English
‘The self is not dear to us,’ yet the self is dear to them. For what reason? Whatever, great king, a dear one would do for a dear one, that they do for themselves by themselves. Therefore, the self is dear to them. This the Blessed One said... the Teacher – If one knows the self to be dear, one should not join it with evil. For happiness is not easily obtained by one who does evil deeds. For one overcome by the Ender, leaving the human existence, what indeed is one's own? And what does one take with them? And what follows them, like an unfailing shadow? Both merit and demerit, whatever a mortal does here, that indeed is one's own, that one takes with them. That follows them, like an unfailing shadow. Therefore, one should do good, a store for the future. Merits in the other world are a support for living beings. This discourse is the words of others. The subsequent verses are his own words. This is both his own words and the words of others. 118. Among these, which is answerable? When a question is asked: 'This is to be directly known, this is to be fully understood, this is to be abandoned, this is to be developed, this is to be realized.' 'These phenomena, thus grasped, produce this result.' 'For those thus grasped, this is the meaning.' This is answerable. 'The Buddha, the Blessed One, is sublime' – one should declare the sublimity of the Buddha, the well-proclaimed Dhamma, and the Sangha's good practice, unequivocally. 'All formations are impermanent,' 'All formations are suffering,' 'All phenomena are non-self' – one should declare unequivocally. Or anything else of this nature. This is answerable. Among these, which is unanswerable? 'For you, charioteer of men to be tamed, what gods and humans have conceived in mind, all beings, even all, do not know, as you resort to peaceful, fearless concentration. What does the Blessed One desire?' This is unanswerable. Thus far the Blessed One, in the aggregate of virtue, in the aggregate of concentration, in the a... in the aggregate of knowledge, in the aggregate of liberation, in the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation, in deportment, in power, in wishing for welfare, in compassion, they are accomplished. This is unexplainable. "The arising of the Tathāgata, monks, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One, in the world, is the arising of three jewels: the Buddha-jewel, the Dhamma-jewel, the Saṅgha-jewel." "What is the measure of these three jewels?" This is unexplainable. The Buddha's domain is unexplainable. The knowledge of the superiority and inferiority of individuals is unexplainable. "The prior end, monks, is not discerned for beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, who have wandered and transmigrated once to hell, once to the animal realm, once to the realm of hungry ghosts, once to the asura realm, once to the devas, once to humans." "What is that prior end?" This is unexplainable. "It is not discerned" is due to the disciples' lack of knowledge. The teaching of the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones, is of two kinds: that which leads to oneself, and that which leads to others. "It is not discerned" is that which leads to others. "There is nothing unknown to the Buddhas, the Blessed Ones" is that which leads to oneself. Just as the Blessed One, concerning the monk Kokālika, spoke thus to a certain monk – "Just as, monk, a Kosalan cartload of twenty *khāris* of sesame seeds... ...is not even one Abbuda hell. Just as, monk, twenty Abbuda hells, even so is one Nirabbuda hell. Just as, monk, twenty Nirabbuda hells, even so is one Ababa hell. Just as, monk, twenty Ababa hells, even so is one Aṭaṭa hell. Just as, monk, twenty Aṭaṭa hells, even so is one Ahaha hell. Just as, monk, twenty Ahaha hells, even so is one Kumuda hell. Just as, monk, twenty Kumuda hells, even so is one Sogandhika hell. Just as, monk, twenty Sogandhika hells, even so is one Uppalaka hell. Just as, monk, twenty Uppalaka hells, even so is one Puṇḍarīka hell. Just as, bhikkhu, there are twenty lotus hells, so is one Paduma hell. In the Paduma hell, bhikkhu, the bhikkhu Kokālika was reborn, having harbored ill will towards Sāriputta and Moggallāna. Or whatever the Blessed One said, "this is immeasurable, incalculable." All that is unanswerable. This is unanswerable. 119. Among these, what is answerable and what is unanswerable? When Upaka the Ājīvaka said to the Blessed One, "Where, friend Gotama, will you go?" The Blessed One said: "To Bārāṇasī I will go, I, that deathless drum; To set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma, Unrevolvable in the world." Upaka the Ājīvaka said, "You claim to be a 'victor,' friend, good Gotama?" The Blessed One said: "Such as I are victors, Who have attained the destruction of defilements; Evil things have been conquered by me, Therefore, Upaka, I am a victor." How is he a victor, by what does he conquer? This is answerable. Who is the victor? This is unanswerable. What is the destruction of defilements? The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion. This is answerable. How much is the destruction of defilements? This is unanswerable. This is answerable and unanswerable. Is there a Tathāgata? This is answerable. Is there form? This is answerable. Is form the Tathāgata? This is unanswerable. Is the Tathāgata possessed of form? This is unanswerable. Is the Tathāgata in form? This is unanswerable. Is form in the Tathāgata? This is unanswerable. Likewise, is there feeling?