Cūḷamālukyasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 63

The Shorter Discourse With Māluṅkya · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, dīgho vā rasso vā majjhimo vā’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, kāḷo vā sāmo vā maṅguracchavī vā’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, amukasmiṁ gāme vā nigame vā nagare vā’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ dhanuṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, yadi vā cāpo yadi vā kodaṇḍo’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:

whether he’s tall, short, or medium; whether his skin is black, brown, or dingy; and whether he comes from such-and-such village, town, or city. I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know whether the bow that wounded me was straight or recurved;

‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ jiyaṁ jānāmi yāyamhi viddho, yadi vā akkassa yadi vā saṇhassa yadi vā nhārussa yadi vā maruvāya yadi vā khīrapaṇṇino’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ kaṇḍaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, yadi vā gacchaṁ yadi vā ropiman’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ kaṇḍaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, yassa pattehi vājitaṁ yadi vā gijjhassa yadi vā kaṅkassa yadi vā kulalassa yadi vā morassa yadi vā sithilahanuno’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:

whether the bow-string is made of swallow-wort fibre, sunn hemp fibre, sinew, sanseveria fibre, or spurge fibre; whether the shaft is made from a bush or a plantation tree; whether the shaft was fitted with feathers from a vulture, a heron, a hawk, a peacock, or a stork;

‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ kaṇḍaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, yassa nhārunā parikkhittaṁ yadi vā gavassa yadi vā mahiṁsassa yadi vā bheravassa yadi vā semhārassā’ti;
so evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ sallaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, yadi vā sallaṁ yadi vā khurappaṁ yadi vā vekaṇḍaṁ yadi vā nārācaṁ yadi vā vacchadantaṁ yadi vā karavīrapattan’ti—
aññātameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tena purisena assa, atha so puriso kālaṁ kareyya.
Evameva kho, mālukyaputta, yo evaṁ vadeyya:
‘na tāvāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi yāva me bhagavā na byākarissati:
“sassato loko”ti vā “asassato loko”ti vā …pe…

whether the shaft was bound with sinews of a cow, a buffalo, a black lion, or an ape; and whether the arrowhead was spiked, razor-tipped, barbed, made of iron or a calf’s tooth, or lancet-shaped.’ That man would still not have learned these things, and meanwhile they’d die. In the same way, suppose someone was to say: ‘I will not lead the spiritual life under the Buddha until the Buddha declares to me that the cosmos is eternal, or that the cosmos is not eternal …

“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā’ti—
abyākatameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tathāgatena assa, atha so puggalo kālaṁ kareyya.

or that after death a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists.’ That would still remain undeclared by the Realized One, and meanwhile that individual would die.

‘Sassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no.
‘Asassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
‘Sassato loko’ti vā, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘asassato loko’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti, atthi jarā, atthi maraṇaṁ, santi sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā;
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi.
‘Antavā loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no.
‘Anantavā loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
‘Antavā loko’ti vā, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘anantavā loko’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti, atthi jarā, atthi maraṇaṁ, santi sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupāyāsā;
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi.
‘Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no.

It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is not eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. When there is the view that the cosmos is eternal or that the cosmos is not eternal, there is rebirth, there is old age, there is death, and there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. And it is the defeat of these things in this very life that I advocate. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is finite’ … ‘the cosmos is infinite’ … ‘the soul and the body are one and the same’ …

‘Aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
‘Taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran’ti vā, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti …pe…
nighātaṁ paññapemi.
‘Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no.
‘Na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
‘Hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti …pe…
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi.
‘Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no.

‘the soul is one thing, the body another’ … ‘a realized one still exists after death’ … ‘a realized one no longer exists after death’ … ‘a realized one both still exists and no longer exists after death’ …

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