Ghoṭamukhasutta

Majjhima Nikāya 94

With Ghoṭamukha · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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So evaṁ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte sattānaṁ cutūpapātañāṇāya cittaṁ abhininnāmeti.
So dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti: ‘ime vata bhonto sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā …pe… ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā. Ime vā pana bhonto sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā …pe… ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā’ti. Iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti.

When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it toward knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings. With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds: ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds.

When their mind has become immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—they extend it toward knowledge of the ending of defilements. They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. They truly understand: ‘These are defilements’ … ‘This is the origin of defilements’ … ‘This is the cessation of defilements’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of defilements’.

Tassa evaṁ jānato evaṁ passato kāmāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati, bhavāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati, avijjāsavāpi cittaṁ vimuccati.
Vimuttasmiṁ vimuttamiti ñāṇaṁ hoti.
‘Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā’ti pajānāti.

Knowing and seeing like this, their mind is freed from the defilements of sensuality, desire to be reborn, and ignorance. When they’re freed, they know they’re freed. They understand: ‘Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.’

Ayaṁ vuccati, brāhmaṇa, puggalo nevattantapo nāttaparitāpanānuyogamanuyutto, na parantapo na paraparitāpanānuyogamanuyutto.
So anattantapo aparantapo diṭṭheva dhamme nicchāto nibbuto sītībhūto sukhappaṭisaṁvedī brahmabhūtena attanā viharatī”ti.

This is called an individual who neither mortifies themselves or others, being committed to the practice of not mortifying themselves or others. They live without wishes in this very life, quenched, cooled, experiencing bliss, with self become divine.”

Evaṁ vutte, ghoṭamukho brāhmaṇo āyasmantaṁ udenaṁ etadavoca:
“abhikkantaṁ, bho udena, abhikkantaṁ, bho udena.
Seyyathāpi, bho udena, nikkujjitaṁ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṁ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṁ dhāreyya ‘cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantī’ti; evamevaṁ bhotā udenena anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito.
Esāhaṁ bhavantaṁ udenaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca.
Upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ udeno dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.

When he had spoken, Ghoṭamukha said to him, “Excellent, worthy Udena! Excellent! As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, the worthy Udena has made the teaching clear in many ways. I go for refuge to the worthy Udena, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha. From this day forth, may the worthy Udena remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

“Mā kho maṁ tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, saraṇaṁ agamāsi.
Tameva bhagavantaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāhi yamahaṁ saraṇaṁ gato”ti.
“Kahaṁ pana, bho udena, etarahi so bhavaṁ gotamo viharati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho”ti?
“Parinibbuto kho, brāhmaṇa, etarahi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho”ti.
“Sacepi mayaṁ, bho udena, suṇeyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ dasasu yojanesu, dasapi mayaṁ yojanāni gaccheyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ dassanāya arahantaṁ sammāsambuddhaṁ.
Sacepi mayaṁ, bho udena, suṇeyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ vīsatiyā yojanesu …
tiṁsāya yojanesu …
cattārīsāya yojanesu …
paññāsāya yojanesu, paññāsampi mayaṁ yojanāni gaccheyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ dassanāya arahantaṁ sammāsambuddhaṁ.
Yojanasate cepi mayaṁ, bho udena, suṇeyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ, yojanasatampi mayaṁ gaccheyyāma taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ dassanāya arahantaṁ sammāsambuddhaṁ.

“Brahmin, don’t go for refuge to me. You should go for refuge to that same Blessed One to whom I have gone for refuge.” “But worthy Udena, where is the Blessed One at present, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha?” “Brahmin, the Buddha has already become fully quenched.” “Worthy Udena, if I heard that the worthy Gotama was within ten leagues, or twenty, or even up to a hundred leagues away, I’d go a hundred leagues to see him.

Yato ca kho, bho udena, parinibbuto so bhavaṁ gotamo, parinibbutampi mayaṁ taṁ bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāma dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca.
Upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ udeno dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gataṁ.

But since the worthy Gotama has become fully quenched, I go for refuge to that worthy Gotama, to the teaching, and to the Saṅgha. From this day forth, may the worthy Udena remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.

Atthi ca me, bho udena, aṅgarājā devasikaṁ niccabhikkhaṁ dadāti, tato ahaṁ bhoto udenassa ekaṁ niccabhikkhaṁ dadāmī”ti.
“Kiṁ pana te, brāhmaṇa, aṅgarājā devasikaṁ niccabhikkhaṁ dadātī”ti?
“Pañca, bho udena, kahāpaṇasatānī”ti.
“Na kho no, brāhmaṇa, kappati jātarūparajataṁ paṭiggahetun”ti.
“Sace taṁ bhoto udenassa na kappati vihāraṁ bhoto udenassa kārāpessāmī”ti.
“Sace kho me tvaṁ, brāhmaṇa, vihāraṁ, kārāpetukāmo, pāṭaliputte saṅghassa upaṭṭhānasālaṁ kārāpehī”ti.
“Imināpāhaṁ bhoto udenassa bhiyyoso mattāya attamano abhiraddho yaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ udeno saṅghe dāne samādapeti.
Esāhaṁ, bho udena, etissā ca niccabhikkhāya aparāya ca niccabhikkhāya pāṭaliputte saṅghassa upaṭṭhānasālaṁ kārāpessāmī”ti.
Atha kho ghoṭamukho brāhmaṇo etissā ca niccabhikkhāya aparāya ca niccabhikkhāya pāṭaliputte saṅghassa upaṭṭhānasālaṁ kārāpesi.

Worthy Udena, the king of Aṅga gives me a regular daily allowance. I will give you one portion of that.” “But brahmin, what does the king of Aṅga give you as a regular daily allowance?” “Five hundred dollars.” “It’s not proper for us to receive gold and currency.” “If that’s not proper, I will have a dwelling built for the worthy Udena.” “If you want to build me a dwelling, then build an assembly hall for the Saṅgha at Pāṭaliputta.” “Now I’m even more delighted and satisfied with the worthy Udena, since he encourages me to give to the Saṅgha. So with this allowance and another one I will have an assembly hall built for the Saṅgha at Pāṭaliputta.” And so he had that hall built.

Sā etarahi “ghoṭamukhī”ti vuccatīti.
Ghoṭamukhasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ catutthaṁ.

And these days it’s called the “Ghoṭamukhī”.

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