English
Having approached Āḷāra Kālāma, I said this: ‘To this extent, friend Kālāma, do you proclaim this Dhamma, having yourself directly known, realized, and attained it?’ ‘To this extent, friend, I proclaim this Dhamma, having myself directly known, realized, and attained it.’ ‘I too, friend, to this extent, dwell having myself directly known, realized, and attained this Dhamma.’ ‘It is a gain for us, friend, it is well-gained for us, that we see a venerable fellow practitioner such as you. Thus, the Dhamma that I proclaim, having myself directly known, realized, and attained, that Dhamma you dwell in, having yourself directly known, realized, and attained; the Dhamma that you dwell in, having yourself directly known, realized, and attained, that Dhamma I proclaim, having myself directly known, realized, and attained. Thus, the Dhamma that I know, that Dhamma you know; the Dhamma that you know, that Dhamma I know. Thus, as I am, so are you; as you are, so am I. Come now, friend, let us both together lead this community.’ Thus, Bhāradvāja, Āḷāra Kālāma, being my teacher, placed me, his pupil, on an equal footing with himself, and honored me with great honor. Then, Bhāradvāja, it 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, but only to rebirth in the sphere of nothingness.’ So I, Bhāradvāja, not delighting in that Dhamma, became disenchanted with that Dhamma and departed. 476. So I, Bhāradvāja, seeking what is wholesome, searching for the unsurpassed state of peace, approached Udaka Rāmaputta; Having approached Udaka Rāmaputta, I said this: ‘I wish, friend, to lead the holy life in this Dhamma and Discipline.’ When this was said, Bhāradvāja, Ud Alara Ramaputta said this to me: 'Live, venerable sir. Such is this Dhamma where a discerning person not long after would himself realize his own teacher's doctrine, and having attained it, would dwell in it.' So I, Bhāradvāja, not long after, quickly mastered that Dhamma. So I, Bhāradvāja, just by lip-service, just by talking and chattering, declared: 'I speak the doctrine of knowledge, I know and see the doctrine of the elders,' both I and others. Then it occurred to me, Bhāradvāja: 'Alara Rama did not merely declare that he himself had realized this Dhamma and, having attained it, dwelt in it, by mere faith alone; surely Alara Rama dwelt knowing and seeing this Dhamma.' Then I, Bhāradvāja, approached Udaka Ramaputta; and having approached, I said this to Udaka Ramaputta: 'To what extent, friend, did Alara Rama declare that he himself had realized this Dhamma and, having attained it, dwelt in it?' When this was said, Bhāradvāja, Udaka Ramaputta declared the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. Then it occurred to me, Bhāradvāja: 'It was not Alara Rama alone who had faith, I too have faith; It was not Alara Rama alone who had energy, I too have energy; It was not Alara Rama alone who had mindfulness, I too have mindfulness; It was not Alara Rama alone who had concentration, I too have concentration; It was not Alara Rama alone who had wisdom, I too have wisdom. What if I were to strive for the realization of that Dhamma which Alara Rama declared he himself had realized and, having attained it, dwelt in it?' So I, Bhāradvāja, not long after, quickly myself realized that Dhamma, and having attained it, dwelt in it. Then I, Bhāradvāja, approached Udaka Ramaputta; and having approached, I said this to Udaka Ramaputta: 'To this extent, friend, did Alara Rama declare that he himself had realized this Dhamma and, having attained it, dwelt in it?' 'To this extent, friend, Alara Rama declared that he himself had realized this Dhamma and, having attained it, dwelt in it.' 'I too, friend, 'Having myself directly known and realized this Dhamma, I dwell having attained it.' 'It is our gain, friend, it is well-gained for us, friend, that we see a fellow practitioner like the venerable one. Thus, the Dhamma that Rama, having himself directly known and realized, attained and proclaimed, that Dhamma you yourself, having directly known and realized, dwell having attained; the Dhamma that you yourself, having directly known and realized, dwell having attained, that Dhamma Rama, having himself directly known and realized, attained and proclaimed. Thus, the Dhamma that Rama directly knew, that Dhamma you know; the Dhamma that you know, that Dhamma Rama directly knew. Thus, as Rama was, so are you; as you are, so was Rama. Come now, friend, you take charge of this assembly.' Thus, Bharadvaja, Udaka Ramaputta, though my fellow practitioner, placed me in the position of a teacher, and honored me with great honor. Then, Bharadvaja, it occurred to me: 'This Dhamma does not lead to disenchantment, nor to dispassion, nor to cessation, nor to tranquility, nor to direct knowledge, nor to full enlightenment, nor to Nibbana, but only to rebirth in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception.' So, Bharadvaja, not delighting in that Dhamma, I became disenchanted with that Dhamma and departed. 