Anangana-sutta

Of Blemishes

Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthi in Jeta's grove in Anathapindika's pleasaunce, the reverend Sariputta addressed the Almsmen as follows: —

There are four types of individuals in the world: — (i.) The blemished man who does not realize aright the blemish within him; (ii.) the blemished man who does realize it aright; (iii.) the unblemished man who does not realize aright that he is unblemished within; and (iv.) the unblemished man who does realize it aright.

In the first pair— of the blemished— the second ranks high and the first low; and similarly [25] in the second pair the second ranks high and the first low.

Hereupon the reverend Maha-Moggallana asked Sariputta what was the cause and what were the conditions whereby one of the two with blemishes, and one of the two without blemishes, was ranked high and the other low.

Reverend sir, answered Sariputta, it is to be expected of the man who is blemished but does not realize it, that he will not develop will-power, will not exert himself nor work to shed his blemishes; he will die with heart corrupt and with his blemishes still upon him, a prey to passion, hate and delusion. It is just like a brass bowl brought home from bazaar or stithy covered with dust and dirt, never to be used or scoured by its owners, but just flung aside among the dust. Pray, would such a bowl grow fouler and fouler till it became filthy? — Yes, sir. — Just in the same way the man with blemishes which he does not realize aright, may be expected not to develop will-power... delusion.

On the other hand, it is to be expected of the man with blemishes which he does realize aright, that he will develop will-power, will exert himself, will work to shed his blemishes, and will die with heart uncorrupt and without blemish, quit of passion, hate and delusion. It is just like a brass bowl brought home from bazaar or stithy covered with dust and dirt, to be used and scoured by its owners and not to be flung aside among the dust. [26j Pray, would such a bowl grow cleaner and cleaner till it became spotless? — Yes, sir. — Just in the same way the man with blemishes which he realizes aright, may be expected to develop will-power... quit of passion, hate and delusion.

Of the man who is without blemish but does not realize it aright, it is to be expected that his mind will dwell on seductive ideas and that in consequence passion will degrade his heart; he will die with heart corrupt and with his blemishes still upon him, a prey to passion, hate and delusion. It is just like a brass bowl brought home from bazaar or stithy clean and bright, never to be used or scoured by its owners but just flung aside among the dust. Pray, would such a bowl grow fouler and fouler till it became filthy? — Yes, sir. — Just in the same way the man who is without blemish but does not recognize it aright, may be expected to let his mind dwell on seductive ideas and in consequence to have his heart degraded by passion, so that he will die with heart corrupt and with his blemishes still upon him, a prey to passion, hate and delusion.

Lastly, it is to be expected of the man without blemish who realizes it aright, that his mind will not dwell on seductive ideas, and therefore that passion will not degrade his heart, and that he will die with heart uncorrupt and without blemish, quit of passion, hate, and delusion. It is just like a brass bowl brought home from bazaar or stithy clean and bright, to be used and scoured by its owners and not to be flung aside among the dust. Pray, would such a bowl grow cleaner and cleaner till it became spotless? — Yes, sir. — Just in the same way it is to be expected of the man without blemish who realizes it aright, that his mind will not dwell... quit of passion, hate, and delusion.

This, reverend Moggallana, [27] is the cause and these are the conditions whereby one of the two with blemishes, and one of the two without blemishes, is ranked high and the other low.

Blemish is simply called blemish, reverend sir (said Moggallana). What does the term connote?

Blemish, reverend sir, connotes the domain of bad and wrong desires. The case may arise of an Almsman who conceives the desire that, should he commit an offence, his fellows should not know of it; and who, when they do come to know of it, waxes angry and wroth at their knowing it. This anger and dissatisfaction are both blemishes.

Or he may conceive the desire that, should he commit an offence, his fellows should reprove him in private and not in conclave; and when they reprove him in conclave, he waxes angry and wroth at their doing so. This anger and dissatisfaction are both blemishes.

Or he may conceive the idea that, should he commit an offence, he may be reproved by an equal and not by one on an inequality with him; and when reproof comes from one not his equal, he waxes angry and wroth. This anger and dissatisfaction are both blemishes.

Or he may conceive the desire that the Master should expound the Doctrine to the Confraternity through a series of questions addressed to him alone and to no other Almsman; and, if the questions are addressed not to him but to another, [28] he waxes angry and wroth at being passed over. This anger and dissatisfaction are both blemishes.

