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Sutta NipÄta 2.5 Sutta NipÄta 2.5Anthology of Discourses 2.5
SÅ«cilomasutta SucilomaThis sutta is identical with SN 10:3.With Spiky
Evaį¹ me sutaį¹āI have heard thatSo I have heard.
ekaį¹ samayaį¹ bhagavÄ gayÄyaį¹ viharati į¹aį¹
kitamaƱce sÅ«cilomassa yakkhassa bhavane. on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in GayÄ at į¹¬aį¹
kitamaƱca, the haunt of Suciloma the yakkha.At one time the Buddha was staying near GayÄ on the cut-stone ledge in the haunt of Spiky the native spirit.
Tena kho pana samayena kharo ca yakkho sÅ«cilomo ca yakkho bhagavato avidÅ«re atikkamanti. And on that occasion Khara the yakkha and Suciloma the yakkha passed by not far from the Blessed One.Now at that time the native spirits Shaggy and Spiky were passing by not far from the Buddha. āShaggyā is khara and āSpikyā is sÅ«ciloma, literally āneedle-hairā. Some yakkhas are magnificent kings or warriors, but this pair are more like grotesque demons (rakkhasas), a stereotype that bedeviled yakį¹£as of later times. Khara is found for a number of demons in Sanskrit. We donāt find suciloma, but compare the demons Khara and his twin sister, the ugly and mutilated ÅÅ«rpaį¹akhÄ (āwicker-nailsā).
Atha kho kharo yakkho sÅ«cilomaį¹ yakkhaį¹ etadavoca: Then Khara the yakkha said to Suciloma the yakkha:So Shaggy said to Spiky,
āeso samaį¹oāti. āThatās a contemplative.āāThatās an ascetic.ā
āNeso samaį¹o, samaį¹ako eso. āThatās not a contemplative. Thatās a fake contemplative.āThatās no ascetic, heās a faker!
YÄvÄhaį¹ jÄnÄmi yadi vÄ so samaį¹o, yadi vÄ so samaį¹akoāti. Iāll find out whether thatās a contemplative or a fake contemplative.āIāll soon find out whether heās an ascetic or a faker.ā
Atha kho sÅ«cilomo yakkho yena bhagavÄ tenupasaį¹
kami; upasaį¹
kamitvÄ bhagavato kÄyaį¹ upanÄmesi. So Suciloma the yakkha approached the Blessed One and on arrival leaned his body up against the Blessed One.Then Spiky went up to the Buddha and leaned up against his body,
Atha kho bhagavÄ kÄyaį¹ apanÄmesi. The Blessed One leaned his body away.but the Buddha pulled away.
Atha kho sÅ«cilomo yakkho bhagavantaį¹ etadavoca: So Suciloma the yakkha said to the Blessed One:Then Spiky said to the Buddha,
ābhÄyasi maį¹, samaį¹Äāti? āAre you afraid of me, contemplative?āāAre you afraid, ascetic?ā
āNa khvÄhaį¹ taį¹, Ävuso, bhÄyÄmi; āNo, Iām not afraid of you, friend,āNo, respectable sir, Iām not afraid.
api ca te samphasso pÄpakoāti. just that your touch is evil.āBut your touch is nasty.ā
āPaƱhaį¹ taį¹, samaį¹a, pucchissÄmi. āI will ask you a question, contemplative.āI will ask you a question, ascetic.
Sace me na byÄkarissasi, cittaį¹ vÄ te khipissÄmi, hadayaį¹ vÄ te phÄlessÄmi, pÄdesu vÄ gahetvÄ pÄragaį¹
gÄya khipissÄmÄ«āti. If you canāt answer me, I will hurl out your mind or rip open your heart or, grabbing you by the feet, hurl you across the Ganges.āIf you donāt answer me, Iāll drive you insane, or explode your heart, or grab you by the feet and throw you to the far shore of the Ganges!ā Considering the Ganges is 100 km away, this is even more impressive.
āNa khvÄhaį¹ taį¹, Ävuso, passÄmi sadevake loke samÄrake sabrahmake sassamaį¹abrÄhmaį¹iyÄ pajÄya sadevamanussÄya yo me cittaį¹ vÄ khipeyya hadayaį¹ vÄ phÄleyya pÄdesu vÄ gahetvÄ pÄragaį¹
gÄya khipeyya. āMy friend, I see no one in the cosmos with its devas, MÄras, & BrahmÄs, in this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its royalty & commonfolk, who could hurl out my mind or rip open my heart or, grabbing me by the feet, hurl me across the Ganges.āI donāt see anyone in this world with its gods, MÄras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans who could do that to me.
