English
13. The Exposition of the Great Array Sutta Now, the exposition of the Great Array Sutta will be given – 130. Whoever these are, dwelling in views, And proclaiming, "This alone is true"; All of them incur blame, And also receive praise therein. "Whoever these are, dwelling in views." "Whoever" means all in all, in every way, all without remainder, without exception, completely – "whoever." "Dwelling in views." There are some recluses and brahmins who are view-followers; they, having taken up, grasped, seized, clung to, and become attached to one or another of the sixty-two views, dwell, reside, inhabit, and abide in their own respective views. Just as householders dwell in houses, or those with offenses dwell in offenses, or those with defilements dwell in defilements; even so, there are some... (and so on)... they abide – "whoever these are, dwelling in views." "And proclaiming, 'This alone is true'." They say, declare, speak, expound, and assert: "The world is eternal, this alone is true, all else is vain." "The world is not eternal... (and so on)... the Tathāgata neither is nor is not after death, this alone is true, all else is vain" – they say, declare, speak, expound, and assert – "and proclaiming, 'This alone is true'." "All of them incur blame." All those recluses and brahmins incur blame, incur censure, incur disrepute; all are blamed, all are censured, all are disreputed – "all of them incur blame." "And also receive praise therein." There, by their own view, their own acceptance, their own preference, their own doctrine, they receive, obtain, attain, and find praise, commendation, fame, and eulogy – "and also receive praise therein." Therefore, that created one said – "Whoever these are, dwelling in views, And proclaiming, 'This alone is true'; All of them incur blame..." and, moreover, they obtain praise there. For this is little, not enough for peace, I declare two fruits of dispute; Having seen even this, one should not dispute, Seeing the secure, non-disputing ground. "For this is little, not enough for peace" means: "For this is little" means: this is little, this is inferior, this is trifling, this is contemptible, this is paltry, this is insignificant – "for this is little." "Not enough for peace" means: not enough for the peace of lust, for the peace of hatred, for the peace of delusion, for anger... resentment... hypocrisy... envy... jealousy... stinginess... deceit... craftiness... obstinacy... arrogance... conceit... excessive pride... intoxication... heedlessness... for the peace, calming, tranquilizing, extinguishing, relinquishing, and allaying of all defilements... all evil conduct... all torments... all fevers... all distresses... all unwholesome volitional formations – "for this is little, not enough for peace." "I declare two fruits of dispute" means: For a quarrel of views, a contention of views, a conflict of views, a dispute of views, a strife of views, there are two fruits: there is victory and defeat, gain and loss, fame and infamy, blame and praise, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, desirable and undesirable, agreement and opposition, triumph and downfall, compliance and resistance. Or else, that action leads to hell, leads to the animal realm, leads to the realm of hungry ghosts – thus I declare, I explain, I teach, I make known, I establish, I reveal, I analyze, I make clear, I make manifest – "I declare two fruits of dispute." "Having seen even this, one should not dispute" means: "Having seen even this" means: having seen, having perceived, having weighed, having considered, having understood, having made clear this danger in quarrels of views, contentions of views, conflicts of views, disputes of views, strifes of views – "having seen even this." "One should not dispute" means: one should not quarrel, one should not contend, one should not... Should not make quarrels, should not make disputes, should not make contentions. Quarrels, strife, disputes, contentions, contentions he should abandon, remove, make an end of, bring to naught. From quarrels, strife, disputes, contentions, contentions he should be far removed, abstained, completely abstained, gone forth, detached, liberated, disjoined, he should dwell with an unbounded mind. Seeing this too, one should not dispute. Seeing the secure, non-disputing ground. The non-disputing ground is called the deathless Nibbāna. That which is the calming of all formations, the relinquishing of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nibbāna. This non-disputing ground, as security, as protection, as refuge, as shelter, as fearlessness, as immutability, as deathlessness, as Nibbāna, seeing, perceiving, observing, contemplating, examining – seeing the secure, non-disputing ground. Therefore, the Blessed One said: "This is indeed little, not enough for peace; I declare two fruits of dispute. Seeing this too, one should not dispute, seeing the secure, non-disputing ground." 