Fearlessness – The Wisdom Beyond Fear

The Fruits of the Ascetic Life. 1. A Discussion With the King’s Ministers. So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Mango Grove of Jīvaka Komārabhacca, together with a large Saṅgha of 1,250 mendicants. This monastery belonged to the Buddha’s doctor, Jīvaka, who appears later in the sutta. His story is told in [Kd 8](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd8/en/brahmali#12.4.1). Now, at that time it was the sabbath—the Komudī full moon on the fifteenth day of the fourth month—and King Ajātasattu of Magadha, son of the princess of Videha, was sitting upstairs in the royal longhouse surrounded by his ministers. The Komudī was an especially celebrated full moon on the last month of the rainy season (_kattikā_, October/November), when the skies were clear, the lotuses (_kumudā_) were in bloom, and the moon was in conjunction with the Pleiades, which gave the month its name. Then Ajātasattu expressed this heartfelt sentiment, Ajātasattu means “one against whom no foe is born”. He was the son of Cellaṇā, daughter of Chetaka, a Licchavī king from Vesālī. Ajātasattu’s presence as the king of Magadha indicates that these events took place in the last years of the Buddha’s life.“Oh, sirs, this moonlit night is so very delightful, so beautiful, so glorious, so lovely, so striking. _Pāsādikā_ here does not mean “tranquil”; it is part of a stock list of terms meaning “beautiful, attractive” (eg. [dn4:13.7]()). _Lakkhaññā_ is unique in early Pali. It is probably a synonym in the sense of “possessing remarkable features, striking”, rather than “auspicious”.Now, what ascetic or brahmin might I pay homage to today, paying homage to whom my mind might find peace?” The cause of the king’s unrest is revealed later (compare [an5.50]()). The king seeks redemption through his own actions; it is not that the ascetic has any special power to bring peace to his mind. When he had spoken, one of the king’s ministers said to him, Though the king mentioned “ascetics and brahmins”, his advisers only recommend famous teachers of the ascetics (_samaṇa_). For a shorter survey of their doctrines, see [sn2.30]().“Sire, Pūraṇa Kassapa leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. A little-known teacher of the inefficacy of action and consequence. He is also said to advocate a doctrine of six classes of rebirth ([an6.57]()); the same text reverentially mentions Makkhali Gosāla. He was said to have been poorly regarded even by his own students [mn77:6.19]()).Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Even the greatest kings would bow to religious renunciants regardless of sect.Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. The reason for the king’s silence is revealed later. The narrative is full of foreshadowing. Another of the king’s ministers said to him, “Sire, Makkhali Gosāla leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. Founder of the Ājīvikas, who became the third largest ascetic movement after Buddhism and Jainism. None of their texts survive, but their teachings can be partially reconstructed from Buddhist and Jain sources. He practiced with Mahāvīra for six years before an apparently acrimonious split, following which he developed his doctrine of hard determinism.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. Another of the king’s ministers said to him, “Sire, Ajita of the hair blanket leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. A materialist, he was an early proponent of the Lokāyata or Cārvāka school. _Kesakambala_ means “hair-blanket”, which was worn as an ascetic practice.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. Another of the king’s ministers said to him, “Sire, Pakudha Kaccāyana leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. Another obscure teacher, he taught a reductive atomism which negated the possibility of action with consequences. His first name is sometimes spelled Kakudha; both words signify a hump or crest.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. Another of the king’s ministers said to him, “Sire, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. An agnostic, he is evidently the “wanderer Sañjaya” who was the first teacher of Sāriputta and Moggallāna before they left him to follow the Buddha [Kd 1.23.1.1](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd1/en/brahmali#23.1.1). His name is obscure. Sanskrit spells it _vairaṭṭīputra_, with several variations, but always with _ṭi_. The commentary says he was the “son of Belaṭṭha”; a Belaṭṭha Kaccāna is found selling sugar at [Kd 6:26.1.2](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd1/en/brahmali#26.1.2), supporting the idea that Belaṭṭha was a personal rather than clan name.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. Another of the king’s ministers said to him, “Sire, the Jain ascetic of the Ñātika clan leads an order and a community, and teaches a community. He’s a well-known and famous religious founder, regarded as holy by many people. He is of long standing, long gone forth; he is advanced in years and has reached the final stage of life. The Jain leader Mahāvīra Vardhamāna is known as Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta in Pali texts. He is regarded as the 24th supreme leader of the Jains, although only he and his predecessor Pārśvanātha (not mentioned in the Pali) are historical. _Nigaṇṭha _ mean “knotless” (i.e. without attachments); it is a term for a Jain ascetic. Nātaputta indicates his clan the Ñātikas (Sanskrit _jñātiputra_; Prākrit _nāyaputta_). The Pali tradition has confused _ñāti_ (“family”) with _nāṭa_ (“dancer”). Thus Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta means “the Jain monk of the Ñātika clan”. Jainism and Buddhism are the only ancient _samaṇa_ movements to survive to the present day. Their primary teaching is the practice of non-violence while burning off past kamma by self-torment in order to reach omniscient liberation.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” But when he had spoken, the king kept silent. 2. A Discussion With Jīvaka Komārabhacca Now at that time Jīvaka Komārabhacca was sitting silently not far from the king. His absence of speech is what signifies his wisdom. The narrative creates a dramatic expectation through his stillness.Then the king said to him, “But my dear Jīvaka, why are you silent?” “Sire, the Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha is staying in my mango grove together with a large Saṅgha of 1,250 mendicants. According to the Vinaya, a monastery is normally offered to the “Sangha of the four quarters” and becomes their inalienable property. In the suttas this is not so clear, and it seems that Jīvaka still regarded the property as his. In practice there would have been a variety of arrangements, as there are today.He has this good reputation: ‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’ The first appearance of the famous _iti pi so_ formula. It is still recited in praise of the Buddha in Theravada communities.Let Your Majesty pay homage to him. Hopefully in so doing your mind will find peace.” “Well then, my dear Jīvaka, have the elephants readied.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” replied Jīvaka. He had around five hundred female elephants readied, in addition to the king’s bull elephant for riding. Then he informed the king, “The elephants are ready, sire. Please go at your convenience.” Then King Ajātasattu had women mounted on each of the five hundred female elephants, while he mounted his bull elephant. With attendants carrying torches, he set out in full royal pomp from Rājagaha to Jīvaka’s mango grove. Indian kings were guarded by armed women inside the harem (Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra 1.21.1) and also while on hunt (Megasthenes’s Indica, via Strabo XV. i. 53–56). This passage may be the earliest evidence for this long-lasting practice. But as he drew near the mango grove, the king became frightened, scared, his hair standing on end. He said to Jīvaka, “My dear Jīvaka, I hope you’re not deceiving me! I hope you’re not betraying me! I hope you’re not turning me over to my enemies! For how on earth can there be no sound of coughing or clearing throats or any noise in such a large Saṅgha of 1,250 mendicants?” The silence of the Buddha’s assembly is often contrasted with the rowdy gatherings of other ascetics, for example that of Poṭṭhapāda at [dn9:3.1](). “Do not fear, great king, do not fear! I am not deceiving you, or betraying you, or turning you over to your enemies. Go forward, great king, go forward! Those are lamps shining in the pavilion.” This is a double pun. _Dīpa_ means “lamp” or “island, refuge”, while _jhāyati_ means “burning” or “meditating”. So it could be rendered, “those are saviors meditating in the pavilion”. _Jhāyati_ is the verb form of _jhāna_ (“absorption”), which is the central practice of meditation described below. 