IX. POTTHAPÂDA SUTTA.
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[THE SOUL THEORY.]
[178] 1. Thus have I heard. The Exalted One was once staying at Sâvatthi in Anâtha Pindika's pleasaunce in the Geta Wood. Now at that time Potthapâda{1}, the wandering mendicant, was dwelling at the hall put up in Queen Mallikâ's park for the discussion of systems of opinion--the hall set round with a row of Tinduka trees, and known by the name of 'The Hall{2}.' And there was with him a great following of mendicants; to wit, three hundred mendicants.
2{3}. Now the Exalted One, who had put on his under garment in the early morning, proceeded in his robes, and with his bowl in his hand, into Sâvatthi for alms.
{1. This, for the reasons given above at p. 195, is probably a gotta name; and, as such, a patronymic from the personal name, also Potthapâda, meaning 'born under Potthapâda (the old name for the 25th lunar asterism, afterwards called Bhadrapadâ). Buddhaghosa says that as a layman he had been a wealthy man of the Brahman Vanna. If so, it is noteworthy that he addresses the Buddha, not as Gotama, but as bhante.
2. The very fact of the erection of such a place is another proof of the freedom of thought prevalent in the Eastern valley of the Ganges in the sixth century B.C. Buddhaghosa tells us that after 'The Hall' had been established, others near it had been built in honour of various famous teachers; but the group of buildings continued to be known as 'The Hall.' There Brahmans, Niganthas, Akelas, Paribbâgakas, and other teachers met and expounded, or discussed, their views.
It is mentioned elsewhere. See M. II, 22; Sum. I, 32.
Mallikâ was one of the queens of Pasenadi, king of Kosala. See Gat. III, 405; IV, 437.
3. §§ 2-6 recur, nearly, at M. I, 513; II, 1, 2; S. IV, 398.}
And he thought: 'It is too early now to enter Sâvatthi for alms. Let me go to the Hall, the debating hall in the Mallikâ Park, where Potthapâda is.' And he did so.
3. Now at that time Potthapâda was seated with the company of the mendicants all talking with loud voices, with shouts and tumult, all sorts of worldly talk: to wit, tales of kings, of robbers, of ministers of state; tales of war, of terrors, of battles; talks about foods and drinks, about clothes and beds and garlands and perfumes; talks about relationships; talks about equipages, villages, towns, cities, and countries; tales about women and heroes; gossip such as that at street corners, and places whence water is fetched; ghost stories; desultory chatter; legends about the creation of the land or sea; and speculations about existence and non-existence{1}.
[179] 4. And Potthapâda, the mendicant, caught sight of the Exalted One approaching in the distance. And at the sight of him he called the assembly to order, saying: 'Be still, venerable Sirs, and make no noise. Here is the Samana Gotama coming. Now that venerable one delights in quiet, and speaks in praise of quietude. How well it were if, seeing how quiet the assembly is, he should see fit to join us!' And when he spake thus, the mendicants kept silence.
5. Now the Exalted One came on to where Potthapâda, the mendicant was. And the latter said to him:
'May the Exalted One come near. We bid him welcome. It is long since the Exalted One took the departure{2} of coming our way. Let him take a seat. Here is a place spread ready.'
And the Exalted One sat down. And Potthapâda, the mendicant, brought a low stool, and sat down beside him. And to him thus seated the Exalted One said:
{1. For notes on this list, see above, p. 14 {p. 13}, § 17.
2. Idhâgamanâya pariyâyam akâsi. So M. I, 252, 326, 481, 514, &c. Perhaps 'since you made this change in your regular habits.'}
'What was the subject, Potthapâda, that you were seated here together to discuss; and what was the talk among you that has been interrupted?'
6. And when he had thus spoken, Potthapâda said:
'Never mind, Sir, the subject we were seated together to discuss. There will be no difficulty in the Exalted One hearing afterwards about that. But long ago, Sir, on several occasions, when various teachers, Samanas and Brahmans, had met together, and were seated in the debating hall, the talk fell on trance{1}, and the question was: [180] "How then, Sirs, is the cessation of consciousness brought about?"
'Now on that some said thus: "Ideas come to a man without a reason and without a cause, and so also do they pass away. At the time when they spring up within him, then he becomes conscious; when they pass away, then he becomes unconscious." Thus did they explain the cessation of consciousness.