132. Whatever diverse conventions there are, the wise one does not approach any of them. Being without attachment, what would he attach to? Practicing patience in what is seen and heard. "Whatever diverse conventions there are" means: "Whatever" is a word that encompasses all, in every way, completely, without remainder, without exception – "whatever." "Conventions" means the sixty-two views, the conventions of views. "Diverse" means conventions generated by diverse people, or conventions generated by many different people – "whatever diverse conventions there are." "The wise one does not approach any of them" means: The wise one is one who has attained knowledge, is discerning, insightful, intelligent. All these conventions of views he does not lead to, does not approach, does not go to, does not grasp, does not cling to, does not adhere to – "the wise one does not approach any of them." "Being without attachment, what would he attach to?" means: "Attachment" means two attachments – attachment of craving and attachment of views... (etc.) ... this is attachment of craving... (etc.) ... this is attachment of views. For him, the attachment of craving is abandoned... No, one who has relinquished the support of views; because the support of craving has been abandoned, because the support of views has been relinquished, what form would such a person, without support, approach, take up, grasp, cling to, or resolve upon as 'my self'? What feeling... what perception... what formations... what consciousness... what destination... what rebirth... what re-linking... what existence... what wandering... what round of existence would he approach, take up, grasp, cling to, or resolve upon? Such a one, without support, what support would he seek? "Not making contentment in what is seen and heard." Whether in what is seen, or in the purity of what is seen, or in what is heard, or in the purity of what is heard, or in what is thought, or in the purity of what is thought, not making contentment, not making desire, not making affection, not making passion, not generating, not producing, not bringing forth, not causing to arise – "not making contentment in what is seen and heard." Therefore the Blessed One said: "Whatever these various conventions there are, the wise one does not approach any of them; Such a one, without support, what support would he seek, not making contentment in what is seen and heard." 133. "The best in virtue declare purity through restraint, having undertaken vows, they are established; 'Here we shall train, and then there is purity,' brought to existence, skilled in their declarations." "The best in virtue declare purity through restraint." There are some ascetics and brahmins who are proponents of the best in virtue; they declare, say, speak, expound, explain, and assert purity, purification, complete purification, freedom, liberation, complete liberation by virtue alone, by restraint alone, by self-control alone, by non-transgression alone. The ascetic Muṇḍikāputta said this: "I declare, householder, a person endowed with four qualities to be perfectly skilled, supremely skilled, one who has attained the highest attainment, an ascetic beyond dispute. Which four? Here, householder, he does not commit evil deeds with the body, he does not speak evil speech, he does not conceive evil thoughts, he does not live by an evil livelihood. I declare, householder, a person endowed with these four qualities..." I declare that person accomplished in good, supremely good, attained to the highest attainment, an unassailable recluse. Just so, there are some recluses and brahmins who are proponents of the highest virtue. They, by virtue alone, by self-restraint alone, by control alone, by non-transgression alone, declare, say, speak, state, explain, assert purity, purification, complete purification, liberation, complete liberation, perfect liberation. Thus, the proponents of highest virtue declare purity by self-restraint. "They are established, having undertaken a vow." "Vow" means: An elephant vow, or a horse vow, or a cow vow, or a dog vow, or a crow vow, or a Vāsudeva vow, or a Baladeva vow, or a Puṇṇabhadra vow, or a Maṇibhadra vow, or a fire vow, or a nāga vow, or a supaṇṇa vow, or a yakkha vow, or an asura vow, or a gandhabba vow, or a great king vow, or a moon vow, or a sun vow, or an Indra vow, or a Brahmā vow, or a deity vow, or a direction vow. Having taken up, having undertaken, having grasped, having clung to, having become deeply attached, established, present, devoted, approached, settled, resolved. Thus, "they are established, having undertaken a vow." "Herein we should train, then there is purity." "Herein" means: By one's own view, by one's own acceptance, by one's own preference, by one's own doctrine. "We should train" means: We should train, we should practice, we should thoroughly practice, we should live having undertaken. Thus, "herein we should train." "Then there is purity" means: