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Translated
from the Pali by Nyanaponika Thera.
For free distribution only.
From The Simile of the Cloth & the Discourse on
Effacement (WH 61), edited by Nyanaponika Thera, (Kandy: Buddhist
Publication Society, 1988). Copyright ©1988 Buddhist Publication Society. Used
with permission.
1.
Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's
Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks thus:
"Monks." -- "Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One
said this:
2.
"Monks, suppose a cloth were stained and dirty, and a dyer dipped it in
some dye or other, whether blue or yellow or red or pink, it would take the dye
badly and be impure in color. And why is that? Because the cloth was not clean.
So too, monks, when the mind is defiled,1 an unhappy destination [in a
future existence] may be expected.
"Monks,
suppose a cloth were clean and bright, and a dyer dipped it in some dye or
other, whether blue or yellow or red or pink, it would take the dye well and be
pure in color. And why is that? Because the cloth was clean. So too, monks,
when the mind is undefiled, a happy destination [in a future existence] may be
expected.
3.
"And what, monks, are the defilements of the mind?2 (1)
Covetousness and unrighteous greed are a defilement of the mind; (2) ill will
is a defilement of the mind; (3) anger is a defilement of the mind; (4)
hostility...(5) denigration...(6) domineering...(7) envy...(8) jealousy...(9)
hypocrisy...(10) fraud...(11) obstinacy...(12) presumption...(13)
conceit...(14) arrogance...(15) vanity...(16) negligence is a defilement of the
mind.3
4.
"Knowing, monks, covetousness and unrighteous greed to be a defilement of
the mind, the monk abandons them.4 Knowing ill will to be a defilement of
the mind, he abandons it. Knowing anger to be a defilement of the mind, he
abandons it. Knowing hostility to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it.
Knowing denigration to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing
domineering to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing envy to be
a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing jealousy to be a defilement
of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing hypocrisy to be a defilement of the mind,
he abandons it. Knowing fraud to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it.
Knowing obstinacy to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing
presumption to be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing conceit to
be a defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing arrogance to be a
defilement of the mind, he abandons it. Knowing vanity to be a defilement of
the mind, he abandons it. Knowing negligence to be a defilement of the mind, he
abandons it.
5.
"When in the monk who thus knows that covetousness and unrighteous greed
are a defilement of the mind, this covetousness and unrighteous greed have been
abandoned; when in him who thus knows that ill will is a defilement of the
mind, this ill will has been abandoned;... when in him who thus knows that
negligence is a defilement of the mind, this negligence has been abandoned --
5
6.
-- he thereupon gains unwavering confidence in the Buddha6 thus: 'Thus
indeed is the Blessed One: he is accomplished, fully enlightened, endowed with
[clear] vision and [virtuous] conduct, sublime, knower of the worlds, the
incomparable guide of men who are tractable, the teacher of gods and men,
enlightened and blessed.'
7.
-- he gains unwavering confidence in the Dhamma thus: 'Well proclaimed by the
Blessed One is the Dhamma, realizable here and now, possessed of immediate
result, bidding you come and see, accessible and knowable individually by the
wise.
8.
-- he gains unwavering confidence in the Sangha thus: 'The Sangha of the
Blessed One's disciples has entered on the good way, has entered on the
straight way, has entered on the true way, has entered on the proper way; that
is to say, the four pairs of men, the eight types of persons; this Sangha of
the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy
of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the incomparable field of merit
for the world.'
9.
"When he has given up, renounced, let go, abandoned and relinquished [the
defilements] in part,7 he knows: 'I am endowed with unwavering
confidence in the Buddha... in the Dhamma... in the Sangha; and he gains
enthusiasm for the goal, gains enthusiasm for the Dhamma,8
gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is gladdened, joy is born in
him; being joyous in mind, his body becomes tranquil; his body being tranquil,
he feels happiness; and the mind of him who is happy becomes
concentrated.9
10.
"He knows: 'I have given up, renounced, let go, abandoned and relinquished
[the defilements] in part'; and he gains enthusiasm for the goal, gains
enthusiasm for the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the Dhamma. When he is
gladdened, joy is born in him; being joyous in mind, his body becomes tranquil;
when his body is tranquil, he feels happiness; and the mind of him who is happy
becomes concentrated.
11.
"If, monks, a monk of such virtue, such concentration and such
wisdom10 eats almsfood consisting of choice hill-rice
together with various sauces and curries, even that will be no obstacle for
him.11
"Just
as cloth that is stained and dirty becomes clean and bright with the help of
pure water, or just as gold becomes clean and bright with the help of a
furnace, so too, if a monk of such virtue, such concentration and such wisdom
eats almsfood consisting of choice hill-rice together with various sauces and
curries, even that will be no obstacle for him.
12.
"He abides, having suffused with a mind of loving-kindness12 one direction of the world, likewise the second, likewise the
third, likewise the fourth, and so above, below, around and everywhere, and to
all as to himself; he abides suffusing the entire universe with
loving-kindness, with a mind grown great, lofty, boundless and free from enmity
and ill will.
"He
abides, having suffused with a mind of compassion... of sympathetic joy... of
equanimity one direction of the world, likewise the second, likewise the third,
likewise the fourth, and so above, below, around and everywhere, and to all as
to himself; he abides suffusing the entire universe with equanimity, with a
mind grown great, lofty, boundless and free from enmity and ill will.
13.
"He understands what exists, what is low, what is excellent,13 and what escape there is from this [whole] field of
perception.14
14.
"When he knows and sees15 in this way, his mind
becomes liberated from the canker of sensual desire, liberated from the canker
of becoming, liberated from the canker of ignorance.16
When liberated, there is knowledge: 'It is liberated'; and he knows: 'Birth is
exhausted, the life of purity has been lived, the task is done, there is no
more of this to come.' Such a monk is called 'one bathed with the inner
bathing."17
15.
Now at that time the brahman Sundarika Bharadvaja18 was seated not far from the Blessed One, and he spoke to the
Blessed One thus: "But does Master Gotama go to the Bahuka
River to bathe?"
"What
good, brahman, is the Bahuka River? What can the Bahuka River do?"
"Truly,
Master Gotama, many people believe that the Bahuka River gives purification,
many people believe that the Bahuka River gives merit. For in the Bahuka River
many people wash away the evil deeds they have done."
16.
Then the Blessed One addressed the brahman Sundarika Bharadvaja in these
stanzas:19
Bahuka
and Adhikakka,20
Gaya and Sundarika,
Payaga and Sarassati,
And the stream Bahumati --
A fool may there forever bathe, Yet will not purify his black deeds.
What
can Sundarika bring to pass?
What can the Payaga and the Bahuka?
They cannot purify an evil-doer,
A man performing brutal and cruel acts.
One
pure in heart has evermore
The Feast of Cleansing21 and the Holy Day;22
One pure in heart who does good deeds
Has his observances perfect for all times.
It
is here, O brahman, that you should bathe23
To make yourself a safe refuge for all beings.
And if you speak no untruth,
Nor work any harm for breathing things,
Nor
take what is not offered,
With faith and with no avarice,
To Gaya gone, what would it do for you?
Let any well your Gaya be!
17.
When this was said, the brahman Sundarika Bharadvaja spoke thus:
"Magnificent,
Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! The Dhamma has been made clear in many
ways by Master Gotama, as though he were righting the overthrown, revealing the
hidden, showing the way to one who is lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark
for those with eyesight to see forms.
18.
"I go to Master Gotama for refuge, and to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha.
May I receive the [first ordination of] going forth under Master Gotama, may I
receive the full admission!
19.
And the brahman Sundarika Bharadvaja received the [first
ordination of] going forth under the Blessed One, and he received the full
admission. And not long after his full admission, dwelling
alone, secluded, diligent, ardent and resolute, the venerable Bharadvaja by his
own realization understood and attained in this very life that supreme goal of
the pure life, for which men of good family go forth from home life into
homelessness. And he had direct knowledge thus: "Birth is exhausted, the
pure life has been lived, the task is done, there is no more of this to
come."
And
the venerable Bharadvaja became one of the Arahats.
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