Theravadan

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From: Pali, Bhikkhu Sujato , Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Majjhima Nikāya 29 Middle Discourses 29Middle Discourses 29

Mahāsāropamasutta The Longer Heartwood Simile DiscourseThe Longer Simile of the Heartwood

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—I have heard thatSo I have heard.

ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate acirapakkante devadatte. on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha on Vulture Peak mountain, not long after Devadatta had left.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain, not long after Devadatta had left.

Tatra kho bhagavā devadattaṁ ārabbha bhikkhū āmantesi: Referring to Devadatta, the Blessed One addressed the monks:There the Buddha spoke to the mendicants about Devadatta:

“Idha, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti: “Monks, there is the case where a certain son of good family, out of conviction, goes forth from the home life into homelessness, (thinking,)“Mendicants, take the case of a gentleman who has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness, thinking,

‘otiṇṇomhi jātiyā jarāya maraṇena sokehi paridevehi dukkhehi domanassehi upāyāsehi, dukkhotiṇṇo dukkhapareto, ‘I am beset by birth, by aging-&-death, by sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs, beset by stress, overcome with stress.‘I’m swamped by rebirth, old age, and death; by sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. I’m swamped by suffering, mired in suffering.

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’Hopefully I can make an end to this entire mass of suffering.’

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno lābhasakkārasilokaṁ abhinibbatteti. Having thus gone forth, he encounters gain, offerings, & fame.When they’ve gone forth they generate possessions, honor, and popularity.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve fulfilled.They’re happy with that, and they’ve got all they wished for.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena attānukkaṁseti paraṁ vambheti: Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he exalts himself and disparages others:And they glorify themselves and put others down because of that:

‘ahamasmi lābhasakkārasilokavā, ime panaññe bhikkhū appaññātā appesakkhā’ti. ‘I am a person with gain, offerings, & fame, but these other monks are unknown & of little influence.’‘I’m the one with possessions, honor, and popularity. These other mendicants are obscure and insignificant.’

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena majjati pamajjati pamādaṁ āpajjati, pamatto samāno dukkhaṁ viharati. He is intoxicated with that gain, offerings, & fame, heedless about it, and falls into heedlessness. Being heedless, he dwells in suffering & stress.And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence on account of those possessions, honor, and popularity. And being negligent they live in suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ atikkamma tacaṁ atikkamma papaṭikaṁ, sākhāpalāsaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkameyya ‘sāran’ti maññamāno. “Just as if a man in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood, passing over the inner bark, passing over the outer bark—cutting away the twigs & leaves, were to go off carrying them, thinking, ‘heartwood.’Suppose there was a person in need of heartwood. And while wandering in search of heartwood he’d come across a large tree standing with heartwood. But, passing over the heartwood, softwood, bark, and shoots, he’d cut off the branches and leaves and leave imagining they were heartwood.

Tamenaṁ cakkhumā puriso disvā evaṁ vadeyya: A man with good eyesight, seeing him, would say,If a person with clear eyes saw him they’d say,

‘na vatāyaṁ bhavaṁ puriso aññāsi sāraṁ, na aññāsi phegguṁ, na aññāsi tacaṁ, na aññāsi papaṭikaṁ, na aññāsi sākhāpalāsaṁ. ‘Ah, how this good man didn’t know heartwood, didn’t know sapwood, didn’t know inner bark, didn’t know outer bark, didn’t know twigs & leaves!‘This gentleman doesn’t know what heartwood, softwood, bark, shoots, or branches and leaves are.

Tathā hayaṁ bhavaṁ puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ atikkamma tacaṁ atikkamma papaṭikaṁ, sākhāpalāsaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkanto “sāran”ti maññamāno. That’s why he, in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood, passing over the inner bark, passing over the outer bark—cutting away the twigs & leaves, went off carrying them, thinking, “heartwood.”That’s why he passed them over, cut off the branches and leaves, and left imagining they were heartwood.

