Aṇguttara Nikāya
Catukka Nipāta
XIX: Yodhajīva Vagga
The Book of the Gradual Sayings
The Book of the Fours
Chapter XIX: Fighting Man
Sutta 190
Uposatha Suttaṃ aka Bhikkhu-Saṇghatho-Mana Suttaṃ
The Sabbath
Translated from the Pali by F. L. Woodward, M.A.
Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
For details see Terms of Use.
[1] Thus have I heard:
On a certain occasion the Exalted One was staying near Sāvatthī,
in East Park,
at the storeyed house of Migāra's Mother.[1]
Now on that occasion
the Exalted One was sitting
surrounded by the Order of monks,
that day being the sabbath.[2]
Then the Exalted One,
after scanning the Order of monks
as they sat in perfect silence,
addressed the monks,
saying:
"Monks, this company is free
from idle words
and idle talk.
It is pure
and stablished in the essential.[3]
Monks, such an Order of monks as this
is a company such as it would be hard to find
anywhere in the world.
Such an Order of monks as this
is worshipful,
worthy of honour and gifts,
worthy of worship with clasped hands upraised,
a field of merit unsurpassed for the world.
Monks, such an Order of monks as this
is a company to which
even a little being given is much,
to [192] which much being given
is more.
Such an Order of monks as this
is a company worth going many a mile to see,
even if one had to carry his food
in a bag on his shoulder.[4]
Of such a sort
is this Order of monks.
There are abiding in this Order of monks
those who have won access to devas.[5]
There are abiding in this Order of monks
who have won access to Brahmā.
There are abiding in this Order of monks
who have won access to the Imperturbable.[6]
There are abiding in this Order of monks
those who have won access to the Ariyan.[7]
And how has a monk won access to the devas?
Herein a monk, aloof from sense-desires,
aloof from evil conditions,
enters upon the first musing,
which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained,
born of seclusion,
zestful and easeful,
and having attained it abides therein.
By the calming down of thought directed and sustained,
enters upon the second musing,
that calming of the inner self,
that one-pointedness of mind
apart from thought directed and sustained,
that is born of mental balance,
zestful and easeful,
and having attained it
and having attained it abides therein.
by the fading out of zest,
disinterested,
mindful and composed,
experiences in his own person
that ease of which the Ariyans declare:
"He who is disinterested and alert
dwells at ease,"
— thus he attains and abides in the third musing.
by abandoning both ease and discomfort,
by the ending of both happiness and unhappiness felt before,
attains the fourth musing,
a state of neither ease nor discomfort,
an equanimity of utter purity,
and having attained it abides therein.
That is how a monk has won access to the devas.
And how has a monk won access to Brahmā?
Herein a monk irradiating one quarter (of the world)
with a heart possessed of goodwill;
so also as to the second,
third
and fourth quarter of the world;
and in like manner above,
below,
across,
everywhere,
for all sorts and conditions,
he lives irradiating the whole world
with a heart possessed of goodwill
that is widespread,
grown great
and boundless,
free from enmity
and untroubled;
irradiating one quarter (of the world)
with a heart possessed of compassion;
so also as to the second,
third
and fourth quarter of the world;
and in like manner above,
below,
across,
everywhere,
for all sorts and conditions,
he lives irradiating the whole world
with a heart possessed of compassion
that is widespread,
grown great
and boundless,
free from enmity
and untroubled;
irradiating one quarter (of the world)
with a heart possessed of sympathy;
so also as to the second,
third
and fourth quarter of the world;
and in like manner above,
below,
across,
everywhere,
for all sorts and conditions,
he lives irradiating the whole world
with a heart possessed of sympathy
that is widespread,
grown great
and boundless,
free from enmity
and untroubled;
irradiating one quarter (of the world)
with a heart possessed of equanimity;
so also as to the second,
third
and fourth quarter of the world;
and in like manner above,
below,
across,
everywhere,
for all sorts and conditions,
he lives irradiating the whole world
with a heart possessed of equanimity
that is widespread,
[193] grown great
and boundless,
free from enmity
and untroubled.[8]
That is how a monk has won access to Brahmā.
And how has a monk won access to the Imperturbable?
Herein a monk, passing utterly beyond all consciousness of objects,
by ending the consciousness of reaction,
by disregarding consciousness of diversity,
thinking:
'Infinite is space',
attains and abides in
the sphere of infinite space.
Passing utterly beyond the sphere of infinite space,
reaching the sphere of infinite consciousness,
thinking:
'Infinite is consciousness',
he attains and abides in
the sphere of infinite consciousness.
Passing utterly beyond the sphere of infinite consciousness,
thinking:
'There is nothing at all',
he attains and abides in
the sphere of nothingness.
Passing utterly beyond the sphere of nothingness,
he attains and abides in
the sphere of neither-consciousness-nor-unconsciousness.
Thus has a monk won access to the Imperturbable.
And how has a monk won access to the Ariyan?
Herein a monk understands,
as it really is:
'This is Ill.'
'This is the arising of Ill.'
'This is the ending of Ill.'
'This is the practice
going to the ending of Ill.'
Thus a monk has won access to the Ariyan.'
[1] The lay-follower Visakha, treated by her father-in-law, the wealthy Migara, as 'mother.' For her sake he is said to have built this palace of 500 upper chambers and a thousand peaked roofs. Cf. SnA. ii, 502.
[2] Tad-ahuposathe. Cf. UdA. 296 (= tasmiṃ uposatha-divasa-bhūte), full-moon day.
[3] Cf. Ud. v, 5 for the driving out of an improper person from the assembly. Sāre = sīlādi-sāre. Comy.
[4] Puṭaṇsenāpi. Cf. D. i, 117; DA. i, 288 (puṭo aṇse assā ti), and infra, § 242, assa- (read aṇsa-) puṭaṃ khandhe āropetvā, in both of which passages Comy. absurdly misunderstands the word and reads assa-puṭa, 'ash-bag ' (?), a mark of ignominy. Comy. reads puṭosaṃ (?) = pātheyyaṃ, and gives v.l. puṭaṃsa (as Sinh. text).
[5] Cf. Gotama the Man, 140; Sakya, 181, 227.
[6] Anejja (one who has reached the four formless worlds in musing). Cf. D. i, 76; A. iii, 93 etc.; Pts. of Conir., 190 n.
[7] Ariya-bhāvo. Comy. 'having realized the Four Ariyan Truths they are no longer worldlings (ordinary men).' The word, often trans. 'worthy,' is applied to Arahants, but cf. Expos. i, 234, 'the Ariyans, that is, the Buddhas'; p. 452: 'Buddhas, lent (misprint for "silent") Buddhas, Buddhas' disciples are (hence) called "Ariyans." Or, only the Buddhas herein are Ariyans. As has been said: "Bhikkhus, in the world of men and devas the Tathāgata is the Ariyan."' Cf. G.S. i, 164 ff., where the Buddha uses the term in several ways (dibba-vihāra, Brahma-vihāra, Ariya-vihāra), def. at SnA. ii, 136 as 'freedom from delusion.' Does the phrase occur elsewhere in the Canon? [Ed.: not ariyappattā viharanti]
[8] For the Brahma-vihāras, or God-moods, see Sakya, 227; K.S. v, 98 n.
