Vīmaṁsakasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 47

The Inquirer · 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:

“vīmaṁsakena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā parassa cetopariyāyaṁ ajānantena tathāgate samannesanā kātabbā ‘sammāsambuddho vā no vā’ iti viññāṇāyā”ti.

“Mendicants, a mendicant who is an inquirer, unable to encompass another’s mind, should scrutinize the Realized One to understand whether he is a fully awakened Buddha or not.”

“Bhagavaṁmūlakā no, bhante, dhammā, bhagavaṁnettikā bhagavaṁpaṭisaraṇā; sādhu vata, bhante, bhagavantaṁyeva paṭibhātu etassa bhāsitassa attho; bhagavato sutvā bhikkhū dhāressantī”ti.
“Tena hi, bhikkhave, suṇātha, sādhukaṁ manasi karotha, bhāsissāmī”ti.
“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.
Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Our teachings are rooted in the Buddha. He is our guide and our refuge. Sir, may the Buddha himself please clarify the meaning of this. The mendicants will listen and remember it.” “Well then, mendicants, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Vīmaṁsakena, bhikkhave, bhikkhunā parassa cetopariyāyaṁ ajānantena dvīsu dhammesu tathāgato samannesitabbo cakkhusotaviññeyyesu dhammesu:
‘ye saṅkiliṭṭhā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, saṁvijjanti vā te tathāgatassa no vā’ti?
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye saṅkiliṭṭhā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, na te tathāgatassa saṁvijjantī’ti.

“Mendicants, a mendicant who is an inquirer, unable to encompass another’s mind, should scrutinize the Realized One for two things—things that can be seen and heard: ‘Can anything corrupt be seen or heard in the Realized One or not?’ Scrutinizing him they find that nothing corrupt can be seen or heard in the Realized One.

Yato naṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye saṅkiliṭṭhā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, na te tathāgatassa saṁvijjantī’ti, tato naṁ uttariṁ samannesati:
‘ye vītimissā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, saṁvijjanti vā te tathāgatassa no vā’ti?
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye vītimissā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, na te tathāgatassa saṁvijjantī’ti.

They scrutinize further: ‘Can anything mixed be seen or heard in the Realized One or not?’ Scrutinizing him they find that nothing mixed can be seen or heard in the Realized One.

Yato naṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye vītimissā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, na te tathāgatassa saṁvijjantī’ti, tato naṁ uttariṁ samannesati:
‘ye vodātā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, saṁvijjanti vā te tathāgatassa no vā’ti?
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye vodātā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, saṁvijjanti te tathāgatassā’ti.

They scrutinize further: ‘Can anything clean be seen or heard in the Realized One or not?’ Scrutinizing him they find that clean things can be seen and heard in the Realized One.

Yato naṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ye vodātā cakkhusotaviññeyyā dhammā, saṁvijjanti te tathāgatassā’ti, tato naṁ uttariṁ samannesati:
‘dīgharattaṁ samāpanno ayamāyasmā imaṁ kusalaṁ dhammaṁ, udāhu ittarasamāpanno’ti?
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘dīgharattaṁ samāpanno ayamāyasmā imaṁ kusalaṁ dhammaṁ, nāyamāyasmā ittarasamāpanno’ti.

They scrutinize further: ‘Did the venerable attain this skillful state a long time ago, or just recently?’ Scrutinizing him they find that the venerable attained this skillful state a long time ago, not just recently.

Yato naṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘dīgharattaṁ samāpanno ayamāyasmā imaṁ kusalaṁ dhammaṁ, nāyamāyasmā ittarasamāpanno’ti, tato naṁ uttariṁ samannesati:
‘ñattajjhāpanno ayamāyasmā bhikkhu yasappatto, saṁvijjantassa idhekacce ādīnavā’ti?
Na tāva, bhikkhave, bhikkhuno idhekacce ādīnavā saṁvijjanti yāva na ñattajjhāpanno hoti yasappatto.
Yato ca kho, bhikkhave, bhikkhu ñattajjhāpanno hoti yasappatto, athassa idhekacce ādīnavā saṁvijjanti.
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ñattajjhāpanno ayamāyasmā bhikkhu yasappatto, nāssa idhekacce ādīnavā saṁvijjantī’ti.

They scrutinize further: ‘Are certain dangers found in that venerable mendicant who has achieved fame and renown?’ For, mendicants, so long as a mendicant has not achieved fame and renown, certain dangers are not found in them. But when they achieve fame and renown, those dangers appear. Scrutinizing him they find that those dangers are not found in that venerable mendicant who has achieved fame and renown.

Yato naṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘ñattajjhāpanno ayamāyasmā bhikkhu yasappatto, nāssa idhekacce ādīnavā saṁvijjantī’ti, tato naṁ uttariṁ samannesati:
‘abhayūparato ayamāyasmā, nāyamāyasmā bhayūparato;
vītarāgattā kāme na sevati khayā rāgassā’ti?
Tamenaṁ samannesamāno evaṁ jānāti:
‘abhayūparato ayamāyasmā, nāyamāyasmā bhayūparato;
vītarāgattā kāme na sevati khayā rāgassā’ti.

They scrutinize further: ‘Is this venerable securely stilled or insecurely stilled? Is the reason they don’t indulge in sensual pleasures that they’re free of greed because greed has ended?’ Scrutinizing him they find that that venerable is securely stilled, not insecurely stilled. The reason they don’t indulge in sensual pleasures is that they’re free of greed because greed has ended.

Tañce, bhikkhave, bhikkhuṁ pare evaṁ puccheyyuṁ:
‘ke panāyasmato ākārā, ke anvayā, yenāyasmā evaṁ vadesi—
abhayūparato ayamāyasmā, nāyamāyasmā bhayūparato;
vītarāgattā kāme na sevati khayā rāgassā’ti.
Sammā byākaramāno, bhikkhave, bhikkhu evaṁ byākareyya:
‘tathā hi pana ayamāyasmā saṅghe vā viharanto eko vā viharanto, ye ca tattha sugatā ye ca tattha duggatā, ye ca tattha gaṇamanusāsanti, ye ca idhekacce āmisesu sandissanti, ye ca idhekacce āmisena anupalittā, nāyamāyasmā taṁ tena avajānāti.
Sammukhā kho pana metaṁ bhagavato sutaṁ sammukhā paṭiggahitaṁ—
abhayūparatohamasmi, nāhamasmi bhayūparato, vītarāgattā kāme na sevāmi khayā rāgassā’ti.

If others should ask that mendicant, ‘But what reason and evidence does the venerable have for saying this?’ Answering rightly, the mendicant should say, ‘Because, whether that venerable is staying in a community or alone, some people there are in a good state or a sorry state, some instruct a group, and some are seen among pleasures of the flesh while others remain unsullied. Yet that venerable doesn’t look down on them for that. Also, I have heard and learned this in the presence of the Buddha: “I am securely stilled, not insecurely stilled. The reason I don’t indulge in sensual pleasures is that I’m free of greed because greed has ended.”’

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