'On that another said: "That, Sirs, will never be so as you say. Consciousness, Sirs, is a man's soul. It is the soul that comes and goes. When the soul comes into a man then he becomes conscious, when the soul goes away out of a man then he becomes unconscious." Thus do others explain the cessation of consciousness{2}.
'On that another said: "That, Sirs, will never be as you say. But there are certain Samanas and Brahmans of great power and influence. It is they who infuse consciousness into a man, and draw it away out of him. When they infuse it into him he becomes conscious, when they draw it away he becomes unconscious." Thus do others explain the cessation of consciousness{3}.
{1. Abhisaññâ-nirodho, 'the cessation of consciousness.'
2. Buddhaghosa explains that they came to this conclusion on the ground of such instances as that of the Rishi Migasingî, who, through love of the celestial nymph Alambusâ, fell into a trance that lasted for three years. This must be a different tale from that of the Rishi Isisinga of Gâtaka No. 523, whom Alambusâ tries in vain to seduce. Compare Vimâna Vatthu XVIII, 11; L, 26.
3. Buddhaghosa explains that the ground for this view is the way in which sorcerers work charms (Athabbanikâ athabbanam payogenti-perhaps 'Atharva priests work out an Atharva charm') which make a man appear as dead as if his head had been cut off; and then bring him back to his natural condition.}
'Then, Sir, the memory of the Exalted One arose in me, and I thought: "Would that the Exalted One, would that the Happy One were here, he who is so skilled in these psychical states." For the Exalted One would know how trance is brought about{1}.' How, then, Sir, is there cessation of consciousness?'
7. 'Well, as to that, Potthapâda, those Samanas and Brahmans who said that ideas come to a man and pass away without a reason, and without a cause, are wrong from the very commencement. For it is precisely through a reason, by means of a cause, that ideas come and go. [181] By training some ideas arise. By training others pass away.
'And what is that training?' continued the Exalted One.
[He then sets out the first part of the system of self-training for the Bhikkhu, as translated above, pp. 78-84, from the Sâmañña-phala, as follows:--
1. The introductory paragraphs on the appearance of a Buddha, his preaching, the conviction of a hearer and his renunciation of the world.
2. The tract on the Sîlas, the minor details of mere morality.
3. The paragraphs on Confidence.
4. The paragraphs on 'Guarded is the door of his senses.'
5. The paragraphs on 'Mindful and Self-possessed.'
6. The paragraphs on Solitude.
7. The paragraphs on the conquest of the Five Hindrances.
And goes on:]
[182] 10. 'But when he has realised that these Five Hindrances have been put away from within him, a gladness springs up within him, and joy arises to him thus gladdened, and so rejoicing all his frame
{1. Saññâ-nirodhassa pakataññû. So Buddhaghosa. Compare Vin. II, 199.}
becomes at ease, and being thus at ease he is filled with a sense of peace, and in that peace his heart is stayed. Then estranged from lusts, aloof from evil dispositions, he enters into and remains in the First Rapture (the First Ghâna)--a state of joy and ease born of detachment, reasoning and investigation going on the while. Then that idea, (that consciousness){1}, of lusts, that he had before, passes away. And thereupon there arises within him a subtle, but actual, consciousness of the joy and peace arising from detachment, and he becomes a person to whom that idea is consciously present.
