AN 4.196

Sāḷhasutta

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā vesāliyaṁ viharati mahāvane kūṭāgārasālāyaṁ. Atha kho sāḷho ca licchavi abhayo ca licchavi yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho sāḷho licchavi bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

With Sāḷha

At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. Then Sāḷha and Abhaya the Licchavis went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Santi, bhante, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā dvayena oghassa nittharaṇaṁ paññapenti— sīlavisuddhihetu ca tapojigucchāhetu ca. Idha, bhante, bhagavā kimāhā”ti?

“There are, sir, some ascetics and brahmins who advocate crossing the flood by means of two things: purification of ethics, and mortification in disgust of sin. What does the Buddha say about this?”

“Sīlavisuddhiṁ kho ahaṁ, sāḷha, aññataraṁ sāmaññaṅganti vadāmi. Ye te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā tapojigucchāvādā tapojigucchāsārā tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, abhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā aparisuddhakāyasamācārā aparisuddhavacīsamācārā aparisuddhamanosamācārā aparisuddhājīvā, abhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

“Sāḷha, purification of ethics is one of the factors of the ascetic life, I say. But those ascetics and brahmins who teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—regarding it as essential and sticking to it—are incapable of crossing the flood. And those ascetics and brahmins whose livelihood and behavior by way of body, speech, and mind, is not pure are also incapable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.

Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, puriso nadiṁ taritukāmo tiṇhaṁ kuṭhāriṁ ādāya vanaṁ paviseyya. So tattha passeyya mahatiṁ sālalaṭṭhiṁ ujuṁ navaṁ akukkuccakajātaṁ. Tamenaṁ mūle chindeyya; mūle chetvā agge chindeyya; agge chetvā sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā kuṭhārīhi taccheyya; kuṭhārīhi tacchetvā vāsīhi taccheyya; vāsīhi tacchetvā lekhaṇiyā likheyya; lekhaṇiyā likhitvā pāsāṇaguḷena dhoveyya; pāsāṇaguḷena dhovetvā nadiṁ patāreyya.

Suppose a man who wanted to cross a river took a sharp axe into a wood. There he’d see a large green sal tree, straight and young and grown unskewed. He’d cut it down at the base, cut off the top, and completely strip off the branches and foliage. Then he’d trim it with axes and machetes, plane it, and sand it with a rock. Finally, he’d launch out on the river.

Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sāḷha, bhabbo nu kho so puriso nadiṁ taritun”ti? “No hetaṁ, bhante”. “Taṁ kissa hetu”? “Asu hi, bhante, sālalaṭṭhi bahiddhā suparikammakatā anto avisuddhā. Tassetaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ—sālalaṭṭhi saṁsīdissati, puriso anayabyasanaṁ āpajjissatī”ti.

What do you think, Sāḷha? Is that man capable of crossing the river?” “No, sir. Why not? Because that green sal tree is well worked on the outside, but inside it’s still not cleared out. I’d expect that green sal tree to sink, and the man to come to ruin.”

“Evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā tapojigucchāvādā tapojigucchāsārā tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, abhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā aparisuddhakāyasamācārā aparisuddhavacīsamācārā aparisuddhamanosamācārā aparisuddhājīvā, abhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

“In the same way, Sāḷha, those ascetics and brahmins who teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—regarding it as essential and sticking to it—are incapable of crossing the flood. And those ascetics and brahmins whose livelihood and behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is not pure are also incapable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.

Ye ca kho te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā na tapojigucchāvādā na tapojigucchāsārā na tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, bhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā parisuddhakāyasamācārā parisuddhavacīsamācārā parisuddhamanosamācārā parisuddhājīvā, bhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya.

But those ascetics and brahmins who don’t teach mortification in disgust of sin—not regarding it as essential or sticking to it—are capable of crossing the flood. And those ascetics and brahmins whose behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is pure are also capable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening.

Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, puriso nadiṁ taritukāmo tiṇhaṁ kuṭhāriṁ ādāya vanaṁ paviseyya. So tattha passeyya mahatiṁ sālalaṭṭhiṁ ujuṁ navaṁ akukkuccakajātaṁ. Tamenaṁ mūle chindeyya; mūle chinditvā agge chindeyya; agge chinditvā sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; sākhāpalāsaṁ suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā kuṭhārīhi taccheyya; kuṭhārīhi tacchetvā vāsīhi taccheyya; vāsīhi tacchetvā nikhādanaṁ ādāya anto suvisodhitaṁ visodheyya; anto suvisodhitaṁ visodhetvā lekhaṇiyā likheyya; lekhaṇiyā likhitvā pāsāṇaguḷena dhoveyya; pāsāṇaguḷena dhovetvā nāvaṁ kareyya; nāvaṁ katvā phiyārittaṁ bandheyya; phiyārittaṁ bandhitvā nadiṁ patāreyya.

