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Sutta Nipāta 2.12 Sutta Nipāta 2.12Anthology of Discourses 2.12
Nigrodhakappa (vaṅgīsa) sutta VaṅgīsaVaṅgīsa and His Mentor Nigrodhakappa
Evaṁ me sutaṁ—I have heard thatSo I have heard.
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā āḷaviyaṁ viharati aggāḷave cetiye. on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Āḷavī at the Aggāḷava shrine.At one time the Buddha was staying near Āḷavī, at Āḷavī’s premier shrine.
Tena kho pana samayena āyasmato vaṅgīsassa upajjhāyo nigrodhakappo nāma thero aggāḷave cetiye aciraparinibbuto hoti. And on that occasion Ven. Vaṅgīsa’s1 preceptor, an elder named Nigrodha Kappa, had recently totally unbound at the Aggāḷava shrine.Cited in AN 1:148 (1:212) as foremost among the monks in having extemporaneous inspiration. His verses are collected in SN 8 and in Thag 21. He appears in Sn both here and at Sn 3:3.Now at that time it was not long after Venerable Vaṅgīsa’s mentor, the senior monk named Nigrodhakappa, had become fully quenched.
Atha kho āyasmato vaṅgīsassa rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi—Then as Ven. Vaṅgīsa was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in his awareness:Then as Vaṅgīsa was in private retreat this thought came to his mind:
parinibbuto nu kho me upajjhāyo udāhu no parinibbutoti? “Has my preceptor totally unbound, or has he not totally unbound?”“Has my mentor become quenched or not?”
Atha kho āyasmā vaṅgīso sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā vaṅgīso bhagavantaṁ etadavoca—Then, emerging from his seclusion in the late afternoon, Ven. Vaṅgīsa went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One,Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Vaṅgīsa came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:
idha mayhaṁ, bhante, rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi—“Just now, as I was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in my awareness:“Just now, sir, as I was in private retreat this thought came to mind.
parinibbuto nu kho me upajjhāyo, udāhu no parinibbutoti. ‘Has my preceptor totally unbound, or has he not totally unbound?’”‘Has my mentor become quenched or not?’”
Atha kho āyasmā vaṅgīso uṭṭhāyāsanā ekaṁsaṁ cīvaraṁ katvā yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā bhagavantaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi: Then, arranging his robe over one shoulder and placing his hands palm-to-palm over his heart toward the Blessed One, Ven. Vaṅgīsa addressed the Blessed One in verses:Then Venerable Vaṅgīsa rose from his seat, arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his cupped palms toward the Buddha, and addressed him in verse:
“Pucchāmi satthāramanomapaññaṁ, “We ask the Teacher of supreme discernment,“I ask the Teacher unrivaled in wisdom,
Diṭṭheva dhamme yo vicikicchānaṁ chettā; who has cut off uncertainty in the here-&-now:who has cut off all doubts in this very life:
Aggāḷave kālamakāsi bhikkhu, A monk has died at the Aggāḷava shrine—a monk has died at Āḷavī’s premier shrine,
Ñāto yasassī abhinibbutatto. well-known, prestigious, with mind fully unbound.who was well-known, famous, and quenched.
Nigrodhakappo iti tassa nāmaṁ, Nigrodha Kappa was his name,Nigrodhakappa was his name;
Tayā kataṁ bhagavā brāhmaṇassa; given by you, Blessed One, to that brahman.it was given to that brahmin by you, Blessed One.
So taṁ namassaṁ acari mutyapekkho, He went about revering you, intent on release,He wandered in your honor, yearning for freedom,
Āraddhaviriyo daḷhadhammadassī. with persistence aroused, seeing the firm Dhamma.energetic, a resolute Seer of Truth.
Taṁ sāvakaṁ sakya mayampi sabbe, That disciple, Sakyan, All-around Eye,2From Vedic times it was customary to believe that divine beings had total vision of reality because they could see with all parts of their bodies—thus they were ‘all-around eyes.’ At the same time, there was a belief that it was auspicious to gaze into a divine being’s eye, which meant that worshippers were content to see any part of the divine being’s body. Both of these beliefs carried over into Buddhist devotional practice. For more on this point, see DN 16, note 44. See also, Jan Gonda, Eye and Gaze in the Veda.O Sakyan, All-seer,
Aññātumicchāma samantacakkhu; we all, too, want to know:we all wish to know about that disciple.
