So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then as Venerable Māluṅkyaputta was in private retreat this thought came to his mind: “There are several convictions that the Buddha has left undeclared; he has set them aside and turned them down.
For example: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are one and the same, or the soul is one thing, the body another; after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists.
PL
‘sassato loko’tipi, ‘asassato loko’tipi, ‘antavā loko’tipi, ‘anantavā loko’tipi, ‘taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran’tipi, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran’tipi, ‘hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi—
EN
The Buddha does not explain these points to me. I don’t endorse that, and do not accept it. I’ll go to him and ask him about this. If he gives me a straight answer on any of these points,
PL
tāni me bhagavā na byākaroti. Yāni me bhagavā na byākaroti taṁ me na ruccati, taṁ me nakkhamati. Sohaṁ bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṁ pucchissāmi. Sace me bhagavā byākarissati:
EN
I will lead the spiritual life under him. If he does not explain these points to me,
PL
‘sassato loko’ti vā ‘asassato loko’ti vā …pe… ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā— evāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi; no ce me bhagavā byākarissati:
EN
I shall resign the training and return to a lesser life.” Then in the late afternoon, Māluṅkyaputta came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and told the Buddha of his thoughts. He then continued:
tāni me bhagavā na byākaroti. Yāni me bhagavā na byākaroti taṁ me na ruccati, taṁ me nakkhamati. Sohaṁ bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṁ pucchissāmi. Sace me bhagavā byākarissati:
PL
‘sassato loko’ti vā, ‘asassato loko’ti vā …pe… ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā— evāhaṁ bhagavati, brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi. No ce me bhagavā byākarissati:
No ce bhagavā jānāti: ‘hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ajānato kho pana apassato etadeva ujukaṁ hoti yadidaṁ: ‘na jānāmi na passāmī’ti. Sace bhagavā jānāti:
EN
or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists, please tell me. If you don’t know
PL
‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti me bhagavā byākarotu; sace bhagavā jānāti: ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti me bhagavā byākarotu. No ce bhagavā jānāti:
EN
any of these things, then it is straightforward to simply say: ‘I neither know nor see.’” “What, Māluṅkyaputta, did I ever say to you: ‘Come, Māluṅkyaputta, lead the spiritual life under me, and I will declare these things to you’?”
PL
‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ajānato kho pana apassato etadeva ujukaṁ hoti yadidaṁ: ‘na jānāmi, na passāmī’”ti. “Kiṁ nu tāhaṁ, mālukyaputta, evaṁ avacaṁ: ‘ehi tvaṁ, mālukyaputta, mayi brahmacariyaṁ cara, ahaṁ te byākarissāmi:
And you never said to me: ‘Sir, I will lead the spiritual life under the Buddha, and the Buddha will declare these things to me.’
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā”’ti; napi kira maṁ tvaṁ vadesi: ‘ahaṁ, bhante, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi, bhagavā me byākarissati: “sassato loko”ti vā “asassato loko”ti vā …pe…
EN
In that case, you futile man, who are you and what do you disavow? Suppose someone were to say this: ‘I will not lead the spiritual life under the Buddha until the Buddha declares to me
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā’ti. Evaṁ sante, moghapurisa, ko santo kaṁ paccācikkhasi? Yo kho, mālukyaputta, evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi yāva me bhagavā na byākarissati:
EN
that the cosmos is eternal, or that the cosmos is not eternal … or that after death a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists.’ That would still remain undeclared by the Realized One, and meanwhile that individual would die. Suppose a man was struck by an arrow thickly smeared with poison.
His friends and colleagues, relatives and kin would get a surgeon to treat him. But the man would say: ‘I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know whether the man who wounded me was an aristocrat, a brahmin, a peasant, or a menial.’ He’d say:
‘I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know the following things about the man who wounded me: his name and clan; whether he’s tall, short, or medium;
PL
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto iti vā’ti; so evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, dīgho vā rasso vā majjhimo vā’ti; so evaṁ vadeyya:
EN
whether his skin is black, brown, or dingy; and whether he comes from such-and-such village, town, or city.
I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know whether the bow that wounded me was straight or recurved; whether the bow-string is made of swallow-wort fibre, sunn hemp fibre, sinew, sanseveria fibre, or spurge fibre;
whether the shaft is made from a bush or a plantation tree; whether the shaft was fitted with feathers from a vulture, a heron, a hawk, a peacock, or a stork;
whether the shaft was bound with sinews of a cow, a buffalo, a black lion, or an ape; and whether the arrowhead was spiked, razor-tipped, barbed, made of iron or a calf’s tooth, or lancet-shaped.’