'Thus is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
11. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, suppressing all reasoning and investigation, enters into and abides in the Second Rapture (the Second Ghâna)--a state of joy and ease, born of the serenity of concentration, when no reasoning or investigation goes on, a state of elevation of mind, a tranquillisation of the heart within. Then that subtle, but actual, consciousness of the joy and peace arising from detachment, that he just had, passes away. And thereupon there arises a subtle, but actual, consciousness of the joy and peace born of concentration. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
[183] 'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
12. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, holding aloof from joy, becomes equable; and, mindful and self-possessed, he experiences in his body that ease which the Arahats talk of when they say: "The man serene and self-possessed is well at ease." And so he enters
{1. Saññâ which is used in a sense covering both 'idea' and' consciousness.' Ekâ saññâ is therefore rendered below, in the refrain, 'one idea, one sort of consciousness.'}
into and abides in the Third Rapture (the Third Ghâna). Then that subtle, but yet actual, consciousness, that he just had, of the joy and peace born of concentration, passes away. And thereupon there arises a subtle, but yet actual, consciousness of the bliss of equanimity. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
13. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, by the putting away alike of ease and of pain, by the passing away of any joy, any elation, he had previously felt, enters into and abides in the Fourth Rapture (the Fourth Ghâna)--a state of pure self-possession and equanimity, without pain and without ease. Then that subtle, but yet actual, consciousness, that he just had, of the bliss of equanimity, passes away. And thereupon there arises to him a subtle, but yet actual, consciousness of the absence of pain, and of the absence of ease{1}. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
14. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, by passing beyond the consciousness of form, by putting an end to the sense of resistance, by paying no heed to the idea of distinction, thinking: "The space is infinite," reaches up to and remains in the mental state in which
{1. Sukha and dukkha. Well-fare and ill-fare, well-being and ill-being, ease and dis-ease, uneasiness, discomfort. 'Pain' is both too strong a word, and has too frequently an exclusively physical sense, to be a good rendering of dukkha. It is unfortunate that dis-ease has acquired a special connotation which prevents the word being used here; and that we have no pair of correlative words corresponding to those in the Pâli. For pain we have vedanâ often (M. I, 10; M. P. S., chapters 2 and 4; Mil. 134), and sometimes dukkha-vedanâ (Mil. 112).}
the mind is concerned only with the consciousness of the infinity of space. Then the consciousness, that he previously had, of form passes away, and there arises in him the blissful consciousness, subtle but yet actual, of his being concerned only with the infinity of space. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
[184] 15. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, by passing quite beyond the consciousness of space as infinite, thinking: "Cognition{1} is infinite," reaches up to and remains in the mental state in which the mind is concerned only with the infinity of cognition. Then the subtle, but yet actual, consciousness, that he just had, of the infinity of space, passes away. And there arises in him a consciousness, subtle but yet actual, of everything being within the sphere of the infinity of cognition. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
16. 'And again, Potthapâda, the Bhikkhu, by passing quite beyond the consciousness of the infinity of cognition, thinking: "There is nothing that really is," reaches up to and remains in the mental state in which the mind is concerned only with the unreality of things. Then that sense of everything being within the sphere of infinite cognition, that he just had, passes away. And there arises in him a consciousness, subtle but yet actual, of unreality as the object of his thought{2}. And he becomes a person conscious of that.
{1. Viññâna; the exact translation of this word is still uncertain. Perhaps 'mind' is meant.
2. On these last three sections, which set out the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages of Deliverance (the Vimokkhas), see my former translation at p. 52 of my 'Buddhist Suttas' (S. B. E.) and the notes on pp. 50, 51. These stages are almost exactly the same as the views controverted above at pp. 47, 48. And the doctrine of the sixth Vimokkha, as we see from M. I, 164, formed part of the teaching of Gotama's teacher, Âlâra Kâlâma.}
'Thus also is it that through training one idea, one sort of consciousness, arises; and through training another passes away. This is the training I spoke of,' said the Exalted One.
17. 'So from the time, Potthapâda, that the Bhikkhu is thus conscious in a way brought about by himself (from the time of the First Rapture), he goes on from one stage to the next, and from that to the next until he reaches the summit of consciousness. And then he is on the summit it may occur to him: "To be thinking at all is the inferior state. 'Twere better not to be thinking. Were I to go on thinking and fancying{1}, these ideas, these states of consciousness, I have reached to, would pass away, but others, coarser ones, might arise. So I will neither think nor fancy any more." And he does not. And to him neither thinking any more, nor fancying, the ideas, the states of consciousness, he had, pass away; and no others, coarser than they, arise. So he touches cessation. Thus is it, Potthapâda, that the attainment of the cessation of conscious ideas takes place step by step.
18. 'Now what do you think, Potthapâda? Have you ever heard, before this, of this gradual attainment of the cessation of conscious ideas?'
'No, Sir, I have not. But I now understand what you say as follows: [and he repeated the words of section 17.]'
'That is right, Potthapâda{2}.'
[185] 19. 'And does the Exalted One teach that there is one summit of consciousness, or that there are several?'
{1. Abhisamkhareyyam, perhaps 'perfecting' or 'planning out.'
2. The foregoing discussion on trance is the earliest one on that subject in Indian literature. Trance is not mentioned in the pre-Buddhistic Upanishads.}
'In my opinion, Potthapâda, there is one, and there are also several.'
'But how can the Exalted teach that there both is one, and that there are also several?'
'As he attains to the cessation (of one idea, one state of consciousness) after another, so does he reach, one after another, to different summits up to the last. So is it, Potthapâda, that I put forward both one summit and several.'
20. 'Now is it, Sir, the idea, the state of consciousness, that arises first, and then knowledge; or does knowledge arise first, and then the idea, the state of consciousness; or do both arise simultaneously, neither of them before or after the other?'
