English
He eats from one house or takes one mouthful; from two houses or takes two mouthfuls… from seven houses or takes seven mouthfuls; he sustains himself with one donation, with two donations… with seven donations; he eats food once a day, once every two days… once every seven days. Thus, such a one And even for half a month he dwells devoted to the practice of eating food at intervals. 395. ‘‘These too, friend Gotama, are ascetic practices of these recluses and brahmins, called recluseship and called brahminhood. Or he eats vegetables, or he eats millet, or he eats wild rice, or he eats rice bran, or he eats parched grain, or he eats rice husks, or he eats rice gruel, or he eats oil-cake, or he eats grass, or he eats cow-dung, he subsists on roots and fruits of the forest, eating fallen fruits. 396. ‘‘These too, friend Gotama, are ascetic practices of these recluses and brahmins, called recluseship and called brahminhood. He wears hempen clothes, he wears clothes of mixed hemp and other fibers, he wears shrouds, he wears rag-robes, he wears bark clothes, he wears antelope hide, he wears a strip of antelope hide, he wears kusa-grass garments, he wears bark garments, he wears plank garments, he wears hair blankets, he wears horse-hair blankets, he wears owl-feather garments, or he is a hair-and-beard plucker, devoted to the practice of plucking out hair and beard, or he stands upright, rejecting a seat, or he squats, devoted to the practice of squatting, or he lies on a bed of thorns, he makes his bed on thorns, he makes his bed on a plank, he makes his bed on the bare ground, or he sleeps on one side, covered in dust and dirt, or he lives in the open air, as he finds it, or he is a food-rejecter, devoted to the practice of rejecting food, or he is a non-drinker, devoted to the practice of not drinking, even for the third time in the evening he dwells devoted to the practice of descending into water.’’ 397. ‘‘Even if, Kassapa, he is naked, of loose conduct, licking his hands, ... thus of such a kind, even for half a month, he dwells devoted to the practice of eating food at intervals. But for him, this perfection of virtue, perfection of mind, perfection of wisdom, is undeveloped, unactualized. Then indeed he is far from recluseship, far from... But when, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and through the destruction of the taints, attains the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, and dwells therein. This monk, Kassapa, is called a recluse, and also a brahmin. Even if, Kassapa, he is a vegetable-eater, a wild-rice-eater... he sustains himself on roots, fruits, and fallen fruits from the forest. But if his accomplishment in virtue, accomplishment in mind, and accomplishment in wisdom are undeveloped and unrealized, then he is far from recluseship, far from brahmanhood. But when, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and through the destruction of the taints, attains the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, and dwells therein. This monk, Kassapa, is called a recluse, and also a brahmin. Even if, Kassapa, he wears hempen clothes, or clothes of mixed fibers... or he practices bathing in water three times a day. But if his accomplishment in virtue, accomplishment in mind, and accomplishment in wisdom are undeveloped and unrealized, then he is far from recluseship, far from brahmanhood. But when, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and through the destruction of the taints, attains the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, and dwells therein. This monk, Kassapa, is called a recluse, and also a brahmin. When this was said, Kassapa the naked ascetic said to the Blessed One: "It is difficult, good Gotama, recluseship is difficult, brahmanhood is difficult." "It is indeed the common perception in the world, Kassapa, that 'recluseship is difficult, brahmanhood is difficult.' Even if, Kassapa, one is a naked ascetic, with loose conduct, licking food from his hands... or practices such a routine of eating only every half-month. And by this measure, Kassapa, by this ascetic practice, if recluseship or brahmanhood were to be... or the holy life is difficult, very difficult, it would not be right to say – 'the ascetic life is difficult, the holy life is difficult.' And it would be possible to do this by a householder or a householder's son or even by a pot-washer (slave woman) – 'Come, I will be naked, of loose conduct, licking my hands... and so on... and for half a month I will live devoted to such a practice of eating food at intervals.' But since, Kassapa, apart from this measure (of practice), apart from this ascetic practice, the ascetic life or the