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Majjhima Nikāya 56

Upālisutta

With Upāli · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhante, aññatarassa brāhmaṇassa jiṇṇassa vuḍḍhassa mahallakassa daharā māṇavikā pajāpatī ahosi gabbhinī upavijaññā.
Atha kho, bhante, sā māṇavikā taṁ brāhmaṇaṁ etadavoca,
‘gaccha tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpakaṁ kiṇitvā ānehi, yo me kumārakassa kīḷāpanako bhavissatī’ti.
Evaṁ vutte, so brāhmaṇo taṁ māṇavikaṁ etadavoca:
‘āgamehi tāva, bhoti, yāva vijāyati.
Sace tvaṁ, bhoti, kumārakaṁ vijāyissasi, tassā te ahaṁ āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpakaṁ kiṇitvā ānessāmi, yo te kumārakassa kīḷāpanako bhavissati.
Sace pana tvaṁ, bhoti, kumārikaṁ vijāyissasi, tassā te ahaṁ āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpikaṁ kiṇitvā ānessāmi, yā te kumārikāya kīḷāpanikā bhavissatī’ti.
Dutiyampi kho, bhante, sā māṇavikā …pe…
tatiyampi kho, bhante, sā māṇavikā taṁ brāhmaṇaṁ etadavoca:

Once upon a time, there was an old brahmin, elderly and senior. His wife was a young brahmin lady who was pregnant and about to give birth. Then she said to the brahmin, ‘Go, brahmin, buy a baby monkey from the market and bring it back so it can be a playmate for my child.’ When she said this, the brahmin said to her, ‘Wait, my dear, until you give birth. If your child is a boy, I’ll buy you a male monkey, but if it’s a girl, I’ll buy a female monkey.’ For a second time … For a third time she said to the brahmin,

‘gaccha tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpakaṁ kiṇitvā ānehi, yo me kumārakassa kīḷāpanako bhavissatī’ti.
Atha kho, bhante, so brāhmaṇo tassā māṇavikāya sāratto paṭibaddhacitto āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpakaṁ kiṇitvā ānetvā taṁ māṇavikaṁ etadavoca:
‘ayaṁ te, bhoti, āpaṇā makkaṭacchāpako kiṇitvā ānīto, yo te kumārakassa kīḷāpanako bhavissatī’ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhante, sā māṇavikā taṁ brāhmaṇaṁ etadavoca:
‘gaccha tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, imaṁ makkaṭacchāpakaṁ ādāya yena rattapāṇi rajakaputto tenupasaṅkama; upasaṅkamitvā rattapāṇiṁ rajakaputtaṁ evaṁ vadehi—
icchāmahaṁ, samma rattapāṇi, imaṁ makkaṭacchāpakaṁ pītāvalepanaṁ nāma raṅgajātaṁ rajitaṁ ākoṭitapaccākoṭitaṁ ubhatobhāgavimaṭṭhan’ti.
Atha kho, bhante, so brāhmaṇo tassā māṇavikāya sāratto paṭibaddhacitto taṁ makkaṭacchāpakaṁ ādāya yena rattapāṇi rajakaputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā rattapāṇiṁ rajakaputtaṁ etadavoca:

‘Go, brahmin, buy a baby monkey from the market and bring it back so it can be a playmate for my child.’ Then that brahmin, because of his love for the brahmin lady, bought a male baby monkey at the market, brought it to her, and said, ‘I’ve bought this male baby monkey for you so it can be a playmate for your child.’ When he said this, she said to him, ‘Go, brahmin, take this monkey to Rattapāṇi the dyer and say, “Worthy Rattapāṇi, I wish to have this monkey dyed the color of yellow greasepaint, pounded and re-pounded, and pressed on both sides.”’ Then that brahmin, because of his love for the brahmin lady, took the monkey to Rattapāṇi the dyer and said,

‘icchāmahaṁ, samma rattapāṇi, imaṁ makkaṭacchāpakaṁ pītāvalepanaṁ nāma raṅgajātaṁ rajitaṁ ākoṭitapaccākoṭitaṁ ubhatobhāgavimaṭṭhan’ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhante, rattapāṇi rajakaputto taṁ brāhmaṇaṁ etadavoca:
‘ayaṁ kho te, bhante, makkaṭacchāpako raṅgakkhamo hi kho, no ākoṭanakkhamo, no vimajjanakkhamo’ti.
Evameva kho, bhante, bālānaṁ nigaṇṭhānaṁ vādo raṅgakkhamo hi kho bālānaṁ no paṇḍitānaṁ, no anuyogakkhamo, no vimajjanakkhamo.
Atha kho, bhante, so brāhmaṇo aparena samayena navaṁ dussayugaṁ ādāya yena rattapāṇi rajakaputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā rattapāṇiṁ rajakaputtaṁ etadavoca:
‘icchāmahaṁ, samma rattapāṇi, imaṁ navaṁ dussayugaṁ pītāvalepanaṁ nāma raṅgajātaṁ rajitaṁ ākoṭitapaccākoṭitaṁ ubhatobhāgavimaṭṭhan’ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhante, rattapāṇi rajakaputto taṁ brāhmaṇaṁ etadavoca:
‘idaṁ kho te, bhante, navaṁ dussayugaṁ raṅgakkhamañceva ākoṭanakkhamañca vimajjanakkhamañcā’ti.

‘Worthy Rattapāṇi, I wish to have this monkey dyed the color of yellow greasepaint, pounded and re-pounded, and pressed on both sides.’ When he said this, Rattapāṇi said to him, ‘Sir, this monkey can endure a dying, but not a pounding or a pressing.’ In the same way, the doctrine of the foolish Jains looks fine initially—for fools, not for the astute—but can’t endure being scrutinized or pressed. Then some time later that brahmin took a new pair of garments to Rattapāṇi the dyer and said, ‘Worthy Rattapāṇi, I wish to have this new pair of garments dyed the color of yellow greasepaint, pounded and re-pounded, and pressed on both sides.’ When he said this, Rattapāṇi said to him, ‘Sir, this pair of garments can endure a dying, a pounding, and a pressing.’

Evameva kho, bhante, tassa bhagavato vādo arahato sammāsambuddhassa raṅgakkhamo ceva paṇḍitānaṁ no bālānaṁ, anuyogakkhamo ca vimajjanakkhamo cā”ti.

In the same way, the doctrine of the Buddha looks fine initially—for the astute, not for fools—and it can endure being scrutinized and pressed.”

“Sarājikā kho, gahapati, parisā evaṁ jānāti:
‘upāli gahapati nigaṇṭhassa nāṭaputtassa sāvako’ti.
Kassa taṁ, gahapati, sāvakaṁ dhāremā”ti?

“Householder, the king and his retinue know you as a disciple of the Jain Ñātika. Whose disciple should we remember you as?”

Evaṁ vutte, upāli gahapati uṭṭhāyāsanā ekaṁsaṁ uttarāsaṅgaṁ karitvā yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā nigaṇṭhaṁ nāṭaputtaṁ etadavoca:
“tena hi, bhante, suṇohi yassāhaṁ sāvako”ti:
“Dhīrassa vigatamohassa,
Pabhinnakhīlassa vijitavijayassa;
Anīghassa susamacittassa,
Vuddhasīlassa sādhupaññassa;
Vesamantarassa vimalassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Akathaṅkathissa tusitassa,
Vantalokāmisassa muditassa;
Katasamaṇassa manujassa,
Antimasārīrassa narassa;
Anopamassa virajassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Asaṁsayassa kusalassa,
Venayikassa sārathivarassa;
Anuttarassa ruciradhammassa,
Nikkaṅkhassa pabhāsakassa;
Mānacchidassa vīrassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Nisabhassa appameyyassa,
Gambhīrassa monapattassa;
Khemaṅkarassa vedassa,
Dhammaṭṭhassa saṁvutattassa;
Saṅgātigassa muttassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Nāgassa pantasenassa,
Khīṇasaṁyojanassa muttassa;
Paṭimantakassa dhonassa,
Pannadhajassa vītarāgassa;
Dantassa nippapañcassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Isisattamassa akuhassa,
Tevijjassa brahmapattassa;
Nhātakassa padakassa,
Passaddhassa viditavedassa;
Purindadassa sakkassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.

