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Majjhima Nikāya 101

Devadahasutta

At Devadaha · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sakkesu viharati devadahaṁ nāma sakyānaṁ nigamo.
Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sakyans, near the Sakyan town named Devadaha. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants,

“bhikkhavo”ti.
“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
Bhagavā etadavoca:
“santi, bhikkhave, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino:
‘yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetu.
Iti purāṇānaṁ kammānaṁ tapasā byantībhāvā, navānaṁ kammānaṁ akaraṇā, āyatiṁ anavassavo;
āyatiṁ anavassavā kammakkhayo; kammakkhayā dukkhakkhayo; dukkhakkhayā vedanākkhayo; vedanākkhayā sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatī’ti.
Evaṁvādino, bhikkhave, nigaṇṭhā.

“Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this: “Mendicants, there are some ascetics and brahmins who have this doctrine and view: ‘Everything this individual person experiences—pleasurable, painful, or neutral—is because of past deeds. So, due to eliminating past deeds by fervent mortification, and not doing any new deeds, there’s nothing to come up in the future. With no future consequence, deeds end. With the ending of deeds, suffering ends. With the ending of suffering, feeling ends. And with the ending of feeling, all suffering will have been worn away.’ Such is the doctrine of the Jain ascetics.

Evaṁvādāhaṁ, bhikkhave, nigaṇṭhe upasaṅkamitvā evaṁ vadāmi:
‘saccaṁ kira tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino—
yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetu.
Iti purāṇānaṁ kammānaṁ tapasā byantībhāvā, navānaṁ kammānaṁ akaraṇā, āyatiṁ anavassavo;
āyatiṁ anavassavā kammakkhayo; kammakkhayā dukkhakkhayo; dukkhakkhayā vedanākkhayo; vedanākkhayā sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatī’ti?
Te ca me, bhikkhave, nigaṇṭhā evaṁ puṭṭhā ‘āmā’ti paṭijānanti.

I’ve gone up to the Jain ascetics who say this and said, ‘Is it really true that this is the venerables’ view?’ They admitted that it is.

Tyāhaṁ evaṁ vadāmi:
‘kiṁ pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jānātha—
ahuvamheva mayaṁ pubbe, na nāhuvamhā’ti?
‘No hidaṁ, āvuso’.
‘Kiṁ pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jānātha—
akaramheva mayaṁ pubbe pāpakammaṁ, na nākaramhā’ti?
‘No hidaṁ, āvuso’.
‘Kiṁ pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jānātha—
evarūpaṁ vā evarūpaṁ vā pāpakammaṁ akaramhā’ti?
‘No hidaṁ, āvuso’.
‘Kiṁ pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jānātha—
ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ, ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjīretabbaṁ, ettakamhi vā dukkhe nijjiṇṇe sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatī’ti?
‘No hidaṁ, āvuso’.
‘Kiṁ pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jānātha—
diṭṭheva dhamme akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānaṁ, kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadan’ti?
‘No hidaṁ, āvuso’.

I said to them, ‘But reverends, do you know for sure that you existed in the past, and it is not the case that you did not exist?’ ‘No we don’t, reverend.’ ‘But reverends, do you know for sure that you did bad deeds in the past?’ ‘No we don’t, reverend.’ ‘But reverends, do you know that you did bad deeds of this type or that?’ ‘No we don’t, reverend.’ ‘But reverends, do you know that so much suffering has already been worn away? Or that so much suffering still remains to be worn away? Or that when so much suffering is worn away all suffering will have been worn away?’ ‘No we don’t, reverend.’ ‘But reverends, do you know about giving up unskillful qualities in this very life and embracing skillful qualities?’ ‘No we don’t, reverend.’

‘Iti kira tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, na jānātha—
ahuvamheva mayaṁ pubbe, na nāhuvamhāti, na jānātha—
akaramheva mayaṁ pubbe pāpakammaṁ, na nākaramhāti, na jānātha—
evarūpaṁ vā evarūpaṁ vā pāpakammaṁ akaramhāti, na jānātha—
ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ, ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjīretabbaṁ, ettakamhi vā dukkhe nijjiṇṇe sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatīti, na jānātha—
diṭṭheva dhamme akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānaṁ, kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadaṁ;
evaṁ sante āyasmantānaṁ nigaṇṭhānaṁ na kallamassa veyyākaraṇāya:
“yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetu.
Iti purāṇānaṁ kammānaṁ tapasā byantībhāvā, navānaṁ kammānaṁ akaraṇā, āyatiṁ anavassavo;
āyatiṁ anavassavā kammakkhayo; kammakkhayā dukkhakkhayo; dukkhakkhayā vedanākkhayo; vedanākkhayā sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatī”ti.

‘So it seems that you don’t know any of these things. In that case, it’s not appropriate for the Jain venerables to declare this.

Sace pana tumhe, āvuso nigaṇṭhā, jāneyyātha—
ahuvamheva mayaṁ pubbe, na nāhuvamhāti, jāneyyātha—
akaramheva mayaṁ pubbe pāpakammaṁ, na nākaramhāti, jāneyyātha—
evarūpaṁ vā evarūpaṁ vā pāpakammaṁ akaramhāti, jāneyyātha—
ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ, ettakaṁ vā dukkhaṁ nijjīretabbaṁ, ettakamhi vā dukkhe nijjiṇṇe sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatīti, jāneyyātha—
diṭṭheva dhamme akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānaṁ, kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadaṁ;
evaṁ sante āyasmantānaṁ nigaṇṭhānaṁ kallamassa veyyākaraṇāya:
“yaṁ kiñcāyaṁ purisapuggalo paṭisaṁvedeti sukhaṁ vā dukkhaṁ vā adukkhamasukhaṁ vā, sabbaṁ taṁ pubbekatahetu.
Iti purāṇānaṁ kammānaṁ tapasā byantībhāvā, navānaṁ kammānaṁ akaraṇā, āyatiṁ anavassavo;
āyatiṁ anavassavā kammakkhayo; kammakkhayā dukkhakkhayo; dukkhakkhayā vedanākkhayo; vedanākkhayā sabbaṁ dukkhaṁ nijjiṇṇaṁ bhavissatī”ti.

Now, supposing you did know these things. In that case, it would be appropriate for the Jain venerables to declare this.

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