English
Explanation of the Pasūra Sutta Now he will explain the Pasūra Sutta – 59. Here alone is purity, so they declare, In other doctrines, they say, there is no purity; Clinging to that, they speak of good there, Firmly established in their own separate truths. "Here alone is purity," so they declare. Here alone they speak of purity, purification, complete purity, release, liberation, complete liberation; they declare, they state, they proclaim, they expound, they assert. "The world is eternal, this alone is true, other is false" – thus they speak of purity, purification, complete purity, release, liberation, complete liberation; they declare, they state, they proclaim, they expound, they assert. "The world is not eternal... the world is finite... the world is infinite... the soul is the body... the soul is one, the body another... the Tathāgata exists after death... the Tathāgata does not exist after death... the Tathāgata both exists and does not exist after death... the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death – this alone is true, other is false" – thus they speak of purity, purification, complete purity, release, liberation, complete liberation; they declare, they state, they proclaim, they expound, they assert – "Here alone is purity," so they declare. "In other doctrines, they say, there is no purity." Setting aside their own teacher, their own doctrine, their own community, their own view, their own practice, their own path, they cast aside, they reject, they dismiss all other doctrines. "That teacher is not omniscient, the doctrine is not well-proclaimed, the community is not well-practiced, the view is not excellent, the practice is not well-established, the path is not leading to liberation; there is no purity there, no purification, no complete purity, no release, no liberation, no complete liberation; they are not purified there, nor made pure, nor completely purified, nor released, nor liberated, nor completely liberated; they are inferior, lowly, mean, contemptible, worthless, insignificant" – thus they spoke, thus they declare, thus they state, thus they proclaim, thus they expound, thus they assert – "In other doctrines, they say, there is no purity." "Clinging to that, they speak of good there." "Clinging to that" means clinging to that teacher, that doctrine... A collection of doctrines, a view, a practice, a path, they rely on, are closely attached to, cling to, resort to, settle on, are devoted to. Therein: by their own view, by their own approval, by their own liking, by their own doctrine. 'Saying it is good' means: speakers of good, speakers of excellence, speakers of skill, speakers of steadfastness, speakers of reason, speakers of cause, speakers of characteristics, speakers of reasons, speakers of grounds, by their own doctrine – that which they rely on, there they speak of as good. In individual truths, variously settled, means: Various ascetics and brahmins, variously in individual truths, are settled, established, clinging, resorted to, adopted, devoted. Thinking 'The world is eternal, this alone is truth, other is delusion,' they are settled, established, clinging, resorted to, adopted, devoted. Thinking 'The world is not eternal... (and so on, up to) the Tathāgata neither is nor is not after death, this alone is truth, other is delusion,' they are settled, established, clinging, resorted to, adopted, devoted – thus, variously settled in individual truths. Therefore the Blessed One said: 'Herein alone is purity,' thus they declare, 'Not in other doctrines,' they say there is purity. That which they rely on, there they speak of as good, Variously settled in individual truths. 60. Those desirous of debate, having plunged into the assembly, they consider each other fools, mutually; They speak, relying on their own views, words of dispute, Desirous of praise, speaking of themselves as skillful. 'Those desirous of debate, having plunged into the assembly,' means: 'Those desirous of debate' means: those desirous of debate, seeking debate, having debate as their aim, having debate as their foremost purpose, pursuing the search for debate. 'Having plunged into the assembly' means: having plunged into, immersed in, deeply entered, entered an assembly of nobles, an assembly of brahmins, an assembly of householders, an assembly of ascetics – those desirous of debate, having plunged into the assembly. 'They consider each other fools, mutually,' means: 'Mutually' means: two persons, two quarrel-makers, two dispute-makers, two wrangle-makers, two controversy-makers, two case-makers, two debaters, two speakers; they each other as a fool, as inferior, as very inferior, as low, as contemptible, as a wretch, as insignificant. Therefore, they burn, they see, they will see, they observe, they contemplate, they examine – They torment the fool, mutually, one another. They speak, relying on others, they speak disputes. Relying on another teacher, doctrine, group, view, practice, path; dependent, clinging, resorted to, settled in, devoted to. Dispute is called quarrel, wrangling, contention, controversy, strife. Or else, they speak disputes, they speak disputatious talk, they speak dispute, they speak quarrel, they speak wrangling, they speak contention, they speak controversy, they speak strife; they relate, they speak, they explain, they use (these terms) – They speak, relying on others, they speak disputes. Desirous of praise, speaking skillfully. Desirous of praise: desirous of praise, having praise as their aim, having praise as their intention, having praise as their foremost object, going about seeking praise. Speaking skillfully: speaking skillfully, speaking wisely, speaking firmly, speaking justly, speaking with reasons, speaking with characteristics, speaking with causes, speaking with grounds, according to their own doctrine – Desirous of praise, speaking skillfully. Therefore the Blessed One said: “Those desirous of debate, having plunged into the assembly, torment the fool, mutually, one another; They speak, relying on others, they speak disputes, desirous of praise, speaking skillfully.” 61. Engaged in speech in the midst of the assembly, desiring praise, he becomes perplexed; But when defeated, he becomes confused, he gets angry at blame, seeking faults. Engaged in speech in the midst of the assembly: In a khattiya assembly, or a brahmin assembly, or a householder assembly, or an ascetic assembly, in the midst of, in one's own speech, engaged, applied, yoked, well-engaged, thoroughly engaged, to speak – Engaged in speech in the midst of the assembly. Desiring praise, he becomes perplexed: Desiring praise means desiring praise, commendation, fame, eulogy; wishing for, approving, longing for, coveting. He becomes perplexed means: even before the conversation, he is doubtful, he becomes perplexed. "Will victory be mine, or will defeat be mine, how shall I refute, how..." How shall I make a counter-argument? How shall I make a distinction? How shall I make a counter-distinction? How shall I make an entanglement? How shall I make an disentanglement? How shall I make a cutting off? How shall I make a circle? Thus, before the discussion, he is hesitant and indecisive. He is indecisive, desiring praise. But when refuted, he is ashamed. Those who examine questions, the assembly, the members of the assembly, the critics, they refute him. "What was said is devoid of meaning," they refute it on the basis of meaning. "What was said is devoid of phrasing," they refute it on the basis of phrasing. "What was said is devoid of meaning and phrasing," they refute it on the basis of meaning and phrasing. "Your meaning is poorly conveyed, your phrasing is poorly arranged, your meaning and phrasing are poorly conveyed and arranged. Your refutation is not done, your counter-argument is poorly done, your distinction is not done, your counter-distinction is poorly done, your entanglement is not done, your disentanglement is poorly done, your cutting off is not done, your circle is poorly done, your discourse is uneven, poorly spoken, poorly uttered, poorly expressed, poorly said, poorly articulated." They refute him. But when refuted, he is ashamed. When refuted, he is ashamed, oppressed, afflicted, distressed, and disheartened. Thus, when refuted, he is ashamed. He gets angry at blame, seeking faults. At blame, censure, disrepute, and disparagement, he gets angry, becomes agitated, becomes established in it, and manifests anger, hatred, and displeasure. Thus, he gets angry at blame. Seeking faults means seeking defects, seeking errors, seeking slips, seeking lapses, seeking openings. Thus, he gets angry at blame, seeking faults. Therefore, the Blessed One said: "Engaged in discourse in the midst of the assembly, desiring praise, he is indecisive; But when refuted, he is ashamed, he gets angry at blame, seeking faults." 62. Whose statement they call deficient, refuted by those who examine questions; He laments and grieves, being of low speech, Alas, it has passed beyond, thinking, he laments. They say his argument is lost, that his argument is inferior, utterly lost, completely lost, made to fail, not fulfilled. Thus they said, thus they speak, thus they declare, thus they explain, thus they express – they say his argument is lost. The question-examiners have struck it down. Those who are the question-examiners, the assembly, the members of the assembly, the debaters, they reject it. "The statement is devoid of meaning," thus they reject it on the grounds of meaning. "The statement is devoid of expression," thus they reject it on the grounds of expression. "The statement is devoid of meaning and expression," thus they reject it on the grounds of meaning and expression. "Your meaning is poorly led, your expression is poorly placed, your meaning and expression are poorly led, poorly placed, your refutation is not done, your counter-action is ill-done,