immense speed. He
had travelled with that speed for over one hundred years to reach the
end of the world but he did not succeed. He wants to know whether it
would be possible to know or see or reach the end of the world where
there is no birth nor death to be known or seen or reached by travelling
there. Yet he does not say there is an end of suffering without
reaching nibbāna. It is in the fathom long body of oneself with
its perception and its mind that the Buddha describes the world, the
origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the way leading to
the cessation of the world. The Buddha’s way leading to the cessation of
the world is the Noble Path of Eight Constituents.

In this saṃyutta are interesting suttas which describe
the frequent meetings of the Buddha with King Pasenadi of Kosala. The
King has heard of the fame of the Buddha from his queen Mallikā but has
not yet met him. But when at last he meets the Buddha as described in
the Dahara Sutta, he puts a direct question whether the Venerable Gotama
claims to have attained the supreme enlightenment. He says that there
are other religious teachers such as Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla,
Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta, Sañjaya, Pakudha and Ajita, with their own order,
with their own followers, who are much older than the Buddha and are
generally regarded to be arahats. Even these teachers do not make claim to supreme enlightenment.

The Buddha replies that if it can be rightly said of anyone to
have attained supreme enlightenment, then it is only of himself that it
can be rightly said. The Buddha adds that there are four things that
should not be looked down and despised because they are young. They are a
young prince, a serpent, a fire and a bhikkhu. A young prince of noble
parentage should not be despised. He might one day become a powerful
ruler and wreak royal vengeance. A writhing snake moves very fast; it
might attack and bite a heedless man. A small fire when heedlessly
ignored might grow in intensity and cause untold damage. A man treating a
virtuous bhikkhu with contempt might bring upon himself unwholesome
results such as dwindling prosperity and lack of offspring to inherit
from him.

Dutiya Aputtaka Sutta describes another occasion when King
Pasenadi calls on the Buddha after he has just taken over an immense
accumulation of wealth belonging to a multi-millionaire who has died
recently. The dead man has left behind treasure worth over one hundred
lakhs which, in the absence of any heirs to claim, becomes the king’s
property. The king reports that the dead millionaire was a great miser, a
niggardly person, begrudging even to himself the luxury of comfortable
living. He wore only very rough, thread-bare clothes, eating poor,
coarse food and travelled about in an old, roofless rickety carriage.

The Buddha confirms that what the king says about the
millionaire is quite true and tells the king the reason for the
millionaire’s miserliness. In one of his past existences, he met a paccekabuddha going around for alms-food. He gave permission to his family to offer food to the paccekabuddha and went out to attend some business. On his way back, he met the paccekabuddha whom
he asked whether he had been given any alms-food by his family, and
looked into the bowl. On seeing the delicious food in the bowl, an
unwholesome thought suddenly arose in his mind that it would have been
more profitable to feed his servants with such food than to give it away
to a paccekabuddha.

For his good deed of allowing his family to make the offering to the paccekabuddha he was reborn in the deva
world seven times and became a millionaire seven times in the human
world. But as a result of the ill thought he had entertained in that
previous existence he never had the inclination to lead a luxurious life
enjoying fine clothes, good food, and riding in comfortable carriages.

The millionaire has now exhausted the good as well as the bad
effects of his thoughts and actions with regard to the offering of food
to the paccekabuddha. But unfortunately he has to face the
consequences of a more serious evil deed, that of causing the death of
his own nephew in a past existence.

The Buddha tells the king that he is therefore reborn, after
his death in the human world, in the state of the most intense
suffering, Mahāroruva.

Many brahmins of the Bhāradvāja clan became devoted disciples
of the Buddha, ultimately attaining arahatship. At first, all of them
were quite unfriendly, if not openly hostile. Bhāradvāja Gotta,
mentioned in the Dhanañjāni Sutta, was such a brahmin. Although his wife
Dhanañjāni was a disciple of the Buddha, very much devoted to his
teaching, Bhāradvāja Gotta and his brahmin teachers showed great
contempt for the Buddha and his teachings.

On one occasion, when Bhāradvāja was giving a feast to his
brahmin teachers, his wife in the course of waiting upon these brahmins
slipped accidentally and as she tried to regain her balance, blurted out
three times in excitement the formula of adoration to the Buddha: “Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.”
Upon hearing the word “Buddha”, the brahmin teachers rose up from their
seats and ran away helter-skelter in all directions just like a flock
of crows in whose midst a stone has been thrown.

