9.
The Discourse on the Invitation of a Brahmā
501. Thus have I heard - On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's park. There the Blessed One addressed the monks - "Monks." "Venerable sir," those monks assented to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this -
"On one occasion, monks, I was dwelling at Ukkaṭṭhā in the Subhaga Grove at the root of a royal sal tree. Now at that time, monks, such an evil wrong view had arisen in Baka the Brahmā: 'This is permanent, this is stable, this is eternal, this is whole, this is not subject to pass away, for here there is no being born, no ageing, no dying, no passing away, no being reborn, and there is no other escape beyond this.' Then, monks, having known with my mind the reflection in the mind of Baka the Brahmā - just as a strong man might extend his bent arm or bend his extended arm, even so - having vanished from the Subhaga Grove at the root of a royal sal tree at Ukkaṭṭhā, I appeared in that Brahma world. Baka the Brahmā, monks, saw me coming from afar; having seen me, he said this - 'Come, sir, welcome, sir! It has been a long time, sir, since you made this occasion, that is to say, for coming here. For this, sir, is permanent, this is stable, this is eternal, this is whole, this is not subject to pass away, for here there is no being born, no ageing, no dying, no passing away, no being reborn. And there is no other escape beyond this.'
When this was said, monks, I said this to Baka the Brahmā - 'Gone to ignorance indeed, friend, is Baka the Brahmā; gone to ignorance indeed, friend, is Baka the Brahmā; inasmuch as he will say of what is actually impermanent that it is permanent, he will say of what is actually unstable that it is stable, he will say of what is actually non-eternal that it is eternal, he will say of what is actually not whole that it is whole, he will say of what is actually subject to pass away that it is not subject to pass away; and where there is being born, ageing, dying, passing away, and being reborn, of that he will say - "For here there is no being born, no ageing, no dying, no passing away, no being reborn"; and when there is another escape beyond, he will say "there is no other escape beyond."'
502. "Then, monks, Māra the Evil One, having taken possession of a certain member of Brahmā's assembly, said this to me - 'Monk, monk, do not assail this one, do not assail this one, for this, monk, is Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Overlord, the Unvanquished, the All-Seeing, the Wielder of Power, the Lord, the Maker, the Creator, the Supreme, the Ordainer, the Almighty, the Father of all that are and are to be. There were, monk, before you, ascetics and brahmins in the world who were disparagers of earth and disgusted with earth, disparagers of water and disgusted with water, disparagers of fire and disgusted with fire, disparagers of air and disgusted with air, disparagers of beings and disgusted with beings, disparagers of gods and disgusted with gods, disparagers of Pajāpati and disgusted with Pajāpati, disparagers of Brahmā and disgusted with Brahmā - they, upon the collapse of the body, upon the arrest of life, were established in an inferior body. But those, monk, before you, ascetics and brahmins in the world who were praisers of earth and delighted in earth, praisers of water and delighted in water, praisers of fire and delighted in fire, praisers of air and delighted in air, praisers of beings and delighted in beings, praisers of gods and delighted in gods, praisers of Pajāpati and delighted in Pajāpati, praisers of Brahmā and delighted in Brahmā - they, upon the collapse of the body, upon the arrest of life, were established in a superior body. Therefore I say this to you, monk - 'Come now, sir, whatever Brahmā has told you, that you should do, do not transgress the word of Brahmā.' If indeed you, monk, transgress the word of Brahmā, just as a man might drive away fortune coming to him with a stick, or just as, monk, a man falling into a hellish precipice might miss the earth with his hands and feet, thus will this accomplishment be for you, monk. 'Come now, sir, whatever Brahmā has told you, that you should do, do not transgress the word of Brahmā. Do you not, monk, see the assembly of Brahmā gathered together?' Thus indeed, monks, Māra the Evil One directed me towards the assembly of Brahmā.
"When this was said, monks, I said this to Māra the Evil One - 'I know you, Evil One; do not think - "He does not know me." You are Māra, Evil One. Both Brahmā, Evil One, and the assembly of Brahmā, and the members of Brahmā's assembly - all have come into your hand, all have come under your control. For you, Evil One, think thus - "This one too would come into my hand, this one too would come under my control." But I, Evil One, have neither come into your hand nor come under your control.'