'It is the idea, Potthapâda, the state of consciousness, that arises first, and after that knowledge. And the springing up of knowledge is dependent on the springing up of the idea, of the state of consciousness{1}. And this may be understood from the fact that a man recognises: "It is from this cause or that that knowledge has arisen to me."'
21. 'Is then, Sir, the consciousness identical with a man's soul, or is consciousness one thing, and the soul another{2}?'
'But what then, Potthapâda? Do you really fall back on the soul?'
[186] 'I take for granted{3}, Sir, a material soul, having
{1. Ñâna depends on saññâ; that is, I take it, that the mass of knowledge a man has, his insight, his power of judgment, depends on the ideas, the states of consciousness (here, in this connection, those that arise in the Ghânas, &c.) that are themselves due to the action on his sense organs of the outside world; but are in so far under his own control that he can shut out some, and give play to others.
2. Buddhaghosa says that as a village pig, even if you bathe it in scented water, and anoint it with perfumes, and deck it with garlands, and lay it to rest on the best bed, will not feel happy there, but will go straight back to the dung-heap to take its ease; so Potthapâda, having tasted the sweet taste of the doctrine of the Three Signs (of the impermanence, the pain, and the absence of any abiding principle) found in everythiug, harks back to the superstition of the 'soul.'
3. Pakkemi. This is another of the words the exact sense of which, in Pitaka times, is still doubtful. It means primarily 'to goback towards, to revert,' and is so used in the Pitakas. So in G. V, 196 and in S N. 662 (quoted as verse 125 in the Dhammapada, and recurring also G. III, 203; S. I, 13, 164). But somewhat in the same way as to go back home is to go to a place of security; so in a secondary sense, of opinions or reasons. it means apparently to revert to them, fall back on them, harp on them, with the connotation of regarding them as certain. At S. N. 803 it can be taken either way. At S. N. 788, 803, 840 = 908; M. I, 309, 445, and in the question and answer here, the latter seems to be the sense.}
form, built up of the four elements, nourished by solid food{1}.'
'And if there were such a soul, Potthapâda, then, even so, your consciousness would be one thing, and your soul another. That, Potthapâda, you may know by the following considerations. Granting, Potthapâda, a material soul, having form, built up of the four elements, nourished by solid food; still some ideas, some states of consciousness, would arise to the man, and others would pass away. On this account also, Potthapâda, you can see how consciousness must be one thing. and soul another.'
22. 'Then, Sir, I fall back on a soul made of mind, with all its major and minor parts complete, not deficient in any organ{2}.'
'And granting, Potthapâda, you had such a soul, the same argument would apply{3}.'
[187] 23. 'Then, Sir, I fall back on a soul without form, and made of consciousness.'
'And granting, Potthapâda, you had such a soul, still the same argument would apply{3}.'
{1. Buddhaghosa says this was not his real opinion. He held to that set out below in § 23. But he advances this, more elementary, proposition, just to see how the Buddha would meet it. It is nearly the same as the first of the seven propositions about the soul controverted in the Brahma-gâla (above, pp. 46-48).
2. This sort of soul is nearly the same as the one referred to above, in the Brahma-gâla (§ 12, p. 47); and in the Samaññâ-phala (§ 85, p. 87). It is a soul the exact copy, in every respect, of the body, and material, but so subtle that it can be described as 'made of mind.'
3. The text repeats the answer given in § 21. with the necessary alterations. The supposition in § 23 is quoted at Asl. 360. The argument is of course that, even if Potthapâda had any one of these three sorts of soul, then he would regard each of them, in the given case, as a permanent entity. But the consciousness is not an entity. It is a 'becoming' only; subject, as he must (and would) admit, to constant change. On his own showing then, it is not 'soul.'}
24. 'But is it possible, Sir, for me to understand whether consciousness is the man's soul, or the one is different from the other?'
'Hard is it for you, Potthapâda, holding, as you do, different views, other things approving themselves to you, setting different aims before yourself, striving after a different perfection, trained in a different system of doctrine, to grasp this matter!'
25-27. 'Then, Sir, if that be so, tell me at least: "Is the world eternal? Is this alone the truth, and any other view mere folly?"'
'That, Potthapâda, is a matter on which I have expressed no opinion.'