holy life is difficult, very difficult, therefore it is right to say – 'the ascetic life is difficult, the holy life is difficult.' When, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and by the destruction of the taints, taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, he enters upon and abides in it. This, Kassapa, is called a monk, an ascetic, and also a brahmin. Even if, Kassapa, one eats vegetables, eats millet... and so on... lives on roots and fruits from the forest, eating fallen fruits. If by this measure, Kassapa, by this ascetic practice, the ascetic life or the holy life were difficult, very difficult, it would not be right to say – 'the ascetic life is difficult, the holy life is difficult.' And it would be possible to do this by a householder or a householder's son or even by a pot-washer (slave woman) – 'Come, I will eat vegetables, or eat millet... and so on... I will live on roots and fruits from the forest, eating fallen fruits.' But since, Kassapa, apart from this measure (of practice), apart from this ascetic practice, the ascetic life or the holy life is difficult, very difficult, therefore it is right to say – 'the ascetic life is difficult, the holy life is difficult.' When, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and by the destruction of the taints, taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life... having directly known and realized, he enters and dwells. This, Kassapa, is called a bhikkhu, a recluse, and also a brahmin. Even if, Kassapa, he wears coarse clothes, or wears clothes of discarded rags… …or is devoted to bathing in water three times a day, morning, noon, and evening. If by this measure, Kassapa, by this ascetic practice, recluseship or brahminhood were difficult, very difficult, it would not be proper to say: ‘Difficult is recluseship, difficult is brahminhood.’ And it would be possible for a householder or a householder’s son, or even a pot-slave woman, to do this: ‘Come, I will wear coarse clothes, I will wear clothes of discarded rags… …I will be devoted to bathing in water three times a day, morning, noon, and evening.’ But because, Kassapa, apart from this measure, apart from this ascetic practice, recluseship or brahminhood is difficult, very difficult, therefore it is proper to say: ‘Difficult is recluseship, difficult is brahminhood.’ When, Kassapa, a bhikkhu cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, without enmity, without ill-will, and by the destruction of the taints, having directly known and realized for himself in this very life the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, he enters and dwells. This, Kassapa, is called a bhikkhu, a recluse, and also a brahmin.” 399. When this was said, the naked ascetic Kassapa said to the Blessed One: “Difficult to know, good Gotama, is a recluse; difficult to know is a brahmin.” “This is the nature, Kassapa, in the world: ‘Difficult to know is a recluse, difficult to know is a brahmin.’ Even if, Kassapa, he is a naked ascetic, of loose conduct, licking his hands… …or is devoted to eating food at intervals of half a month. If by this measure, Kassapa, by this ascetic practice, a recluse or a brahmin were difficult to know, very difficult to know, it would not be proper to say: ‘Difficult to know is a recluse, difficult to know is a brahmin.’ And it would be possible for a householder or a householder’s son, or even even by a pot-washer woman: 'This one is naked, of loose conduct, licking his hands... ... thus, of such a kind, even for half a month, he lives devoted to the practice of eating food at intervals.' And since, Kassapa, apart from this measure, apart from this ascetic practice, a recluse or a brahmin is hard to know, very hard to know, therefore it is proper to say: 'Hard to know is a recluse, hard to know is a brahmin.' But when, Kassapa, a monk cultivates a mind of loving-kindness, free from enmity, free from ill-will, and by the destruction of the taints, the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realized it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, he abides in it. This monk, Kassapa, is called a recluse, and also a brahmin. Even if, Kassapa, one eats vegetables, eats wild rice... ... lives on roots and fruits of the forest, eats fallen fruits. And if by this measure, Kassapa, by this ascetic practice, a recluse or a brahmin were hard to know, very hard to know, it would not be proper to say: 'Hard to know is a recluse, hard to know is a brahmin.' But this one could be known by a householder or a householder's son, even by a pot-washer woman: 'This one eats vegetables or eats wild rice... ... lives on roots and fruits of the forest, eats fallen fruits.'