Aṇguttara-Nikāya
III. Tika Nipāta
X. Loṇa-Phala Vagga
Sutta 100 (i-x) [DTO 102]
The Dirt-washer
Paṃsu-Dhovaka Suttaṃ
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Proofed against and modified in accordance with the revised edition at dhammatalks.org
Provenance, terms and conditons
[1][pts] "There are these gross impurities in gold:
dirty sand, gravel, and grit.
The dirt-washer or his apprentice,
having placed [the gold] in a vat,
washes it again and again
until he has washed them away.
"When he is rid of them,
there remain the moderate impurities in the gold:
coarse sand and fine grit.
He washes the gold again and again
until he has washed them away.
"When he is rid of them,
there remain the fine impurities in the gold:
fine sand and black dust.
The dirt-washer or his apprentice
washes the gold again and again
until he has washed them away.
"When he is rid of them,
there remains just the gold dust.
The goldsmith or his apprentice,
having placed it in a crucible,
blows on it again and again
to blow away the dross.
The gold, as long as it has not been blown on again and again
to the point where the impurities are blown away,
as long as it is not refined and free from dross,
is not pliant, malleable, or luminous.
It is brittle and not ready to be worked.
But there comes a time
when the goldsmith or his apprentice
has blown on the gold again and again
until the dross is blown away.
The gold, having been blown on again and again
to the point where the impurities are blown away,
is then refined, free from dross,
plaint, malleable, and luminous.
It is not brittle, and is ready to be worked.
Then whatever sort of ornament he has in mind
— whether a belt, an earring, a necklace, or a gold chain —
the gold would serve his purpose.
■
"In the same way,
there are these gross impurities
in a monk intent on heightened mind:
misconduct in body, speech, and mind.
These the monk
— aware and able by nature —
abandons, destroys, dispels,
wipes out of existence.
When he is rid of them,
there remain in him the moderate impurities:
thoughts of sensuality, ill will, and harmfulness.
These he abandons, destroys, dispels,
wipes out of existence.
When he is rid of them
there remain in him the fine impurities:
thoughts of his caste,
thoughts of his home district,
thoughts related to not wanting to be despised.
These he abandons, destroys, dispels,
wipes out of existence.
"When he is rid of them,
there remain only thoughts of the Dhamma.
His concentration is neither calm nor refined,
has not yet attained calm or unification,
and is kept in place
by the fabrication of forceful restraint.
But there comes a time
when his mind grows steady inwardly,
settles down,
grows unified and concentrated.
His concentration is peaceful and refined,
has attained calm and unification,
and is no longer kept in place
by the fabrication of forceful restraint.
"And then whichever of the higher knowledges
he turns his mind to know and realize,
he can witness them for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants,
he wields manifold supranormal powers.
Having been one he becomes many;
having been many he becomes one.
He appears.
He vanishes.
He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains
as if through space.
He dives in and out of the earth
as if it were water.
He walks on water without sinking
as if it were dry land.
Sitting cross-legged he flies through the air
like a winged bird.
With his hand he touches and strokes
even the sun and moon,
so mighty and powerful.
He exercises influence with his body
even as far as the Brahma worlds.
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants, he hears
— by means of the divine ear-element,
purified and surpassing the human —
both kinds of sounds:
divine and human,
whether near or far.
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants,
he knows the awareness of other beings, other individuals,
having encompassed it with his own awareness.
He discerns a mind with passion
as 'a mind with passion,'
and a mind without passion
as 'a mind without passion.'
He discerns a mind with aversion
as 'a mind with aversion,'
and a mind without aversion
as 'a mind without aversion.'
He discerns a mind with delusion
as 'a mind with delusion,'
and a mind without delusion
as 'a mind without delusion.'
He discerns a restricted mind
as 'a restricted mind,'
and a scattered mind
as 'a scattered mind.'
He discerns an enlarged mind[1]
as 'an enlarged mind,'
and an unenlarged mind
as 'an unenlarged mind.'
He discerns a surpassed mind
[one that is not at the most excellent level]
as 'a surpassed mind,'
and an unsurpassed mind
as 'an unsurpassed mind.'
He discerns a concentrated mind
as 'a concentrated mind,'
and an unconcentrated mind
as 'an unconcentrated mind.'
He discerns a released mind[2]
as 'a released mind,'
and an unreleased mind
as 'an unreleased mind.'
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants,
he recollects his manifold past lives
[literally: previous homes],
i.e., one birth,
two births,
three births,
four, five, ten,
twenty, thirty, forty,
fifty,
one hundred,
one thousand,
one hundred thousand,
many aeons of cosmic contraction,
many aeons of cosmic expansion,
many aeons of cosmic contraction and expansion,
[recollecting]:
'There I had such a name,
belonged to such a clan,
had such an appearance.
Such was my food,
such my experience of pleasure and pain,
such the end of my life.
Passing away from that state,
I re-arose there.
There too I had such a name,
belonged to such a clan,
had such an appearance.
Such was my food,
such my experience of pleasure and pain,
such the end of my life.
Passing away from that state,
I re-arose here.'
Thus he remembers his manifold past lives
in their modes and details.
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants, he sees
— by means of the divine eye,
purified and surpassing the human —
beings passing away and re-appearing,
and he discerns how they are inferior and superior,
beautiful and ugly,
fortunate and unfortunate
in accordance with their kamma:
'These beings
— who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind,
who reviled the noble ones,
held wrong views
and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views —
with the break-up of the body, after death,
have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation,
the bad destination,
the lower realms,
in hell.
But these beings
— who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind,
who did not revile the noble ones,
who held right views
and undertook actions under the influence of right views —
with the break-up of the body, after death,
have re-appeared in the good destinations,
in the heavenly world.'
Thus — by means of the divine eye,
purified and surpassing the human —
he sees beings passing away and re-appearing,
and he discerns how they are inferior and superior,
beautiful and ugly,
fortunate and unfortunate
in accordance with their kamma.
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening.
"If he wants,
then through the ending of the mental effluents,
he enters and remains in the effluent-free awareness-release and discernment-release,
having known and realized them for himself
right in the here and now.
He can witness this for himself
whenever there is an opening."
[1] Mahaggataṃ. This term is used, together with "immeasurable / unlimited," in the standard description of the awareness generated in the practice of the brahmavihāras (SN 42:8). According to Ven. Anuruddha in MN 127, however, an enlarged mind is not immeasurable. Its range of awareness is larger than the body but still measurable, ranging in distance from the shade of a tree to the earth bounded by the ocean.
[2] On the various levels of release, see DN 15, MN 43, and AN 9:43—45.
Of Related Interest:
MN 19–20;
SN 51:20;
AN 3:71;
AN 5:28
Go to AN 3.100-2