[Then, in the same terms, Potthapâda asked each of the following questions;--
2. Is the world not eternal?--
3. Is the world finite?--
4. Is the world infinite?--
[188] 5. Is the soul the same as the body?--
6. Is the soul one thing, and the body another?--
7. Does one who has gained the truth live again after death?--
8. Does he not live again after death?--
9. Does he both live again, and not live again, after death?--
10. Does he neither live again, nor not live again, after death?--
And to each question the Exalted One made the same reply:--]{1}
'That too, Potthapâda, is a matter on which I have expressed no opinion.'
28. 'But why has the Exalted One expressed no opinion on that?'
'This question is not calculated to profit, it is not
{1. On these Ten Indeterminates see above, in the Introduction to the Mahâli Sutta.}
concerned with the Norm (the Dhamma), it does not redound even to the elements of right conduct, nor to detachment, nor to purification from lusts, nor to quietude, nor to tranquillisation of heart, nor to real knowledge, nor to the insight (of the higher stages of the Path), nor to Nirvâna. Therefore is it that I express no opinion upon it.'
[189] 29. 'Then what is it that the Exalted One has determined?'
'I have expounded, Potthapâda, what pain{1} is; I have expounded what is the origin of pain; I have expounded what is the cessation of pain; I have expounded what is the method by which one may reach the cessation of pain{2}.'
30. 'And why has the Exalted One put forth a statement as to that?'
'Because that question, Potthapâda, is calculated to profit, is concerned with the Norm, redounds to the beginnings of right conduct, to detachment, to purification from lusts, to quietude, to tranquillisation of heart, to real knowledge, to the insight of the higher stages of the Path, and to Nirvâna. Therefore is it, Potthapâda, that I have put forward a statement as to that.'
'That is so, O Exalted One. That is so, O Happy One. And now let the Exalted One do what seemeth to him fit.'
And the Exalted One rose from his seat, and departed thence.
31. Now no sooner had the Exalted One gone away than those mendicants bore down upon Potthapâda, the mendicant, from all sides with a torrent of jeering and biting words{3}, saying: I Just so, forsooth, this Potthapâda gives vent to approval of whatsoever the Samana
{1. Dukkha. See the note above on § 13.
2. These are the Four Truths, set out more fully in my 'Buddhist Suttas' (S. B. E.), pp. 148-150.
3. Vâkaya sannitodakena sañgambharim akamsu. So also at S. II, 282 and A. I, 187. Probably from the roots tud and gambh.}
Gotama says, with his: "That is so, O Exalted One. That is so, O Happy One." Now we, on the other hand, fail to see that the Samana Gotama has put forward any doctrine that is distinct with regard to any one of the ten points raised.' And they went through them all in detail.
[190] But when they spake thus Potthapâda, the mendicant, replied: 'Neither do I see that he puts forward, as certain, any proposition with respect to those points. But the Samana Gotama propounds a method in accordance with the nature of things, true and fit, based on the Norm, and certain by reason of the Norm. And how could I refuse to approve, as well said, what has been so well said by the Samana Gotama as he propounded that?'
32. Now after the lapse of two or three days Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer{1}, and Potthapâda, the mendicant, came to the place where the Exalted One was staying. And on their arrival Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer, bowed low to the Exalted One, and took his seat on one side. And Potthapâda, the mendicant, exchanged with the Exalted One the greetings and compliments of courtesy and friendship, and took his seat on one side, and when he was so seated he told the Exalted One how the mendicants had jeered at him, and how he had replied.
[191] 33. 'All those mendicants, Potthapâda, are blind, and see not. You are the only one, with eyes to see, among them. Some things, Potthapâda, I have laid down as certain, other things I have declared uncertain.
{1. There are seven or eight Kittas in the books, one of whom, a layman, was placed by the Buddha at the head of the expounders of the Norm. The Kitta of our passage was famous for the fact that he joined the Buddha's Order, and then, on one pretext or another, left it again, no less than seven times. (The same thing is related by I-Tsing of Bhartrihari.) He prided himself on his keenness in distinguishing subtle differences in the meanings of words. And his last revolt was owing to a discussion of that sort he had had with Mahâ Kotthita. He took refuge with his friend Potthapâda, who, says Buddhaghosa, brought him along with him, on this occasion, with the express purpose of bringing about a reconciliation.}
The latter are those ten questions that you raised, and for the reasons given I hold them matters of uncertainty. The former are the Four Truths I expounded, and for the reasons given I hold them to be matters of certainty.
