Back to the library

B0102051616sāriputtasuttaniddeso (sariputra sutra commentary)

English

accomplished with omniscience. Nothing here is unseen by him, nor unknown, nor to be unknown; He fully knew all that is knowable, therefore the Tathāgata is the All-seeing Eye. Thus the Blessed One is "one with the eye" even by the all-seeing eye – as he is seen as "one with the eye." "Having dispelled all darkness" means: all darkness of lust, darkness of hatred, darkness of delusion, darkness of conceit, darkness of wrong views, darkness of defilements, darkness of misconduct, that which blinds, that which makes one eyeless, that which causes ignorance, that which obstructs wisdom, that which is on the side of affliction, that which does not lead to Nibbāna, having pushed away, having driven away, having abandoned, having completely abandoned, having dispelled, having brought to an end, having made to cease to be – "having dispelled all darkness." "Alone he found delight." "Alone" means the Blessed One is alone by way of renunciation, alone by being without a second, alone by the abandonment of craving, alone by being utterly free from lust, alone by being utterly free from hatred, alone by being utterly free from delusion, alone by being utterly free from defilements, alone by having gone on the one-way path, alone by having fully awakened to unsurpassed perfect self-awakening. How is the Blessed One alone by way of renunciation? The Blessed One, while still young, with fresh black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, having left behind his unwilling parents, who were weeping, crying, lamenting, and his circle of relatives, having cut off all household impediments, having cut off impediments of children and wife, having cut off impediments of relatives, having cut off impediments of friends and associates, having cut off impediments of possessions, having shaved off his hair and beard, having put on saffron robes, having gone forth from home to homelessness, having attained the state of having nothing, he lives, dwells, moves, acts, maintains, carries on, sustains alone – thus the Blessed One is alone by way of renunciation. How is the Blessed One alone by being without a second? Having thus gone forth, he alone resorts to secluded forest and wilderness dwellings, Very quiet, with little noise, with secluded breezes, suitable for human privacy, suitable for seclusion. He walks alone, he goes alone, he stands alone, he sits alone, he lies down alone, he enters the village for alms alone, he returns alone, he sits in solitude alone, he undertakes walking meditation alone, he walks, he dwells, he moves, he acts, he maintains, he passes, he spends (his time) alone – Thus, the Blessed One is alone in the sense of being without a second. How is the Blessed One alone in the sense of abandoning craving? Thus, he, alone, without a second, diligent, ardent, resolute, dwelling on the bank of the Nerañjarā River, at the foot of the Bodhi tree, exerting great effort, having vanquished Māra with his army, the Dark One, Namuci, the kinsman of the negligent, abandoned, dispelled, made an end of, brought to non-existence the widespread, clinging net of craving. "A person with craving as a companion, wanders through a long journey; passing from this state to another state, does not transcend transmigration. Knowing this danger, that craving is the origin of suffering; a bhikkhu, free from craving, unclinging, mindful, should wander." Thus, the Blessed One is alone in the sense of abandoning craving. How is the Blessed One alone in the sense of being utterly free from passion? Because passion is abandoned, he is alone as utterly free from passion, because hatred is abandoned, he is alone as utterly free from hatred, because delusion is abandoned, he is alone as utterly free from delusion, because defilements are abandoned, he is alone as utterly undefiled. How is the Blessed One alone in the sense of having gone the sole way? The sole way is called the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right exertions, the four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening, and the Noble Eightfold Path. "The compassionate one, seeing the end of birth, knows the sole way. By this path, those in the past crossed over, those who cross over now, and those who will cross over the flood." Thus, the Blessed One is alone in the sense of having gone the sole way. How is the Blessed One alone in the sense of having fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment? Enlightenment is called wisdom and understanding in the four paths... Faculty, power of wisdom, enlightenment factor of investigation of states, inquiry, insight, right view. The Blessed One, with that knowledge of awakening, understood: "All formations are impermanent." understood: "All formations are suffering." understood: "All phenomena are non-self." understood: "With ignorance as condition, formations," [...] understood: "With birth as