That man would still not have learned these things, and meanwhile they’d die. In the same way, suppose someone was to say: ‘I will not lead the spiritual life under the Buddha until the Buddha declares to me that the cosmos is eternal, or that the cosmos is not eternal …
PL
aññātameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tena purisena assa, atha so puriso kālaṁ kareyya. Evameva kho, mālukyaputta, yo evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi yāva me bhagavā na byākarissati: “sassato loko”ti vā “asassato loko”ti vā …pe…
EN
or that after death a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists.’ That would still remain undeclared by the Realized One, and meanwhile that individual would die. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is not eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life.
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā’ti— abyākatameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tathāgatena assa, atha so puggalo kālaṁ kareyya. ‘Sassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no. ‘Asassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
EN
When there is the view that the cosmos is eternal or that the cosmos is not eternal, there is rebirth, there is old age, there is death, and there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. And it is the defeat of these things in this very life that I advocate. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is finite’ …
‘a realized one both still exists and no longer exists after death’ … ‘a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists after death’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. When there are any of these views there is rebirth, there is old age, there is death, and there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress.
PL
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi. ‘Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no. ‘Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no. ‘Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti …pe…
EN
And it is the defeat of these things in this very life that I advocate. So, Māluṅkyaputta, you should remember what I have not declared as undeclared, and what I have declared as declared. And what have I not declared?
PL
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi. Tasmātiha, mālukyaputta, abyākatañca me abyākatato dhāretha; byākatañca me byākatato dhāretha. Kiñca, mālukyaputta, mayā abyākataṁ?
EN
I have not declared the following: ‘the cosmos is eternal,’ ‘the cosmos is not eternal,’ ‘the cosmos is finite,’
‘a realized one no longer exists after death,’ ‘a realized one both still exists and no longer exists after death,’
PL
mayā abyākataṁ; ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti— mayā abyākataṁ; ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti—
EN
‘a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists after death.’ And why haven’t I declared these things?
PL
mayā abyākataṁ; ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti— mayā abyākataṁ. Kasmā cetaṁ, mālukyaputta, mayā abyākataṁ?
EN
Because they aren’t beneficial or relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They don’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. That’s why I haven’t declared them. And what have I declared? I have declared the following: ‘this is suffering,’
PL
Na hetaṁ, mālukyaputta, atthasaṁhitaṁ na ādibrahmacariyakaṁ na nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati. Tasmā taṁ mayā abyākataṁ. Kiñca, mālukyaputta, mayā byākataṁ? ‘Idaṁ dukkhan’ti, mālukyaputta, mayā byākataṁ;
EN
‘this is the origin of suffering,’ ‘this is the cessation of suffering,’
‘this is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.’ And why have I declared these things? Because they are beneficial and relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.
That’s why I have declared them. So, Māluṅkyaputta, you should remember what I have not declared as undeclared, and what I have declared as declared.” That is what the Buddha said.
PL
Tasmā taṁ mayā byākataṁ. Tasmātiha, mālukyaputta, abyākatañca me abyākatato dhāretha; byākatañca me byākatato dhārethā”ti. Idamavoca bhagavā.
EN
Satisfied, Venerable Māluṅkyaputta approved what the Buddha said.
So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then as Venerable Māluṅkyaputta was in private retreat this thought came to his mind: “There are several convictions that the Buddha has left undeclared; he has set them aside and turned them down.
For example: the cosmos is eternal, or not eternal, or finite, or infinite; the soul and the body are one and the same, or the soul is one thing, the body another; after death, a realized one still exists, or no longer exists, or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists.
