The Shorter Discourse on Taking Up Practices · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral
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Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “bhikkhavo”ti. “Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:
So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:
“cattārimāni, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānāni. Katamāni cattāri? Atthi, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānaṁ paccuppannasukhaṁ āyatiṁ dukkhavipākaṁ; atthi, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānaṁ paccuppannadukkhañceva āyatiñca dukkhavipākaṁ; atthi, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānaṁ paccuppannadukkhaṁ āyatiṁ sukhavipākaṁ; atthi, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānaṁ paccuppannasukhañceva āyatiñca sukhavipākaṁ.
“Mendicants, there are these four ways of taking up practices. What four? There is a way of taking up practices that is pleasant now but results in future pain. There is a way of taking up practices that is painful now and results in future pain. There is a way of taking up practices that is painful now but results in future pleasure. There is a way of taking up practices that is pleasant now and results in future pleasure.
Katamañca, bhikkhave, dhammasamādānaṁ paccuppannasukhaṁ āyatiṁ dukkhavipākaṁ? Santi, bhikkhave, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino: ‘natthi kāmesu doso’ti. Te kāmesu pātabyataṁ āpajjanti. Te kho moḷibaddhāhi paribbājikāhi paricārenti. Te evamāhaṁsu: ‘kiṁsu nāma te bhonto samaṇabrāhmaṇā kāmesu anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānā kāmānaṁ pahānamāhaṁsu, kāmānaṁ pariññaṁ paññapenti? Sukho imissā paribbājikāya taruṇāya mudukāya lomasāya bāhāya samphasso’ti te kāmesu pātabyataṁ āpajjanti. Te kāmesu pātabyataṁ āpajjitvā kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapajjanti. Te tattha dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayanti. Te evamāhaṁsu: ‘idaṁ kho te bhonto samaṇabrāhmaṇā kāmesu anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānā kāmānaṁ pahānamāhaṁsu, kāmānaṁ pariññaṁ paññapenti, ime hi mayaṁ kāmahetu kāmanidānaṁ dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayāmā’ti.
And what is the way of taking up practices that is pleasant now but results in future pain? There are some ascetics and brahmins who have this doctrine and view: ‘There’s nothing wrong with sensual pleasures.’ They throw themselves into sensual pleasures, cavorting with female wanderers with jeweled bands in their hair. They say, ‘What future danger do those ascetics and brahmins see in sensual pleasures that they speak of giving up sensual pleasures, and advocate the complete understanding of sensual pleasures? Pleasant is the touch of this female wanderer’s arm, tender, soft, and downy!’ And they throw themselves into sensual pleasures. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. And there they feel painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings. They say, ‘This is that future danger that those ascetics and brahmins saw. For it is because of sensual pleasures that I’m feeling painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings.’
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gimhānaṁ pacchime māse māluvāsipāṭikā phaleyya. Atha kho taṁ, bhikkhave, māluvābījaṁ aññatarasmiṁ sālamūle nipateyya. Atha kho, bhikkhave, yā tasmiṁ sāle adhivatthā devatā sā bhītā saṁviggā santāsaṁ āpajjeyya. Atha kho, bhikkhave, tasmiṁ sāle adhivatthāya devatāya mittāmaccā ñātisālohitā ārāmadevatā vanadevatā rukkhadevatā osadhitiṇavanappatīsu adhivatthā devatā saṅgamma samāgamma evaṁ samassāseyyuṁ: ‘mā bhavaṁ bhāyi, mā bhavaṁ bhāyi; appeva nāmetaṁ māluvābījaṁ moro vā gileyya, mago vā khādeyya, davaḍāho vā ḍaheyya, vanakammikā vā uddhareyyuṁ, upacikā vā uṭṭhaheyyuṁ, abījaṁ vā panassā’ti.
