English
by whom we were created, He is permanent, stable, eternal, of an unchanging nature, he will remain just so for eternity. But we, who were created by that venerable Brahmā, we are impermanent, unstable, short-lived, subject to falling, having come to this state. Thus, venerable sirs, you declare a doctrine of divine creation, of Brahmā's creation, a teaching of a primal origin. declares. ‘They said thus: “Thus indeed, friend Gotama, have we heard, just as the venerable Gotama says.”’ “And I, Bhaggava, understand the foremost. And I understand that, and I understand what is higher than that, and understanding that, I do not cling to it. And for me, who does not cling, nibbuti is known personally. Knowing which, the Tathāgata does not fall into error. 41. “There are, Bhaggava, some ascetics and brahmins who declare the foremost teaching of those corrupted by play. I approach them and say thus: ‘Is it true, venerable sirs, that you declare the foremost teaching of those corrupted by play?’ And they, when asked by me thus, answer ‘Yes.’ Then I say to them thus: ‘In what manner, venerable sirs, do you declare the foremost teaching of those corrupted by play?’ When asked by me, they cannot explain, and being unable to explain, they question me in return. When questioned by them, I explain: 42. ‘There are, friends, devas called “corrupted by play.” They dwell excessively given to laughter, play, and amusement. As they dwell excessively given to laughter, play, and amusement, their mindfulness becomes confused. From the confusion of mindfulness, those devas fall from that realm. ‘And it is possible, friends, that a certain being, having fallen from that realm, comes to this state. Having come to this state, he goes forth from home to homelessness. Having gone forth from home to homelessness, by following ardor, by following exertion, by following application, by following heedfulness, by following right attention, he attains such a concentration of mind that with his mind thus concentrated, he recollects that past dwelling; he recollects no further than that. ‘He says thus: “Those venerable devas who are not corrupted by play, they do not dwell excessively given to laughter, play, and amusement. As they do not dwell excessively given to laughter, play, and amusement, their mindfulness is not confused. From the non-confusion of mindfulness, Falsely, those gods do not pass away from that body, permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, they will remain just so for eternity. But we who were playful and corrupt, we lived excessively indulging in laughter, play, and amusement. While we lived thus, excessively indulging in laughter, play, and amusement, our mindfulness became confused. From the confusion of mindfulness, thus we fell from that body, impermanent, unstable, short-lived, subject to passing away, we came to this state. In this manner, venerable sirs, you declare the foremost teaching of the playful and corrupt.' They said thus: 'Thus indeed, friend Gotama, have we heard, just as Venerable Gotama says.' "And I, Bhaggava, know the foremost teaching... ...knowing which, the Tathāgata does not fall into error. 43. "There are, Bhaggava, some recluses and brahmins who declare the foremost teaching of the mind-corrupted. I approach them and say thus: 'Is it true, venerable sirs, that you declare the foremost teaching of the mind-corrupted?' And they, thus questioned by me, acknowledge, 'Yes.' I then say thus: 'But in what manner, venerable sirs, do you declare the foremost teaching of the mind-corrupted?' They, questioned by me, do not respond. Not responding, they question me in return. Questioned by them, I explain: 44. 'There are, friends, gods called "mind-corrupted." They gaze at each other excessively. Gazing at each other excessively, they corrupt their minds towards each other. With minds corrupted towards each other, their bodies become weary, their minds become weary. Those gods pass away from that body. 'It is indeed possible, friends, that a certain being, having passed away from that body, comes to this state. Having come to this state, he goes forth from the home life into homelessness. Having gone forth from the home life into homelessness, by following ardour, by following exertion, by following application, by following diligence... by following that attention, he attains such a concentration of mind, that with his mind thus concentrated, he recollects that past existence, but does not recollect beyond that. ‘So he says this: “Those venerable gods who are not defiled in mind, they do not gaze at each other excessively. Not gazing at each other excessively, they do not defile their minds towards each other. With minds undefiled towards each other, their bodies are not weary, their minds are not weary. Those gods do not fall from that body, they are permanent, stable, eternal, of an unchanging nature, they will remain just so for eternity. But we who were defiled in mind, we gazed at each other excessively. Gazing at each other excessively, we defiled our minds towards each other. With minds defiled towards each other, our bodies were weary, our minds were weary. Thus, we fell from that body, impermanent, unstable, short-lived, of a changing nature, we have come to this state.” “Thus, venerable sirs, you declare the primordial teaching of those defiled in mind.”’ ‘They said this: “Thus, friend Gotama, have we heard, just as the venerable Gotama says.”’ “And I, Bhaggava, understand the primordial… …by knowing which, the Tathagata does not fall into error. 45. “There are, Bhaggava, some recluses and brahmins who declare the primordial teaching of spontaneous generation. I approach them and say this: ‘Is it true, venerable sirs, that you declare the primordial teaching of spontaneous generation?’ And when thus questioned by me, they acknowledge, ‘Yes.’ Then I say this: ‘How, venerable sirs, do you declare the primordial teaching of spontaneous generation?’ When questioned by me, they cannot explain, and being unable to explain, they question me in return. When questioned, I explain to them: 46. ‘There are, friends, unconscious beings, The gods are non-attached. But those gods fall from that state of being due to the arising of perception. ‘It is possible, friends, that a certain being, having fallen from that state of being, comes to this state of being. Having come to this state of being, he goes forth from home to homelessness. Having gone forth from home to homelessness, by means of ardour, by means of exertion, by means of application, by means of heedfulness, by means of right attention, he attains such a concentration of mind that with his mind thus concentrated, he recollects the arising of perception, but he recollects nothing beyond that. ‘He says this: ‘The self and the world arose by chance.’ For what reason? ‘Because I did not exist before, but now I am, having come into being from non-being.’ Do you, venerable ones, declare such a doctrine of chance origination as the foremost teaching?’ ‘They said this: ‘Thus, friend Gotama, have we heard, just as venerable Gotama says.’ ‘I, Bhaggava, understand the foremost, and I understand that, and I understand what is even higher than that, and understanding that, I do not grasp it. And for me, not grasping, Nibbāna is known personally. Knowing which, the Tathāgata does not fall into error. 47. ‘Thus speaking, Bhaggava, thus explaining, some ascetics and brahmins falsely, vainly, untruthfully, and groundlessly accuse me: ‘The ascetic Gotama and his bhikkhus are perverse. The ascetic Gotama says this: ‘At the time when one enters and dwells in the beautiful liberation, at that time one perceives everything as ugly.’’ But I, Bhaggava, do not say this: ‘At the time when one enters and dwells in the beautiful liberation, at that time one perceives everything as ugly.’ Rather, I, Bhaggava, say this: ‘At the time when one enters and dwells in the beautiful liberation, the beautiful...’ indeed at that time he understands." "And those, Venerable Sir, are mistaken, who regard the Blessed One wrongly, and the bhikkhus. So confident am I, Venerable Sir, in the Blessed One. The Blessed One is capable for me to teach the Dhamma in such a way that I might attain and dwell in the beautiful liberation." 48. "Indeed, it is difficult, Bhaggava, for you, being of another view, another patience, another liking, another practice, another discipline, to attain and dwell in the beautiful liberation. Come now, Bhaggava, this confidence you have in me, you should carefully guard that." "If it is difficult for me, Venerable Sir, being of another view, another patience, another liking, another practice, another discipline, to attain and dwell in the beautiful liberation, then this confidence I have, Venerable Sir, in the Blessed One, I will carefully guard that." This is what the Blessed One said. Delighted, the wanderer Bhaggavagotta rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. The Pāthika Sutta, the first, is finished.