English
this alone is true, anything else is foolish,' you say. 'Does the Tathāgata exist after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish? Is Master Gotama of such a view?' Being asked thus, 'No, Vaccha, I am not of such a view, that the Tathāgata exists after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish,' you say. 'Does the Tathāgata not exist after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish? Is Master Gotama of such a view?' Being asked thus, 'No, Vaccha, I am not of such a view, that the Tathāgata does not exist after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish,' you say. 'Does the Tathāgata both exist and not exist after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish? Is Master Gotama of such a view?' Being asked thus, 'No, Vaccha, I am not of such a view, that the Tathāgata both exists and not exists after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish,' you say. 'Does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish? Is Master Gotama of such a view?' Being asked thus, 'No, Vaccha, I am not of such a view, that the Tathāgata neither exists nor not exists after death, this alone is true, anything else is foolish,' you say. 'What danger, Master Gotama, do you see, that you do not adopt any of these views?' 189. 'The view, Vaccha, 'the world is eternal' is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a vacillation of views, a fetter of views. It is accompanied by suffering, by vexation, by despair, by fever. It does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. The view, 'the world is not eternal' , Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The world is finite,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The world is infinite,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The soul and the body are the same,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The soul is one thing, the body another,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The Tathāgata exists after death,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The Tathāgata does not exist after death,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death,’ Vaccha… (remainder omitted) … ‘The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death,’ Vaccha, this is a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a vacillation of views, a fetter of views, attended by suffering, by vexation, by despair, by fever. It does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. Seeing this danger, Vaccha, I have not approached any of these views at all.” “Does Master Gotama have any view?” “‘View,’ Vaccha, this has been removed from the Tathāgata. For this has been seen by the Tathāgata, Vaccha: ‘Such is form, such is the origin of form, such is the passing away of form; such is feeling, such is the origin of feeling, such is the passing away of feeling; such is perception, such is the origin of perception, such is the passing away of perception; such are mental formations, such is the origin of mental formations, such is the passing away of mental formations; such is consciousness, such is the origin of consciousness, such is the passing away of consciousness.’ Therefore, I say that the Tathāgata, through the destruction, dispassion, cessation, relinquishment, and letting go of all conceivings, all agitations, all I-making, mine-making, and latent tendencies of conceit, is unattached and liberated.” 190. “Where, then, Master Gotama, is a bhikkhu reborn whose mind is thus liberated?” “‘Is reborn,’ Vaccha, does not apply.” “Then, Master Gotama, is he not reborn?” “‘Is not reborn,’ Vaccha, does not apply.” “Then, Master Gotama, is he both reborn and not reborn?” “‘Is reborn and does not arise, Vaccha, that does not apply.” “Then, good Gotama, neither arises nor does not arise?” “Neither arises nor does not arise, Vaccha, that does not apply.” “When asked, ‘Where does a monk with such a liberated mind arise, good Gotama?’ you say, ‘Arises, Vaccha, that does not apply.’ When asked, ‘Then, good Gotama, does not arise?’ you say, ‘Does not arise, Vaccha, that does not apply.’ When asked, ‘Then, good Gotama, both arises and does not arise?’ you say, ‘Both arises and does not arise, Vaccha, that does not apply.’ When asked, ‘Then, good Gotama, neither arises nor does not arise?’ you say, ‘Neither arises nor does not arise, Vaccha, that does not apply.’ Here, good Gotama, I am bewildered, here I am confused. Even that little bit of faith I had from my previous conversation with the good Gotama has now vanished.” “It is enough for you, Vaccha, to be bewildered, enough to be confused. For this Dhamma, Vaccha, is profound, difficult to see, difficult to comprehend, peaceful, sublime, beyond the sphere of reasoning, subtle, to be experienced by the wise. It is difficult for you to know, who holds other views, who has other preferences, who has other inclinations, who has other practices, who has other teachers.” 