503. "When this was said, monks, Baka the Brahmā said this to me - 'For I, sir, say of what is actually permanent that it is permanent, I say of what is actually stable that it is stable, I say of what is actually eternal that it is eternal, I say of what is actually whole that it is whole, I say of what is actually not subject to pass away that it is not subject to pass away, and where there is no being born, no ageing, no dying, no passing away, no being reborn, of that I say - "For here there is no being born, no ageing, no dying, no passing away, no being reborn." And when there is no other escape beyond, I say "there is no other escape beyond." There were, monk, before you, ascetics and brahmins in the world; for as long as your entire life span, so long was their ascetic practice alone. They would know thus - "When there is another escape beyond, there is another escape beyond; or when there is no other escape beyond, there is no other escape beyond." Therefore I say this to you, monk - "You will not see another escape beyond, and you will only become a partaker of weariness and vexation. If indeed you, monk, cling to earth, you will be near me, dwelling in my domain, subject to be done with as I wish, to be expelled. If water... fire... air... beings... gods... Pajāpati... Brahmā you cling to, you will be near me, dwelling in my domain, subject to be done with as I wish, to be expelled.'
"I too know thus, Brahmā - if I cling to earth, I will be near you, dwelling in your domain, subject to be done with as you wish, to be expelled. 'If water... fire... air... beings... gods... Pajāpati... Brahmā I cling to, I will be near you, dwelling in your domain, subject to be done with as you wish, to be expelled.' But I understand your destination and I understand your splendour, Brahmā - 'Thus powerful is Baka the Brahmā, thus majestic is Baka the Brahmā, thus influential is Baka the Brahmā.'"
"But in what way do you, sir, understand my destination and understand my splendour - 'Thus powerful is Baka the Brahmā, thus majestic is Baka the Brahmā, thus influential is Baka the Brahmā'?"
Over a thousandfold world, there your authority extends.
The state here and the state elsewhere, the coming and going of beings."
"Thus indeed I understand your destination and understand your splendour, Brahmā - 'Thus powerful is Baka the Brahmā, thus majestic is Baka the Brahmā, thus influential is Baka the Brahmā.'
504. "There is indeed, Brahmā, another class of beings, which you neither know nor see; I know and see that. There is indeed, Brahmā, a class of beings called the Radiant gods, from which you passed away and arose here. Because of your dwelling there for so very long, that mindfulness has been forgotten by you; therefore you neither know nor see that; I know and see that. Thus indeed, Brahmā, I am not merely your equal in direct knowledge, how then could I be inferior? Indeed I am superior to you. There is indeed, Brahmā, a class of beings called the gods of Streaming Radiance, a class of beings called the gods of Great Fruit, a class of beings called the Overlord, which you neither know nor see; I know and see that. Thus indeed, Brahmā, I am not merely your equal in direct knowledge, how then could I be inferior? Indeed I am superior to you. Having directly known earth as earth, Brahmā, as far as that which is not experienced by the earthness of earth, having directly known that, I was not earth, I was not in earth, I was not from earth, I was not 'earth is mine', I did not assert earth. Thus indeed, Brahmā, I am not merely your equal in direct knowledge, how then could I be inferior? Indeed I am superior to you. Water indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Fire indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Air indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Beings indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Gods indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Pajāpati indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Brahmā indeed I, Brahmā, etc. The Radiant gods indeed I, Brahmā, etc. The gods of Streaming Radiance indeed I, Brahmā, Etc. The gods of Great Fruit indeed I, Brahmā, etc. The Overlord indeed I, Brahmā, etc. Having directly known all as all, Brahmā, as far as that which is not experienced by the allness of all, having directly known that, I was not all, I was not in all, I was not from all, I was not 'all is mine', I did not assert all. Thus indeed, Brahmā, I am not merely your equal in direct knowledge, how then could I be inferior? Indeed I am superior to you."
"If indeed, sir, that which is not experienced by the allness of all, having directly known that, may it not be void for you, may it not be hollow for you."
"'Consciousness non-manifest, infinite, radiant from all sides' - that is not experienced by the earthness of earth, not experienced by the waterness of water, not experienced by the fireness of fire, not experienced by the airness of air, not experienced by the beingness of beings, not experienced by the godness of gods, not experienced by the Pajāpatiness of Pajāpati, not experienced by the Brahmāness of Brahmā, not experienced by the radiantness of the Radiant gods, not experienced by the streaming radianceness of the gods of Streaming Radiance, not experienced by the great fruitness of the gods of Great Fruit, not experienced by the overlordness of the Overlord, not experienced by the allness of all."