477. So, Bharadvaja, seeking what is wholesome, searching for the unexcelled state of peace, I wandered through Magadha by stages, and came to Uruvela, the army cantonment. There I saw a delightful piece of ground, a charming forest grove, a river flowing clear, with pleasant fords, and a village for alms-round all around. Then, Bharadvaja, it occurred to me: 'Indeed, this is a delightful piece of ground, a charming forest grove, a river flowing clear, with pleasant fords, and a village for alms-round all around. This is indeed sufficient for a young man intent on exertion to exert himself.' So, Bharadvaja, I sat down right there. —‘This is enough for exertion.’ And then, Bhāradvāja, three similes occurred to me, unheard before, not extraordinary. “Just as, Bhāradvāja, a wet, sappy piece of wood is placed in water. Then a man comes, taking an upper fire-stick, ‘I will produce fire, I will make heat appear.’ What do you think, Bhāradvāja? Would that man, taking an upper fire-stick, rubbing that wet, sappy piece of wood placed in water, produce fire, make heat appear?” “No, indeed, Venerable Gotama. For what reason? Because, Venerable Gotama, that wet, sappy piece of wood is wet and sappy, and it is placed in water; that man would only be a partaker of weariness and vexation.” “Even so, Bhāradvāja, whatever ascetics or brahmins dwell unsecluded from sensual pleasures with 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 venerable ascetics and brahmins experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings caused by exertion, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. And even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful, sharp, severe, bitter feelings caused by exertion, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. This, Bhāradvāja, was the first simile that occurred to me, unheard before, not extraordinary. 478. “And again, Bhāradvāja, a second simile occurred to me, unheard before, not extraordinary. Just as, Bhāradvāja, a wet, sappy piece of wood is placed on dry land, far from water. Then a man comes, taking an upper fire-stick, ‘I will produce fire, I will make heat appear.’ What do you think, Bhāradvāja? Would that man, taking an upper fire-stick, rubbing that wet, sappy piece of wood placed on dry land, far from water, Would he, by rubbing, produce fire, make heat appear? No, indeed, venerable Gotama. For what reason? Because, venerable Gotama, that is wet wood, sappy, even though it is placed far from water on dry land. That man would only be a partaker of weariness and vexation. Just so, Bharadvaja, whosoever ascetics or brahmins dwell withdrawn from sensual pleasures, both in body and mind, and whose desire for sensual pleasures, attachment to sensual pleasures, infatuation with sensual pleasures, thirst for sensual pleasures, fever for sensual pleasures, is not well abandoned within, not well allayed: Even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins experience painful feelings, sharp, harsh, bitter, caused by external circumstances, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. Even if those venerable ascetics and brahmins do not experience painful feelings, sharp, harsh, bitter, caused by external circumstances, they are incapable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. This, Bharadvaja, was the second simile that occurred to me, unamazing, unheard before. 479. And further, Bharadvaja, a third simile occurred to me, unamazing, unheard before. Just as, Bharadvaja, dry, rotten wood is placed far from water on dry land. Then a man might come, taking the upper fire-stick, 'I will produce fire, I will make heat appear.' What do you think, Bharadvaja? Would that man, taking the upper fire-stick, by rubbing that dry, rotten wood placed far from water on dry land, produce fire, make heat appear? Yes, venerable Gotama. For what reason? Because, venerable Gotama, that is dry, rotten wood, and it is placed far from water on dry land. Just so, Bharadvaja, whosoever ascetics or brahmins dwell withdrawn from sensual pleasures, both in body and mind, and whose desire for sensual pleasures, attachment to sensual pleasures, infatuation with sensual pleasures, thirst for sensual pleasures, fever for sensual pleasures... And that defilement within is well abandoned, well allayed. Even if those venerable recluses and brahmins experience inflicted painful, sharp, harsh, bitter feelings, they are capable of knowledge, of vision, of supreme enlightenment. Even if those venerable recluses and brahmins do not experience inflicted