Saṅgāravasutta

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Majjhima Nikāya 100

With Saṅgārava · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā kosalesu cārikaṁ carati mahatā bhikkhusaṅghena saddhiṁ.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was wandering in the land of the Kosalans together with a large Saṅgha of mendicants.

Tena kho pana samayena dhanañjānī nāma brāhmaṇī cañcalikappe paṭivasati abhippasannā buddhe ca dhamme ca saṅghe ca.
Atha kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī upakkhalitvā tikkhattuṁ udānaṁ udānesi:
“Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassā”ti.

Now at that time a brahmin lady named Dhanañjānī was residing at Caṇḍalakappa. She was devoted to the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha. Once, she tripped and expressed this heartfelt sentiment three times: “Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha! Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha! Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!”

Tena kho pana samayena saṅgāravo nāma māṇavo cañcalikappe paṭivasati tiṇṇaṁ vedānaṁ pāragū sanighaṇḍukeṭubhānaṁ sākkharappabhedānaṁ itihāsapañcamānaṁ, padako, veyyākaraṇo, lokāyatamahāpurisalakkhaṇesu anavayo.
Assosi kho saṅgāravo māṇavo dhanañjāniyā brāhmaṇiyā evaṁ vācaṁ bhāsamānāya.
Sutvā dhanañjāniṁ brāhmaṇiṁ etadavoca:
“avabhūtāva ayaṁ dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī, parabhūtāva ayaṁ dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī, vijjamānānaṁ tevijjānaṁ brāhmaṇānaṁ, atha ca pana tassa muṇḍakassa samaṇakassa vaṇṇaṁ bhāsissatī”ti.
“Na hi pana tvaṁ, tāta bhadramukha, tassa bhagavato sīlapaññāṇaṁ jānāsi.
Sace tvaṁ, tāta bhadramukha, tassa bhagavato sīlapaññāṇaṁ jāneyyāsi, na tvaṁ, tāta bhadramukha, taṁ bhagavantaṁ akkositabbaṁ paribhāsitabbaṁ maññeyyāsī”ti.
“Tena hi, bhoti, yadā samaṇo gotamo cañcalikappaṁ anuppatto hoti atha me āroceyyāsī”ti.
“Evaṁ, bhadramukhā”ti kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī saṅgāravassa māṇavassa paccassosi.

Now at that time the student Saṅgārava was residing in Caṇḍalakappa. He was young, newly tonsured; he was sixteen years old. He had mastered the three Vedas, together with their vocabularies and ritual performance, their phonology and word classification, and the testaments as fifth. He knew them word-by-word, and their grammar. He was well versed in cosmology and the marks of a great man. Hearing Dhanañjānī’s exclamation, he said to her, “The brahmin lady Dhanañjānī is a disgrace! Though brahmins proficient in the three Vedas are found, she will praise that shaveling, that fake ascetic.” “But dearest boy, you don’t understand the Buddha’s ethics and wisdom. If you did, you’d never think of abusing or insulting him.” “Well then, ma’am, let me know when the Buddha arrives in Caṇḍalakappa.” “I will, dearest,” she replied.

Atha kho bhagavā kosalesu anupubbena cārikaṁ caramāno yena cañcalikappaṁ tadavasari.
Tatra sudaṁ bhagavā cañcalikappe viharati todeyyānaṁ brāhmaṇānaṁ ambavane.

And then the Buddha, traveling stage by stage in the Kosalan lands, arrived at Caṇḍalakappa, where he stayed in the mango grove of the Todeyya brahmins.