3. The Question About the Fruits of the Ascetic Life Then King Ajātasattu rode on the elephant as far as the terrain allowed, then descended and approached the pavilion door on foot, where he asked Jīvaka, “But my dear Jīvaka, where is the Buddha?” The Buddha looked like any other monk. But this also reveals Ajātasattu’s spiritual blindness. “That is the Buddha, great king, that is the Buddha! He’s sitting against the central column facing east, in front of the Saṅgha of mendicants.” Then the king went up to the Buddha and stood to one side. He has not yet gained faith, so does not bow.He looked around the Saṅgha of monks, who were so very silent, like a still, clear lake, and expressed this heartfelt sentiment, “May my son, Prince Udāyibhadda, be blessed with such peace as the Saṅgha of mendicants now enjoys!” “Has your mind gone to one you love, great king?” The Buddha, though fully aware of Ajātasattu’s crimes, responds to him with compassion. “I love my son, sir, Prince Udāyibhadda. May he be blessed with such peace as the Saṅgha of mendicants now enjoys!” Then the king bowed to the Buddha, raised his joined palms toward the Saṅgha, and sat down to one side. He said to the Buddha, “Sir, I’d like to ask you about a certain point, if you’d take the time to answer.” “Ask what you wish, great king.” “Sir, there are many different professional fields. Most translators render _sippa_ as “craft”. However, the basic meaning of “craft” is skill in doing or making things. What is meant here is a paid occupation regardless of whether it involves making things, i.e. “profession”.These include elephant riders, cavalry, charioteers, archers, bannermen, adjutants, food servers, warrior-chiefs, princes, chargers, great warriors, heroes, leather-clad soldiers, and sons of bondservants. These are the professions on Ajātasattu’s mind. The first set of these is defined as branches of the military at [an7.67]().They also include bakers, barbers, bathroom attendants, cooks, garland-makers, dyers, weavers, basket-makers, potters, accountants, finger-talliers, or those following any similar professions. All these live off the fruits of their profession which are apparent in the present life. The question pertains to right livelihood, the fifth factor of the noble eightfold path.With that they bring happiness and joy to themselves, their parents, their children and partners, and their friends and colleagues. And they establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven. The purpose of right livelihood is to bring happiness in this life and the next.Sir, can you point out a fruit of the ascetic life that’s likewise apparent in the present life?” Ajātasattu’s question only pertains to happiness in this life. He would have seen ascetics living hard and austere lives for the sake of future happiness. “Great king, do you recall having asked this question of other ascetics and brahmins?” The term “Great King” (_mahārāja_) identifies Ajātasattu as the hereditary monarch of a large realm, in contrast with the multiple elected “rulers” of the aristocratic republics such as Vajjī and Sakya. “I do, sir.” “If you wouldn’t mind, great king, tell me how they answered.” As in [dn1:1.4.2](), the Buddha begins by asking to hear what others have said. “It’s no trouble when someone such as the Blessed One is sitting here.” “Well, speak then, great king.” 3.1. The Doctrine of Pūraṇa Kassapa “One time, sir, I approached Pūraṇa Kassapa and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. As with his meeting with the Buddha, Ajātasattu is respectful but not reverential. He said to me: ‘Great king, the one who acts does nothing wrong when they punish, mutilate, torture, aggrieve, oppress, intimidate, or when they encourage others to do the same. They do nothing wrong when they kill, steal, break into houses, plunder wealth, steal from isolated buildings, commit highway robbery, commit adultery, and lie. If you were to reduce all the living creatures of this earth to one heap and mass of flesh with a razor-edged chakram, no evil comes of that, and no outcome of evil. This is a denial of the doctrine of kamma. While his doctrine appears to be morally nihilistic, it seems unlikely this was Pūraṇa Kassapa’s full teaching. He may have subscribed to hard determinism, so that we have no choice in what we do. He may also have believed that we should keep moral rules as a social contract, but that this had no effect on the afterlife.If you were to go along the south bank of the Ganges killing, mutilating, and torturing, and encouraging others to do the same, no evil comes of that, and no outcome of evil. If you were to go along the north bank of the Ganges giving and sacrificing and encouraging others to do the same, no merit comes of that, and no outcome of merit. In giving, self-control, restraint, and truthfulness there is no merit or outcome of merit.’ And so, when I asked Pūraṇa Kassapa about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with the doctrine of inaction. The unsatisfying nature of the answers given by these teachers is also emphasized at [mn36:48.4]().It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. Breadfruit is a starchy, fibrous fruit that is, needless to say, very different from a mango.I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ Kings had a duty to protect all religions in their realm, even those with such extreme views.So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of Pūraṇa Kassapa. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. The commentary takes _uggahita_ and _nikkujjita_ as synonyms, which is followed by Bodhi, but not by Rhys Davids or Ṭhānissaro. Elsewhere _nikkujjati_ always means “overturns”. 3.2. The Doctrine of Makkhali Gosāla One time, sir, I approached Makkhali Gosāla and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. He said: ‘Great king, there is no cause or reason for the corruption of sentient beings. Sentient beings are corrupted without cause or reason. This denies the principle of causality and the efficacy of action. The fatalistic teachings of the Ājīvikas led to them becoming popular as prognosticators.There’s no cause or reason for the purification of sentient beings. Sentient beings are purified without cause or reason. One does not act of one’s own volition, one does not act of another’s volition, one does not act from a person’s volition. There is no power, no energy, no human strength or vigor. The first three phrases, with the Magadhan nominative singular in _-e_, are unique to this passage. Cp [an6.38:1.4](), where we find the regular nominative form in _-o_.All sentient beings, all living creatures, all beings, all souls lack control, power, and energy. Molded by destiny, circumstance, and nature, they experience pleasure and pain in the six classes of rebirth. Everything is destined by circumstances beyond our control.There are 1.4 million main wombs, and 6,000, and 600. There are 500 deeds, and five, and three. There are deeds and half-deeds. There are 62 paths, 62 sub-eons, six classes of rebirth, and eight stages in a person’s life. There are 4,900 Ājīvaka ascetics, 4,900 wanderers, and 4,900 naked ascetics. There are 2,000 faculties, 3,000 hells, and 36 realms of dust. There are seven percipient embryos, seven non-percipient embryos, and seven embryos without attachments. There are seven gods, seven humans, and seven goblins. There are seven lakes, seven winds, 700 winds, seven cliffs, and 700 cliffs. There are seven dreams and 700 dreams. There are 8.4 million great eons through which the foolish and the astute transmigrate before making an end of suffering. This strange cosmology lays out the course through which souls must proceed before their final liberation.And here there is no such thing as this: “By this precept or observance or mortification or spiritual life I shall force unripened deeds to bear their fruit, or eliminate old deeds by experiencing their results little by little,” for that cannot be. Here he denies the tenets of the Jains.Pleasure and pain are allotted. Transmigration lasts only for a limited period, so there’s no increase or decrease, no getting better or worse. It’s like how, when you toss a ball of string, it rolls away unraveling. In the same way, after transmigrating the foolish and the astute will make an end of suffering.’ And so, when I asked Makkhali Gosāla about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with the doctrine of purification through transmigration. It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of Makkhali Gosāla. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. 3.3. The Doctrine of Ajita of the Hair Blanket One time, sir, I approached Ajita of the hair blanket and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. He said: ‘Great king, there is no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There’s no afterlife. There’s no such thing as mother and father, or beings that are reborn spontaneously. And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is well attained and practiced, and who describes the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight. The denial of “mother and father” is usually interpreted as the denial of moral duty towards ones’ parents. However, I think it is a doctrine of conception which denies that a child is produced by the mother and father. Rather, the child is produced by the four elements, with parents as mere instigators and incubators.This person is made up of the four primary elements. When they die, the earth in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass of earth. The water in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass of water. The fire in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass of fire. The air in their body merges and coalesces with the main mass of air. The faculties are transferred to space. This is a materialist analysis of the person.Four men with a bier carry away the corpse. Their footprints show the way to the cemetery. The bones become bleached. Offerings dedicated to the gods end in ashes. Giving is a doctrine of morons. When anyone affirms a positive teaching it’s just hollow, false nonsense. Both the foolish and the astute are annihilated and destroyed when their body breaks up, and don’t exist after death.’ And so, when I asked Ajita of the hair blanket about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with the doctrine of annihilationism. It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of Ajita of the hair blanket. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. 