Suppose that in the last month of summer a camel’s foot creeper pod were to burst open and a seed were to fall at the root of a sal tree. Then the deity haunting that sal tree would become apprehensive and nervous. But their friends and colleagues, relatives and kin—deities of the parks, forests, trees, and those who haunt the herbs, grass, and big trees—would come together to reassure them, ‘Do not fear, sir, do not fear! Hopefully that seed will be swallowed by a peacock, or eaten by a deer, or burnt by a forest fire, or picked up by a lumberjack, or eaten by termites, or it may not even be fertile.’
Atha kho taṁ, bhikkhave, māluvābījaṁ neva moro gileyya, na mago khādeyya, na davaḍāho ḍaheyya, na vanakammikā uddhareyyuṁ, na upacikā uṭṭhaheyyuṁ, bījañca panassa taṁ pāvussakena meghena abhippavuṭṭhaṁ sammadeva viruheyya. Sāssa māluvālatā taruṇā mudukā lomasā vilambinī, sā taṁ sālaṁ upaniseveyya. Atha kho, bhikkhave, tasmiṁ sāle adhivatthāya devatāya evamassa: ‘kiṁsu nāma te bhonto mittāmaccā ñātisālohitā ārāmadevatā vanadevatā rukkhadevatā osadhitiṇavanappatīsu adhivatthā devatā māluvābīje anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānā saṅgamma samāgamma evaṁ samassāsesuṁ: “mā bhavaṁ bhāyi mā bhavaṁ bhāyi, appeva nāmetaṁ māluvābījaṁ moro vā gileyya, mago vā khādeyya, davaḍāho vā ḍaheyya, vanakammikā vā uddhareyyuṁ, upacikā vā uṭṭhaheyyuṁ, abījaṁ vā panassā”ti; sukho imissā māluvālatāya taruṇāya mudukāya lomasāya vilambiniyā samphasso’ti.
But none of these things happened. And the seed was fertile, so that when the monsoon clouds soaked it with rain, it sprouted. And the creeper wound its tender, soft, and downy tendrils around that sal tree. Then the deity thought, ‘What future danger did my friends see when they said: “Do not fear, sir, do not fear! Hopefully that seed will be swallowed by a peacock, or eaten by a deer, or burnt by a forest fire, or picked up by a lumberjack, or eaten by termites, or it may not even be fertile.” Pleasant is the touch of this creeper’s tender, soft, and downy tendrils.’
Sā taṁ sālaṁ anuparihareyya. Sā taṁ sālaṁ anupariharitvā upari viṭabhiṁ kareyya. Upari viṭabhiṁ karitvā oghanaṁ janeyya. Oghanaṁ janetvā ye tassa sālassa mahantā mahantā khandhā te padāleyya. Atha kho, bhikkhave, tasmiṁ sāle adhivatthāya devatāya evamassa: ‘idaṁ kho te bhonto mittāmaccā ñātisālohitā ārāmadevatā vanadevatā rukkhadevatā osadhitiṇavanappatīsu adhivatthā devatā māluvābīje anāgatabhayaṁ sampassamānā saṅgamma samāgamma evaṁ samassāsesuṁ: “mā bhavaṁ bhāyi mā bhavaṁ bhāyi, appeva nāmetaṁ māluvābījaṁ moro vā gileyya, mago vā khādeyya, davaḍāho vā ḍaheyya, vanakammikā vā uddhareyyuṁ, upacikā vā uṭṭhaheyyuṁ abījaṁ vā panassā”ti. Yañcāhaṁ māluvābījahetu dukkhā tibbā kharā kaṭukā vedanā vedayāmī’ti. Evameva kho, bhikkhave, santi eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā evaṁvādino evaṁdiṭṭhino ‘natthi kāmesu doso’ti.
Then the creeper enfolded the sal tree, made a canopy over it, draped a curtain around it, and split apart all the main branches. Then the deity thought, ‘This is the future danger that my friends saw! It’s because of that camel’s foot creeper seed that I’m feeling painful, sharp, severe, acute feelings.’ In the same way, there are some ascetics and brahmins who have this doctrine and view: ‘There’s nothing wrong with sensual pleasures’ …
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