Suppose a man who wanted to cross a river took a sharp axe into a wood. There he’d see a large green sal tree, straight and young and grown unskewed. He’d cut it down at the base, cut off the top, and completely strip off the branches and foliage. Then he’d trim it with axes and machetes. Then he’d take a chisel and completely clear it out inside. Then he’d plane it, sand it with a rock, and make it into a boat. Finally he’d fix it with oars and rudder, and launch out on the river.

Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, sāḷha, bhabbo nu kho so puriso nadiṁ taritun”ti? “Evaṁ, bhante”. “Taṁ kissa hetu”? “Asu hi, bhante, sālalaṭṭhi bahiddhā suparikammakatā, anto suvisuddhā nāvākatā phiyārittabaddhā. Tassetaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ: ‘nāvā na saṁsīdissati, puriso sotthinā pāraṁ gamissatī’”ti.

What do you think, Sāḷha? Is that man capable of crossing the river?” “Yes, sir. Why is that? Because that green sal tree is well worked on the outside, cleared out on the inside, made into a boat, and fixed with oars and rudder. I’d expect that boat to not sink, and the man to safely make it to the far shore.”

“Evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ye te samaṇabrāhmaṇā na tapojigucchāvādā na tapojigucchāsārā na tapojigucchāallīnā viharanti, bhabbā te oghassa nittharaṇāya. Yepi te, sāḷha, samaṇabrāhmaṇā parisuddhakāyasamācārā parisuddhavacīsamācārā parisuddhamanosamācārā parisuddhājīvā, bhabbā te ñāṇadassanāya anuttarāya sambodhāya. Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo bahūni cepi kaṇḍacitrakāni jānāti; atha kho so tīhi ṭhānehi rājāraho hoti rājabhoggo, rañño aṅganteva saṅkhaṁ gacchati. Katamehi tīhi? Dūrepātī ca, akkhaṇavedhī ca, mahato ca kāyassa padāletā.

“In the same way, Sāḷha, those ascetics and brahmins who don’t teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin—not regarding it as essential or sticking to it—are capable of crossing the flood. And those ascetics and brahmins whose behavior by way of body, speech, and mind is pure are also capable of knowing and seeing, of supreme awakening. Suppose there was a warrior who knew lots of fancy archery tricks. It is only with these three factors that he becomes worthy of a king, fit to serve a king, and is reckoned a factor of kingship. What three? He’s a long-distance shooter, a marksman, and one who shatters large objects.

Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo dūrepātī; evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammāsamādhi hoti. Sammāsamādhi, sāḷha, ariyasāvako yaṁ kiñci rūpaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā sabbaṁ rūpaṁ ‘netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya passati. Yā kāci vedanā … yā kāci saññā … ye keci saṅkhārā … yaṁ kiñci viññāṇaṁ atītānāgatapaccuppannaṁ ajjhattaṁ vā bahiddhā vā oḷārikaṁ vā sukhumaṁ vā hīnaṁ vā paṇītaṁ vā yaṁ dūre santike vā, sabbaṁ viññāṇaṁ ‘netaṁ mama, nesohamasmi, na meso attā’ti evametaṁ yathābhūtaṁ sammappaññāya passati.

Just as a warrior is a long-distance shooter, a noble disciple has right immersion. A noble disciple with right immersion truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’ They truly see any kind of feeling … perception … choices … consciousness at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; solid or subtle; inferior or superior; far or near: all consciousness—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.’

Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo akkhaṇavedhī; evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammādiṭṭhi hoti. Sammādiṭṭhi, sāḷha, ariyasāvako ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti.

Just as a warrior is a marksman, a noble disciple has right view. A noble disciple with right view truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.

Seyyathāpi, sāḷha, yodhājīvo mahato kāyassa padāletā; evamevaṁ kho, sāḷha, ariyasāvako sammāvimutti hoti. Sammāvimutti, sāḷha, ariyasāvako mahantaṁ avijjākkhandhaṁ padāletī”ti.

Just as a warrior shatters large objects, a noble disciple has right freedom. A noble disciple with right freedom shatters the great mass of ignorance.”