… Is there perception?… Is there volitional formations?… Is there consciousness? This is answerable. Is consciousness the Tathāgata? This is unanswerable. Is the Tathāgata possessed of consciousness? This is unanswerable. Is the Tathāgata in consciousness? This is unanswerable. Is consciousness in the Tathāgata? This is unanswerable. Is the Tathāgata apart from form? This is unanswerable. Apart from feeling?… Perception?… Volitional formations?… Consciousness? This is unanswerable. Is this Tathāgata formless?… Feelingless?… Perceptionless?… Volitionless?… Consciousnessless? This is unanswerable. to be resolved. This is both resolvable and unresolvable. The Blessed One sees with the divine eye, purified and surpassing that of humans, beings passing away and reappearing, thus all… (and so on)… he discerns beings according to their karma—this is resolvable. Which beings, which Tathāgata—this is unresolvable. This is both resolvable and unresolvable. There is a Tathāgata—this is resolvable. Is there a Tathāgata after death—this is unresolvable. This is both resolvable and unresolvable. 120. Therein, what is karma? When one is overcome by the Destroyer, forsaking the human state; What indeed is one’s own? What does one take along? What follows one, like an unfailing shadow? Both merit and demerit, what a mortal does here; That indeed is one’s own, that one takes along; That follows one, like an unfailing shadow. This is karma. Again, monks, when a fool is seated on a stool or reclined on a couch or lying on the ground, the evil deeds he did before—misconduct in body, misconduct in speech, misconduct in mind—hang over him, hang down upon him, hang all around him at that time. Just as, monks, the shadows of great mountain peaks hang over, hang down upon, and hang all around the earth in the evening. Even so, monks, when a fool is seated on a stool or reclined on a couch or lying on the ground, the evil deeds he did before—misconduct in body, misconduct in speech, misconduct in mind—hang over him, hang down upon him, hang all around him at that time. There, monks, it occurs to the fool: ‘Indeed, I have not done good, I have not done skillful deeds, I have not done what protects from fear. I have done evil, I have done cruel deeds, I have done sin, to the extent, sirs, that those who have not done good, who have not done skillful deeds, the destination of those who have done no evil, who have done no cruelty, who have done no defilement, who have done good deeds, I shall go to that destination after death.’ He grieves, he laments, he weeps, he beats his breast, he falls into confusion.” “Again, monks, when a wise person is seated on a couch, or lying on a bed, or lying on the ground, the good deeds he did before, his good conduct in body, his good conduct in speech, his good conduct in mind, these cling to him, they hang over him, they envelop him at that time. Just as, monks, the shadows of great mountain peaks cling to the earth, hang over it, and envelop it in the evening. Even so, monks, when a wise person is seated on a couch, or lying on a bed, or lying on the ground, the good deeds he did before, his good conduct in body, his good conduct in speech, his good conduct in mind, these cling to him, they hang over him, they envelop him at that time. Then, monks, this thought occurs to the wise person: ‘Indeed, I have done no evil, I have done no cruelty, I have done no defilement. I have done good, I have done skillful deeds, I have done deeds that protect the fearful. Whatever destination there is, sirs, for those who have done no evil, who have done no cruelty, who have done no defilement, who have done good deeds, who have done skillful deeds, who have done deeds that protect the fearful, I shall go to that destination after death.’ He does not grieve, he does not lament, he does not weep, he does not beat his breast, he does not fall into confusion. ‘I have done merit, I have done no evil. Whatever destination there will be for one who has done no evil, no cruelty, no defilement, who has done merit, who has done skillful deeds, who has done deeds that protect the fearful, I shall experience that destination after death.’ No regret arises in him. For one who has no regret, monks, whether a woman or a man, whether a layperson or one gone forth, I declare that their death is good, their passing away is good.” This is action. “These three, monks, are bad conduct. Which three? Bad bodily conduct, bad verbal conduct,