Assosi kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī: “bhagavā kira cañcalikappaṁ anuppatto, cañcalikappe viharati todeyyānaṁ brāhmaṇānaṁ ambavane”ti.
Atha kho dhanañjānī brāhmaṇī yena saṅgāravo māṇavo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā saṅgāravaṁ māṇavaṁ etadavoca:
“ayaṁ, tāta bhadramukha, so bhagavā cañcalikappaṁ anuppatto, cañcalikappe viharati todeyyānaṁ brāhmaṇānaṁ ambavane.
Yassadāni, tāta bhadramukha, kālaṁ maññasī”ti.
“Evaṁ, bho”ti kho saṅgāravo māṇavo dhanañjāniyā brāhmaṇiyā paṭissutvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.
Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho saṅgāravo māṇavo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

Dhanañjānī heard that he had arrived. So she went to Saṅgārava and told him, adding, “Please, dearest boy, go at your convenience.” “Yes, ma’am,” replied Saṅgārava. He went to the Buddha and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha:

“Santi kho, bho gotama, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti.
Tatra, bho gotama, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti, tesaṁ bhavaṁ gotamo katamo”ti?

“Worthy Gotama, there are some ascetics and brahmins who claim to have mastered the fundamentals of the spiritual life having attained perfection and consummation of insight in this life. Where do you stand regarding these?”

“Diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattānaṁ, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānantānampi kho ahaṁ, bhāradvāja, vemattaṁ vadāmi.
Santi, bhāradvāja, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā anussavikā.
Te anussavena diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti;
seyyathāpi brāhmaṇā tevijjā.
Santi pana, bhāradvāja, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā kevalaṁ saddhāmattakena diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti;
seyyathāpi takkī vīmaṁsī.
Santi, bhāradvāja, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu sāmaṁyeva dhammaṁ abhiññāya diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti.
Tatra, bhāradvāja, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu sāmaṁyeva dhammaṁ abhiññāya diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti, tesāhamasmi.

“I say there is a disparity among those who claim to have mastered the fundamentals of the spiritual life having attained perfection and consummation of insight in this life. There are some ascetics and brahmins who are oral transmitters. Through oral transmission they claim to have mastered the fundamentals of the spiritual life. For example, the brahmins who are proficient in the three Vedas. There are some ascetics and brahmins who solely by mere faith claim to have mastered the fundamentals of the spiritual life. For example, those who rely on logic and inquiry. There are some ascetics and brahmins who, having directly known for themselves the principle regarding teachings not learned before from another, claim to have mastered the fundamentals of the spiritual life. I am one of those.

Tadamināpetaṁ, bhāradvāja, pariyāyena veditabbaṁ, yathā ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu sāmaṁyeva dhammaṁ abhiññāya diṭṭhadhammābhiññāvosānapāramippattā, ādibrahmacariyaṁ paṭijānanti, tesāhamasmi.

And here’s a way to understand that I am one of them.

Idha me, bhāradvāja, pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato etadahosi:
‘sambādho gharāvāso rajāpatho, abbhokāso pabbajjā.
Nayidaṁ sukaraṁ agāraṁ ajjhāvasatā ekantaparipuṇṇaṁ ekantaparisuddhaṁ saṅkhalikhitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ carituṁ.
Yannūnāhaṁ kesamassuṁ ohāretvā kāsāyāni vatthāni acchādetvā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajeyyan’ti.
So kho ahaṁ, bhāradvāja, aparena samayena daharova samāno susukāḷakeso bhadrena yobbanena samannāgato paṭhamena vayasā akāmakānaṁ mātāpitūnaṁ assumukhānaṁ rudantānaṁ kesamassuṁ ohāretvā kāsāyāni vatthāni acchādetvā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajiṁ.
So evaṁ pabbajito samāno kiṅkusalagavesī anuttaraṁ santivarapadaṁ pariyesamāno yena āḷāro kālāmo tenupasaṅkamiṁ; upasaṅkamitvā āḷāraṁ kālāmaṁ etadavocaṁ:
‘icchāmahaṁ, āvuso kālāma, imasmiṁ dhammavinaye brahmacariyaṁ caritun’ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhāradvāja, āḷāro kālāmo maṁ etadavoca:
‘viharatāyasmā.

Before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I thought: ‘Life at home is cramped and dirty, life 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?’ Some time later, while still with pristine black hair, blessed with youth, in the prime of life—though my mother and father wished otherwise, weeping with tearful faces—I shaved off my hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness. Once I had gone forth I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Āḷāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.’ Āḷāra Kālāma replied, ‘Stay, venerable.

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