3.4. The Doctrine of Pakudha Kaccāyana One time, sir, I approached Pakudha Kaccāyana and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. He said: ‘Great king, these seven substances are not made, not derived, not created, without a creator, barren, steady as a mountain peak, standing firm like a pillar. This is a reductive atomism. It argues that since all things are made of the seven fundamental substances, higher-order entities have no significance.They don’t move or deteriorate or obstruct each other. They’re unable to cause pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain to each other. What seven? The substances of earth, water, fire, air; pleasure, pain, and the soul is the seventh. Unlike the materialism of Ajita Kesakambala, one of the basic substances is the soul. He uses _jīva_, the same term used by the Jains, rather than _attā_ as preferred by the brahmins.These seven substances are not made, not derived, not created, without a creator, barren, steady as a mountain peak, standing firm like a pillar. They don’t move or deteriorate or obstruct each other. They’re unable to cause pleasure, pain, or both pleasure and pain to each other. And here there is no-one who kills or who makes others kill; no-one who learns or who educates others; no-one who understands or who helps others understand. If you chop off someone’s head with a sharp sword, you don’t take anyone’s life. The sword simply passes through the gap between the seven substances.’ And so, when I asked Pakudha Kaccāyana about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with something else entirely. It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of Pakudha Kaccāyana. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. 3.5. The Doctrine of the Jain Ascetic of the Ñātika Clan One time, sir, I approached the Jain Ñātika and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. He said: ‘Great king, consider a Jain ascetic who is restrained in the fourfold restraint. While restraint is an important aspect of Jain practice, the “fourfold restraint” has not been traced to Jain scriptures. It is also found at [mn56:1.2](), which offers a more detailed refutation of the doctrine. At [dn25:16.4]() there is a different “fourfold restraint”.And how is a Jain ascetic restrained in the fourfold restraint? “Restraint” (_vara_) puns with “water” (_vāri_) in the next passage.It’s when a Jain ascetic is obstructed by all water, devoted to all water, shaking off all water, pervaded by all water. Jains regarded water as both a living thing and full of living things. Ascetics were “obstructed” from crossing water when it might bring harm; they were “devoted” to caring for water; they “shook off” water by drying naturally when they got wet; and they lived in the knowledge that their bodies were “pervaded” by living water.That’s how a Jain ascetic is restrained in the fourfold restraint. When a Jain ascetic is restrained in the fourfold restraint, they’re called a knotless one who is self-realized, self-controlled, and steadfast.’ And so, when I asked the Jain Ñātika about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with the fourfold restraint. It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of the Jain Ñātika. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. 3.6. The Doctrine of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta One time, sir, I approached Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, I sat down to one side, and asked him the same question. He said: ‘Suppose you were to ask me whether there is another world. If I believed there was, I would say so. But I don’t say it’s like this. I don’t say it’s like that. I don’t say it’s otherwise. I don’t say it’s not so. And I don’t deny it’s not so. This places him among the “endless flip-floppers” of [dn1:2.23.1](). However, we do not know on which of the four grounds he justified his evasiveness.Suppose you were to ask me whether there is no other world … whether there both is and is not another world … whether there neither is nor is not another world … whether there are beings who are reborn spontaneously … whether there are no beings who are reborn spontaneously … whether there both are and are not beings who are reborn spontaneously … whether there neither are nor are not beings who are reborn spontaneously … whether there is fruit and result of good and bad deeds … whether there is no fruit and result of good and bad deeds … whether there both is and is not fruit and result of good and bad deeds … whether there neither is nor is not fruit and result of good and bad deeds … whether a Realized One exists after death … whether a Realized One doesn’t exist after death … whether a Realized One both exists and doesn’t exist after death … whether a Realized One neither exists nor doesn’t exist after death. If I believed there was, I would say so. But I don’t say it’s like this. I don’t say it’s like that. I don’t say it’s otherwise. I don’t say it’s not so. And I don’t deny it’s not so.’ And so, when I asked Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life, he answered with flip-flopping. It was like someone who, when asked about a mango, answered with a breadfruit, or when asked about a breadfruit, answered with a mango. I thought: ‘This is the most foolish and stupid of all these ascetics and brahmins! How on earth can he answer with flip-flopping when asked about the fruits of the ascetic life apparent in the present life?’ I thought: ‘How could one such as I presume to rebuke an ascetic or brahmin living in my realm?’ So I neither approved nor dismissed that statement of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta. I was displeased, but did not express my displeasure. Neither accepting what he said nor contradicting it, I got up from my seat and left. 4. The Fruits of the Ascetic Life 4.1. The First Fruit of the Ascetic Life And so I ask the Buddha: Sir, there are many different professional fields. These include elephant riders, cavalry, charioteers, archers, bannermen, adjutants, food servers, warrior-chiefs, princes, chargers, great warriors, heroes, leather-clad soldiers, and sons of bondservants. They also include bakers, barbers, bathroom attendants, cooks, garland-makers, dyers, weavers, basket-makers, potters, accountants, finger-talliers, or those following any similar professions. All these live off the fruits of their profession which are apparent in the present life. With that they bring happiness and joy to themselves, their parents, their children and partners, and their friends and colleagues. And they establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven. Sir, can you point out a fruit of the ascetic life that’s likewise apparent in the present life?” “I can, great king. The Buddha answers directly, with confidence. This whole passage is a masterclass in effective dialogue.Well then, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. He engages Ajātasattu rather than lecturing at him.What do you think, great king? Suppose you had a person who was a bondservant, a worker. They get up before you and go to bed after you, and are obliging, behaving nicely and speaking politely, and gazing up at your face. See _mukhaṁ ullokentī_ at [mn79]() and [sn56.39]().They’d think: ‘The outcome and result of good deeds is just so incredible, so amazing! Even a servant believed in the doctrine of kamma.For this King Ajātasattu is a human being, and so am I. There is no question of the divinity of kings.Yet he amuses himself, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation as if he were a god. Whereas I’m his bondservant, his worker. I get up before him and go to bed after him, and am obliging, behaving nicely and speaking politely, and gazing up at his face. I should do good deeds. The doctrine of kamma leads to living a better life, not stewing in resentment.Why don’t I shave off my hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness?’ [Kd 1:47](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd1/en/brahmali#47.1.1) penalizes the ordination of bondservants or slaves, despite the fact that Ajātasattu’s father, Bimbisāra, had ordered that no action was to be taken against any bondservant who ordained under the Buddha. After some time, that is what they do. Having gone forth they’d live restrained in body, speech, and mind, living content with nothing more than food and clothes, delighting in seclusion. Here the Buddha foreshadows the larger themes detailed later.And suppose your men were to report all this to you. Would you say to them: ‘Bring that person to me! Let them once more be my bondservant, my worker’?” “No, sir. Rather, I would bow to them, rise in their presence, and offer them a seat. I’d invite them to accept robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. And I’d organize their lawful guarding and protection.” “What do you think, great king? If this is so, is there a fruit of the ascetic life apparent in the present life or not?” In contrast with the former teachers, the Buddha gives a clear answer in terms that Ajātasattu would understand. “Clearly, sir, there is.” The Buddha establishes common ground with the king before venturing into deeper waters. “This is the first fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life, which I point out to you.” 4.2. The Second Fruit of the Ascetic Life “But sir, can you point out another fruit of the ascetic life that’s likewise apparent in the present life?” By starting with a very basic and obvious fruit, the Buddha stimulates Ajātasattu to seek a deeper answer. “I can, great king. Well then, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. What do you think, great king? Suppose you had a person who was a farmer, a householder, a hard worker, someone who builds up their capital. _Karakārako rāsivaḍḍhako_ is a unique phrase. For _karakāraka_, compare [mn57:2.3](), where a naked ascetic “does a hard thing”. _Rāsi_ means “heap” (of grain or wealth according to the commentary).They’d think: ‘The outcome and result of good deeds is just so incredible, so amazing! For this King Ajātasattu is a human being, and so am I. Yet he amuses himself, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation as if he were a god. Whereas I’m a farmer, a householder, a hard worker, someone who builds up their capital. I should do good deeds. Why don’t I shave off my hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness?’ After some time they give up a large or small fortune, and a large or small family circle. They’d shave off hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness. Note that the bonded servant had no wealth or family to renounce, but the worker does.Having gone forth they’d live restrained in body, speech, and mind, living content with nothing more than food and clothes, delighting in seclusion. And suppose your men were to report all this to you. Would you say to them: ‘Bring that person to me! Let them once more be a farmer, a householder, a hard worker, someone who builds up their capital’?” “No, sir. Rather, I would bow to them, rise in their presence, and offer them a seat. I’d invite them to accept robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. And I’d organize their lawful guarding and protection.” “What do you think, great king? If this is so, is there a fruit of the ascetic life apparent in the present life or not?” “Clearly, sir, there is.” “This is the second fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life, which I point out to you.” 4.3. The Finer Fruits of the Ascetic Life “But sir, can you point out a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than these?” “I can, great king. Well then, listen and pay close attention, I will speak.” Having established the king’s genuine interest and understanding, the Buddha prepares him for the long discourse to follow. “Yes, sir,” replied the king. The Buddha said this: “Consider when a Realized One arises in the world, perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those who wish to train, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed. This is the start of the teaching on the Gradual Training, encompassing ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Only the ethics portion appeared in the Brahmajalasutta, while all three are restated in all the remaining suttas of this chapter, although in truncated form.He has realized with his own insight this world—with its gods, Māras and Brahmās, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, gods and humans—and he makes it known to others. According to Buddhist doctrine, it is rare for a Buddha to appear. The Buddha realizes the truth by his own understanding, not through divine intervention or other metaphysical means.He teaches Dhamma that’s good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased. And he reveals a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. It is good when first heard, when practicing, and when one has realized the fruits. A householder hears that teaching, or a householder’s child, or someone reborn in some clan. The renunciate life is not just for slaves or workers wishing to escape their station.They gain faith in the Realized One and reflect: ‘Living in a house is cramped and dirty, but the life of one gone forth is wide open. It’s not easy for someone living at home to lead the spiritual life utterly full and pure, like a polished shell. Why don’t I shave off my hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness?’ After some time they give up a large or small fortune, and a large or small family circle. They shave off hair and beard, dress in ocher robes, and go forth from the lay life to homelessness. Once they’ve gone forth, they live restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and seeking alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken. They act skillfully by body and speech. They’re purified in livelihood and accomplished in ethical conduct. They guard the sense doors, have mindfulness and situational awareness, and are content. This summarizes the teachings to come. Nowadays, the “monastic code” (_pātimokkha_) means the list of rules for monks and nuns found in the Vinayapiṭaka. In the early texts, however, it has three main meanings. Here it refers to the code of conduct that follows, which is a non-legalistic set of guidelines that preceded the Vinayapiṭaka. At [dn14:3.28.1]() it refers to the verses summarizing monastic conduct known as the “Ovāda Pātimokkha”. And sometimes it does refer to the list of rules (eg. [an10.36:1.6]()). Care should be taken, then, to interpret in context. 4.3.1. Ethics 4.3.1.1. The Shorter Section on Ethics And how, great king, is a mendicant accomplished in ethics? It’s when a mendicant gives up killing living creatures, renouncing the rod and the sword. They’re scrupulous and kind, living full of compassion for all living beings. This precept is more than not killing, it aspires to a life of love and compassion. While the precept includes any living creature, if a monastic murders a human being they are immediately and permanently expelled.This pertains to their ethics. They give up stealing. They take only what’s given, and expect only what’s given. They keep themselves clean by not thieving. To steal anything of substantial value is an expulsion offence.This pertains to their ethics. They give up unchastity. They are celibate, set apart, avoiding the vulgar act of sex. Buddhist monastics are forbidden from any form of sexual activity. To engage in intercourse is an expulsion offence.This pertains to their ethics. They give up lying. They speak the truth and stick to the truth. They’re honest and trustworthy, and don’t trick the world with their words. This is the first of the four kinds of right speech. The precepts on speech are not mere silence, but enjoin using speech in a positive way. While any form of lying is forbidden, if a monastic falsely claims states of enlightenment or deep meditation they are expelled.This pertains to their ethics. They give up divisive speech. They don’t repeat in one place what they heard in another so as to divide people against each other. Instead, they reconcile those who are divided, supporting unity, delighting in harmony, loving harmony, speaking words that promote harmony. This pertains to their ethics. They give up harsh speech. They speak in a way that’s mellow, pleasing to the ear, lovely, going to the heart, polite, likable and agreeable to the people. This pertains to their ethics. They give up talking nonsense. Their words are timely, true, and meaningful, in line with the teaching and training. They say things at the right time which are valuable, reasonable, succinct, and beneficial. This pertains to their ethics. They refrain from injuring plants and seeds. Buddhists generally do not regard plants as sentient, but minimize harming them because of their role in the ecosystem.They eat in one part of the day, abstaining from eating at night and food at the wrong time. Today this means eating only before noon.They avoid dancing, singing, music, and seeing shows. Sensual entertainments that distract and excite the mind.They refrain from beautifying and adorning themselves with garlands, fragrance, and makeup. This was ignored by the Buddha’s cousin, Nanda ([sn21.8:1.2]()).They avoid high and luxurious beds. To avoid sleeping too much.They avoid receiving gold and money, Literally “gold and silver”, but silver is explained in [Bu NP 18](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-bu-vb-np18/en/brahmali#2.8) as currency of any kind.raw grains, Mendicants receive only the day’s meal and do not store or cook food.raw meat, women and girls, male and female bondservants, goats and sheep, These are animals raised for food.chickens and pigs, elephants, cows, horses, and mares, and fields and land. The Saṅgha as a whole may own monastery land, but individual mendicants may not own land, especially farmland.They refrain from running errands and messages; Acting as a go-between for lay business. This would have been tempting due to the mendicants’ wandering lifestyle.buying and selling; For example, trading in property of the monastery.falsifying weights, metals, or measures; bribery, fraud, cheating, and duplicity; mutilation, murder, abduction, banditry, plunder, and violence. This pertains to their ethics. The shorter section on ethics is finished. 4.3.1.2. The Middle Section on Ethics There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in injuring plants and seeds. This section expands some of the former section in further detail.These include plants propagated from roots, stems, cuttings, or joints; and those from regular seeds as the fifth. They refrain from such injury to plants and seeds. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in storing up goods for their own use. This includes such things as food, drink, clothes, vehicles, bedding, fragrance, and material possessions. They refrain from storing up such goods. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in seeing shows. This includes such things as dancing, singing, music, performances, and storytelling; clapping, gongs, and kettledrums; art exhibitions and acrobatic displays; battles of elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, chickens, and quails; staff-fights, boxing, and wrestling; combat, roll calls of the armed forces, battle-formations, and regimental reviews. These passages give us information about recreations in the time of the Buddha.They refrain from such shows. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in gambling that causes negligence. This includes such things as checkers, draughts, checkers in the air, hopscotch, spillikins, board-games, tip-cat, drawing straws, dice, leaf-flutes, toy plows, somersaults, pinwheels, toy measures, toy carts, toy bows, guessing words from syllables, and guessing another’s thoughts. They refrain from such gambling. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still make use of high and luxurious bedding. This includes such things as sofas, couches, woolen covers—shag-piled, colorful, white, embroidered with flowers, quilted, embroidered with animals, double-or single-fringed—and silk covers studded with gems, as well as silken sheets, woven carpets, rugs for elephants, horses, or chariots, antelope hide rugs, and spreads of fine deer hide, with a canopy above and red cushions at both ends. They refrain from such bedding. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in beautifying and adorning themselves with garlands, fragrance, and makeup. This includes such things as applying beauty products by anointing, massaging, bathing, and rubbing; mirrors, ointments, garlands, fragrances, and makeup; face-powder, foundation, bracelets, headbands, fancy walking-sticks or containers, rapiers, parasols, fancy sandals, turbans, jewelry, chowries, and long-fringed white robes. They refrain from such beautification and adornment. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in low talk. This includes such topics as talk about kings, bandits, and ministers; talk about armies, threats, and wars; talk about food, drink, clothes, and beds; talk about garlands and fragrances; talk about family, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; talk about women and heroes; street talk and well talk; talk about the departed; motley talk; tales of land and sea; and talk about being reborn in this or that state of existence. They refrain from such low talk. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in arguments. They say such things as: ‘You don’t understand this teaching and training. I understand this teaching and training. What, you understand this teaching and training? You’re practicing wrong. I’m practicing right. I stay on topic, you don’t. You said last what you should have said first. You said first what you should have said last. What you’ve thought so much about has been disproved. Your doctrine is refuted. Go on, save your doctrine! You’re trapped; get yourself out of this—if you can!’ The folly of disputatiousness is a consistent theme in the suttas, but is a special focus of the Aṭṭhakavagga of the Suttanipāta.They refrain from such argumentative talk. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in running errands and messages. This includes running errands for rulers, ministers, aristocrats, brahmins, householders, or princes who say: ‘Go here, go there. Take this, bring that from there.’ Such errands are not merely undignified for a mendicant, they place them under heavy responsibility if the message is not delivered, or if it results in a conflict whether of a personal, business, or political nature.They refrain from such errands. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still engage in deceit, flattery, hinting, and belittling, and using material possessions to chase after other material possessions. They refrain from such deceit and flattery. Some renunciants like to butter up potential donors, or make ostentatious displays to prompt further donations.This pertains to their ethics. The middle section on ethics is finished. 4.3.1.3. The Long Section on Ethics There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This section focuses on practices that are wrong livelihood for a mendicant, though not for lay people.This includes such fields as limb-reading, omenology, divining celestial portents, interpreting dreams, divining bodily marks, divining holes in cloth gnawed by mice, fire offerings, ladle offerings, offerings of husks, rice powder, rice, ghee, or oil; offerings from the mouth, blood sacrifices, palmistry; geomancy for building sites, fields, and cemeteries; exorcisms, earth magic, snake charming, poisons; the crafts of the scorpion, the rat, the bird, and the crow; prophesying life span, chanting for protection, and deciphering animal cries. Such practices, especially astrology, are commonly found today among Buddhist mendicants.They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes reading the marks of gems, cloth, clubs, swords, spears, arrows, weapons, women, men, boys, girls, male and female bondservants, elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows, goats, rams, chickens, quails, monitor lizards, rabbits, tortoises, or deer. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes making predictions that the king will march forth or march back; or that our king will attack and the enemy king will retreat, or vice versa; or that our king will triumph and the enemy king will be defeated, or vice versa; and so there will be victory for one and defeat for the other. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes making predictions that there will be an eclipse of the moon, or sun, or stars; that the sun, moon, and stars will be in conjunction or in opposition; that there will be a meteor shower, a fiery sky, an earthquake, thunder; that there will be a rising, a setting, a darkening, a brightening of the moon, sun, and stars. And it also includes making predictions about the results of all such phenomena. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes predicting whether there will be plenty of rain or drought; plenty to eat or famine; an abundant harvest or a bad harvest; security or peril; sickness or health. It also includes such occupations as computing, accounting, calculating, poetry, and cosmology. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes making arrangements for giving and taking in marriage; for engagement and divorce; and for scattering rice inwards or outwards at the wedding ceremony. It also includes casting spells for good or bad luck, treating impacted fetuses, binding the tongue, or locking the jaws; charms for the hands and ears; questioning a mirror, a girl, or a god as an oracle; worshiping the sun, worshiping the Great One, breathing fire, and invoking Siri, the goddess of luck. They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, while enjoying food given in faith, still earn a living by low lore, by wrong livelihood. This includes rites for propitiation, for granting wishes, for ghosts, for the earth, for rain, for property settlement, and for preparing and consecrating house sites, and rites involving rinsing and bathing, and oblations. It also includes administering emetics, purgatives, expectorants, and phlegmagogues; administering ear-oils, eye restoratives, nasal medicine, ointments, and counter-ointments; surgery with needle and scalpel, treating children, prescribing root medicines, and binding on herbs. Medicine is right livelihood, but a mendicant should not make a living from it. They may treat fellow mendicants, family members, or those close to the monastery.They refrain from such low lore, such wrong livelihood. This pertains to their ethics. A mendicant thus accomplished in ethics sees no danger in any quarter in regards to their ethical restraint. It’s like a king who has defeated his enemies. He sees no danger from his foes in any quarter. In the same way, a mendicant thus accomplished in ethics sees no danger in any quarter in regards to their ethical restraint. When they have this entire spectrum of noble ethics, they experience a blameless happiness inside themselves. This is the first step in the Buddha’s answer to Ajātasattu. This is the sense of happiness and well-being that you have when you know you have done nothing wrong for which anyone might blame you. It is the psychological foundation for meditation.That’s how a mendicant is accomplished in ethics. The longer section on ethics is finished. 4.3.2. Immersion 4.3.2.1. Sense Restraint And how does a mendicant guard the sense doors? Here begins the series of practices that build on moral fundamentals to lay the groundwork for meditation.When a mendicant sees a sight with their eyes, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of sight were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and bitterness would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of sight, and achieving its restraint. It is not that one cannot see things, but that, mindful of its effect, one avoids unnecessary stimulation. “Covetousness and bitterness” (_abhijjhā domanassā_) are the strong forms of desire and aversion caused by lack of restraint.When they hear a sound with their ears … When they smell an odor with their nose … When they taste a flavor with their tongue … When they feel a touch with their body … When they know a thought with their mind, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of mind were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and bitterness would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of mind, and achieving its restraint. When they have this noble sense restraint, they experience an unsullied bliss inside themselves. Now their happiness deepens, as they see that not only their actions but also their mind is becoming free of anything unwholesome.That’s how a mendicant guards the sense doors. 