Sandakasutta

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Majjhima Nikāya 76

With Sandaka · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā kosambiyaṁ viharati ghositārāme.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Kosambī in Ghosita’s monastery.

Tena kho pana samayena sandako paribbājako pilakkhaguhāyaṁ paṭivasati mahatiyā paribbājakaparisāya saddhiṁ pañcamattehi paribbājakasatehi.

Now at that time the wanderer Sandaka was residing at the cave of the wavy leaf fig tree together with a large assembly of around five hundred wanderers.

Atha kho āyasmā ānando sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito bhikkhū āmantesi:
“āyāmāvuso, yena devakatasobbho tenupasaṅkamissāma guhādassanāyā”ti.
“Evamāvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato ānandassa paccassosuṁ.
Atha kho āyasmā ānando sambahulehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ yena devakatasobbho tenupasaṅkami.

Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Ānanda came out of retreat and addressed the mendicants: “Come, reverends, let’s go to the Devakata Pool to see the cave.” “Yes, reverend,” they replied. Then Ānanda together with several mendicants went to the Devakata Pool.

Tena kho pana samayena sandako paribbājako mahatiyā paribbājakaparisāya saddhiṁ nisinno hoti unnādiniyā uccāsaddamahāsaddāya anekavihitaṁ tiracchānakathaṁ kathentiyā, seyyathidaṁ—
rājakathaṁ corakathaṁ mahāmattakathaṁ senākathaṁ bhayakathaṁ yuddhakathaṁ annakathaṁ pānakathaṁ vatthakathaṁ sayanakathaṁ mālākathaṁ gandhakathaṁ ñātikathaṁ yānakathaṁ gāmakathaṁ nigamakathaṁ nagarakathaṁ janapadakathaṁ itthikathaṁ sūrakathaṁ visikhākathaṁ kumbhaṭṭhānakathaṁ pubbapetakathaṁ nānattakathaṁ lokakkhāyikaṁ samuddakkhāyikaṁ itibhavābhavakathaṁ iti vā.
Addasā kho sandako paribbājako āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ dūratova āgacchantaṁ.
Disvāna sakaṁ parisaṁ saṇṭhāpesi:
“appasaddā bhonto hontu, mā bhonto saddamakattha;
ayaṁ samaṇassa gotamassa sāvako āgacchati samaṇo ānando.
Yāvatā kho pana samaṇassa gotamassa sāvakā kosambiyaṁ paṭivasanti, ayaṁ tesaṁ aññataro samaṇo ānando.
Appasaddakāmā kho pana te āyasmanto appasaddavinītā appasaddassa vaṇṇavādino;
appeva nāma appasaddaṁ parisaṁ viditvā upasaṅkamitabbaṁ maññeyyā”ti.

Now at that time, Sandaka and the large assembly of wanderers were sitting together making an uproar, a colossal racket. They engaged in all kinds of low talk, such as talk about kings, bandits, and chief ministers; talk about armies, threats, and wars; talk about food, drink, clothes, and beds; talk about garlands and fragrances; talk about family, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; talk about women and heroes; talk at the street market and the place for water pots; talk about the departed; motley talk; tales of land and sea; and talk about being reborn in this or that place. Sandaka saw Ānanda coming off in the distance, and hushed his own assembly, “Be quiet, good fellows, don’t make a sound. The ascetic Ānanda, a disciple of the ascetic Gotama, is coming. He is included among the disciples of the ascetic Gotama, who is residing near Kosambī. Such venerables like the quiet, are educated to be quiet, and praise the quiet. Hopefully if he sees that our assembly is quiet he’ll see fit to approach.”

Atha kho te paribbājakā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Then those wanderers fell silent.

Atha kho āyasmā ānando yena sandako paribbājako tenupasaṅkami.
Atha kho sandako paribbājako āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ etadavoca:
“etu kho bhavaṁ ānando, svāgataṁ bhoto ānandassa.
Cirassaṁ kho bhavaṁ ānando imaṁ pariyāyamakāsi yadidaṁ idhāgamanāya.
Nisīdatu bhavaṁ ānando, idamāsanaṁ paññattan”ti.
Nisīdi kho āyasmā ānando paññatte āsane.
Sandakopi kho paribbājako aññataraṁ nīcaṁ āsanaṁ gahetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi.
Ekamantaṁ nisinnaṁ kho sandakaṁ paribbājakaṁ āyasmā ānando etadavoca:
“kāya nuttha, sandaka, etarahi kathāya sannisinnā, kā ca pana vo antarākathā vippakatā”ti?
“Tiṭṭhatesā, bho ānanda, kathā yāya mayaṁ etarahi kathāya sannisinnā.
Nesā bhoto ānandassa kathā dullabhā bhavissati pacchāpi savanāya.
Sādhu vata bhavantaṁyeva ānandaṁ paṭibhātu sake ācariyake dhammīkathā”ti.

Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the wanderer Sandaka, who said to him, “Come, worthy Ānanda! Welcome, worthy Ānanda! It’s been a long time since you took the opportunity to come here. Please sit down, here, a seat is ready.” Ānanda sat down on the seat spread out, while Sandaka took a low seat and sat to one side. Ānanda said to Sandaka, “Sandaka, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?” “Worthy Ānanda, leave aside what we were sitting talking about just now. It won’t be hard for you to hear about that later. It’d be great if Mister Ānanda himself would give a Dhamma talk explaining his own denomination.”

“Tena hi, sandaka, suṇāhi, sādhukaṁ manasi karohi, bhāsissāmī”ti.
“Evaṁ, bho”ti kho sandako paribbājako āyasmato ānandassa paccassosi.
Āyasmā ānando etadavoca:

“Well then, Sandaka, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, worthy sir,” replied Sandaka. Venerable Ānanda said this:

“cattārome, sandaka, tena bhagavatā jānatā passatā arahatā sammāsambuddhena abrahmacariyavāsā akkhātā cattāri ca anassāsikāni brahmacariyāni akkhātāni, yattha viññū puriso sasakkaṁ brahmacariyaṁ na vaseyya, vasanto ca nārādheyya ñāyaṁ dhammaṁ kusalan”ti.
“Katame pana te, bho ānanda, tena bhagavatā jānatā passatā arahatā sammāsambuddhena cattāro abrahmacariyavāsā akkhātā, yattha viññū puriso sasakkaṁ brahmacariyaṁ na vaseyya, vasanto ca nārādheyya ñāyaṁ dhammaṁ kusalan”ti?

“Sandaka, these things have been explained by the Blessed One, who knows and sees, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha: four ways that negate the spiritual life, and four kinds of unreliable spiritual life. A sensible person would, to the best of their ability, not practice such spiritual paths, and if they did practice them, they wouldn’t succeed in the system of the skillful teaching.” “But worthy Ānanda, what are the four ways that negate the spiritual life, and the four kinds of unreliable spiritual life?”

“Idha, sandaka, ekacco satthā evaṁvādī hoti evaṁdiṭṭhi:
‘natthi dinnaṁ, natthi yiṭṭhaṁ, natthi hutaṁ, natthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, natthi ayaṁ loko, natthi paroloko, natthi mātā, natthi pitā, natthi sattā opapātikā, natthi loke samaṇabrāhmaṇā sammaggatā sammāpaṭipannā ye imañca lokaṁ parañca lokaṁ sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā pavedenti.
Cātumahābhūtiko ayaṁ puriso yadā kālaṁ karoti, pathavī pathavīkāyaṁ anupeti anupagacchati, āpo āpokāyaṁ anupeti anupagacchati, tejo tejokāyaṁ anupeti anupagacchati, vāyo vāyokāyaṁ anupeti anupagacchati, ākāsaṁ indriyāni saṅkamanti.
Āsandipañcamā purisā mataṁ ādāya gacchanti,
yāvāḷāhanā padāni paññāyanti.
Kāpotakāni aṭṭhīni bhavanti.
Bhassantā āhutiyo;
dattupaññattaṁ yadidaṁ dānaṁ.
Tesaṁ tucchā musā vilāpo ye keci atthikavādaṁ vadanti.

“Sandaka, take a certain teacher who has this doctrine and view: ‘There’s no meaning in giving, sacrifice, or offerings. There’s no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There’s no afterlife. There’s no such thing as mother and father, or beings that are reborn spontaneously. And there’s no ascetic or brahmin who is rightly comported and rightly practiced, and who describes the afterlife after realizing it with their own insight. This person is made up of the four principal states. When they die, the earth in their body progresses and proceeds to the substance of earth. The water in their body progresses and proceeds to the substance of water. The fire in their body progresses and proceeds to the substance of fire. The air in their body progresses and proceeds to the substance of air. The faculties are transferred to space. Four men with a bier carry away the corpse. Their footprints show the way to the cremation ground. The bones become bleached. Offerings dedicated to the gods end in ashes. Giving is a doctrine of morons. When anyone affirms a positive teaching it’s just hollow, false nonsense.

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