Telling his wife in a fury that he would defeat the Buddha in a
contest of doctrines, Bhāradvāja goes to see the Buddha. The interview
ends up with Bhāradvāja asking the Buddha’s permission to enter his
order. He finally attains arahatship.

Akkosa Sutta mentions Bhāradvāja Gotta’s younger brother
Akkosaka Bhāradvāja, who on hearing that his elder brother has joined
the Buddha’s order, was highly exasperated. Raging with fury, he stormed
into the presence of the Buddha whom he reviled and reproached in the
most vulgar, offensive language.

Very calmly and with great compassion the Buddha asked the
young Bhāradvāja if he has ever given gifts to his friends and
relatives. When the young Bhāradvāja replies that he indeed has made
offers of gifts to his friends and relatives, the Buddha asked him,
“What happens to the gifts if your friends and relatives do not accept
them?”

“Well then they remain with me as my own property,” replies Bhāradvāja.

Then the Buddha says, “You have heaped abusive language on us
who have not uttered a single word of abuse to you; you have been very
offensive and quarrelsome with us who do not offend you nor quarrel with
you. Young Bhāradvāja, we do not accept your words of abuse, your
offensive quarrelsome language. They remain with you as your own
property.”

Taken by surprise by this unexpected reaction, Bhāradvāja is
frightened with the thought that this might be a recluse’s method of
casting a spell on him by way of retaliation. He asks the Buddha if he
is angry with him for his rude behaviour. The Buddha states that he has
long left anger behind. Being free from all mental defilements how could
he take offence with him! To meet anger with anger is to sink lower
than the original reviler. He is the conqueror who wins a hard won
battle by not retaliating anger with anger.

At the end of the discourse, Akkosaka Bhāradvāja, the younger
brother, also left homelife to join the Buddha’s order. In time, he too
became accomplished in higher knowledge and attained arahatship.

In Kasī Bhāradvāja Sutta is an account of the Buddha’s encounter with the brahmin Kasī Bhāradvāja who was a rich landowner.

It was sowing time and the Kasī Bhāradvāja was preparing to
start ploughing operations with five hundred ploughs. It was made an
auspicious occasion with the distribution of food and with festivities.
The Buddha went to where food was being distributed and stood at one
side. Kasī Bhāradvāja, seeing him waiting for food, said to him, “I
plough, samaṇa, and I sow. Having ploughed and sown, I eat. You too, samaṇa, should plough and sow; having ploughed and sown, you shall eat.”

The Buddha replies, “I too plough, brahmin, and I sow, and having ploughed and sown, I eat.”

“We see no yoke or plough or pole or oxen of yours. Yet you
claim to be a ploughman. How do you explain yourself?” asked the
brahmin.

“The faith which I have had since the time of Sumedha, the hermit, is the seed. It will grow to bear the fruit of nibbāna. The sīla
with which I keep control of my sense doors is the rain. The two kinds
of knowledge, the mundane and supramundane, I possess are my plough and
yoke. Sense of shame for doing evil and fear of evil deeds are the pole
and the handle of the plough. My energy is the ox, and my concentration
is the rope with which I put the ox to the yoke. My mindfulness is the
ploughshare and the goad. Guarded in my speech and modest in the use of
food, these self-restraints serve as a fence around my field of Dhamma.
With my harnessed ox as my energy, I have ploughed on never turning back
until the seed produces the fruit of nibbāna, the deathless. Having done such ploughing, I eat now what I have sown and I am free from every kind of suffering.”

Kasī Bhāradvāja was so delighted and impressed with the
Buddha’s words, that he requests to be regarded as a disciple of the
Buddha from that day until the end of his life.

In Gahatthavandana Sutta the Buddha explains that the brahmins
well versed in the Vedas as well as kings ruling over human dominions
and devas of Cātumahārājika and Tāvatiṃsa realm bow in homage to the Sakka, the king of the devas. The Sakka himself shows respect and makes obeisance not only to the samaṇas
who have lived their holy life without any breach of moral conduct for
many years but also to the lay disciples of the Buddha who are well
established in their faith and who have done meritorious deeds of giving
charity, observing the five, the eight or the ten precepts, and
dutifully maintaining their families.

2 Nidāna Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi

This second major division of Nidāna Vagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi contains ten saṃyuttas,
all dealing with fundamental aspects of the doctrine. The discourses
are chiefly concerned with the principles of conditionality and
interdependence, explained in the detailed formula which is called Paṭiccasamuppāda (Conditioned Genesis or Dependent Origination), consisting of twelve factors.