1.
The Discourse on the Brahmins of Sālā
439. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was wandering on a journey among the Kosalans together with a large Community of monks, and arrived at a brahmin village of the Kosalans named Sālā. The brahmin householders of Sālā heard - "Indeed, my dear, the ascetic Gotama, a Sakyan son who has gone forth from the Sakyan clan, wandering on a journey among the Kosalans together with a large Community of monks, has arrived at Sālā. And concerning that Master Gotama, such a good reputation has arisen - 'Thus indeed is the Blessed One: the Worthy One, the One Enlightened by himself, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, the Fortunate One, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, Teacher of gods and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One. He, having realised by direct knowledge himself, proclaims this world with its gods, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its gods and humans. He teaches the Teaching, good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with meaning and with phrasing; he reveals the holy life that is complete in its entirety and pure.' Good indeed is the seeing of such Worthy Ones."
Then the brahmin householders of Sālā approached the Blessed One; having approached, some, having paid respect to the Blessed One, sat down to one side; some exchanged friendly greetings with the Blessed One, and having concluded the pleasant and memorable talk, sat down to one side; some, having extended joined palms in salutation towards the Blessed One, sat down to one side; some, having announced their name and clan in the presence of the Blessed One, sat down to one side; some, remaining silent, sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the brahmin householders of Sālā said this to the Blessed One - "What now, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, whereby some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell? And what, Master Gotama, is the cause, what is the condition, whereby some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world?"
"Because of unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct, householders, some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell. Because of righteous conduct and even conduct, householders, some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world."
"We do not understand in detail the meaning of what Master Gotama has spoken in brief, the meaning not explained in detail. It would be good if Master Gotama would teach us the Teaching in such a way that we might understand in detail the meaning of what Master Gotama has spoken in brief, the meaning not explained in detail." "If so, householders, listen, pay close attention, I will speak." "Yes, sir," the brahmin householders of Sālā assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this -
440. "Householders, there is threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by body, there is fourfold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by speech, there is threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by mind.
"And how, householders, is there threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by body? Here, householders, a certain one is a killer of living beings, cruel, with bloody hands, devoted to striking and killing, without compassion for living beings.
"And he is a taker of what is not given. Whatever belongs to another, another's wealth and requisites, whether in the village or in the forest, that which is not given, reckoned a theft, he takes.
"And he engages in sexual misconduct. Those women who are protected by the mother, protected by the father, protected by both mother and father, protected by the brother, protected by the sister, protected by relatives, protected by the clan, protected by co-religionists, having an owner, under penalty, even those encircled with a garland of flowers, he commits adultery with such women. Thus, householders, there is threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by body.
"And how, householders, is there fourfold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by speech? Here, householders, a certain one is a liar. Having gone to an assembly, or having gone to a company, or having gone among relatives, or having gone among a guild, or having gone among the royal court, being brought forward and questioned as a witness - 'Come, good man, tell what you know' - he, not knowing, says - 'I know,' or knowing, says - 'I do not know,' or not seeing, says - 'I see,' or seeing, says - 'I do not see.' Thus for his own sake, or for another's sake, or for the sake of some material gain, he becomes a conscious speaker of falsehood.
"And he is a speaker of divisive speech. Having heard here, he repeats it elsewhere to divide these people, or having heard elsewhere, he repeats it here to divide those people. Thus he is one who divides those who are united, or a supporter of those who are divided, rejoicing in discord, delighting in discord, taking delight in discord, he is a speaker of words that create discord.
"And he is a speaker of harsh speech. Whatever speech is rough, harsh, hurtful to others, offensive to others, bordering on wrath, not conducive to concentration, he speaks such speech.
"And he is a speaker of idle chatter. He speaks at the wrong time, speaks what is not factual, speaks what is unbeneficial, speaks what is not the Teaching, speaks what is not the discipline. He speaks words not worth treasuring, at the wrong time, without reason, without limit, not connected with benefit. Thus, householders, there is fourfold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by speech.
"And how, householders, is there threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by mind? Here, householders, a certain one is covetous; whatever belongs to another, another's wealth and requisites, he covets - 'Oh, may what belongs to another be mine!'
"And he has a corrupted mind, with evil mental intentions - 'May these beings be killed, or slaughtered, or annihilated, or destroyed, or may they not exist!'
"And he holds wrong view, has perverted vision - 'There is not what is given, there is not what is sacrificed, there is not what is offered, there is no result and consequence of good and bad actions, there is not this world, there is not the other world, there is not mother, there is not father, there are no spontaneously reborn beings, there are not in the world ascetics and brahmins who have gone the right way, who have rightly practised, who proclaim this world and the other world, having realised them by direct knowledge themselves.' Thus, householders, there is threefold unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct by mind.
"Because of unrighteous conduct and uneven conduct, householders, some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a realm of misery, an unfortunate realm, a nether world, in hell.
441. "Householders, there is threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by body, there is fourfold righteous conduct and even conduct by speech, there is threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by mind.
"And how, householders, is there threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by body? Here, householders, a certain one, having abandoned the killing of living beings, abstains from killing living beings; with rod laid down, with knife laid down, one who has shame, compassionate, he dwells concerned for the welfare of all living beings.