condition, aging-and-death." understood: "With the cessation of ignorance, the cessation of formations," [...] understood: "With the cessation of birth, the cessation of aging-and-death." understood: "This is suffering." understood: "This is the origin of suffering." understood: "This is the cessation of suffering." understood: "This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering." understood: "These are the taints," [...] understood: "This is the path leading to the cessation of the taints." understood: "These phenomena are to be fully understood," [...] to be abandoned, to be developed, to be realized. He understood the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from the six sense bases. He understood the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from the five clinging-aggregates. He understood the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from the four great elements. understood: "Whatever is of the nature to arise, all that is of the nature to cease." Or else, whatever was to be understood, to be thoroughly understood, to be awakened to, to be fully awakened to, to be attained, to be touched, to be realized— all that he understood, thoroughly understood, awakened to, fully awakened to, rightly awakened to, attained, touched, realized with that knowledge of awakening. Thus, the Blessed One, alone, fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect self-awakening, alone. He attained delight. "Delight" means the delight of renunciation, the delight of seclusion, the delight of tranquility, the delight of awakening. He attained, he thoroughly attained, he reached, he touched, he realized. Alone he attained delight. Therefore, the Elder Sāriputta said: "Like an eye for the world with its devas, Having dispelled all darkness, Alone he attained delight." That Buddha, unattached, steadfast, without deceit, come to the assembly; For many here who are bound, there is a coming with a question. "That Buddha, unattached, steadfast" means: "Buddha" means: He, the Blessed One, self-existent, without a teacher, who himself fully awakened to the truths previously unheard, and there attained omniscience, and attained mastery over the powers. In what sense is he Buddha? He is Buddha because he has awakened to the truths, He is Buddha because he awakens beings, He is Buddha because of omniscience, He is Buddha because of all-seeingness, He is Buddha because he is not led by others, He is Buddha because of his clarity, He is Buddha because he is called one whose defilements are destroyed, He is Buddha because he is called one without impurities, He is Buddha because he is utterly free from lust, He is Buddha because he is utterly free from hatred, He is Buddha because he is utterly free from delusion, He is Buddha because he is utterly without defilement, He is Buddha because he has gone the one-way path, He is Buddha because he alone fully awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, He is Buddha because he is not overcome by ignorance, because he has attained wisdom. This "Buddha" is not made by a mother, nor made by a father, nor made by a brother, nor made by a sister, nor made by friends and associates, nor made by relatives and kinsmen, nor made by ascetics and brahmins, nor made by deities. This is a true designation, ultimate in liberation, for the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, at the foot of the Bodhi tree, together with the attainment of omniscience, namely "Buddha"—that Buddha. "Unattached" means two supports: the support of craving and the support of views. Which is the support of craving? Whatever is limited, bounded, circumscribed, grasped, and claimed as 'mine' by way of craving— "This is mine, that is mine, so much is mine, up to this much is mine," "My forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects," "Beddings, coverings, male and female slaves, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants, cattle, horses, mares," "Fields, land, silver, gold," "Villages, towns, royal capitals, kingdoms and provinces, treasuries and storehouses," Even the entire great earth is claimed as 'mine' by way of craving, Whatever eighty-one kinds of craving proliferation there are— This is the basis of craving. What is the basis of views? Twenty-fold personality view, ten-fold wrong view, ten-fold view of grasping at extremes. Whatever such view, a view-point, a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a wriggling of views, a vacillation of views, a fetter of views, a grasping, a clinging, an adherence, an obsession, a wrong path, a mistaken way, wrongness, a sectarian position, a grasp of perversion, a grasp of contrariety, a grasp of distortion, a wrong grasp, a grasp of "the real in the unreal," as far as the sixty-two views – this is the basis of views. For the Buddha, the Blessed One, the basis of craving is abandoned, the basis of views is relinquished; because the basis of craving is abandoned, because the basis of views is relinquished,