Samavaṭṭhitā no savanāya sotā, ready to hear are our ears.Our ears are eager to hear,
Tuvaṁ no satthā tvamanuttarosi. You, our teacher: you are unexcelled.for you are the most excellent teacher.
Chindeva no vicikicchaṁ brūhi metaṁ, Cut through our uncertainty. Tell me this,Cut off our doubt, declare this to us;
Parinibbutaṁ vedaya bhūripañña; make known, One of discernment deep, that he was totally unbound.your wisdom is vast, tell us of his quenching!
Majjheva no bhāsa samantacakkhu, Speak in our midst, All-around Eye,All-seer, speak among us,
Sakkova devāna sahassanetto. like Thousand-eyed Sakka, in the midst of the devas.3The word majjhe—‘in the midst’—functions as a lamp here.like the thousand-eyed Sakka in the midst of the gods!
Ye keci ganthā idha mohamaggā, Here, whatever snares there are, paths of delusion,Whatever ties there are, or paths to delusion,
Aññāṇapakkhā vicikicchaṭhānā; siding with not-knowing, bases of uncertainty:or things on the side of unknowing, or that are bases of doubt
Tathāgataṁ patvā na te bhavanti, on reaching the Tathāgata, they don’t exist,vanish on reaching a Realized One,
Cakkhuñhi etaṁ paramaṁ narānaṁ. as that Eye is the foremost of men.for his eye is the best of all people’s.
No ce hi jātu puriso kilese, For if no man were ever to disperse defilements—If no man were ever to disperse corruptions,
Vāto yathā abbhaghanaṁ vihāne; as the wind, a dark mass of clouds—like the wind dispersing the stormclouds,
Tamovassa nivuto sabbaloko, the whole world would be enveloped in darkness.darkness would shroud the whole world;
Na jotimantopi narā tapeyyuṁ. Even brilliant people wouldn’t shine bright.not even brilliant men would shine.
Dhīrā ca pajjotakarā bhavanti, But the enlightened are makers of light.The attentive are bringers of light;
Taṁ taṁ ahaṁ vīra tatheva maññe; Thus I think you’re that, enlightened one.my hero, that is what I think of you.
Vipassinaṁ jānamupāgamumhā, We have come to one who knows through clear-seeing.We’ve come for your discernment and knowledge:
Parisāsu no āvikarohi kappaṁ. Make Kappa shine in our assembly.here in this assembly, declare to us about Kappāyana.
Khippaṁ giraṁ eraya vaggu vagguṁ, Quickly, handsome one, stir your handsome voice.Swiftly send forth your sweet, sweet voice,
Haṁsova paggayha saṇikaṁ nikūja; Like a swan,4 stretching out (its neck), call gentlyReading haṁso’va with the Burmese edition.like a goose stretching its neck, gently honking,
Bindussarena suvikappitena, with rounded tones, well-modulated.lucid-flowing, with lovely tone:
Sabbeva te ujjugatā suṇoma. We all listen to you, sitting upright.alert, we all listen to you.
Pahīnajātimaraṇaṁ asesaṁ, Pleading, I shall get the pure one to speak,You have entirely abandoned birth and death;
Niggayha dhonaṁ vadessāmi dhammaṁ; he whose birth & death are abandoned entirely.curbed and pure, I urge you, speak the Dhamma!
Na kāmakāro hi puthujjanānaṁ, People run-of-the-mill haven’t the power to bring about what they desire,For ordinary people have no wish-granter, Kāmakāro: “wish-granter”. Ordinary people have no spell or magic gem to grant them what they want.
Saṅkheyyakāro ca tathāgatānaṁ. but Tathāgatas have the power to bring about what they have pondered.but Realized Ones have a comprehensibility-granter. Saṅkheyyakāro: “comprehensibility-granter”. Saṅkheyya is “calculable, comprehensible”, not “after comprehension”. The Buddha has a gift for explaining things in a way that makes them comprehensible.