When he had spoken, the householder Upāli rose from his seat, arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his cupped palms in the direction of the Buddha, and said to the Jain Ñātika, “Well then, sir, hear whose disciple I am: The attentive one, free of delusion, with hard-heartedness dissolved, victor in battle; he’s untroubled and very even-minded, with the virtue of an elder and the wisdom of a saint, immaculate in the midst of it all: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He has no indecision, he’s content, joyful, he has spat out the world’s bait; he has completed the ascetic’s task as a man, a man who bears his final body; he’s beyond compare, he’s stainless: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He’s free of doubt, he’s skillful, he’s a trainer, an excellent charioteer; supreme, with brilliant qualities, confident, his light shines forth; he has cut off conceit, he’s a hero: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. The boss bull, immeasurable, profound, sagacious; he is the maker of sanctuary, knowledgeable, firm in principle and restrained; he has slipped his chains and is liberated: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He’s a giant, living remotely, he’s ended the fetters and is liberated; he’s skilled in debate and cleansed, with banner lowered, desireless; he’s tamed, and doesn’t proliferate: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He is the seventh seer, free of deceit, with three knowledges, he has attained to divinity, he has bathed, he knows philology, he’s tranquil, he understands what is known; he is Sakka the Able, Purindada the Firstgiver: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple.

Ariyassa bhāvitattassa,
Pattipattassa veyyākaraṇassa;
Satimato vipassissa,
Anabhinatassa no apanatassa;
Anejassa vasippattassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Samuggatassa jhāyissa,
Ananugatantarassa suddhassa;
Asitassa hitassa,
Pavivittassa aggappattassa;
Tiṇṇassa tārayantassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Santassa bhūripaññassa,
Mahāpaññassa vītalobhassa;
Tathāgatassa sugatassa,
Appaṭipuggalassa asamassa;
Visāradassa nipuṇassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmi.
Taṇhacchidassa buddhassa,
Vītadhūmassa anupalittassa;
Āhuneyyassa yakkhassa,
Uttamapuggalassa atulassa;
Mahato yasaggapattassa,
Bhagavato tassa sāvakohamasmī”ti.

The Noble One, evolved, he has attained the goal and explains it; he is mindful, discerning, neither leaning forward nor pulling back, he’s unstirred, attained to mastery: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. Transcendent, he practices absorption, no inner thoughts arising, he is pure, independent and fearless; secluded, he has reached the peak, crossed over, he helps others across: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He’s peaceful, his wisdom is vast, with great wisdom, he’s free of greed; he is the Realized One, the Holy One, unrivaled, unequaled, self-assured, and subtle: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple. He has cut off craving and is awakened, free of fuming, unsullied; a mighty spirit worthy of offerings, best of men, inestimable, grand, he has reached the peak of glory: he is the Buddha, and I am his disciple.”

“Kadā saññūḷhā pana te, gahapati, ime samaṇassa gotamassa vaṇṇā”ti?
“Seyyathāpi, bhante, nānāpupphānaṁ mahāpuppharāsi, tamenaṁ dakkho mālākāro vā mālākārantevāsī vā vicittaṁ mālaṁ gantheyya;
evameva kho, bhante, so bhagavā anekavaṇṇo anekasatavaṇṇo.
Ko hi, bhante, vaṇṇārahassa vaṇṇaṁ na karissatī”ti?

“But when did you compose these praises of the ascetic Gotama’s beautiful qualities, householder?” “Sir, suppose there was a large heap of many different flowers. A deft garland-maker or their apprentice could tie them into a colorful garland. In the same way, the Buddha has many beautiful qualities to praise, many hundreds of such qualities. Who, sir, would not praise the praiseworthy?”

Atha kho nigaṇṭhassa nāṭaputtassa bhagavato sakkāraṁ asahamānassa tattheva uṇhaṁ lohitaṁ mukhato uggacchīti.
Upālisuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ chaṭṭhaṁ.

Unable to bear this honor paid to the Buddha, the Jain Ñātika spewed hot blood from his mouth there and then.

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