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that you speak of?” “There are these three disappearances of the Dispensation, great king. What are the three? The disappearance of attainment, the disappearance of practice, the disappearance of the outward sign. When attainment disappears, great king, even for one who practices well, there is no realization of the Dhamma. When practice disappears, the promulgation of the training rules disappears, only the outward sign remains. When the outward sign disappears, the lineage is cut off. These, great king, are the three disappearances.” “The problem has been well explained, venerable Nāgasena, the profound has been made clear, the knot has been untied, the arguments of others are destroyed, broken, without luster.” You are made, having approached the chief of the herd of bulls. The Seventh Question on the Disappearance of the True Dhamma. 8. The Question on Cutting Off the Unwholesome 8. "Venerable Nāgasena, did the Tathāgata attain omniscience after burning away all unwholesome kamma, or did he attain omniscience with some unwholesome kamma remaining?" "Great king, the Blessed One attained omniscience after burning away all unwholesome kamma. There is no unwholesome kamma remaining for the Blessed One." "But, venerable sir, did painful feelings ever arise in the Tathāgata's body?" "Yes, great king. In Rājagaha, the Blessed One's foot was wounded by a splinter. An illness of dysentery with blood arose. When his body was afflicted, Jīvaka administered a purgative. When a wind-illness arose, the attendant elder sought warm water." "If, venerable Nāgasena, the Tathāgata attained omniscience after burning away all unwholesome kamma, then the statement that the Blessed One's foot was wounded by a splinter and an illness of dysentery with blood arose, that is false. If the Tathāgata's foot was wounded by a splinter and an illness of dysentery with blood arose, then the statement that the Tathāgata attained omniscience after burning away all unwholesome kamma, that too is false. Venerable sir, there is no feeling without kamma. All such feeling has kamma as its root. It is felt only through kamma. This two-horned question has come to you. You must resolve it." "No, great king, not all feeling has kamma as its root. Great king, feelings arise from eight causes. By these causes, various beings experience feelings. Which eight? Great king, some feelings arise from wind. Great king, some feelings arise from bile. Great king, some feelings arise from phlegm. Great king, some feelings arise from a combination (of humors). Great king, some feelings arise from changes in weather. Great king, some feelings arise from improper care (of the body). Great king, some feelings arise from external attack, great king..." …And, great king, some feelings arise from the ripening of kamma. For these eight reasons, great king, various beings experience feelings. Among these, those individuals who would say, ‘Kamma afflicts beings,’ they deny these individuals the cause of beings. Their statement is wrong.” “Venerable Nāgasena, whatever is caused by wind, whatever is caused by bile, whatever is caused by phlegm, whatever is caused by a combination of humors, whatever is caused by changes in season, whatever is caused by improper care, whatever is caused by external assault— all these arise from kamma, all these come into being through kamma.” “If, great king, all these ailments were to arise from kamma, they would not have distinct characteristics according to their categories. Wind, great king, when it becomes agitated, becomes agitated in ten ways: by cold, by heat, by hunger, by thirst, by overeating, by standing, by exertion, by running, by external assault, by the ripening of kamma. Among these, the nine kinds do not arise in the past, nor in the future, but in the present existence. Therefore, it should not be said ‘all feelings arise from kamma.’ Bile, great king, when it becomes agitated, becomes agitated in three ways: by cold, by heat, by improper food. Phlegm, great king, when it becomes agitated, becomes agitated in three ways: by cold, by heat, by food and drink. And, great king, the wind, the bile, and the phlegm, having become agitated by their respective disturbances, mix together and draw forth their respective feelings. Feelings caused by changes in season, great king, arise from the course of the seasons. Feelings caused by improper care arise from improper care. Feelings caused by external assault, great king, some are due to action, some are due to the ripening of kamma. Feelings caused by the ripening of kamma arise from kamma done previously. Thus, great king, little is due to the ripening of kamma, much more is due to the rest. Therein, fools rush to say, ‘everything is due to the ripening of kamma.’ That kamma cannot be distinguished without the Buddha’s knowledge. “But, great king, that the Blessed One’s foot was wounded by a splinter, that The feeling is not born of wind, nor born of bile, nor born of phlegm, nor a combination of humors, nor born of seasonal change, nor born of improper care, nor born of kamma-result; it is merely external injury. For Devadatta, O great king, for many hundreds of thousands of births, bore ill-will towards the Tathāgata. With that ill-will, he took a great heavy rock and released it, saying, ‘I will crush his head!’ Then two other rocks came and intercepted that rock before it reached the Tathāgata. By their impact, a splinter broke off and fell at the Bhagavā’s foot, causing blood to appear. Whether, O great king, this feeling of the Bhagavā arose from kamma-result or from action, beyond that, there is no other feeling. Just as, O great king, a seed does not sprout due to a defect in the field, or due to a defect in the seed itself. Even so, O great king, whether this feeling of the Bhagavā arose from kamma-result or from action, beyond that, there is no other feeling. Or just as, O great king, food is improperly digested due to a defect in the stomach, or due to a defect in the food itself, even so, O great king, whether this feeling of the Bhagavā arose from kamma-result or from action, beyond that, there is no other feeling. Moreover, O great king, there is no feeling of the Bhagavā born of kamma-result, there is no feeling born of improper care. From other causes, the Bhagavā’s feeling arises, but by that feeling, it is not possible to deprive the Bhagavā of life. There fall, O great king, upon this body of the four great elements, agreeable and disagreeable, beautiful and ugly feelings. Here, O great king, a clod thrown into the air falls upon the great earth. Now, O great king, does that clod fall upon the great earth due to past kamma?" "No, venerable sir. There is no such cause, venerable sir, for the great earth, by which cause the great earth would experience the result of wholesome or unwholesome kamma. By a present cause, venerable sir, by a kamma-resultant cause, that clod..." a clod falls upon the great earth. Just as, great king, the great earth, so should the Tathāgata be seen. Just as a clod falls upon the great earth without having been made before, even so, great king, that splinter fell upon the Tathāgata's foot without having been made before. "But here, great king, people break and dig the great earth. Now, great king, do those people break and dig the great earth because of what was done before?" "No, venerable sir." "Even so, great king, that splinter which fell upon the Bhagavā's foot, that splinter did not fall upon the Bhagavā's foot because of what was done before. And also, great king, the illness of bloody dysentery which arose in the Bhagavā, that illness also did not arise because of what was done before; it arose from a combination of causes. Whatever bodily illnesses, great king, arose in the Bhagavā, they were not born of kamma; they were born from one of these six origins. "And this was spoken, great king, by the Bhagavā, the God of gods, in the discourse to Moliyasīvaka in the Saṃyutta Nikāya, which is marked as the best: "'Indeed, Sīvaka, some feelings arise originating from bile. Indeed, Sīvaka, this should be known by oneself, that some feelings arise originating from bile. And indeed, Sīvaka, this is accepted as true by the world, that some feelings arise originating from bile. There, Sīvaka, those ascetics and brahmins who hold such views, who say: "Whatever this person experiences— whether pleasure or pain or neither-pain-nor-pleasure— all that is due to what was done before." What is known by themselves, that they disregard; and what is accepted as true by the world, that they disregard. Therefore, I say that those ascetics and brahmins are wrong. "'Indeed, Sīvaka, some feelings arise originating from phlegm. Indeed, Sīvaka, some feelings arise originating from wind...etc...'" Also, Sīvaka, some feelings arise from the combination of humors... Also, Sīvaka, some feelings arise from change of season... Also, Sīvaka, some feelings arise from improper care... Also, Sīvaka, some feelings arise from external assault... Also, Sīvaka, some feelings arise from kamma-result. Some feelings arise here. This, Sīvaka, is also known by oneself, that some feelings here arise from kamma-result. This, Sīvaka, is also accepted as true by the world, that some feelings here arise from kamma-result. There, Sīvaka, those ascetics and brahmins who speak thus, who hold such a view: "Whatever this person experiences, whether pleasure or pain or neither-pain-nor-pleasure, all that is due to a cause done in the past." They disregard what is known by oneself, and they disregard what is accepted as true by the world. Therefore, I say that those ascetics and brahmins are wrong. "Thus, great king, not all feelings are kamma-resultant. The Blessed One, great king, having burned away all unwholesome things, attained omniscience. Understand it thus." "Good, Venerable Nāgasena, I accept it thus, just so."