English
The question on the Arahant's confusion of mindfulness 3. "Venerable Nāgasena, is there confusion of mindfulness for an Arahant?" "Arahants, O great king, are free from confusion of mindfulness. There is no confusion of mindfulness for Arahants." "But, Venerable sir, would an Arahant commit an offense?" "Yes, O great king." "In what circumstances?" "In building a hut, O great king, in wandering, in taking a wrong time for the right time, in taking an uninvited person for an invited person, in taking what is not extra for extra." "Venerable Nāgasena, you say that 'those who commit an offense, they commit it for two reasons: either through disrespect or through not knowing.' But, Venerable sir, is there disrespect for an Arahant, when an Arahant commits an offense?" "No, O great king." "If, Venerable Nāgasena, an Arahant commits an offense, and there is no disrespect for an Arahant, Then is there for an Arahant a lapse of mindfulness? No, great king, for an Arahant there is no lapse of mindfulness, but an Arahant does commit an offense. Then, venerable sir, explain the reason to me, what is the reason there? These two defilements, great king: worldly offense and disciplinary offense. Which, great king, is the worldly offense? The ten unwholesome courses of action, this is called worldly offense. Which is the disciplinary offense? That which in the world is unseemly and unsuitable for ascetics, but blameless for householders. There the Blessed One lays down a training rule for his disciples, 'not to be transgressed throughout life'. Eating at the wrong time, great king, is blameless for the world, but it is an offense in the Dispensation of the Conqueror. Destroying plant life, great king, is blameless for the world, but it is an offense in the Dispensation of the Conqueror. Playing in water, great king, is blameless for the world, but it is an offense in the Dispensation of the Conqueror. Thus such and such, great king, are offenses in the Dispensation of the Conqueror, this is called disciplinary offense. An Arahant is incapable of committing a worldly offense, but a disciplinary offense, he might commit unknowingly. It is not within the scope, great king, for some Arahants to know everything, for they do not have the power to know everything. Unknown, great king, to an Arahant are the names and clans of men and women, even the path on the earth is unknown to him; only liberation, great king, would some Arahants know; an Arahant with six supernormal powers would know his own domain; the All-Knowing One, great king, only the Tathāgata knows everything. Good, venerable Nāgasena, I accept it thus. The Question on the Arahant's Lapse of Mindfulness, the Third. 4. The Question on Non-Existence in the World 4. "Venerable Nāgasena, Buddhas are seen in the world, Paccekabuddhas are seen, disciples of the Tathāgata are seen, Wheel-turning kings are seen, regional kings are seen, devas and humans are seen, the wealthy are seen, the poor are seen, the fortunate are seen, the unfortunate are seen, a man's woman is seen... The male organ appearing in a woman, the female organ appearing in a man, good and bad deeds are seen, beings experiencing the results of good and bad deeds are seen, there are beings in the world born from eggs, born from wombs, born from moisture, born spontaneously, there are beings without feet, with two feet, with four feet, with many feet, there are in the world yakkhas, rakkhasas, kumbhaṇḍas, asuras, dānavas, gandhabbas, petas, pisācas, there are kinnaras, mahoragas, nāgas, supaṇṇas, siddhas, vijjādharas, there are elephants, horses, cows, buffaloes, camels, donkeys, goats, sheep, deer, boars, lions, tigers, leopards, bears, wolves, hyenas, dogs, jackals, there are various kinds of birds, there are gold, silver, pearls, gems, conch shells, stones, coral, rubies, musāragalla, cat's eye, diamonds, crystal, black iron, copper, brass, bronze, there are linen, silk, cotton, hemp, jute, blankets, there are rice, paddy, barley, millet, kudrūsa, varaka, wheat, mung beans, black gram, sesame, horse gram, there are root fragrance, heartwood fragrance, sapwood fragrance, bark fragrance, leaf fragrance, flower fragrance, fruit fragrance, all fragrances, there are grass, creepers, shrubs, trees, herbs, forest trees, rivers, mountains, oceans, fish, turtles, everything exists in the world. “What, venerable sir, does not exist in the world? Tell me that.” “These three, great king, do not exist in the world. Which three? Neither conscious nor unconscious beings that are ageless and deathless exist in the world. The permanence of formations does not exist. The perception of a self in the ultimate sense does not exist. These three, great king, do not exist in the world.” “Excellent, venerable Nāgasena, I accept it as such.” The fourth question on non-existence in the world. 