191. “Then, Vaccha, I will question you in return; you should answer as you deem fit. What do you think, Vaccha, if a fire were burning in front of you, would you know, ‘This fire is burning in front of me’?” “If a fire were burning in front of me, good Gotama, I would know, ‘This fire is burning in front of me’.” “If, Vaccha, someone were to ask you, ‘This fire that is burning in front of you, what does this fire depend on to burn?’ When asked thus, Vaccha, How would you explain it? "If, good Gotama, they were to ask me thus: ‘This fire burning before you, what does this fire depend on to burn?’ Being asked thus, good Gotama, I would explain thus: ‘This fire burning before me, this fire depends on grass and wood as fuel to burn.’" "If, Vaccha, that fire before you were to go out, would you know: ‘This fire before me has gone out’?" "If, good Gotama, that fire before me were to go out, I would know: ‘This fire before me has gone out’." "But if, Vaccha, they were to ask you thus: ‘This fire before you that has gone out, to which direction has that fire gone from here – to the east, or the south, or the west, or the north?’ Being asked thus, Vaccha, how would you explain it?" "It does not apply, good Gotama. For that fire, good Gotama, which burned dependent on grass and wood as fuel, with the exhaustion of that fuel and no other fuel being supplied, being without sustenance, it is simply reckoned as extinguished." Just so, Vaccha, that form by which one might describe the Tathagata, that form has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm-stump, brought to non-existence, not liable to arise again in the future. Freed from reckoning by form, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom – just like the great ocean. ‘He reappears’ does not apply. ‘He does not reappear’ does not apply. ‘He both reappears and does not reappear’ does not apply. ‘He neither reappears nor does not reappear’ does not apply. That feeling by which one might describe the Tathagata, that feeling has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm-stump, brought to non-existence, not liable to arise again in the future. Freed from reckoning by feeling, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom – just like the great ocean. 'He reappears' does not apply, 'He does not reappear' does not apply, 'He both reappears and does not reappear' does not apply, 'He neither reappears nor does not reappear' does not apply. By whatever perception one would describe the Tathagata, that perception for the Tathagata is abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm-stump, brought to non-existence, not liable to arise in the future. The Tathagata, Vaccha, is liberated by the destruction of perception, deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom – just like the great ocean. 'He reappears' does not apply, 'He does not reappear' does not apply, 'He both reappears and does not reappear' does not apply, 'He neither reappears nor does not reappear' does not apply. By whatever formations one would describe the Tathagata, those formations for the Tathagata are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm-stump, brought to non-existence, not liable to arise in the future. The Tathagata, Vaccha, is liberated by the destruction of formations, deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom – just like the great ocean. 'He reappears' does not apply, 'He does not reappear' does not apply, 'He both reappears and does not reappear' does not apply, 'He neither reappears nor does not reappear' does not apply. By whatever consciousness one would describe the Tathagata, that consciousness for the Tathagata is abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm-stump, brought to non-existence, not liable to arise in the future. The Tathagata, Vaccha, is liberated by the destruction of consciousness, deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom – just like the great ocean. 'He reappears' does not apply, 'He does not reappear' does not apply, 'He both reappears and does not reappear' does not apply, 'He neither reappears nor does not reappear' does not apply. When this was said, the wanderer Vacchagotta said to the Blessed One: "Just as, good Gotama, not far from a village or town, there is a great sal tree. Due to its impermanence, its branches and leaves would fall off, its bark would fall off, its sapwood would fall off. its branches and leaves fallen away, its outer bark fallen away, its sapwood fallen away, it would be pure, established in the heartwood; just so, the teaching of Master Gotama its branches and leaves fallen away, its outer bark fallen away, its sapwood fallen away, is pure, established in the heartwood. Excellent, Master Gotama… May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from today until life's end. The Aggivacchasutta, the second, is finished. 3. The Mahāvacchasutta 193. Thus have I heard: