9.
The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood
307. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rājagaha on the Vulture's Peak mountain, not long after Devadatta had departed. There the Blessed One, referring to Devadatta, addressed the monks -
"Here, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, exalts himself and scoffs at others - 'I am one with material gain, honour and fame, but these other monks are unknown, of little influence.' He, by that material gain, honour and fame, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering.
"Just as, monks, a man desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having passed over the bark, having passed over the outer bark, having cut off the branches and leaves, might depart taking them, thinking 'this is the substance.' A man with eyes, having seen him, might say thus - 'Indeed this good man did not know the substance, did not know the softwood, did not know the bark, did not know the outer bark, did not know the branches and leaves. Thus this good man, desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having passed over the bark, having passed over the outer bark, having cut off the branches and leaves, departed taking them, thinking "this is the substance." And whatever should be done with the substance by means of the substance, that benefit he will not experience.' Just so, monks, here a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I am one with material gain, honour and fame, but these other monks are unknown, of little influence.' He, by that material gain, honour and fame, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering. This is called, monks, a monk who has grasped the branches and leaves of the holy life; and by that he has reached the conclusion.
308. "Here again, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness. Being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I am moral, of good character, but these other monks are immoral, of bad character.' He, by that accomplishment in morality, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering.
"Just as, monks, a man desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having passed over the bark, having cut off the outer bark, might depart taking it, thinking 'this is the substance.' A man with eyes, having seen him, might say thus - 'Indeed this good man did not know the substance, did not know the softwood, did not know the bark, did not know the outer bark, did not know the branches and leaves. Thus this good man, desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having passed over the bark, having cut off the outer bark, departed taking it, thinking "this is the substance"; and whatever should be done with the substance by means of the substance, that benefit he will not experience.'
"Just so, monks, here a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness. Being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I am moral, of good character, but these other monks are immoral, of bad character.' He, by that accomplishment in morality, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering. This is called, monks, a monk who has grasped the outer bark of the holy life; and by that he has reached the conclusion.
309. "Here again, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness. Being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I am concentrated, with fully focused mind, but these other monks are unconcentrated, with wandering minds.' He, by that accomplishment in concentration, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering.
"Just as, monks, a man desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having cut off the bark, might depart taking it, thinking 'this is the substance.' A man with eyes, having seen him, might say thus - 'Indeed this good man did not know the substance, did not know the softwood, did not know the bark, did not know the outer bark, did not know the branches and leaves. Thus this good man, desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having passed over the softwood, having cut off the bark, departed taking it, thinking "this is the substance." And whatever should be done with the substance by means of the substance, that benefit he will not experience.'
"Just so, monks, here a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I am concentrated, with fully focused mind, but these other monks are unconcentrated, with wandering minds.' He, by that accomplishment in concentration, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering. This is called, monks, a monk who has grasped the bark of the holy life; and by that he has reached the conclusion.
310. "Here again, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness. Being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains knowledge and vision. He, by that knowledge and vision, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that knowledge and vision, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I dwell knowing and seeing. But these other monks dwell not knowing, not seeing.' He, by that knowledge and vision, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering.
"Just as, monks, a man desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having cut off the softwood, might depart taking it, thinking 'this is the substance.' A man with eyes, having seen him, might say thus - 'Indeed this good man did not know the substance, did not know the softwood, did not know the bark, did not know the outer bark, did not know the branches and leaves. Thus this good man, desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having passed over the substance, having cut off the softwood, departed taking it, thinking "this is the substance." And whatever should be done with the substance by means of the substance, that benefit he will not experience.' Just so, monks, here a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains knowledge and vision. He, by that knowledge and vision, is delighted, his thought fulfilled. He, by that knowledge and vision, exalts himself, scoffs at others - 'I dwell knowing and seeing, but these other monks dwell not knowing, not seeing.' He, by that knowledge and vision, becomes intoxicated, grows negligent, falls into heedlessness, and being heedless, dwells in suffering. This is called, monks, a monk who has grasped the softwood of the holy life; and by that he has reached the conclusion.
311. "Here again, monks, a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains knowledge and vision. He, by that knowledge and vision, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that knowledge and vision, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that knowledge and vision, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains perpetual deliverance. This is impossible, monks, there is no chance, that that monk should fall away from that perpetual liberation.
"Just as, monks, a man desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having cut off the substance itself, might depart taking it, knowing 'this is the substance.' A man with eyes, having seen him, might say thus - 'Indeed this good man knew the substance, knew the softwood, knew the bark, knew the outer bark, knew the branches and leaves. Thus this good man, desiring the substance, seeking the substance, wandering about in search of the substance, of a great tree standing with substance, having cut off the substance itself, departed taking it, knowing "this is the substance." And whatever should be done with the substance by means of the substance, that benefit he will experience.'
"Just so, monks, here a certain son of good family has gone forth with faith from home into homelessness - 'I am overcome by birth, by ageing, by death, by sorrows, by lamentations, by sufferings, by displeasures, by anguishes, overcome by suffering, afflicted by suffering, perhaps the ending of this whole mass of suffering might be discerned.' He, having thus gone forth, brings into existence material gain, honour and fame. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, is not delighted, his thought not fulfilled. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that material gain, honour and fame, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in morality. He, by that accomplishment in morality, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in morality, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains accomplishment in concentration. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that accomplishment in concentration, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains knowledge and vision. He, by that knowledge and vision, is delighted, but his thought not fulfilled. He, by that knowledge and vision, does not exalt himself, does not scoff at others. He, by that knowledge and vision, does not become intoxicated, does not grow negligent, does not fall into heedlessness, and being diligent, he attains perpetual deliverance. This is impossible, monks, there is no chance, that that monk should fall away from that perpetual liberation.
"Thus indeed, monks, this holy life is not for the benefit of material gain, honour and fame, nor for the benefit of accomplishment in morality, nor for the benefit of accomplishment in concentration, nor for the benefit of knowledge and vision. But that which is this unshakeable liberation of mind, monks - this is the purpose of this holy life, monks, this is the substance, this is the final goal."
This is what the Blessed One said. Those monks, delighted, rejoiced in what the Blessed One had said.
The Discourse on the Greater Simile of the Heartwood is concluded as ninth.