"Having abandoned taking what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given. Whatever belongs to another, another's wealth and requisites, whether in the village or in the forest, that which is not given, reckoned a theft, he does not take.
"Having abandoned sexual misconduct, he abstains from sexual misconduct. Those women who are protected by the mother, protected by the father, protected by both mother and father, protected by the brother, protected by the sister, protected by relatives, protected by the clan, protected by co-religionists, having an owner, under penalty, even those encircled with a garland of flowers, he does not commit adultery with such women. Thus, householders, there is threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by body.
"And how, householders, is there fourfold righteous conduct and even conduct by speech? Here, householders, a certain one, having abandoned lying, abstains from lying. Having gone to an assembly, or having gone to a company, or having gone among relatives, or having gone among a guild, or having gone among the royal court, being brought forward and questioned as a witness - 'Come, good man, tell what you know' - he, not knowing, says - 'I do not know,' or knowing, says - 'I know,' or not seeing, says - 'I do not see,' or seeing, says - 'I see.' Thus for his own sake, or for another's sake, or for the sake of some trifling material gain, he does not become a conscious speaker of falsehood.
"Having abandoned divisive speech, he abstains from divisive speech; having heard something here, he does not repeat it elsewhere to divide these people, or having heard something elsewhere, he does not repeat it here to divide those people. Thus he is one who reunites those who are divided, a promoter of those who are united, rejoicing in concord, delighting in concord, taking delight in concord, he is a speaker of words that create concord.
"Having abandoned harsh speech, he abstains from harsh speech. He speaks such words as are gentle, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, going to the heart, urbane, pleasing and agreeable to many people - he speaks such words.
"Having abandoned idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. He speaks at the right time, speaks what is factual, speaks what is beneficial, speaks on the Teaching, speaks on the discipline; he speaks words worth treasuring, timely, reasonable, well-defined, connected with the goal. Thus, householders, there is fourfold righteous conduct and even conduct by speech.
"And how, householders, is there threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by mind? Here, householders, a certain one is non-covetous; whatever belongs to another, another's wealth and requisites, he does not covet - 'Oh, may what belongs to another be mine!'
"And he has a mind without ill-will, with uncorrupted mental intention - 'May these beings be free from enmity, free from affliction, free from trouble, may they look after themselves happily.'
"And he holds right view, with undistorted vision - 'There is what is given, there is what is sacrificed, there is what is offered, there is result and consequence of good and bad actions, there is this world, there is the other world, there is mother, there is father, there are spontaneously reborn beings, there are in the world ascetics and brahmins who have gone the right way, who have rightly practised, who proclaim this world and the other world, having realised them by direct knowledge themselves.' Thus, householders, there is threefold righteous conduct and even conduct by mind.
"Because of righteous conduct and even conduct, householders, some beings here, upon the body's collapse at death, are reborn in a fortunate realm, in a heavenly world.
442. "If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of wealthy warriors!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of wealthy warriors. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of wealthy brahmins... etc. in the company of wealthy householders!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of wealthy householders. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of the gods ruled by the four great kings!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of the gods ruled by the four great kings. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of the Thirty-three gods... etc. the Yāma gods... the Tusita gods... the gods who delight in creation... the gods who control what is created by others... the gods of Brahmā's company!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of the gods of Brahmā's company. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of the radiant gods!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of the radiant gods. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, upon the body's collapse at death, be reborn in the company of the gods of limited radiance... etc. the gods of immeasurable radiance... the radiant gods... the gods of limited glory... the gods of immeasurable glory... the gods of streaming glory... the gods of great fruit... the Aviha gods... the Atappa gods... the Sudassa gods... the Sudassī gods... the Akaniṭṭha gods... the gods who have reached the plane of infinite space... the gods who have reached the plane of infinite consciousness... the gods who have reached the plane of nothingness... the gods who have reached the plane of neither-perception-nor-non-perception!' There is this possibility that he, upon the body's collapse at death, would be reborn in the company of the gods who have reached the plane of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. What is the reason for this? Because he practises righteousness and practises evenness.
"If, householders, one who practises righteousness and practises evenness should wish - 'Oh, may I, with the elimination of the mental corruptions, in this very life, having realised by direct knowledge myself, having attained, dwell in the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom that are without mental corruptions'; now there is this possibility that he, with the elimination of the mental corruptions, in this very life, having realised by direct knowledge himself, having attained, would dwell in the liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom that are without mental corruptions. What is the reason for this? Because he is one who practises righteously, one who practises evenly."
443. When this was said, the brahmin householders of Sālā said this to the Blessed One - "Excellent, Master Gotama, excellent, Master Gotama! Just as, Master Gotama, one might set upright what had been overturned, or reveal what had been concealed, or point out the path to one who was lost, or hold up an oil lamp in the darkness so that those with eyes might see forms; just so, the Teaching has been made clear by Master Gotama in many ways. We go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the Teaching, and to the Community of monks. May Master Gotama remember us as lay followers who have gone for refuge from this day forth for life."
The Discourse on the Sāleyyakas is concluded as first.