Yañcassa sārena sārakaraṇīyaṁ tañcassa atthaṁ nānubhavissatī’ti. Whatever heartwood-business he had with heartwood, his purpose won’t be served.’Whatever he needs to make from heartwood, he won’t succeed.’ …

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, idhekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti: “In the same way, monks, there is the case where a certain son of good family, out of conviction, goes forth from the home life into homelessness, (thinking,)

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno lābhasakkārasilokaṁ abhinibbatteti. Having thus gone forth, he encounters gain, offerings, & fame.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve fulfilled.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti ‘ahamasmi lābhasakkārasilokavā, ime panaññe bhikkhū appaññātā appesakkhā’ti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he exalts himself and disparages others: ‘I am a person with gain, offerings, & fame, but these other monks are unknown & of little influence.’

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu sākhāpalāsaṁ aggahesi brahmacariyassa; This, monks, is called a monk who grasps the twigs & leaves of the holy life,This is called a mendicant who has grabbed the branches and leaves of the spiritual life

tena ca vosānaṁ āpādi. and with that he falls short.and stopped short with that.

Idha pana, bhikkhave, ekacco kulaputto saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajito hoti: “And further, there is the case where a certain son of good family, out of conviction, goes forth from the home life into homelessness, (thinking,)Next, take a gentleman who has gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness …

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attamano hoti na paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is not gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve not fulfilled.They’re not happy with that, and haven’t got all they wished for.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he does not exalt himself or disparage others.They don’t glorify themselves and put others down on account of that.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na majjati nappamajjati na pamādaṁ āpajjati. He is not intoxicated with that gain, offerings, & fame, not heedless about it, and does not fall into heedlessness.Nor do they become indulgent and fall into negligence on account of those possessions, honor, and popularity.

Appamatto samāno sīlasampadaṁ ārādheti. Being heedful, he achieves consummation in virtue.Being diligent, they achieve accomplishment in ethics.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in virtue, his resolve fulfilled.They’re happy with that, and they’ve got all they wished for.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti: Because of that consummation in virtue he exalts himself and disparages others:And they glorify themselves and put others down on account of that:

‘ahamasmi sīlavā kalyāṇadhammo, ime panaññe bhikkhū dussīlā pāpadhammā’ti. ‘I am a person of virtue, with fine qualities, but these other monks are unvirtuous, with evil qualities.’‘I’m the one who is ethical, of good character. These other mendicants are unethical, of bad character.’

So tāya sīlasampadāya majjati pamajjati pamādaṁ āpajjati, pamatto samāno dukkhaṁ viharati. He is intoxicated with that consummation in virtue, heedless about it, and falls into heedlessness. Being heedless, he dwells in suffering & stress.And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding their accomplishment in ethics. And being negligent they live in suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ atikkamma tacaṁ, papaṭikaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkameyya ‘sāran’ti maññamāno. “Just as if a man in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood, passing over the inner bark—cutting away the outer bark, were to go off carrying it, thinking, ‘heartwood.’Suppose there was a person in need of heartwood. And while wandering in search of heartwood he’d come across a large tree standing with heartwood. But, passing over the heartwood, softwood, and bark, he’d cut off the shoots and leave imagining they were heartwood.

Tamenaṁ cakkhumā puriso disvā evaṁ vadeyya: A man with good eyesight, seeing him, would say,If a person with clear eyes saw him they’d say,

Tathā hayaṁ bhavaṁ puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ atikkamma tacaṁ, papaṭikaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkanto “sāran”ti maññamāno; That’s why he, in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood, passing over the inner bark—cutting away the outer bark, went off carrying it, thinking, “heartwood.”That’s why he passed them over, cut off the shoots, and left imagining they were heartwood.

yañcassa sārena sārakaraṇīyaṁ tañcassa atthaṁ nānubhavissatī’ti. Whatever heartwood-business he had with heartwood, his purpose won’t be served.’Whatever he needs to make from heartwood, he won’t succeed.’ …

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno lābhasakkārasilokaṁ abhinibbatteti. Having thus gone forth, he encounters gain, offerings, & fame.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attamano hoti na paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is not gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve not fulfilled.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na majjati nappamajjati na pamādaṁ āpajjati. He is not intoxicated with that gain, offerings, & fame, not heedless about it, and does not fall into heedlessness.

