English
Having approached Uddaka Rāmaputta, I said this to him: ‘Friend, did Rāma proclaim this Dhamma, having realized it himself through direct knowledge, and having attained it, up to this extent?’ ‘Indeed, friend, Rāma proclaimed this Dhamma, having realized it himself through direct knowledge, and having attained it, up to this extent.’ ‘Friend, I too dwell, having realized this Dhamma myself through direct knowledge, and having attained it, up to this extent.’ ‘It is our gain, friend, it is our good fortune, friend, that we see a venerable fellow practitioner such as you. Thus, the Dhamma that Rāma proclaimed, having realized it himself through direct knowledge, and having attained it, that Dhamma you dwell in, having realized it yourself through direct knowledge, and having attained it; the Dhamma that you dwell in, having realized it yourself through direct knowledge, and having attained it, that Dhamma Rāma proclaimed, having realized it himself through direct knowledge, and having attained it. Thus, the Dhamma that Rāma knew, that Dhamma you know; the Dhamma that you know, that Dhamma Rāma knew. Thus, as Rāma was, so are you; as you are, so was Rāma. Come now, friend, you lead this assembly!’ Thus, Aggivessana, Uddaka Rāmaputta, though my fellow practitioner, placed me in the position of a teacher, and honored me with great veneration. Then, Aggivessana, this thought occurred to me: ‘This Dhamma does not lead to disenchantment, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to peace, nor to direct knowledge, nor to full enlightenment, nor to Nibbāna; it leads only to rebirth in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception.’ So then, Aggivessana, not delighting in that Dhamma, I became disenchanted with it and departed from it. Then, Aggivessana, seeking what is wholesome, searching for the unexcelled state of perfect peace, wandering by stages through Magadha, I arrived at Uruvelā, the army town. There I saw a delightful stretch of land, a charming grove, and a river... a river flows, clear, with good fords, delightful, and all around a village for alms. Then it occurred to me, Aggivessana: 'Indeed, this is a delightful place, and a charming forest grove, and a river flows, clear, with good fords, delightful, and all around a village for alms. This is indeed sufficient for a young man intent on exertion, for exertion.' So I, Aggivessana, sat down right there, thinking, 'This is sufficient for exertion.' 374. "And then, Aggivessana, three similes occurred to me, not strange, unheard before. Just as, Aggivessana, a wet, sappy piece of wood is placed in water. Then a man comes with an upper fire-stick, thinking, 'I will produce fire, I will make heat appear.' What do you think, Aggivessana, would that man, by rubbing that wet, sappy piece of wood placed in water with an upper fire-stick, be able to produce fire, to make heat appear?" "No, indeed, good Gotama." "For what reason?" "Because, good Gotama, that is a wet, sappy piece of wood, and it is placed in water. That man would only be a partaker of weariness and vexation." "Even so, Aggivessana, whatever ascetics or brahmins dwell unsecluded from sensual pleasures, in body and mind, and their desire for sensual pleasures, their affection for sensual pleasures, their infatuation with sensual pleasures, their thirst for sensual pleasures, their fever for sensual pleasures, is not well abandoned within, not well appeased, even if those good ascetics and brahmins experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings due to their efforts, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed enlightenment. Even if those good ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings due to their efforts, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed enlightenment. This, Aggivessana, was the first simile that occurred to me, not strange, unheard before. 375. "And another, Aggivessana, Then, a second simile occurred to me, unheard before, wonderful. Just as, Aggivessana, a wet log, full of sap, placed far from water, on dry land. Then a man comes, taking an upper fire-stick— ‘I will produce fire, I will make heat appear!’ What do you think, Aggivessana, would that man, taking an upper fire-stick, rubbing that wet log, full of sap, placed far from water, on dry land, produce fire, make heat appear? “No, indeed, good Gotama.” “For what reason?” “Because, good Gotama, that wet log, full of sap, even though placed far from water, on dry land, would only cause that man to be a partaker of weariness and vexation.” “Even so, Aggivessana, whatever ascetics or brahmins dwell with their body and mind not withdrawn from sensual pleasures, and their desire, attachment, infatuation, thirst, and fever for sensual pleasures is not well abandoned within, not well appeased, even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins experience painful, sharp, harsh, bitter feelings due to their own efforts, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. Even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful, sharp, harsh, bitter feelings due to their own efforts, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. This, Aggivessana, was the second simile that occurred to me, unheard before, wonderful.” “And again, Aggivessana, a third simile occurred to me, unheard before, wonderful. Just as, Aggivessana, a dry log, decayed, placed far from water, on dry land. Then a man comes, taking an upper fire-stick— ‘I will produce fire, I will make heat appear!’ What do you think, Aggivessana, would that man, taking an upper fire-stick, rubbing that dry log, decayed, placed far from water, on dry land, rubbing, would produce fire, would make heat appear?” “Yes, good Gotama.” “For what reason?” “Because, good Gotama, that is dry wood, tinder, and it is placed far from water, on dry land.” “Even so, Aggivessana, whatever ascetics or brahmins dwell withdrawn from sensual pleasures in body and mind, and their desire, their affection, their infatuation, their thirst, their fever for sensual pleasures is well abandoned within, is well appeased, even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings caused by external factors, they are capable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. Even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings caused by external factors, they are capable of knowledge, of vision, of unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. This, Aggivessana, was the third simile that occurred to me, unprecedented, unheard before. These, Aggivessana, were the three similes that occurred to me, unprecedented, unheard before.” 377. “Then, Aggivessana, it occurred to me: ‘What if I, pressing my teeth with my teeth, pressing my tongue against my palate, would subdue, would oppress, would torment my mind with my mind?’ So I, Aggivessana, pressing my teeth with my teeth, pressing my tongue against my palate, subdued, oppressed, tormented my mind with my mind. As I, Aggivessana, was subduing, oppressing, tormenting my mind with my mind, pressing my teeth with my teeth, pressing my tongue against my palate, sweat streamed from my armpits. Just as, Aggivessana, a strong man might seize a weaker man by the head or by the shoulders and subdue him, oppress him, torment him, even so, Aggivessana, as I, pressing my teeth with my teeth, pressing my tongue against my palate, subdued my mind with my mind Pressing down, Squeezing, Scorching, From my armpits Sweat came forth. My energy, Aggivessana, Was aroused, unflagging; Mindfulness was established, Unconfused; And my body was agitated, Not calmed, By that painful striving, As I was afflicted by the striving. Even such painful feelings That arose in me, Aggivessana, Did not overcome my mind. 378. Then, Aggivessana, It occurred to me: ‘What if I were to meditate Without breathing?’ So I, Aggivessana, Stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths From my mouth and nose. As I, Aggivessana, Had stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths From my mouth and nose, A mighty sound of winds Escaping from my ear-holes arose. Just as a mighty sound Arises from a blacksmith’s bellows Being blown, Even so, Aggivessana, As I had stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths From my mouth and nose, A mighty sound of winds Escaping from my ear-holes arose. My energy, Aggivessana, Was aroused, unflagging; Mindfulness was established, Unconfused; And my body was agitated, Not calmed, By that painful striving, As I was afflicted by the striving. Even such painful feelings That arose in me, Aggivessana, Did not overcome my mind. Then, Aggivessana, It occurred to me: ‘What if I were to meditate Without breathing?’ So I, Aggivessana, Stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths From my mouth, nose, and ears. As I, Aggivessana, Had stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths From my mouth, nose, and ears, Mighty winds Struck my head. Just as, Aggivessana, A strong man Might bore into one’s head With a sharp spike. Just so, Aggivessana, for me, when breathing in and out through mouth, and nose, and ears was stopped, excessive winds struck my head. My energy, Aggivessana, was aroused, unflagging, my mindfulness established, unconfused. Yet my body was agitated, not calmed, by that painful striving, by the striving's oppression. Even such painful feelings, Aggivessana, arising, did not overcome my mind. Then, Aggivessana, it occurred to me: ‘What if I were to practice meditation without breathing?’ So I, Aggivessana, stopped breathing in and out through my mouth, and nose, and ears. When breathing in and out through mouth, and nose, and ears was stopped, Aggivessana, excessive pains arose in my head. Just as, Aggivessana, a strong man might tie a tight turban around his head with a strong leather strap, just so, Aggivessana, when breathing in and out through mouth, and nose, and ears was stopped,