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Dhamma dayada sutta
Unworldly Goods
Thus have I heard. Once when the Lord was staying at Savatthi in Jeta's grove in Anathapindika's pleasaunce, he addressed the attentive Almsmen as follows: —
Seek to be partakers, Almsmen, not of the world's goods but of my Doctrine; in my compassion for you, I am anxious to ensure this. Should you be partakers of the world's goods and not of my Doctrine, then not only will you, my disciples, be blamed for so doing, but also I, as your teacher, shall be blamed on your account. If, on the other hand, you partake of my Doctrine and not of the world's goods, then not only will you, my disciples, escape blame for so doing, but also I, as your teacher, shall escape blame too. Therefore, be partakers of my Doctrine and not of the world's goods; out of compassion for them, I would have all my disciples partake of my Doctrine and not of the world's goods.
Suppose my meal is over and that I have finished and ended, after having had my fill and enough; and assume that of my alms there is some over, to be thrown away, when there arrive two Almsmen, [13] half dead with hunger and exhaustion, to whom I say that I have finished my own meal and do not want any more, but that of my alms there is some over, to be thrown away; that they can eat it if they like, but that, if they do not, I shall either throw it away where no grass grows or fling it into water where no living things dwell.1
Suppose now one Almsman thinks: The Lord has finished eating all he wants but has left some food which, if we do not eat it, he will now throw away. Now the Lord has told us to partake of his Doctrine and not of the world's goods — of which alms is one; and I had better not eat but fast on till the morrow, notwithstanding my hunger and exhaustion. Suppose then that, not partaking of the alms over, this first Almsman patiently fasts on till the morrow comes.
But suppose the second Almsman thinks: The Lord has had his own meal but there remains food over which he will only throw away if we do not eat it. Why should not I, by eating thereof, pass the night and next morning in relief from my hunger and exhaustion? Assume, now, that this second Almsman does eat, and so relieves his hunger and exhaustion before the morrow comes. Albeit he does so and relieves his necessity, yet I should hold the first Almsman in greater honour and esteem. And why? —
Because the first Almsman's abstention will long conduce to curtailment of wants, to contentment, to purgation of evil, to virtuous satisfaction and to the strenuous life. Therefore, Almsmen, be ye partakers not of the world s goods but of my Doctrine; in my compassion for you all, I am anxious to ensure this.
Thus spoke the Lord, who thereupon rose and passed to his own cell.
The Lord had not long been gone when the reverend Sariputta addressed the Almsmen, saying: Your reverences. Reverend sir, [14] said they in response. Then said Sariputta: In what respects, while their teacher leads the Life Apart, do his disciples either cultivate, or not cultivate, the same detachment of the inner life?
We would have travelled from afar to learn the meaning of this from Sariputta's lips. Pray, vouchsafe to explain it, and we will treasure up your words.
Then, reverend sirs, hearken and pay attention and I will speak.
Yes, reverend sir, said they in response to Sariputta, who went on to speak as follows: —
Take the case that, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples fail to cultivate the same aloofness of the inner life, do not put from them those states of mind which their teacher has bidden them put from them, but are luxurious and have but a loose grip of the truth, are foremost in backsliding, and intolerant of Renunciation's yoke. Herein, first the seniors are trebly blameworthy, — first, that, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples do not cultivate the same detachment in the inner life; secondly, that they do not put from them those states of mind which their teacher has bidden them put from them; and thirdly, that they are luxurious and have only a loose grip of truth, are to the forefront in backsliding and intolerant of Renunciation's yoke. Blame attaches to the seniors in these three ways. And the like threefold blame attaches also to those of middle standing and to the juniors. These are the respects in which, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples do not cultivate the same aloofness of the inner life.
Next, what are the respects in which, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples [15] cultivate the like aloofness of the inner life? — Take the case that, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples also cultivate aloofness in the inner life, put from them those states of mind which their teacher bids them put from them, are not luxurious, have no loose grip of the truth, are intolerant only of backsliding and are foremost in Renunciation. Herein, first the seniors are trebly praiseworthy, — firstly, that while their teacher leads the life apart, they cultivate the same aloofness in the inner life; secondly, that they put from them those states of mind which their teacher has bidden them put from them; and thirdly, that they are not luxurious, have no looseness of grip on the truth, are intolerant only of backsliding, but are to the forefront in Renunciation. Praise attaches to the seniors in these three ways. And the like threefold praise attaches also to those of middle standing and to the juniors. These are the respects in which, while their teacher leads the life apart, his disciples cultivate the like aloofness of the inner life.
Yes, sirs, greed is vile, and vile is resentment. To shed this greed and this resentment, there is the Middle Way which gives us eyes to see and makes us know, leading us on to peace, insight, enlightenment and Nirvana. What is this Middle Way? — Why, it is naught but the Noble Eightfold Path of right outlook, right aims, right speech, right action, right means of livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration; this, Almsmen, is the Middle Way. Yes, sirs; anger is vile and malevolence is vile, envy and jealousy are vile, niggardliness and avarice are vile, hypocrisy and deceit are vile, imperviousness [16] and temper are vile, pride and arrogance are vile, inflation is vile, and indolence is vile; for the shedding of inflation and indolence there is the Middle Way — giving us eyes to see, making us know, and leading us on to peace, insight, enlightenment and Nirvana — which is naught but that Noble Eightfold Path.
Thus spoke the reverend Sariputta. Glad at heart, those Almsmen rejoiced in what he had said.
Footnotes
1. I.e. so as not to harm life in any form. See S.B.E. XX, 219, and cf. Jainism.
Majjhima Nikaya 3, translated by Lord CHALMERS
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