Aṅguttara Nikāya
IX. Navaka Nipāta
II. Sīhanāda Vagga

The Book of Nines

Sutta 20

Velāma Suttaṃ

Velāma

Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds

 

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[1][pts][upal][than] I hear tell:

Once upon a time The Lucky Man
Sāvātthi-town revisiting
Anāthapiṇḍika's Jetavana sporting ground.

There then the householder Anāthapiṇḍika
approached the Lucky Man and
drew near.

Having drawn near the Lucky Man and
exchanged respectful greetings,
he took a seat to one side.

Having taken a seat to one side then,
The Lucky Man said this
to Anāthapiṇḍika:

"Well then, householder,
are alms given in your house?"

"Alms are given, bhante,
but it is
coarse broken rice
with sour gruel."^[1]

"Whether, householder,
one gives coarse alms, or
choice
if one gives without respect,
gives without considering,
gives not with one's own hand,
gives what is to be thrown away,
gives not seeing the return,
wherever whenever the results of
that giving appear,
his heart will not turn to
enjoyment of the best food,
his heart will not turn to
enjoyment of the best clothing,
his heart will not turn to
enjoyment of the best vehicles,
his heart will not turn to
enjoyment of the best of the
five-fold sense pleasures, and
thus one's sons or,
daughters or,
slaves, or
servants, or
employees
will not wish to learn,
will not listen attentively,
will not prepare their hearts
for knowledge.

And why not?

Thus it is, householder,
when one does a deed
without respect for the outcome.

"But householder, whether
one gives coarse alms, or
choice
if one gives with respect,
gives considering,
gives with one's own hand,
gives what is not to be thrown away,
gives seeing the return,
wherever whenever the results of
that giving appear,
his heart will turn to
enjoyment of the best food,
his heart will turn to
enjoyment of the best clothing,
his heart will turn to
enjoyment of the best vehicles,
his heart will turn to
enjoyment of the best of the
five-fold sense pleasures, and
thus one's sons or,
daughters or,
slaves, or
servants, or
employees
will wish to learn,
will listen attentively,
will prepare their hearts
for knowledge.

And why?

Thus it is, householder,
when one does a deed
with respect for the outcome.

 

§

 

At a previous time, householder,
there was a brahman named Velāma.

He gave super-abundant gifts
such as:

He gave eightyfour-thousand gold bowls
filled with silver.

He gave eightyfour-thousand silver bowls
filled with gold.

He gave eightyfour-thousand bronze bowls
filled with gold coins.^[2]

He gave eightyfour-thousand elephants
covered with gold nettting,
gold fittings,
gold flags.

He gave eightyfour-thousand chariots,
covered with lion hides,
covered with tiger hides,
covered with panther hides,
covered with pale yellow cloths,
with gold nettting,
gold fittings,
gold flags.

He gave eightyfour-thousand milch-cows
with blankets of fine cloth, and
bronze milk-pails.

He gave eightyfour-thousand
young slave-girls
with precious gem earrings

He gave eightyfour-thousand couches,
spread with a long haired fleece blankets
spread with white wollen blankets
spread with flower-embroidered woolen blankets
spread with exquisite antelope hides and
with canopies and
red bolsters at each end.

He gave eightyfour-thousand upper garments,
of the finest sort of linen,
of the finest sort of silk,
of the finest sort of wool,
of the finest sort of cotton.

Who will say more then of the
edibles and drinkables,
solid and soft,
lickable and sippable?

Like a roaring river, methinks, they flowed!

Now then, householder,
you may be thinking:

"That Velāmo brāman,
the giver of that great gift,
was some stranger."

But you should not think that, householder,
for this Velāmo brahman,
the giver of this great gift,
was none other than I.

But at that time, householder,
there was nobody worthy of sucha gift,
nobody who could
receive a gift
without grasping.^[3]

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one possessor of view.^[4]

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed one hundred possessors of view
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one once-returner.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed one hundred once returners
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one non-returner.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed one hundred non-returners
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one arahant.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed one hundred arahants
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one Pacceka^[5]-Buddha.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed a Pacceka-Buddha
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed one That-that-got-that,^[6] Arahant, Consummately Self-Awakened One.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and^[7]
had fed a That-that-got-that, Arahant, Consummately Self-Awakened One
it would have been of greater fruit
had he fed a Saṅgha of beggars
with the Buddha at its head.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
had fed a Saṅgha of beggars
with the Buddha at its head
it would have been of greater fruit
had he had made a residence for
the beggars of the four directions.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
he had made a residence for
the beggars of the four directions
it would have been of greater fruit
had he taken refuge in
the Buddha,
the Dhamma, and
the Saṅgha,
with a believing heart.

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
he had taken refuge in
the Buddha,
the Dhamma, and
the Saṅgha,
with a believing heart
it would have been of greater fruit
had he adopted the seeker's path:
abstinence from harm to breathing beings,
abstinence from taking what was not given,
abstinence from low behavior in pursuit of sense pleasures,
abstinence from intentionally saying
what is not true,
abstinence from use of
whiskies,
wines —
any substance
that is the basis of
careless behavior.^[8]

Even though, householder,
Velāmo brāhman gave that great gift and
he had,
fed one possessor of view, and
fed one hundred possessors of view, and
fed one once-returner, and
fed one hundred once-returners, and
fed one non-returner, and
fed one hundred non-returners, and
fed one arahant, and
fed one hundred arahants, and
fed a Pacceka-Buddha, and
fed a That-that-got-that, Arahant, Consummately Self-Awakened One, and
fed a Saṅgha of beggars
with the Buddha at its head, and
had made a residence for
the beggars of the four directions, and
had, with a believing heart,
taken refuge in
the Buddha,
the Dhamma, and
the Saṅgha, and
had adopted the seeker's path:
abstinence from harm to breathing beings,
abstinence from taking what was not given,
abstinence from low behavior in pursuit of sense pleasures,
abstinence from intentionally saying
what is not true,
abstinence from use of
whiskies,
wines —
any substance
that is the basis of
careless behavior, and
had,
even for just an instant
made become
a heart of friendliness,
it would have been of greater fruit
had he
just for the time it takes to snap the fingers
made become
the perception of impermanence.

 

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^[1] Sour gruel is a thin porridge-like drink made with rice fermented for various lengths of time.

^[2] Purāni actually means old or ancient and there is a remote possibility that that is what was meant, but see Pūra for what is usually being used.

^[3] This is very free, but to say "there was nobody to purify (or sanctify) that gift" today would mean nothing to almost all readers.

^[4] The Pāḷi does not have samma dīṭṭhi, ('consummate view'; the usual 'right view') it has dīṭṭhisampanna ('view-possessor', or 'one successful in view') but I am reasonably certain samma dīṭṭhi is to be understood.

Consummate view takes two forms:
I.
There is giving,
there is sacrifice,
there is offering,
there is fruition or result of intentional deeds,
whether well or badly done,
there is this world,
there is world beyond,
there is mother,
there is father,
there are spontaneously arising beings,
there are Shaman or Brahman who have got the Highest, who having attained the highest can explain this world and the world beyond from personal experience of super-powers.'
—(MN 117)
and II.
"'This' is pain", the first of the Four Aristocrats of Truths. —(MN 9)

^[5] Pacceka-Buddha PED: "one enlightened by himself, i.e. one who has attained to the supreme and perfect insight, but dies without proclaiming the truth to the world." I suggest this was originally a word for the arahant that did not learn the way from another. That is what it amounts to in any case.

^[6] Tathāgata

^[7] The Pāḷi here abridges without indication.

^[8] See footnote #3 on my translation of AN 9.18

 

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