Appamatto samāno sīlasampadaṁ ārādheti. Being heedful, he achieves consummation in virtue.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in virtue, his resolve fulfilled.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti: Because of that consummation in virtue he exalts himself and disparages others:

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu papaṭikaṁ aggahesi brahmacariyassa; This, monks, is called a monk who grasps the outer bark of the holy life,This is called a mendicant who has grabbed the shoots of the spiritual life

tena ca vosānaṁ āpādi. and with that he falls short.and stopped short with that.

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attamano hoti na paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is not gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve not fulfilled.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attamano hoti no ca kho paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in virtue, but his resolve is not fulfilled.

So tāya sīlasampadāya na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that consummation in virtue he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya sīlasampadāya na majjati nappamajjati na pamādaṁ āpajjati. He is not intoxicated with that consummation in virtue, not heedless about it, and does not fall into heedlessness.

Appamatto samāno samādhisampadaṁ ārādheti. Being heedful, he achieves consummation in concentration.Being diligent, they achieve accomplishment in immersion.

So tāya samādhisampadāya attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in concentration, his resolve fulfilled.They’re happy with that, and they’ve got all they wished for.

So tāya samādhisampadāya attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti: Because of that consummation in concentration he exalts himself and disparages others:And they glorify themselves and put others down on account of that:

‘ahamasmi samāhito ekaggacitto, ime panaññe bhikkhū asamāhitā vibbhantacittā’ti. ‘I am concentrated, my mind at singleness, but these other monks are unconcentrated, their minds scattered.’‘I’m the one with immersion and unified mind. These other mendicants lack immersion, they have straying minds.’

So tāya samādhisampadāya majjati pamajjati pamādaṁ āpajjati, pamatto samāno dukkhaṁ viharati. He is intoxicated with that consummation in concentration, heedless about it, and falls into heedlessness. Being heedless, he dwells in suffering & stress.And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding that accomplishment in immersion. And being negligent they live in suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ tacaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkameyya ‘sāran’ti maññamāno. “Just as if a man in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood—cutting away the inner bark, were to go off carrying it, thinking, ‘heartwood.’Suppose there was a person in need of heartwood. And while wandering in search of heartwood he’d come across a large tree standing with heartwood. But, passing over the heartwood and softwood, he’d cut off the bark and leave imagining it was heartwood.

Tamenaṁ cakkhumā puriso disvā evaṁ vadeyya ‘na vatāyaṁ bhavaṁ puriso aññāsi sāraṁ, na aññāsi phegguṁ, na aññāsi tacaṁ, na aññāsi papaṭikaṁ, na aññāsi sākhāpalāsaṁ. A man with good eyesight, seeing him, would say, ‘Ah, how this good man didn’t know heartwood, didn’t know sapwood, didn’t know inner bark, didn’t know outer bark, didn’t know twigs & leaves!If a person with clear eyes saw him they’d say: ‘This gentleman doesn’t know what heartwood, softwood, bark, shoots, or branches and leaves are.

Tathā hayaṁ bhavaṁ puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ atikkamma phegguṁ tacaṁ chetvā ādāya pakkanto “sāran”ti maññamāno. That’s why he, in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood, passing over the sapwood—cutting away the inner bark, went off carrying it, thinking, “heartwood.”That’s why he passed them over, cut off the bark, and left imagining it was heartwood.

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So evaṁ pabbajito samāno lābhasakkārasilokaṁ abhinibbatteti. Having thus gone forth, he encounters gain, offerings, & fame.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attamano hoti na paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is not gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve not fulfilled.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attamano hoti no ca kho paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in virtue, but his resolve is not fulfilled.

So tāya sīlasampadāya na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that consummation in virtue he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya samādhisampadāya attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in concentration, his resolve fulfilled.

So tāya samādhisampadāya attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti: Because of that consummation in concentration he exalts himself and disparages others:

Ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu tacaṁ aggahesi brahmacariyassa; This, monks, is called a monk who grasps the inner bark of the holy life,This is called a mendicant who has grabbed the bark of the spiritual life

tena ca vosānaṁ āpādi. and with that he falls short.and stopped short with that.

appeva nāma imassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa antakiriyā paññāyethā’ti. Perhaps the end of this entire mass of stress might be discerned!’

