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Sutta NipÄta 4.8 Sutta NipÄta 4.8Anthology of Discourses 4.8
Pasūrasutta To PasūraWith Pasūra
Idheva suddhÄ« iti vÄdayanti, āOnly here is there purityāāthatās what they sayāāHere alone is purity,ā they say,
NÄƱƱesu dhammesu visuddhimÄhu; āNo other doctrines are pureāāso they say.denying that there is purification in other teachings.
Yaį¹ nissitÄ tattha subhaį¹ vadÄnÄ, Insisting that what they depend on is good,Speaking of the beauty in that which they depend on, Norman has āgoodā for subha, Bodhi āexcellentā, but the Niddesa shows that the sense is āilluminating, bringing wisdomā. The same phrase occurs at Snp 4.13:16.3. Perhaps these are ascetics who rely on the subhavimutti, the ābeautiful releaseā (of jhÄnas). But compare the āultimate splendorā (paramo vaį¹į¹o) propounded by the wanderer SakuludÄyÄ«, which seems to have just an idea without any real basis (MN 79:9.3).
Paccekasaccesu puthÅ« niviį¹į¹hÄ. they are deeply entrenched in idiosyncratic truths.Pacceka-sacca. The word pacceka can also mean singular, personal, or individual. AN 10:20 lists the following views as idiosyncratic truths. āThe cosmos is eternal,ā āThe cosmos is not eternal,ā āThe cosmos is finite,ā āThe cosmos is infinite,ā āThe soul & the body are the same,ā āThe soul is one thing & the body another,ā āAfter death a TathÄgata exists,ā āAfter death a TathÄgata does not exist,ā āAfter death a TathÄgata both does & does not exist,ā āAfter death a TathÄgata neither does nor does not exist.ā These truths are distinct from noble truths, in that the word for ānobleāāariyaācan also mean āuniversal.āeach one is dogmatic about their own idiosyncratic interpretation. Here, as at Snp 4.12:15.3, puthu emphasizes how they all have their own distinct view.
Te vÄdakÄmÄ parisaį¹ vigayha, Seeking controversy, they plunge into an assembly,Desiring debate, they plunge into an assembly,
BÄlaį¹ dahantÄ« mithu aƱƱamaƱƱaį¹; regarding one another as fools.where each takes the other as a fool. Dahanti is to āregardā or āseeā, per Niddesa and Commentary; Bodhiās āaccuseā seems hard to justify.
Vadanti te aƱƱasitÄ kathojjaį¹, Relying on othersā authority, they speak in debate.Relying on others they state their contention,
Pasaį¹sakÄmÄ kusalÄ vadÄnÄ. Desiring praise, they claim to be skilled.desiring praise while claiming to be skilled.
Yutto kathÄyaį¹ parisÄya majjhe, Engaged in disputes in the midst of the assembly,Addicted to debating in the midst of the assembly,
Pasaį¹samicchaį¹ vinighÄti hoti; āanxious, desiring praiseā the one defeated istheir need for praise makes them nervous.
ApÄhatasmiį¹ pana maį¹
ku hoti, chagrined.But when theyāre repudiated they get embarrassed;
NindÄya so kuppati randhamesÄ«. Shaken with criticism, he seeks for an opening.upset at criticism, they find fault in others.
Yamassa vÄdaį¹ parihÄ«namÄhu, He whose doctrine is [judged as] demolished,If their doctrine is said to be weak,
ApÄhataį¹ paƱhavimaį¹sakÄse; defeated, by those judging the issue:and judges declare it repudiated,
Paridevati socati hÄ«navÄdo, He laments, he grievesāthe inferior exponent.the loser weeps and wails,
UpaccagÄ manti anutthunÄti. āHe beat me,ā he mourns.moaning, āThey beat me.ā
Ete vivÄdÄ samaį¹esu jÄtÄ, These disputes have arisen among contemplatives.When these disputes come up among ascetics,
Etesu ugghÄtinighÄti hoti; In them are elation, dejection.they get excited or dejected.
Etampi disvÄ virame kathojjaį¹, Seeing this, one should abstain from disputes,Seeing this, refrain from contention,
Na haƱƱadatthatthi pasaį¹salÄbhÄ. for they have no other goal than the gaining of praise.for the only purpose is praise and profit.