5. The question on what is not born of kamma, etc. 5. “Venerable Nāgasena, in the world are seen things born of kamma, things born of causes are seen, things born of season are seen. What in the world is not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season? Tell me that.” “These two, great king, in the world are not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season. Which two? Space, O King, is not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season. Nibbāna, O King, is not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season. These, O King, are the two not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season. "Do not, Venerable Nāgasena, defile the Buddha's word, do not answer a question without knowing it!" "What, O King, do I say, that you speak to me thus: 'Do not, Venerable Nāgasena, defile the Buddha's word, do not answer a question without knowing it'?" "Venerable Nāgasena, it is proper to say that 'space is not born of kamma, not born of cause, not born of season'." "But by hundreds of reasons, Venerable Nāgasena, the path for disciples to realize Nibbāna has been declared by the Blessed One, and yet you say 'Nibbāna is causeless'!" "It is true, O King, that by hundreds of reasons the path for disciples to realize Nibbāna has been declared by the Blessed One, but a cause for the arising of Nibbāna has not been declared." "Here, Venerable Nāgasena, we enter from darkness into deeper darkness, we enter from forest into deeper forest, we enter from thicket into deeper thicket, where indeed there is a cause for the realization of Nibbāna, but there is no cause for the arising of that phenomenon. If, Venerable Nāgasena, there is a cause for the realization of Nibbāna, then a cause for the arising of Nibbāna should also be desired. "Just as, Venerable Nāgasena, a son has a father, for that reason a father's father should also be desired. Just as a pupil has a teacher, for that reason a teacher's teacher should also be desired. Just as a sprout has a seed, for that reason a seed's seed should also be desired. Even so, Venerable Nāgasena, if there is a cause for the realization of Nibbāna, for that reason a cause for the arising of Nibbāna should also be desired. "Just as, if a tree or a creeper has a top, for that reason there is also a middle, and there is also a root. Even so, Ho, Venerable Nāgasena, if there is a cause for Nibbāna's realization, then for that reason, a cause for Nibbāna's production should also be desired. "Nibbāna, O great king, is not to be produced, therefore no cause for Nibbāna's production has been declared." "Pray, Venerable Nāgasena, explain the reason, and convince me with the reason, so that I may know that there is a cause for Nibbāna's realization, but there is no cause for Nibbāna's production." "Then, O great king, pay careful attention, listen well, I will explain the reason there. Could a man, O great king, with ordinary strength, go from here to the Himālaya, the king of mountains?" "Yes, Venerable sir." "But could that man, O great king, with ordinary strength, bring the Himālaya, the king of mountains, here?" "No, Venerable sir." "Even so, O great king, a path for Nibbāna's realization can be declared, but a cause for Nibbāna's production cannot be shown. "Could a man, O great king, with ordinary strength, cross the great ocean by boat and go to the other shore?" "Yes, Venerable sir." "But could that man, O great king, with ordinary strength, bring the other shore of the great ocean here?" "No, Venerable sir." "Even so, O great king, a path for Nibbāna's realization can be declared, but a cause for Nibbāna's production cannot be shown. For what reason? Because the phenomenon is unconditioned." "Is Nibbāna, Venerable Nāgasena, unconditioned?" "Yes, O great king, Nibbāna is unconditioned, it is not made by anyone. Nibbāna, O great king, should not be said to be arisen, or not arisen, or to be produced, or past, or future, or present, or knowable by the eye, or knowable by the ear, or knowable by the nose, or knowable by the tongue, or knowable by the body." "If, Venerable Nāgasena, Nibbāna is not arisen, not not-arisen, not to be produced..." It is not to be grasped, not past, not future, not present, not to be known by the eye, not to be known by the ear, not to be known by the nose, not to be known by the tongue, not to be known by the body. Therefore, venerable Nāgasena, you declare Nibbāna to be a non-existent phenomenon, saying 'Nibbāna does not exist.' "Nibbāna exists, great king. Nibbāna is to be known by the mind. With a pure, refined, straight, unobstructed, disinterested mind, the noble disciple, rightly practicing, sees Nibbāna." "What kind of Nibbāna is that, venerable sir? Explain it to me with similes, make me understand it with reasons, just as an existent phenomenon is explained with similes." "Great king, is there such a thing as wind?" "Yes, venerable sir." "Come now, great king, show me the wind by its color, or its shape, or whether it is subtle, or coarse, or long, or short." "It is not possible, venerable Nāgasena, to show the wind. That wind