Api ca tvaį¹, Ävuso, puccha yadÄkaį¹
khasÄ«āti. But nevertheless, ask me what you wish.āBut anyway, ask what you wish.ā
Atha kho sÅ«cilomo yakkho bhagavantaį¹ gÄthÄya ajjhabhÄsi: So Suciloma the yakkha addressed the Blessed One in verse:Then Spiky addressed the Buddha in verse:
āRÄgo ca doso ca kutonidÄnÄ, āPassion & aversion come from what cause?āWhere do greed and hate come from? Despite their savage demeanor, they pivot right away to deep Dhamma questions. This kind of rapid pivot is characteristic of such conversion narratives.
AratÄ« ratÄ« lomahaį¹so kutojÄ; Displeasure, delight, horripilation are born from what?From where spring discontent, desire, and terror?
Kuto samuį¹į¹hÄya manovitakkÄ, Arising from what do thoughts fling the mind around,Where do the mindās thoughts originate,
KumÄrakÄ dhaį¹
kamivossajantiā. as boys, a (captive) crow?ālike a crow let loose by boys.ā
āRÄgo ca doso ca itonidÄnÄ, āPassion & aversion come from this1 as a cause;According to SnA, āthisā is oneās own self-state (attabhÄva), left unidentified in the verse. However, it seems more likely that āthisā refers to the affection born, in turn, from oneās own mind/self (see note 2) as mentioned after the simile of the boys with the captive crow. See DN 21, Sn 4:11, and the introduction to MN 18.āGreed and hate come from here;
AratÄ« ratÄ« lomahaį¹so itojÄ; displeasure, delight, horripilation are born from this;from here spring discontent, desire, and terror;
Ito samuį¹į¹hÄya manovitakkÄ, arising from this thoughts fling the mind around,hereās where the mindās thoughts originate,
KumÄrakÄ dhaį¹
kamivossajanti. as boys, a (captive) crow:like a crow let loose by boys.
SnehajÄ attasambhÅ«tÄ, Theyāre born from affection arisen from the mind, from oneself,2āThe mind, oneselfā renders two meanings of the Pali word, attan.Born of affection, originating in oneself,
Nigrodhasseva khandhajÄ; like the trunk-born (shoots) of a banyan tree,like prop roots sprouting from a banyan; The banyan is ātrunk-bornā (khandhaja) in two ways. As an epiphyte, it is sometimes called the āstrangler figā, since it grows around the trunk of a previous tree, strangling it. Then the banyan sends out aerial roots from the branches; when they reach the ground they establish themselves as supportive trunks known as āprop rootsā, so that even if original trunk dies, the tree survives. Thus the tree itself is ātrunk-bornā and its multiple prop roots are also ātrunk-bornā. Grammar and commentary indicate the second sense is meant here. The metaphor is even more apt, since the word nigrodha (ābanyanā) means ādown-growerā, as the tree grows not to the sky but back into the earth.
PuthÅ« visattÄ kÄmesu, thick, attached to sensuality,the many kinds of attachment to sensual pleasures
MÄluvÄva vitatÄvane. like a mÄluva vine spread in a forest.are like camelās foot creeper creeping through the woods. The ācamelās foot creeperā (mÄluva) takes root and grows over the tree, ultimately engulfing and destroying it (MN 45:4.1).
Ye naį¹ pajÄnanti yatonidÄnaį¹, Those who discern where itās bornThose who understand where they come from
Te naį¹ vinodenti suį¹ohi yakkha; drive it outālisten, yakkha!dispel themālisten up, spirit!
Te duttaraį¹ oghamimaį¹ taranti, They cross over this flood, so hard to cross,They cross this flood so hard to cross,
Atiį¹į¹apubbaį¹ apunabbhavÄyÄāti. never crossed before, for the sake of no further becoming.ānot crossed before, so as to not be reborn.ā
SÅ«cilomasuttaį¹ paƱcamaį¹. The Suciloma Sutta, the fifth.See also: Dhp 1ā2; Dhp 347; Ud 1:7; Ud 4:4.