Samaṇamuṇḍikasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 78

Samaṇamuṇḍikasutta

With Uggāhamāna Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.
Tena kho pana samayena uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto samayappavādake tindukācīre ekasālake mallikāya ārāme paṭivasati mahatiyā paribbājakaparisāya saddhiṁ pañcamattehi paribbājakasatehi.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time the wanderer Uggāhamāna Samaṇamaṇḍikāputta was residing together with around five hundred wanderers in Mallikā’s single-halled monastery for philosophical debates, hedged by pale-moon ebony trees.

Atha kho pañcakaṅgo thapati sāvatthiyā nikkhami divā divassa bhagavantaṁ dassanāya.
Atha kho pañcakaṅgassa thapatissa etadahosi:
“akālo kho tāva bhagavantaṁ dassanāya;
paṭisallīno bhagavā.
Manobhāvaniyānampi bhikkhūnaṁ asamayo dassanāya;
paṭisallīnā manobhāvaniyā bhikkhū.
Yannūnāhaṁ yena samayappavādako tindukācīro ekasālako mallikāya ārāmo yena uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto tenupasaṅkameyyan”ti.
Atha kho pañcakaṅgo thapati yena samayappavādako tindukācīro ekasālako mallikāya ārāmo yena uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto tenupasaṅkami.

Then the chamberlain Pañcakaṅga left Sāvatthī in the middle of the day to see the Buddha. It occurred to him, “It’s the wrong time to see the Buddha, as he’s in retreat. And it’s the wrong time to see the esteemed mendicants, as they’re in retreat. Why don’t I go to Mallikā’s monastery to visit the wanderer Uggāhamāna?” So that’s what he did.

Tena kho pana samayena uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto 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 uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto pañcakaṅgaṁ thapatiṁ dūratova āgacchantaṁ.
Disvāna sakaṁ parisaṁ saṇṭhāpesi:
“appasaddā bhonto hontu, mā bhonto saddamakattha;
ayaṁ samaṇassa gotamassa sāvako āgacchati pañcakaṅgo thapati.
Yāvatā kho pana samaṇassa gotamassa sāvakā gihī odātavasanā sāvatthiyaṁ paṭivasanti ayaṁ tesaṁ aññataro pañcakaṅgo thapati.
Appasaddakāmā kho pana te āyasmanto appasaddavinītā appasaddassa vaṇṇavādino;

Now at that time, Uggāhamāna was sitting together with a large assembly of wanderers 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. Uggāhamāna saw Pañcakaṅga coming off in the distance, and hushed his own assembly, “Be quiet, good fellows, don’t make a sound. Here comes Pañcakaṅga, a disciple of the ascetic Gotama. He is included among the white-clothed lay disciples of the ascetic Gotama, who is residing in Sāvatthī. Such venerables like the quiet, are educated to be quiet, and praise the quiet.

appeva nāma appasaddaṁ parisaṁ viditvā upasaṅkamitabbaṁ maññeyyā”ti.
Atha kho te paribbājakā tuṇhī ahesuṁ.

Hopefully if he sees that our assembly is quiet he’ll see fit to approach.” Then those wanderers fell silent.

Atha kho pañcakaṅgo thapati yena uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā uggāhamānena paribbājakena samaṇamuṇḍikāputtena saddhiṁ sammodi.
Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinnaṁ kho pañcakaṅgaṁ thapatiṁ uggāhamāno paribbājako samaṇamuṇḍikāputto etadavoca:

Then Pañcakaṅga approached Uggāhamāna, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side. Uggāhamāna said to him:

“catūhi kho ahaṁ, gahapati, dhammehi samannāgataṁ purisapuggalaṁ paññapemi sampannakusalaṁ paramakusalaṁ uttamapattipattaṁ samaṇaṁ ayojjhaṁ.
Katamehi catūhi?
Idha, gahapati, na kāyena pāpakammaṁ karoti, na pāpakaṁ vācaṁ bhāsati, na pāpakaṁ saṅkappaṁ saṅkappeti, na pāpakaṁ ājīvaṁ ājīvati—
imehi kho ahaṁ, gahapati, catūhi dhammehi samannāgataṁ purisapuggalaṁ paññapemi sampannakusalaṁ paramakusalaṁ uttamapattipattaṁ samaṇaṁ ayojjhan”ti.

“Householder, when an individual person has four qualities I describe them as an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment. What four? It’s when they do no bad deeds with their body; speak no bad words; think no bad thoughts; and don’t earn a living by bad livelihood. When an individual possesses these four qualities I describe them as an invincible ascetic.”

Atha kho pañcakaṅgo thapati uggāhamānassa paribbājakassa samaṇamuṇḍikāputtassa bhāsitaṁ neva abhinandi nappaṭikkosi.
Anabhinanditvā appaṭikkositvā uṭṭhāyāsanā pakkāmi:
“bhagavato santike etassa bhāsitassa atthaṁ ājānissāmī”ti.

Then Pañcakaṅga neither approved nor rejected the wanderer Uggāhamāna’s statement. He rose from his seat, thinking, “I will learn the meaning of this statement from the Buddha himself.”

Atha kho pañcakaṅgo thapati yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi.
Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho pañcakaṅgo thapati yāvatako ahosi uggāhamānena paribbājakena samaṇamuṇḍikāputtena saddhiṁ kathāsallāpo taṁ sabbaṁ bhagavato ārocesi.

Then he went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and informed the Buddha of all that had been discussed.

Evaṁ vutte, bhagavā pañcakaṅgaṁ thapatiṁ etadavoca:
“evaṁ sante kho, thapati, daharo kumāro mando uttānaseyyako sampannakusalo bhavissati paramakusalo uttamapattipatto samaṇo ayojjho, yathā uggāhamānassa paribbājakassa samaṇamuṇḍikāputtassa vacanaṁ.
Daharassa hi, thapati, kumārassa mandassa uttānaseyyakassa kāyotipi na hoti, kuto pana kāyena pāpakammaṁ karissati, aññatra phanditamattā.
Daharassa hi, thapati, kumārassa mandassa uttānaseyyakassa vācātipi na hoti, kuto pana pāpakaṁ vācaṁ bhāsissati, aññatra roditamattā.
Daharassa hi, thapati, kumārassa mandassa uttānaseyyakassa saṅkappotipi na hoti, kuto pana pāpakaṁ saṅkappaṁ saṅkappissati, aññatra vikūjitamattā.
Daharassa hi, thapati, kumārassa mandassa uttānaseyyakassa ājīvotipi na hoti, kuto pana pāpakaṁ ājīvaṁ ājīvissati, aññatra mātuthaññā.

When he had spoken, the Buddha said to him, “Chamberlain, if what Uggāhamāna says is true, a little baby boy is an invincible ascetic—accomplished in the skillful, excelling in the skillful, attained to the highest attainment. For a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘a body’, so how could they possibly do a bad deed with their body, aside from just wriggling? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘speech’, so how could they possibly speak bad words, aside from just crying? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘thought’, so how could they possibly think bad thoughts, aside from just whimpering? And a little baby doesn’t even have a concept of ‘livelihood’, so how could they possibly earn a living by bad livelihood, aside from their mother’s breast?

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