4.3.2.2. Mindfulness and Situational Awareness And how does a mendicant have mindfulness and situational awareness? Situational awareness is a psychological term popularized in the 1990s. It has to do with the perception of environmental phenomena and the comprehension of their meaning, which is very close to the sense of the Pali term _sampajañña_.It’s when a mendicant acts with situational awareness when going out and coming back; when looking ahead and aside; when bending and extending the limbs; when bearing the outer robe, bowl and robes; when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; when urinating and defecating; when walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and keeping silent. These acts describe the daily life of a mendicant: going into the village for alms, at which time there are many distracting sights. Then they return, eat their meal, and spend their day in meditation.That’s how a mendicant has mindfulness and situational awareness. 4.3.2.3. Contentment And how is a mendicant content? It’s when a mendicant is content with robes to look after the body and almsfood to look after the belly. Wherever they go, they set out taking only these things. A Buddhist monk has three robes: a lower robe (sabong), and upper robe, and an outer cloak.They’re like a bird: wherever it flies, wings are its only burden. In the same way, a mendicant is content with robes to look after the body and almsfood to look after the belly. Wherever they go, they set out taking only these things. That’s how a mendicant is content. 4.3.2.4. Giving Up the Hindrances When they have this noble spectrum of ethics, this noble sense restraint, this noble mindfulness and situational awareness, and this noble contentment, These are the prerequisite conditions for embarking on deep meditation.they frequent a secluded lodging—a wilderness, the root of a tree, a hill, a ravine, a mountain cave, a charnel ground, a forest, the open air, a heap of straw. After the meal, they return from almsround, sit down cross-legged, set their body straight, and establish mindfulness in front of them. For _parimukha_ (“in front”) we find _pratimukha_ in Sanskrit, which can mean the reflection of the face. Late canonical Pali explains this as “this tip of the nose or the reflection of the face (_mukhanimitta_)”. To “establish mindfulness” (_satiṁ upaṭṭhapetvā_) is literally to “do satipaṭṭhāna”. Giving up covetousness for the world, they meditate with a heart rid of covetousness, cleansing the mind of covetousness. Covetousness (_abhijjha_) has been curbed by sense restraint, and now is fully abandoned.Giving up ill will and malevolence, they meditate with a mind rid of ill will, full of compassion for all living beings, cleansing the mind of ill will. Likewise ill will (_byāpādapadosa_), which is a synonym for _domanassa_ in the formula for sense restraint.Giving up dullness and drowsiness, they meditate with a mind rid of dullness and drowsiness, perceiving light, mindful and aware, cleansing the mind of dullness and drowsiness. “Mindfulness and situational awareness” has a prominent role in abandoning dullness.Giving up restlessness and remorse, they meditate without restlessness, their mind peaceful inside, cleansing the mind of restlessness and remorse. Restlessness hankers for the future and is countered by contentment. Remorse digs up the past and is countered by ethical purity.Giving up doubt, they meditate having gone beyond doubt, not undecided about skillful qualities, cleansing the mind of doubt. The meditator set out on their path after gaining faith in the Buddha. Suppose a man who has gotten into debt were to apply himself to work, The happiness of meditation is hard to understand without practicing, so the Buddha gives a series of five similes to illustrate in terms Ajātasattu would understand.and his efforts proved successful. He would pay off the original loan and have enough left over to support his partner. Thinking about this, he’d be filled with joy and happiness. Suppose there was a person who was sick, suffering, gravely ill. They’d lose their appetite and get physically weak. But after some time they’d recover from that illness, and regain their appetite and their strength. Thinking about this, they’d be filled with joy and happiness. Suppose a person was imprisoned in a jail. But after some time they were released from jail, safe and sound, with no loss of wealth. Thinking about this, they’d be filled with joy and happiness. Suppose a person was a bondservant. They belonged to someone else and were unable to go where they wish. But after some time they’d be freed from servitude and become their own master, an emancipated individual able to go where they wish. Thinking about this, they’d be filled with joy and happiness. Suppose there was a person with wealth and property who was traveling along a desert road, which was perilous, with nothing to eat. But after some time they crossed over the desert safely, arriving within a village, a sanctuary free of peril. Thinking about this, they’d be filled with joy and happiness. In the same way, as long as these five hindrances are not given up inside themselves, a mendicant regards them thus as a debt, a disease, a prison, slavery, and a desert crossing. The five hindrances remain a pillar of meditation teaching. The root sense includes to “obstruct” as well as to “obscure, darken, veil”. But when these five hindrances are given up inside themselves, a mendicant regards this as freedom from debt, good health, release from prison, emancipation, and sanctuary. Each simile illustrates not the happiness of acquisition, but of letting go. Seeing that the hindrances have been given up in them, joy springs up. Being joyful, rapture springs up. When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil. When the body is tranquil, they feel bliss. And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed. The Buddha did not emphasize technical details of technique, but the emotional wholeness and joy that leads to deep meditation. 4.3.2.5. First Absorption Quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, they enter and remain in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. _Jhāna_ is a state of “elevated consciousness” (_adhicitta_) so all the terms have an elevated sense. The plural form indicates that “sensual pleasures” includes sense experience, which the meditator can turn away from since they no longer have any desire for it. The “unskillful qualities” are the five hindrances. The “rapture and bliss born of seclusion” is the happiness of abandoning the hindrances and freedom from sense impingement. “Placing the mind and keeping it connected” (_vitakka_, _vicāra_) takes terms that mean “thought” in coarse consciousness, but which here refer to the subtle function of applying the mind to the meditation.They drench, steep, fill, and spread their body with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. As a meditator proceeds, their subjective experience of the “body” evolves from tactile sense impressions (_phoṭṭhabba_), to the interior mental experience of bliss and light (_manomayakāya_), to the direct personal realization of highest truth ([mn70:23.2](): _kāyena ceva paramasaccaṁ sacchikaroti_). It’s like when a deft bathroom attendant or their apprentice pours bath powder into a bronze dish, sprinkling it little by little with water. They knead it until the ball of bath powder is soaked and saturated with moisture, spread through inside and out; yet no moisture oozes out. The kneading is the “placing the mind and keeping it connected”, the water is bliss, while the lack of leaking speaks to the contained interiority of the experience.In the same way, a mendicant drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads their body with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. This, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. Here the Buddha directly answers Ajātasattu’s follow up question. But he is far from finished. 4.3.2.6. Second Absorption Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without applying the mind and keeping it connected. Each _jhāna_ begins as the least refined aspect of the previous _jhāna_ ends. This is not consciously directed, but describes the natural process of settling. The meditator is now fully confident and no longer needs to apply their mind: it is simply still and fully unified.In the same way, a mendicant drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads their body with rapture and bliss born of immersion. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of immersion. It’s like a deep lake fed by spring water. There’s no inlet to the east, west, north, or south, and no rainfall to replenish it from time to time. Again the simile emphasizes the water as bliss, while the lack of inflow expresses containment and unification.But the stream of cool water welling up in the lake drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads throughout the lake. There’s no part of the lake that’s not spread through with cool water. The water welling up is the rapture, which is the uplifting emotional response to the experience of bliss. In the same way, a mendicant drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads their body with rapture and bliss born of immersion. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of immersion. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.2.7. Third Absorption Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ The emotional response to bliss matures from the subtle thrill of rapture to the poise of equanimity. Mindfulness is present in all states of deep meditation, but with equanimity it becomes prominent.They drench, steep, fill, and spread their body with bliss free of rapture. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with bliss free of rapture. It’s like a pool with blue water lilies, or pink or white lotuses. Some of them sprout and grow in the water without rising above it, thriving underwater. From the tip to the root they’re drenched, steeped, filled, and soaked with cool water. There’s no part of them that’s not soaked with cool water. The meditator is utterly immersed in stillness and bliss.In the same way, a mendicant drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads their body with bliss free of rapture. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with bliss free of rapture. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.2.8. Fourth Absorption Furthermore, giving up pleasure and pain, and ending former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. The emotional poise of equanimity leads to the feeling of pleasure settling into the more subtle neutral feeling. Pain and sadness have been abandoned long before, but are emphasized here as they are subtle counterpart of pleasure.They sit spreading their body through with pure bright mind. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with pure bright mind. The equanimity of the fourth _jhāna_ is not dullness and indifference, but a brilliant and radiant awareness. It’s like someone sitting wrapped from head to foot with white cloth. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread over with white cloth. The white cloth is the purity and brightness of equanimity. The commentary explains this as a person who has just got out of a bath and sits perfectly dry and content.In the same way, they sit spreading their body through with pure bright mind. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with pure bright mind. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3. The Eight Knowledges 4.3.3.1. Knowledge and Vision When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward knowledge and vision. The fourth _jhāna_ is the ideal basis for developing higher knowledges, although elsewhere the canon makes it clear that even the first _jhāna_ can be a basis for liberating insight. The verb _abhininnāmeti_ (“project”) indicates that the meditator comes out of full immersion like a tortoise sticking out its limbs ([sn35.240:1.7]()). Of the eight kinds of knowledge and vision, only the last is considered indispensable.They understand: ‘This body of mine is physical. It’s made up of the four primary elements, produced by mother and father, built up from rice and porridge, liable to impermanence, to wearing away and erosion, to breaking up and destruction. This is the “coarse” (_olārika_) body. Note that its generation by mother and father contradicts the doctrine of Ajito Kesakambala. The obvious impermanence of the body invites the tempting but fallacious notion that the mind or soul is permanent, which is dispelled by deeper insight.And this consciousness of mine is attached to it, tied to it.’ This distinction should not be mistaken for mind-body dualism. These are not fundamental substances but experiences of a meditator. Suppose there was a beryl gem that was naturally beautiful, eight-faceted, well-worked, transparent, clear, and unclouded, endowed with all good qualities. And it was strung with a thread of blue, yellow, red, white, or golden brown. Strung gems were loved in India from the time in the Harappan civilization, millennia before the Buddha.And someone with good eyesight were to take it in their hand and check it: ‘This beryl gem is naturally beautiful, eight-faceted, well-worked, transparent, clear, and unclouded, endowed with all good qualities. And it’s strung with a thread of blue, yellow, red, white, or golden brown.’ In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward knowledge and vision. This form of “knowledge and vision” is rarely mentioned, being found only here, at [dn10:2.21.3](), and at [mn77:29.2](). The next realization, the “mind-made body” is also only found in these three suttas. Note that the Mahāsaṅgīti edition adds the spurious title _vipassanāñāṇa_ (“insight knowledge”) to this section. This term, while central to modern “insight” meditation, does not appear anywhere in the Pali canon.This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.2. Mind-Made Body When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward the creation of a mind-made body. The “mind-made body” is the interior mental representation of the physical body. In ordinary consciousness it is proprioception, which here is enhanced by the power of meditation. The higher powers in Buddhism are regarded as extensions and evolutions of aspects of ordinary experience, not as metaphysical realities separate from the world of mundane experience.From this body they create another body, physical, mind-made, complete in all its various parts, not deficient in any faculty. This is similar to the experience of the “astral body” described by modern spiritualists. Note that it is still “physical” (_rūpī_) even though it is mind-made. This is the subtle (_sukhuma_) body, which is an energetic experience of physical properties by the mind. Suppose a person was to draw a reed out from its sheath. They’d think: ‘This is the reed, this is the sheath. The reed and the sheath are different things. The reed has been drawn out from the sheath.’ Or suppose a person was to draw a sword out from its scabbard. They’d think: ‘This is the sword, this is the scabbard. The sword and the scabbard are different things. The sword has been drawn out from the scabbard.’ Or suppose a person was to draw a snake out from its slough. They’d think: ‘This is the snake, this is the slough. The snake and the slough are different things. The snake has been drawn out from the slough.’ In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward the creation of a mind-made body. From this body they create another body, physical, mind-made, complete in all its various parts, not deficient in any faculty. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.3. Psychic Powers When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward psychic power. Here begin the “six direct knowledges” (_chaḷabhiññā_), which are found commonly throughout the early texts. “Psychic powers” (_iddhi_) were much cultivated, but the means to acquire them varied: devotion to a god, brutal penances, or magic rituals. The Buddha taught that the mind developed in samādhi was capable of things that are normally incomprehensible.They wield the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying themselves and becoming one again; going unimpeded through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful; controlling the body as far as the Brahmā realm. Only a few of these are attested as events in the early texts. The most common is the ability to disappear and reappear, exhibited by the Buddha ([an8.30:2.1]()), some disciples ([mn37:6.1]()), and deities ([mn67:8.1]()). Suppose a deft potter or their apprentice had some well-prepared clay. They could produce any kind of pot that they like. These similes hark back to the descriptions of the purified mind as pliable and workable.Or suppose a deft ivory-carver or their apprentice had some well-prepared ivory. They could produce any kind of ivory item that they like. Or suppose a deft goldsmith or their apprentice had some well-prepared gold. They could produce any kind of gold item that they like. This simile is extended in detail at [an3.101](). In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward psychic power. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.4. Clairaudience When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward clairaudience. “Clairaudience” is a literal rendition of _dibbasota_. The root sense of _dibba_ is to “shine” like the bright sky or a divine being. The senses of clarity and divinity are both present.With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, they hear both kinds of sounds, human and divine, whether near or far. The Buddha occasionally used this ability for teaching, as at [mn75:6.1](). Suppose there was a person traveling along the road. They’d hear the sound of drums, clay drums, horns, kettledrums, and tom-toms. They’d think: ‘That’s the sound of drums,’ and ‘that’s the sound of clay drums,’ and ‘that’s the sound of horns, kettledrums, and tom-toms.’ The simile emphasizes the clarity and distinctness of the sounds. Compare [an4.114](): _bheripaṇavasaṅkhatiṇavaninnādasaddānaṁ_. In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward clairaudience. With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, they hear both kinds of sounds, human and divine, whether near or far. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.5. Comprehending the Minds of Others When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward comprehending the minds of others. Note that the Indic idiom is not the “reading” of minds, which suggests hearing the words spoken in inner dialogue. While this is exhibited by the Buddha (eg. [an8.30:2.1]()), the main emphasis is on the comprehension of the overall state of mind.They understand the minds of other beings and individuals, having comprehended them with their own mind. They understand mind with greed as ‘mind with greed’, and mind without greed as ‘mind without greed’. They understand mind with hate … mind without hate … mind with delusion … mind without delusion … constricted mind … scattered mind … expansive mind … unexpansive mind … mind that is not supreme … mind that is supreme … immersed mind … unimmersed mind … freed mind … They understand unfreed mind as ‘unfreed mind’. Suppose there was a woman or man who was young, youthful, and fond of adornments, and they check their own reflection in a clean bright mirror or a clear bowl of water. If they had a spot they’d know ‘I have a spot,’ and if they had no spots they’d know ‘I have no spots.’ Again the simile emphasizes how clear and direct the experience is. Without deep meditation, we have some intuitive sense for the minds of others, but it is far from clear.In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward comprehending the minds of others. They understand the minds of other beings and individuals, having comprehended them with their own mind. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.6. Recollection of Past Lives When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward recollection of past lives. Here begins the “three knowledges” (_tevijjā_), a subset of the six direct knowledges. The first two of these play an important role in deepening understanding of the nature of suffering in _saṁsāra_. While they are not necessary for those whose wisdom is keen, they are helpful.They recollect many kinds of past lives, that is, one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. They remember: ‘There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.’ And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details. Empowered by the fourth _jhāna_, memory breaks through the veil of birth and death, revealing the vast expanse of time and dispelling the illusion that there is any place of eternal rest or sanctuary in the cycle of transmigration. Suppose a person was to leave their home village and go to another village. From that village they’d go to yet another village. And from that village they’d return to their home village. They’d think: ‘I went from my home village to another village. There I stood like this, sat like that, spoke like this, or kept silent like that. From that village I went to yet another village. There too I stood like this, sat like that, spoke like this, or kept silent like that. And from that village I returned to my home village.’ The word for “past life” is _pubbanivāsa_, literally “former home”, and the imagery of houses is found in the second of the three knowledges as well. Recollection of past lives is as fresh and clear as the memory of a recent journey. In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward recollection of past lives. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.7. Clairvoyance When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings. With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds: ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They spoke ill of the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they acted out of that wrong view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never spoke ill of the noble ones; they had right view; and they acted out of that right view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds. Here knowledge extends to the rebirths of others as well as oneself. Even more significant, it brings in the understanding of cause and effect; *why* rebirth happens the way it does. Such knowledge, however, is not infallible, as the Buddha warns in [dn1:2.5.3]() and [mn136](). The experience is one thing; the inferences drawn from it are another. One should draw conclusions only tentatively, after long experience. Suppose there was a stilt longhouse at the central square. A person with good eyesight standing there might see people entering and leaving a house, walking along the streets and paths, and sitting at the central square. They’d think: ‘These are people entering and leaving a house, walking along the streets and paths, and sitting at the central square.’ _Pāsada_ is often translated as “palace’ or “mansion”. But the usage in Pali consistently shows that it meant a “stilt longhouse”. It is an elevated place from which one can observe the street below. In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend and project it toward knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. 4.3.3.8. Ending of Defilements When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward knowledge of the ending of defilements. This is the experience of awakening that is the only true goal of the Buddhist path. The defilements—properties of the mind that create suffering—have been curbed by the practice of ethics and suppressed by the power of _jhāna_. Here they are eliminated forever.They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. These are the four noble truths, which form the main content of the Buddha’s first sermon. They are the overarching principle into which all other teachings fall. The initial realization of the four noble truths indicates the first stage of awakening, stream-entry.They truly understand: ‘These are defilements’ … ‘This is the origin of defilements’ … ‘This is the cessation of defilements’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of defilements’. The application of the four noble truths to defilements indicates that this is the final stage of awakening, perfection (_arahatta_). Many translators use “defilement” to render _kilesa_, but since _kilesa_ appears only rarely in the early texts, I use defilement for _āsava_. Both terms refer to a stain, corruption, or pollution in the mind.Knowing and seeing like this, their mind is freed from the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. This is the experience of full awakening. _Bhavāsava_ is the defilement that craves to continue life in a new birth.When they’re freed, they know they’re freed. This is a reflective awareness of the fact of awakening. The meditator reviews their mind and sees that it is free from all forces that lead to suffering.They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.’ Suppose that in a mountain glen there was a lake that was transparent, clear, and unclouded. A person with good eyesight standing on the bank would see the clams and mussels, and pebbles and gravel, and schools of fish swimming about or staying still. They’d think: ‘This lake is transparent, clear, and unclouded. And here are the clams and mussels, and pebbles and gravel, and schools of fish swimming about or staying still.’ Once again the pool of water represents the mind, but now the meditator is not immersed in the experience, but looks back and reviews it objectively. In the same way, when their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it and project it toward knowledge of the ending of defilements. This too, great king, is a fruit of the ascetic life that’s apparent in the present life which is better and finer than the former ones. And, great king, there is no other fruit of the ascetic life apparent in the present life which is better and finer than this.” The Buddha roars his lion’s roar. His teaching leads not just to some benefits, but to the highest benefits that are possible. 5. Ajātasattu Declares Himself a Lay Follower When the Buddha had spoken, King Ajātasattu said to him, “Excellent, sir! Excellent! The king’s distress has been alleviated by the Buddha’s uplifting words.As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with good eyes can see what’s there, the Buddha has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the Buddha, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha. This is the standard form in which lay people went for refuge. It is not something that the Buddha required or even encouraged, but a spontaneous act of inspiration. Conventionally, it indicates that someone is a “Buddhist”. Today Theravadins recite the going for refuge thrice, but in the early texts this is found only as the ordination for novices ([Kd 1:12.4.1](https://suttacentral.net/pli-tv-kd1/en/brahmali#12.4.1)).From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. I have made a mistake, sir. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of me to take the life of my father, a just and principled king, for the sake of authority. The king, unprompted, makes an astonishing confession. To say it in such a public forum, before a spiritual community and his own retinue, displays courage and integrity.Please, sir, accept my mistake for what it is, so I will restrain myself in future.” The Buddha hears his confession, but it is Ajātasattu’s responsibility to do better. “Indeed, great king, you made a mistake. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of you to take the life of your father, a just and principled king, for the sake of sovereignty. Even before such a dangerous and emotionally vulnerable king, the Buddha does not mince words. When someone confesses what they did wrong, it is important to acknowledge them and not to try to minimize their deeds.But since you have recognized your mistake for what it is, and have dealt with it properly, I accept it. For it is growth in the training of the Noble One to recognize a mistake for what it is, deal with it properly, and commit to restraint in the future.” Confession does not erase the past, but it does set a better course for the future. This confession is similar to that done by monastics when they have broken Vinaya rules. When the Buddha had spoken, King Ajātasattu said to him, “Well, now, sir, I must go. I have many duties, and much to do.” “Please, great king, go at your convenience.” Then the king, having approved and agreed with what the Buddha said, got up from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled him, keeping him on his right, before leaving. Soon after the king had left, the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “The king is broken, mendicants, These terms are commonly used in the context of keeping precepts (eg. [an3.50:4.1]()). The Buddha is supportive when he speaks with Ajātasattu, but does not hide the severity of his crime.he is ruined. If he had not taken the life of his father, a just and principled king, the stainless, immaculate vision of the Dhamma would have arisen in him in that very seat.” The killing of one’s father is one of five “incurable” acts that definitely lead to hell in the next life ([an5.129:1.3]()). If he had not done so, he would have become a stream-enterer. That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants were happy with what the Buddha said.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN ZEN BUDDHIST MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.14/4/2023.