[192] 34. 'There are some Samanas and Brahmans, Potthapâda, who hold the following opinion, indulge in the following speculation: "The soul is perfectly happy and healthy after death." And I went to them, and asked them whether that was their view or not. And they acknowledged that it was{1}. And I asked them whether, so far as they were in the habit of knowing or perceiving it{2}, the world (that is, the people in the world) was perfectly happy, and they answered: "No."
'Then I asked them: "Or further, Sirs, can you maintain that you yourselves for a whole night, or for a whole day, or even for half a night or day, have ever been perfectly happy?" And they answered: "No."
'Then I said to them: "Or further, Sirs, do you know a way, or a method, by which you can realise a state that is altogether happy?" And still to that question they answered: "No."
'And then I said: "Or have you, Sirs, ever heard the voices of gods who had realised rebirth in a perfectly happy world, saying: 'Be earnest, O men, and direct in effort, towards the realisation of (rebirth in) a world of perfect happiness. For we, in consequence of similar effort, have been reborn in such a world.'" And still they answered: "No."
'Now what think you as to that, Potthapâda? That being so, does not the talk of those Samanas and Brahmans turn out to be without good ground{3}?'
{1. Compare above, pp. 44-47.
2. Buddhaghosa takes ganam passam as plurals.
3. Appâtihîrakatam. Buddhaghosa explains this as 'witless' (patibhâna-virabitam). It is the contrary of sappâti hîrakatam which he explains (on § 45 below) by sappativiharanam. Perhaps the meaning of the two words is 'apposite' and 'not apposite' (compare B. R. on pratiharana).
There is a closely-allied expression at M. P. S., pp. 26, 32, where the talk is of disciples who, when a discussion on a wrong opinion has arisen, know how to refute it according to the doctrine (Dharma), and to preach, on the other hand, a doctrine that is sappâtihâriyam; that is, a doctrine which, in contra-distinction to the heresy advanced, is the apposite explanation from the Buddhist point of view. The Pâli word for miracle comes from the same root (prati-har); but to render here 'unmiraculous' would make nonsense of the passage, and both my own and Windisch's rendering of the word in the M. P. S. ('Buddhist Suttas,' p. 43; 'Mâra und Buddha,' p. 71) must be also modified accordingly.
On the form compare anuhîramâne, quoted at Sum. I, 61 from the Mahâ-padhâna Suttanta (No. 14 in the Digha).}
[193] 351. 'Just as if a man should say: "How I long for, how I love the most beautiful woman in the land!"
'And people should ask him: "Well! good friend! this most beautiful woman in the land, whom you so love and long for, do you know whether that beautiful woman is a noble lady, or of priestly rank, or of the trader class, or of menial birth?"
'And when so asked, he should answer: "No."
'And people should ask him: "Well! good friend! This most beautiful woman in the land, whom you so love and long for, do you know what her name is, or her family name, or whether she be tall, or short, or of medium height; whether she be dark or brunette or golden in colour{2}; or in what village, or town, or city she dwells?"--
'And when so asked, he should answer: "No."
'And people should say to him: "So then, good friend, whom you know not, neither have seen, her do you love and long for?"
'And when so asked, he should answer: "Yes."
'Now what think you of that, Potthapâda? Would it not turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was witless talk?'
{1. This simile recurs in the Tevigga Sutta (translated in my 'Buddhist Suttas,' S. B. E., XI, 175) and in the Magghima II, 33.
2. Mangura-kkhavî. Perhaps 'of sallow complexion.' Compare M. I, 246 where all these three words for complexion are used. Mangulî itthî at V. III, 107 = S. II, 260 is an allied form. In all these cases an unhealthy complexion is inferred. Here it must evidently be taken in a favourable sense.}
[194] 36, 37. 'Then just so also, Potthapâda, with the Samanas and Brahmans who talk about the soul being perfectly happy and healthy after death{1}. It is just, Potthapâda, as if a man were to put up a staircase in a place where four cross roads meet, to mount up thereby on to the upper storey of a mansion. And people should say to him: "Well! good friend! this mansion, to mount up into which you are making this staircase, do you know whether it is in the East, or in the West, or in the South, or in the North? whether it is high, or low, or of medium size?"
'And when so asked, he should answer: "No."
'And people should say to him: "But then, good friend, you are making a staircase to mount up into a mansion you know not of, neither have seen!"
'And when so asked, he should answer: "Yes."
'Now what think you of that, Potthapâda? Would it not turn out, that being so, that the talk of that man was witless talk?'
'For a truth, Sir, that being so, his talk would turn out to be witless talk.'
