English
5. The Chapter on the Great Sacrifice 1. Discourse on the Seven Stations of Consciousness 44. “There are, monks, these seven stations of consciousness. Which seven? There are, monks, beings with diverse bodies and diverse perceptions, such as humans, some devas, and some in the lower realms. This is the first station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings with diverse bodies and unified perception, such as the Brahma-devas who are reborn for the first time. This is the second station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings with unified body and diverse perceptions, such as the Abhassara devas. This is the third station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings with unified body and unified perception, such as the Subhakiṇha devas. This is the fourth station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings who, by completely transcending perceptions of form, by the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, by not attending to perceptions of diversity, attain the sphere of infinite space, thinking ‘space is infinite.’ This is the fifth station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings who, by completely transcending the sphere of infinite space, attain the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking ‘consciousness is infinite.’ This is the sixth station of consciousness. “There are, monks, beings who, by completely transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, attain the sphere of nothingness, thinking ‘there is nothing.’ This is the seventh station of consciousness. These, monks, are the seven stations of consciousness.” The first. 2. Discourse on the Requisites of Concentration 45. “There are, monks, these seven requisites of concentration. Which seven? Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness. The one-pointedness of mind, monks, that is equipped with these seven factors, this, monks, is called noble right concentration, with its support and with its requisites.” The second. 3. First Discourse on Fire 46. “S There are, monks, seven fires. Which seven? The fire of passion, the fire of hatred, the fire of delusion, the fire of those worthy of offerings, the fire of householders, the fire of those worthy of gifts, the fire of wood – these, monks, are the seven fires. The third. 4. The Second Discourse on Fires 47. Now at that time, a great sacrifice was prepared by the brahmin Uggatasarīra. Five hundred bulls were brought to the stake for the sacrifice, five hundred young male calves were brought to the stake for the sacrifice, five hundred young female calves were brought to the stake for the sacrifice, five hundred goats were brought to the stake for the sacrifice, five hundred rams were brought to the stake for the sacrifice. Then the brahmin Uggatasarīra approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One. Having concluded the courteous and memorable talk, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the brahmin Uggatasarīra said this to the Blessed One: “I have heard, good Gotama, that the kindling of fire, the erecting of the sacrificial post, is of great fruit, of great benefit.” “I too, brahmin, have heard this, that the kindling of fire, the erecting of the sacrificial post, is of great fruit, of great benefit.” A second time, the brahmin Uggatasarīra… …A third time, the brahmin Uggatasarīra said this to the Blessed One: “I have heard, good Gotama, that the kindling of fire, the erecting of the sacrificial post, is of great fruit, of great benefit.” “I too, brahmin, have heard this, that the kindling of fire, the erecting of the sacrificial post, is of great fruit, of great benefit.” “This, good Gotama, agrees with both you, good Gotama, and us, in every respect.” When this was said, Venerable Ānanda said this to the brahmin Uggatasarīra: “It is not, brahmin, in this way that Tathāgatas should be asked: ‘I have heard, good Gotama, that the kindling of fire, the erecting of the sacrificial post, is of great fruit, of great benefit.’ Rather, brahmin, Tathāgatas should be asked thus: (They) went to ask – ‘Indeed, venerable sir, I wish to kindle the fire, I wish to erect the sacrificial post. Let the Blessed One, venerable sir, instruct me. Let the Blessed One, venerable sir, advise me for my long-term welfare and happiness.’ Then indeed, the brahmin Uggatasarīra said this to the Blessed One: ‘‘Indeed, good Gotama, I wish to kindle the fire, I wish to erect the sacrificial post. Let the good Gotama instruct me. Let the good Gotama advise me for my long-term welfare and happiness.’’ ‘‘Brahmin, one who kindles the fire, who erects the sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, raises three weapons: unwholesome, leading to suffering, with painful results. Which three? The weapon of body, the weapon of speech, the weapon of mind. Brahmin, one who kindles the fire, who erects the sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, generates such a thought: ‘Let so many bulls be slain for the sacrifice, let so many bullocks be slain for the sacrifice, let so many heifers be slain for the sacrifice, let so many goats be slain for the sacrifice, let so many sheep be slain for the sacrifice.’ Thinking ‘I am doing merit,’ he does demerit, thinking ‘I am doing wholesome,’ he does unwholesome, thinking ‘I am seeking the path to a good destination,’ he seeks the path to a bad destination. Brahmin, one who kindles the fire, who erects the sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, raises this first weapon of mind, unwholesome, leading to suffering, with painful results. ‘‘Furthermore, Brahmin, one who kindles the fire, who erects the sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, speaks such words: ‘Let so many bulls be slain for the sacrifice, let so many bullocks be slain for the sacrifice, let so many heifers be slain for the sacrifice, let so many goats be slain for the sacrifice, let so many sheep be slain for the sacrifice.’ Thinking ‘I am doing merit,’ he does demerit, thinking ‘I am doing wholesome,’ he does unwholesome, thinking ‘I am seeking the path to a good destination,’ he seeks the path to a bad destination. Ag What, brahmin, lighting a fire, erecting a sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, he sets up this second weapon of speech, unwholesome, bringing suffering, with suffering as its result. And furthermore, brahmin, lighting a fire, erecting a sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, he himself first undertakes to kill bulls for the sacrifice, he himself first undertakes to kill calves for the sacrifice, he himself first undertakes to kill heifers for the sacrifice, he himself first undertakes to kill goats for the sacrifice, he himself first undertakes to kill rams for the sacrifice. He, thinking 'I do merit,' does demerit, thinking 'I do wholesome,' does unwholesome, thinking 'I seek the path to a good destination,' seeks the path to a bad destination. Lighting a fire, brahmin, erecting a sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, he sets up this third weapon of body, unwholesome, bringing suffering, with suffering as its result. Lighting a fire, brahmin, erecting a sacrificial post, even before the sacrifice, he sets up these three weapons, unwholesome, bringing suffering, with suffering as their result. These three fires, brahmin, should be abandoned, avoided, not cultivated. Which three? The fire of lust, the fire of hatred, the fire of delusion. And why, brahmin, should this fire of lust be abandoned, avoided, not cultivated? One who is stained, brahmin, overcome by lust, with mind consumed, acts wrongly by body, acts wrongly by speech, acts wrongly by mind. Having acted wrongly by body, having acted wrongly by speech, having acted wrongly by mind, with the breaking up of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a downfall, hell. Therefore, this fire of lust should be abandoned, avoided, not cultivated. And why, brahmin, should this fire of hatred be abandoned, avoided, not cultivated? One who is hostile, brahmin, overcome by hatred, his mind overwhelmed, he acts wrongly by body, he acts wrongly by speech, he acts wrongly by mind. Having acted wrongly by body, having acted wrongly by speech, having acted wrongly by mind, with the breaking up of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of woe, a bad destination, a downfall, in hell. Therefore, this fire of hatred should be abandoned, should be avoided, should not be cultivated. “And why, brahmin, should this fire of delusion be abandoned, be avoided, should not be cultivated? A deluded person, brahmin, overwhelmed by delusion, his mind overwhelmed, he acts wrongly by body, he acts wrongly by speech, he acts wrongly by mind. Having acted wrongly by body, having acted wrongly by speech, having acted wrongly by mind, with the breaking up of the body, after death, he reappears in a state of woe, a bad destination, a downfall, in hell. Therefore, this fire of delusion should be abandoned, should be avoided, should not be cultivated. These three fires, brahmin, should be abandoned, should be avoided, should not be cultivated. “There are three fires, brahmin, which should be honored, respected, esteemed, revered, and properly and happily maintained. Which three? The fire worthy of offerings, the householder's fire, the fire worthy of gifts. “And what, brahmin, is the fire worthy of offerings? Here, brahmin, those who are your mother or father, this, brahmin, is called the fire worthy of offerings. For what reason? From them, brahmin, you were born, you came into being. Therefore, this fire worthy of offerings should be honored, respected, esteemed, revered, and properly and happily maintained. “And what, brahmin, is the householder's fire? Here, brahmin, those who are your sons or daughters, or slaves or servants or workers, this, brahmin, is called the householder's fire. Therefore, this householder's fire should be honored,