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attamano hoti na paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is not gratified with that gain, offerings, & fame, his resolve not fulfilled.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that gain, offerings, & fame he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tena lābhasakkārasilokena na majjati nappamajjati na pamādaṁ āpajjati. He is not intoxicated with that gain, offerings, & fame, not heedless about it, and does not fall into heedlessness.

Appamatto samāno sīlasampadaṁ ārādheti. Being heedful, he achieves consummation in virtue.

So tāya sīlasampadāya attamano hoti, no ca kho paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in virtue, but his resolve is not fulfilled.

So tāya sīlasampadāya na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that consummation in virtue he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya samādhisampadāya attamano hoti, no ca kho paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that consummation in concentration, but his resolve is not fulfilled.

So tāya samādhisampadāya na attānukkaṁseti, na paraṁ vambheti. Because of that consummation in concentration he does not exalt himself or disparage others.

So tāya samādhisampadāya na majjati nappamajjati na pamādaṁ āpajjati appamatto samāno ñāṇadassanaṁ ārādheti. He is not intoxicated with that consummation in concentration, not heedless about it, and does not fall into heedlessness. Being heedful, he achieves knowledge & vision.Being diligent, they achieve knowledge and vision.

So tena ñāṇadassanena attamano hoti paripuṇṇasaṅkappo. He is gratified with that knowledge & vision, his resolve fulfilled.They’re happy with that, and they’ve got all they wished for.

So tena ñāṇadassanena attānukkaṁseti, paraṁ vambheti: Because of that knowledge & vision he exalts himself and disparages others:And they glorify themselves and put others down on account of that,

‘ahamasmi jānaṁ passaṁ viharāmi. ‘I dwell knowing & seeing,‘I’m the one who meditates knowing and seeing.

Ime panaññe bhikkhū ajānaṁ apassaṁ viharantī’ti. but these other monks dwell not knowing & not seeing.’These other mendicants meditate without knowing and seeing.’

So tena ñāṇadassanena majjati pamajjati pamādaṁ āpajjati, pamatto samāno dukkhaṁ viharati. He is intoxicated with that knowledge & vision, heedless about it, and falls into heedlessness. Being heedless, he dwells in suffering & stress.And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding that knowledge and vision. And being negligent they live in suffering.

Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ phegguṁ chetvā ādāya pakkameyya ‘sāran’ti maññamāno. “Just as if a man in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood—cutting away the sapwood, were to go off carrying it, thinking, ‘heartwood.’Suppose there was a person in need of heartwood. And while wandering in search of heartwood he’d come across a large tree standing with heartwood. But, passing over the heartwood, he’d cut out the softwood and leave imagining it was heartwood.

Tamenaṁ cakkhumā puriso disvā evaṁ vadeyya: A man with good eyesight, seeing him, would say,If a person with clear eyes saw him they’d say,

‘na vatāyaṁ bhavaṁ puriso aññāsi sāraṁ na aññāsi phegguṁ na aññāsi tacaṁ na aññāsi papaṭikaṁ na aññāsi sākhāpalāsaṁ. ‘Ah, how this good man didn’t know heartwood, didn’t know sapwood, didn’t know inner bark, didn’t know outer bark, didn’t know twigs & leaves!‘This gentleman doesn’t know what heartwood, softwood, bark, shoots, or branches and leaves are.

Tathā hayaṁ bhavaṁ puriso sāratthiko sāragavesī sārapariyesanaṁ caramāno mahato rukkhassa tiṭṭhato sāravato atikkammeva sāraṁ phegguṁ chetvā ādāya pakkanto “sāran”ti maññamāno. That’s why he, in need of heartwood, seeking heartwood, wandering in search of heartwood—passing over the heartwood of a great standing tree possessed of heartwood—cutting away the sapwood, went off carrying it, thinking, “heartwood.”That’s why he passed them over, cut out the softwood, and left imagining it was heartwood.