Pasaį¹sito vÄ pana tattha hoti, While he who is praised thereBut if, having declared their doctrine,
AkkhÄya vÄdaį¹ parisÄya majjhe; for expounding his doctrine in the midst of the assembly,they are praised there in the midst of the assembly,
So hassatī unnamatī ca tena, laughs on that account & grows haughty,they laugh and gloat because of it,
Pappuyya tamatthaį¹ yathÄ mano ahu. attaining his heartās desire.having got what they wanted.
YÄ unnatÄ« sÄssa vighÄtabhÅ«mi, That haughtiness will be grounds for his damage,Their pride is their downfall,
MÄnÄtimÄnaį¹ vadate paneso; for heāll speak in pride & conceit.yet they speak from conceit and arrogance.
Etampi disvÄ na vivÄdayetha, Seeing this, one should abstain from debates.Seeing this, one ought not dispute,
Na hi tena suddhiį¹ kusalÄ vadanti. No purity is attained by them, say the skilled.for those who are skilled say this is no way to purity.
SÅ«ro yathÄ rÄjakhÄdÄya puį¹į¹ho, Like a strong man nourished on royal food,As a warrior, after feasting on royal food, A similar idea is found at SN 56.40.
Abhigajjameti paį¹isÅ«ramicchaį¹; you prowl about, roaring, searching out an opponent.goes roaring, looking for someone to fightā
Yeneva so tena palehi sūra, Wherever the battle is, go there, strong man.go off and find an opponent, Sūra,
Pubbeva natthi yadidaį¹ yudhÄya. As before, thereās none here.for here, as before, there is no one to combat.
Ye diį¹į¹himuggayha vivÄdayanti, Those who dispute, taking hold of a view,When someone disputes about a view theyāve adopted,
Idameva saccanti ca vÄdayanti; saying, āThis, and this only, is true,āsaying, āThis is the only truth,ā
Te tvaį¹ vadassÅ« na hi tedha atthi, those you can talk to.say to them, āHere youāll have no adversary
VÄdamhi jÄte paį¹isenikattÄ. Here there is nothingāno confrontation at the birth of disputes.See AN 10:93.when a dispute has come up.ā
VisenikatvÄ pana ye caranti, among those who live above confrontationāThere are those who live far from the crowd,
Diį¹į¹hÄ«hi diį¹į¹hiį¹ avirujjhamÄnÄ; not pitting view against viewānot countering views with view.
Tesu tvaį¹ kiį¹ labhetho pasÅ«ra, Whom would you gain as opponent, PasÅ«ra,Who is there to argue with you, PasÅ«ra, The Sanskrit here has the name SÄ«haÅÅ«ra.
YesÄ«dha natthÄ« paramuggahÄ«taį¹. who have nothing here grasped as supreme?among those who grasp nothing here as the highest?
Atha tvaį¹ pavitakkamÄgamÄ, So here you come, conjecturing,And so you come along speculating,
ManasÄ diį¹į¹higatÄni cintayanto; your mind thinking up viewpoints.thinking up theories in your mind.
Dhonena yugaį¹ samÄgamÄ, Youāre paired off with a pure oneNow that youāve challenged someone who is cleansed, Here, yuga is connected in the Niddesa with yugaggÄha (ātaking the reinsā), which in turn is connected in Vb 17:75.2 with ācausing disputesā. It seems to be an idiom for āissuing a challengeā.
Na hi tvaį¹ sakkhasi sampayÄtaveti. and so cannot proceed.āyouāll not be able to respond. Sakkhasi is 2nd future, sampayÄtave is infinitive. SampÄyati is a fairly common word, āanswer a questionā, usually in a negative sense, to be āstumpedā by a question. Oddly, most translators (Bodhi, Norman, ĆÄį¹adÄ«pa, į¹¬hÄnissaro) donāt catch this sense.
PasÅ«rasuttaį¹ aį¹į¹hamaį¹. To PasÅ«ra, the eighth.vv. 824ā834. On the Buddha as a debater, see Skill in Questions, chapter 5. See also: MN 18; MN 36; MN 58; MN 101; SN 42:8; AN 2:36; AN 3:62; AN 3:68; AN 3:73.