38. '[Then surely just so, Potthapâda, with those Samanas and Brahmans who postulate a soul happy and healthy after death. For they acknowledge that they know no such state in this world now. They acknowledge that they cannot say their own souls have been happy here even for half a day. And they acknowledge that they know no way, no method, of ensuring such a result{2}.] Now what think you of that, Potthapâda. That being so, does not their talk, too, turn out to be without good ground?'
[195] 'For a truth, Sir, that being so, their talk would turn out to be without good ground:
39. 'The following three modes of personality, Potthapâda, (are commonly acknowledged in the world):--material, immaterial, and formless{3}. The
{1. § 34 is here repeated in the text.
2. § 34 repeated.
3. Olâriko, manomayo, and arûpo atta-patilâbho. Buddhaghosa here explains atta-patilâbho by attabhâva-patilâbho; and on attabhâva he says (Asl. 308) that it is used for the body, or the five Skandhas, because the fool jumps to the conclusion: 'This is my soul.'
These three forms of personality correspond nearly to the planes, or divisions, into which the worlds are divided in the later Buddhist theory--(') the eleven kâmâvakara worlds, from purgatory below to the deva heavens above, both inclusive: (2) the rûpâvakara worlds, which are the sixteen worlds of the Brahma gods, and are attained to by the practice of the Four Raptures (the Four Ghânas): (3) the four arûpavakara worlds, attained to by the practice of four of the Vimokkhas (Nos. 4-7).
It will be noticed that the lowest of these three planes includes all the forms of existence known in the West, from hell beneath to heaven above. And that the others are connected with the pre-Buddhistic idea of ecstatic meditation leading to special forms of re-existence.
But it is clear from § 58 below that the opinion here put forward is intended to represent, not any Buddhist theory, but a view commonly entertained in the world, such as Potthapâda himself would admit, and indeed has admitted (above, §§ 21-23). In either case, of course, these modes of existence would be, from the Buddhist point of view, purely temporary. They are the fleeting union of qualities that make up, for a time only, an unstable individuality.}
first has form, is made up of the four elements, and is nourished by solid food. The second has no form, is made up of mind, has all its greater and lesser limbs complete, and all the organs perfect. The third is without form, and is made up of consciousness only.
40-42. 'Now I teach a doctrine, Potthapâda, with respect to each of these{1}, that leads to the putting off of that personality; so that if you walk according to that doctrine, the evil dispositions one has acquired may be put away{2}; the dispositions which tend to purification{3} may increase; and one may continue to see face to face, and by himself come to realise, the full perfection and grandeur of wisdom.
[196] 'Now it may well be, Potthapâda, that you think: "Evil dispositions may be put away, the dispositions
{1. The whole paragraph is repeated for each of the three modes of personality.
2. These samkilesikâ dhammâ are identified by Buddhaghosa, with the twelve kâmâvakara-akusala-kittappâdâ of Dhamma Samgani 365-430. But compare, contra, Dh. S. 1241 (where, of course, the word apariyâpannâ must be struck out).
3. Buddhaghosa explains these as 'tranquillity and insight.'}
that tend to purification may increase, one may continue to see face to face, and by himself come to realise, the full perfection and grandeur of wisdom, but one may continue sad." Now that, Potthapâda, would not be accurate judgment. When such conditions are fulfilled, then there will be joy, and happiness, and peace, and in continual mindfulness and self-mastery, one will dwell at ease.
[197] 43-45. 'And outsiders, Potthapâda, might question us thus: "What then, Sir, is that material (or that mental, or that formless) mode of personality for the putting away of which you preach such a doctrine as will lead him who walks according to it to get free from the evil dispositions he has acquired, to increase in the dispositions that tend to purification, so that he may continue to see face to face, and by himself come to realise, the full perfection and grandeur of wisdom?" And to that I should reply (describing it in the words I have now used to you{1}): "Why this very personality that you see before you is what I mean."
[198] 'Now what think you of that, Potthapâda. That being so, would not the talk turn out to be well grounded?'
'For a truth, Sir, it would.'
46. 'Just, Potthapâda, as if a man should construct a staircase, to mount up into the upper storey of a palace, at the foot of the very palace itself. And men should say to him{2}:
'"Well! good friend! that palace, to mount up into which you are constructing this staircase, do you know whether it is in the East, or in the West, or in the
{1. In the words of §§ 39, 40; that is, that whatever the mode of existence, of temporary individuality, there is happiness obtainable; but only in one way, by getting rid, namely, of certain evil dispositions, and by the increase of certain good dispositions. Buddhaghosa thinks this is said in protest against those who, seeking for happiness beyond the grave, do not admit that happiness can be reached here (as above, in § 34).
