Cūḷasakuludāyisutta

Majjhima Nikāya 79

Cūḷasakuludāyisutta

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

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“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yo vā rattandhakāratimisāya kimi khajjopanako, yo vā rattandhakāratimisāya telappadīpo—imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ katamo vaṇṇo abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti?
“Yvāyaṁ, bhante, rattandhakāratimisāya telappadīpo—ayaṁ imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti.

“What do you think, Udāyī? Which of these two has a finer splendor: a firefly in the dark of night, or an oil lamp in the dark of night?” “An oil lamp in the dark of night, sir.”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yo vā rattandhakāratimisāya telappadīpo, yo vā rattandhakāratimisāya mahāaggikkhandho—imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ katamo vaṇṇo abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti?
“Yvāyaṁ, bhante, rattandhakāratimisāya mahāaggikkhandho—ayaṁ imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti.

“What do you think, Udāyī? Which of these two has a finer splendor: an oil lamp in the dark of night, or a great mass of fire in the dark of night?” “A great mass of fire in the dark of night, sir.”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yo vā rattandhakāratimisāya mahāaggikkhandho, yā vā rattiyā paccūsasamayaṁ viddhe vigatavalāhake deve osadhitārakā—imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ katamo vaṇṇo abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti?
“Yvāyaṁ, bhante, rattiyā paccūsasamayaṁ viddhe vigatavalāhake deve osadhitārakā—ayaṁ imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti.

“What do you think, Udāyī? Which of these two has a finer splendor: a great mass of fire in the dark of night, or the morning star in the clear and cloudless heavens at the crack of dawn?” “The morning star in the clear and cloudless heavens at the crack of dawn, sir.”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yā vā rattiyā paccūsasamayaṁ viddhe vigatavalāhake deve osadhitārakā, yo vā tadahuposathe pannarase viddhe vigatavalāhake deve abhido aḍḍharattasamayaṁ cando—imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ katamo vaṇṇo abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti?
“Yvāyaṁ, bhante, tadahuposathe pannarase viddhe vigatavalāhake deve abhido aḍḍharattasamayaṁ cando—ayaṁ imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti.

“What do you think, Udāyī? Which of these two has a finer splendor: the morning star in the clear and cloudless heavens at the crack of dawn, or the full moon at midnight in the clear and cloudless heavens on the fifteenth day sabbath?” “The full moon at midnight in the clear and cloudless heavens on the fifteenth day sabbath, sir.”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yo vā tadahuposathe pannarase viddhe vigatavalāhake deve abhido aḍḍharattasamayaṁ cando, yo vā vassānaṁ pacchime māse saradasamaye viddhe vigatavalāhake deve abhido majjhanhikasamayaṁ sūriyo—imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ katamo vaṇṇo abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti?
“Yvāyaṁ, bhante, vassānaṁ pacchime māse saradasamaye viddhe vigatavalāhake deve abhido majjhanhikasamayaṁ sūriyo—ayaṁ imesaṁ ubhinnaṁ vaṇṇānaṁ abhikkantataro ca paṇītataro cā”ti.

“What do you think, Udāyī? Which of these two has a finer splendor: the full moon at midnight in the clear and cloudless heavens on the fifteenth day sabbath, or the sun at midday in the clear and cloudless heavens in the last month of the rainy season, in autumn?” “The sun at midday in the clear and cloudless heavens in the last month of the rainy season, in autumn, sir.”

“Ato kho te, udāyi, bahū hi bahutarā devā ye imesaṁ candimasūriyānaṁ ābhā nānubhonti, tyāhaṁ pajānāmi.
Atha ca panāhaṁ na vadāmi:
‘yasmā vaṇṇā añño vaṇṇo uttaritaro vā paṇītataro vā natthī’ti.
Atha ca pana tvaṁ, udāyi, ‘yvāyaṁ vaṇṇo kiminā khajjopanakena nihīnataro ca patikiṭṭhataro ca so paramo vaṇṇo’ti vadesi, tañca vaṇṇaṁ na paññapesī”ti.