"Well then, sir, watch me disappear." 'Well then, Brahmā, you disappear from me, if you are able.' Then, monks, Baka the Brahmā, thinking 'I will disappear from the ascetic Gotama, I will disappear from the ascetic Gotama,' was indeed not able to disappear from me.
"When this was said, monks, I said this to Baka the Brahmā - 'Well then, Brahmā, I will disappear from you.' 'Well then, sir, you disappear from me, if you are able.' Then, monks, I performed such a feat of supernormal power - 'To this extent Brahmā and the assembly of Brahmā and the members of Brahmā's assembly will hear my sound, but they will not see me.' Having disappeared, I spoke this verse -
I did not assert any existence, nor did I cling to delight."
Then, monks, Brahmā and the assembly of Brahmā and the members of Brahmā's assembly were filled with wonder and amazement - 'Wonderful indeed, friend, marvellous indeed, friend! The great supernormal power and great majesty of the ascetic Gotama! Never indeed before have we seen or heard of another ascetic or brahmin of such great supernormal power and such great majesty as this ascetic Gotama, a Sakyan son who has gone forth from the Sakyan clan. For the generation that delights in existence, that rejoices in existence, that is pleased with existence, he has indeed uprooted existence with its root.'
505. "Then, monks, Māra the Evil One, having taken possession of a certain member of Brahmā's assembly, said this to me - 'If you, sir, thus understand, if you have thus awakened, do not lead disciples, do not lead those gone forth; do not teach the Teaching to disciples, do not teach to those gone forth; do not create attachment among disciples, do not create attachment among those gone forth. There were, monk, before you, ascetics and brahmins in the world claiming to be Worthy Ones, Fully Enlightened by themselves. They led disciples, those gone forth, they taught the Teaching to disciples, to those gone forth, they created attachment among disciples, among those gone forth; having led disciples, those gone forth, having taught the Teaching to disciples, to those gone forth, with minds attached among disciples, among those gone forth, upon the collapse of the body, upon the arrest of life, they were established in an inferior body. But there were, monk, before you, ascetics and brahmins in the world claiming to be Worthy Ones, Fully Enlightened by themselves. They did not lead disciples, did not lead those gone forth, they did not teach the Teaching to disciples, did not teach to those gone forth, they did not create attachment among disciples, did not create attachment among those gone forth; not having led disciples, not having led those gone forth, not having taught the Teaching to disciples, not having taught to those gone forth, without minds attached among disciples, without minds attached among those gone forth, upon the collapse of the body, upon the arrest of life, they were established in a superior body. Therefore I say this to you, monk - come now, sir, dwell living at ease, devoted to pleasant abiding in the present life, for not proclaiming is wholesome, sir, do not exhort others.'
"When this was said, monks, I said this to Māra the Evil One - 'I know you, Evil One; do not think - "He does not know me." You are Māra, Evil One. You, Evil One, do not speak thus out of compassion for my welfare; you, Evil One, speak thus out of compassion for my harm. For you, Evil One, think thus - "Those to whom the ascetic Gotama will teach the Teaching, they will pass beyond my domain." But those, Evil One, not being Fully Enlightened by themselves, claimed "We are Fully Enlightened by themselves." But I, Evil One, being a One Enlightened by himself, claim "I am a One Enlightened by himself." For whether teaching the Teaching to disciples, Evil One, the Truth-finder is just such, or whether not teaching the Teaching to disciples, Evil One, the Truth-finder is just such. For whether leading disciples, Evil One, the Truth-finder is just such, or whether not leading disciples, Evil One, the Truth-finder is just such. What is the reason for this? For the Truth-finder, Evil One, those mental corruptions that are subject to defilement, leading to rebirth, that give trouble, with painful results, leading to future birth, ageing and death - they have been abandoned, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future. Just as, Evil One, a palm tree with its crown cut off is incapable of further growth; just so, Evil One, for the Truth-finder those mental corruptions that are subject to defilement, leading to rebirth, that give trouble, with painful results, leading to future birth, ageing and death - they have been abandoned, their root cut off, made like a palm stump, brought to obliteration, subject to non-arising in the future.'
"Thus indeed, because of Māra's not addressing and because of Brahmā's invitation, therefore the designation of this explanation is indeed 'The Invitation of Brahmā'."
The Discourse on the Invitation of Brahmā is concluded as ninth.