The above rendering of the elliptical phrase Ayam vâ so is confirmed by the simile in § 46.
2. See above, § 37.}
South, or in the North? whether it is high or low or of medium size?"
'And when so asked, he should answer: "Why! here is the very palace itself! It is at the very foot of it I am constructing my staircase with the object of mounting up into it."
'What would you think, Potthapâda, of that? Would not his talk, that being so, turn out to be well grounded?'
'For a truth. Sir it would.'
[199] 47. 'Then just so. Potthapâda, when I answer thus{1} to the questions put to me.'
48. Now when he had thus spoken, Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer, said to the Exalted One: 'At that time, Sir, when a man is in possession of any one of the three modes of personality, are the other two unreal to him then? Is it only the one he has that is real{2}?'
49. 'At the time, Kitta, when any one of the three modes of personality is going on, then it does not come under the category of either of the other two. It is known only by the name of the mode going on.
[200] 'If people should ask you, Kitta, thus: "Were you in the past, or not? Will you be in the future. or not? Are you now, or not?"--How would you answer?'
'I should say that I was in the past, and not not; that I shall be in the future, and not not; that I am now, and not not.'
50. 'Then if they rejoined: "Well! that past personality that you had, is that real to you; and the future personality, and the present, unreal? The future personality that you will have, is that real to you; and the past personality, and the present, unreal? The personality that you have now, in the present, is that real to you; and the past personality, and the future, unreal?"--How would you answer?'
{1. §§ 42-45 repeated in full.
2. Each of the three cases is given in full.}
[201] 'I should say that the past personality that I had was real to me at the time when I had it; and the others unreal. And so also in the other two cases.'
51. 'Well! Just so, Kitta, when any one of the three modes of personality is going on, then it does not come under the category of either of the other two.
52. 'Just, Kitta, as from a cow comes milk, and from the milk curds, and from the curds butter, and from the butter ghee, and from the ghee junket; but when it is milk it is not called curds, or butter, or ghee, or junket; and when it is curds it is not called by any of the other names; and so on--
[202] 53. 'Just so, Kitta, when any one of the three modes of personality is going on, it is not called by the name of the other. For these, Kitta, are merely names, expressions, turns of speech, designations in common use in the world. And of these a Tathâgata (one who has won the truth) makes use indeed, but is not led astray by them{1}.'
54. And when he had thus spoken, Potthapâda, the mendicant, said to the Exalted One:
'Most excellent, Sir, are the words of thy mouth; most excellent! Just as if a man were to set up that which has been thrown down, or were to reveal that which has been hidden away, or were to point out the right road to him who has gone astray, or were to bring a light into the darkness so that those who had eyes could see external forms,--just even so has the truth
{1. The point is, of course, that just as there is no substratum in the products of the cow, so in man there is no ego, no constant unity, no 'soul' (in the animistic sense of the word, as used by savages). There are a number of qualities that, when united, make up a personality--always changing. When the change has reached a certain point, it is convenient to change the designation, the name, by which the personality is known--just as in the case of the products of the cow. But the abstract term is only a convenient form of expression. There never was any personality, as a separate entity, all the time.
The author of the Milinda (pp. 25, 27) has a precisely similar argument.}
been made known, in many a figure, by the Exalted One. And I, Sir, betake myself to the Exalted One as my guide, to his Doctrine, and to his Order. May the Exalted One accept me as an adherent; as one who, from this day forth as long as life endures, has taken him as his guide.'
55. But Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer, though he made use of the same words, concluded with the request: 'And may I be permitted to go forth from the world under the Exalted One; may I receive admission into his Order.' [203]
56. And his request was granted, and he was received into the Order. And from immediately after his initiation Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer, remained alone and separate, earnest, zealous, and resolved. And e'er long he attained to that supreme goal of the higher life for the sake of which the clansmen go forth utterly from the household life to become houseless wanderers--yea! that supreme goal did he, by himself, and while yet in this visible world, bring himself to the knowledge of, and continue to realise, and to see face to face! And he became conscious that rebirth was at an end; that the higher life had been fulfilled; that all that should be done had been accomplished; and that, after this present life, there would be no beyond!
So the venerable Kitta, the son of the elephant trainer, became yet another among the Arahats.
Here ends the Potthapâda Suttanta.
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