“Beyond this, Udāyī, I know very many gods on whom the luminosity of the sun and moon makes no impression. Nevertheless, I do not say: ‘The splendor compared to which no other splendor is finer.’ But of the splendor inferior to a firefly you say, ‘This is the ultimate splendor.’ And you don’t describe that splendor.”

“Acchidaṁ bhagavā kathaṁ, acchidaṁ sugato kathan”ti.
“Kiṁ pana tvaṁ, udāyi, evaṁ vadesi:
‘acchidaṁ bhagavā kathaṁ, acchidaṁ sugato kathan’”ti?
“Amhākaṁ, bhante, sake ācariyake evaṁ hoti:
‘ayaṁ paramo vaṇṇo, ayaṁ paramo vaṇṇo’ti.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, bhagavatā sake ācariyake samanuyuñjīyamānā samanuggāhīyamānā samanubhāsīyamānā rittā tucchā aparaddhā”ti.

“The Blessed One has cut short the discussion! The Holy One has cut short the discussion!” “But Udāyī, why do you say this?” “Sir, it says this in our own denomination: ‘This is the ultimate splendor, this is the ultimate splendor.’ But when pursued, pressed, and grilled on our own denomination, we turned out to be vacuous, hollow, and mistaken.”

“Kiṁ panudāyi, atthi ekantasukho loko, atthi ākāravatī paṭipadā ekantasukhassa lokassa sacchikiriyāyā”ti?
“Amhākaṁ, bhante, sake ācariyake evaṁ hoti:
‘atthi ekantasukho loko, atthi ākāravatī paṭipadā ekantasukhassa lokassa sacchikiriyāyā’”ti.

“But Udāyī, is there a world of absolute happiness? And is there a grounded practice for realizing a world of absolute happiness?” “Sir, it says this in our own denomination: ‘There is a world of absolute happiness. And there is a grounded practice for realizing a world of absolute happiness.’”

“Katamā pana sā, udāyi, ākāravatī paṭipadā ekantasukhassa lokassa sacchikiriyāyā”ti?
“Idha, bhante, ekacco pāṇātipātaṁ pahāya pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti, adinnādānaṁ pahāya adinnādānā paṭivirato hoti, kāmesumicchācāraṁ pahāya kāmesumicchācārā paṭivirato hoti, musāvādaṁ pahāya musāvādā paṭivirato hoti, aññataraṁ vā pana tapoguṇaṁ samādāya vattati.
Ayaṁ kho sā, bhante, ākāravatī paṭipadā ekantasukhassa lokassa sacchikiriyāyā”ti.

“Well, what is that grounded practice for realizing a world of absolute happiness?” “Sir, it’s when someone gives up killing living creatures, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying. And they proceed having undertaken some kind of mortification. This is the grounded practice for realizing a world of absolute happiness.”

“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yasmiṁ samaye pāṇātipātaṁ pahāya pāṇātipātā paṭivirato hoti, ekantasukhī vā tasmiṁ samaye attā hoti sukhadukkhī vā”ti?
“Sukhadukkhī, bhante”.
“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,
yasmiṁ samaye adinnādānaṁ pahāya adinnādānā paṭivirato hoti, ekantasukhī vā tasmiṁ samaye attā hoti sukhadukkhī vā”ti?
“Sukhadukkhī, bhante”.
“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi, yasmiṁ samaye kāmesumicchācāraṁ pahāya kāmesumicchācārā paṭivirato hoti, ekantasukhī vā tasmiṁ samaye attā hoti sukhadukkhī vā”ti?
“Sukhadukkhī, bhante”.
“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi, yasmiṁ samaye musāvādaṁ pahāya musāvādā paṭivirato hoti, ekantasukhī vā tasmiṁ samaye attā hoti sukhadukkhī vā”ti?
“Sukhadukkhī, bhante”.
“Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, udāyi,

“What do you think, Udāyī? On an occasion when someone refrains from killing living creatures, is their self absolutely happy at that time, or does it have both pleasure and pain?” “It has both pleasure and pain.” “What do you think, Udāyī? On an occasion when someone refrains from stealing … sexual misconduct … lying, is their self absolutely happy at that time, or does it have both pleasure and pain?” “It has both pleasure and pain.” “What do you think, Udāyī?

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