Sampannaveyyākaraṇaṁ tavedaṁ, This, your consummate explanation,Your answer is definitive, and we will adopt it,
Samujjupaññassa samuggahītaṁ; is rightly-grasped, you of discernment rightly straight.for you have perfect understanding.
Ayamañjalī pacchimo suppaṇāmito, This last salutation is offered:We raise our cupped palms one last time,
Mā mohayī jānamanomapañña. knowing, don’t delude us, one of discernment supreme.one of unrivaled wisdom, don’t deliberately confuse us.
Parovaraṁ ariyadhammaṁ viditvā, Understanding the noble Dhamma from high to low,Knowing the teaching of the noble ones from top to bottom,
Mā mohayī jānamanomavīra; knowing, don’t delude us, hero supreme.one of unrivaled energy, don’t deliberately confuse us. Text reads anomavīra (“unrivalled hero”), but read jānamanomavīriya (“one of unrivaled energy”) per Thag 21.1:65.2. The phrase parallels anomapañña (“one of unrivaled wisdom”) and thus is likely to refer to a mental quality.
Vāriṁ yathā ghammani ghammatatto, As if distressed in mind by the heat in the summer,As a man baking in the summer sun would long for water,
Vācābhikaṅkhāmi sutaṁ pavassa. I long for the water of your speech: rain down a torrent.5Reading sutaṁ pavassa, interpreting the ‘u’ as an ‘o’ shortened to fit the meter.I long for your voice, so let the sound rain forth.
Yadatthikaṁ brahmacariyaṁ acarī, Was the holy life he led in line with his aim?Surely Kappāyana did not lead the spiritual life in vain?
Kappāyano kaccissa taṁ amoghaṁ; Kappa—was it not in any way in vain?Did he realize quenching,
Nibbāyi so ādu saupādiseso, Did he unbind with no fuel remaining?6The unbinding element of the arahant who has passed away. See Iti 44.or did he still have a residue?
Yathā vimutto ahu taṁ suṇoma”. Let us hear how he was released.”Let us hear what kind of liberation he had!”
“Acchecchi taṇhaṁ idha nāmarūpe, “Here he cut off craving for name-&-form,“He cut off craving for name and form right here,”
(iti bhagavā) (said the Blessed One)said the Buddha,
Kaṇhassa sotaṁ dīgharattānusayitaṁ; the current of the Dark One, the long-time obsession.“the river of darkness that had long lain within him.
Atāri jātiṁ maraṇaṁ asesaṁ”, He has crossed over birth & death.”He has entirely crossed over birth and death.”
Iccabravī bhagavā pañcaseṭṭho. So spoke the Blessed One, excelling in five.7According to SnA, ‘five’ here stands for the five faculties and other sets of five qualities that led to the Buddha’s awakening.So declared the Blessed One, the leader of the five.
“Esa sutvā pasīdāmi, “Hearing this, I am brightened & calmed,“Now that I have heard your words,
Vaco te isisattama; your word, highest of seers.seventh of seers, I am confident.
Amoghaṁ kira me puṭṭhaṁ, Surely, my question was not in vain,My question, it seems, was not in vain,
Na maṁ vañcesi brāhmaṇo. nor was I deceived by the brahman.the brahmin did not deceive me.
Yathāvādī tathākārī, As he spoke, so he acted:As he said, so he did—
Ahu buddhassa sāvako; he was a disciple of the One Awakened.he was a disciple of the Buddha.
Acchidā maccuno jālaṁ, He has cut through the netHe cut the net of death the deceiver,
Tataṁ māyāvino daḷhaṁ. of deceitful Death, tough & stretched-out.so extended and strong.
Addasā bhagavā ādiṁ, He, Kappiya, saw, Blessed One,Blessed One, Kappāyana saw
Upādānassa kappiyo; the beginning of clinging.the starting point of grasping.
Accagā vata kappāyano, He, Kappayāna,8 has gone beyondKappiya, Kappayāna: Honorific forms of Kappa.He has indeed gone far beyond
Maccudheyyaṁ suduttaran”ti. the realm of Death so very hard to cross.”Death’s dominion so hard to pass.”
Nigrodhakappasuttaṁ dvādasamaṁ. The Nigrodhakappa Sutta, the twelfth.vv. 343–358. See also: DN 16; AN 6:43.