Blemishes too are his anger and dissatisfaction if he is disappointed in the desire — to be the centre figure — he and no other — to lead a train of Almsmen into the village for alms; to be given, after the meal, the principal seat, the water first (to handsel the donation, as senior), and the best of everything going; to return thanks after the meal; to be the preacher in the pleasaunce to the Almsmen, [29] or to the Almswomen, or to the laymen, or to the lay-women; to be the sole recipient — he and no other — of the other Almsmen's respect and reverence, devotion and worship; to have to himself the pick of robes, [30] alms, lodging, and medicaments.

— Blemish, reverend sir, connotes the domain of all these bad and wrong desires. If they are seen, and heard, to be immanent, in an Almsman, then — albeit his abode be in the depths of the forest, albeit he begs his food from door to door just as the houses come, and is coarsely clad in rags from the dust-heap — not unto him do his fellows in the higher life shew respect and reverence, devotion and worship. And why? — Because bad and wrong desires are seen and heard to be immanent in him. It is just as if a brass bowl, clean and bright, were brought home from bazaar or stithy and were first filled by its owners with a dead snake or a dead dog or human carrion, and then taken back to the bazaar enclosed within a second bowl, making people wonder what wonderful treasure was here, until, on opening it and looking in, they were filled at the sight with such repugnance and loathing and disgust as to banish appetite from the hungry, let alone from those who had already fed; even so, sir, if these bad and wrong desires are seen, or heard, to be immanent in a Brother, then — albeit... [31] immanent in him.

But if these bad and wrong desires are seen, and heard, to have been put from him by an Almsman, then — albeit he lives on the outskirts of a village and accepts invitations to meals and is clad in lay attire — yet unto him do his fellows in the higher life shew respect and reverence, devotion and worship. And why? — Because he has put from him bad and wrong desires. It is just as if a brass bowl, clean and bright, were brought home from bazaar or stithy, and its owners were first to fill it with the choicest boiled rice of picked varieties together with divers sauces and curries, and were then to hie back to the bazaar with it enclosed within a second bowl, making people wonder what wonderful treasure was here, until, on opening it and looking in, they were filled at the sight with such pleasure and delight as to give appetite to those who had already fed, let alone the hungry; — even so, sir, if these bad and wrong desires are seen, and heard, to have been put from him by an Almsman, then — albeit he lives... and wrong desires.

At this point the reverend Maha-Moggallana remarked to Sariputta that an illustration had occurred to him and, on being invited to cite it, said: — Early one morning, when I was staying once on the heights that encircle Rajagaha, I went for alms into the city, duly robed and bowl in hand, at a time when Samiti, the waggon-builder, was shaping a felloe; and by him there was standing Pandu-putta the Mendicant (ajivika) — himself come of a waggon-building stock in bygone days — in whom arose the wish that Samiti might shape the felloe without crook or twist or blemish, so that, free from crook, twist and blemish, the felloe might turn out clean and of the best; [32] and while this thought was passing through the mind of Pandu-putta, the old waggon-builder, all the time Samiti was shaping away crook, twist and blemish. At last Pandu-putta in his joy burst out with the joyous cry — His heart, methinks, knows my heart, as he shapes that felloe!

Even so is it here. First, take first those persons who, not for their belief but for a livelihood and without believing, go forth from home to homelessness as Pilgrims, — cunning and deceitful tricksters, vain and puffed-up, raucous babblers who keep no watch over the portals of sense, intemperate in their eating, devoid of vigilance, taking no thought of their vocation nor keen for its discipline, acquisitive and with only a loose grip of truth, foremost in backsliding and intolerant of Renunciation's yoke, indolent and slack, bewildered and flustered, unstable and wandering, witless and drivelling. — Sariputta's heart, methinks, knows the heart of all these persons and is at work in his exposition to shape them aright. Take next those young men who, for beliefs sake, go forth from home to homelessness as Pilgrims, — in whom these shortcomings find no place but only their counterparts in virtue — , these, as they hear the reverend Sariputta's exposition drink it in, methinks, and feed upon it, methinks, with words of thanksgiving from grateful hearts. Right well has Sariputta raised up his fellows in the higher life from what is wrong and established them in what is right. It is just as if, after the bath, a woman or a lad young and fond of finery were to be given a chaplet of lotuses or jasmine or other blossoms and were to clutch it eagerly with both hands and set it gladly on the brow, — even so do these young men who, for belief's sake, go forth... established them in what is right.

In such wise did that noble pair of Arahats rejoice together in what each had heard the other say so well.

Majjhima Nikaya 5, translated by Lord CHALMERS

Anangana-sutta

Of Blemishes

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