PL
‘sassato loko’tipi, ‘asassato loko’tipi, ‘antavā loko’tipi, ‘anantavā loko’tipi, ‘taṁ jīvaṁ taṁ sarīran’tipi, ‘aññaṁ jīvaṁ aññaṁ sarīran’tipi, ‘hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’tipi—
EN
The Buddha does not explain these points to me. I don’t endorse that, and do not accept it. I’ll go to him and ask him about this. If he gives me a straight answer on any of these points,
PL
tāni me bhagavā na byākaroti. Yāni me bhagavā na byākaroti taṁ me na ruccati, taṁ me nakkhamati. Sohaṁ bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṁ pucchissāmi. Sace me bhagavā byākarissati:
EN
I will lead the spiritual life under him. If he does not explain these points to me,
PL
‘sassato loko’ti vā ‘asassato loko’ti vā …pe… ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā— evāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi; no ce me bhagavā byākarissati:
EN
I shall resign the training and return to a lesser life.” Then in the late afternoon, Māluṅkyaputta came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and told the Buddha of his thoughts. He then continued:
tāni me bhagavā na byākaroti. Yāni me bhagavā na byākaroti taṁ me na ruccati, taṁ me nakkhamati. Sohaṁ bhagavantaṁ upasaṅkamitvā etamatthaṁ pucchissāmi. Sace me bhagavā byākarissati:
PL
‘sassato loko’ti vā, ‘asassato loko’ti vā …pe… ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā— evāhaṁ bhagavati, brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi. No ce me bhagavā byākarissati:
No ce bhagavā jānāti: ‘hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ajānato kho pana apassato etadeva ujukaṁ hoti yadidaṁ: ‘na jānāmi na passāmī’ti. Sace bhagavā jānāti:
EN
or both still exists and no longer exists, or neither still exists nor no longer exists, please tell me. If you don’t know
PL
‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti me bhagavā byākarotu; sace bhagavā jānāti: ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti me bhagavā byākarotu. No ce bhagavā jānāti:
EN
any of these things, then it is straightforward to simply say: ‘I neither know nor see.’” “What, Māluṅkyaputta, did I ever say to you: ‘Come, Māluṅkyaputta, lead the spiritual life under me, and I will declare these things to you’?”
PL
‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā, ajānato kho pana apassato etadeva ujukaṁ hoti yadidaṁ: ‘na jānāmi, na passāmī’”ti. “Kiṁ nu tāhaṁ, mālukyaputta, evaṁ avacaṁ: ‘ehi tvaṁ, mālukyaputta, mayi brahmacariyaṁ cara, ahaṁ te byākarissāmi:
And you never said to me: ‘Sir, I will lead the spiritual life under the Buddha, and the Buddha will declare these things to me.’
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇāti vā”’ti; napi kira maṁ tvaṁ vadesi: ‘ahaṁ, bhante, bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi, bhagavā me byākarissati: “sassato loko”ti vā “asassato loko”ti vā …pe…
EN
In that case, you futile man, who are you and what do you disavow? Suppose someone were to say this: ‘I will not lead the spiritual life under the Buddha until the Buddha declares to me
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā’ti. Evaṁ sante, moghapurisa, ko santo kaṁ paccācikkhasi? Yo kho, mālukyaputta, evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi yāva me bhagavā na byākarissati:
EN
that the cosmos is eternal, or that the cosmos is not eternal … or that after death a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists.’ That would still remain undeclared by the Realized One, and meanwhile that individual would die. Suppose a man was struck by an arrow thickly smeared with poison.
His friends and colleagues, relatives and kin would get a surgeon to treat him. But the man would say: ‘I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know whether the man who wounded me was an aristocrat, a brahmin, a peasant, or a menial.’ He’d say:
‘I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know the following things about the man who wounded me: his name and clan; whether he’s tall, short, or medium;
PL
‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, evaṁnāmo evaṅgotto iti vā’ti; so evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ imaṁ sallaṁ āharissāmi yāva na taṁ purisaṁ jānāmi yenamhi viddho, dīgho vā rasso vā majjhimo vā’ti; so evaṁ vadeyya:
EN
whether his skin is black, brown, or dingy; and whether he comes from such-and-such village, town, or city.
I won’t extract this arrow as long as I don’t know whether the bow that wounded me was straight or recurved; whether the bow-string is made of swallow-wort fibre, sunn hemp fibre, sinew, sanseveria fibre, or spurge fibre;
whether the shaft is made from a bush or a plantation tree; whether the shaft was fitted with feathers from a vulture, a heron, a hawk, a peacock, or a stork;
whether the shaft was bound with sinews of a cow, a buffalo, a black lion, or an ape; and whether the arrowhead was spiked, razor-tipped, barbed, made of iron or a calf’s tooth, or lancet-shaped.’
That man would still not have learned these things, and meanwhile they’d die. In the same way, suppose someone was to say: ‘I will not lead the spiritual life under the Buddha until the Buddha declares to me that the cosmos is eternal, or that the cosmos is not eternal …
PL
aññātameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tena purisena assa, atha so puriso kālaṁ kareyya. Evameva kho, mālukyaputta, yo evaṁ vadeyya: ‘na tāvāhaṁ bhagavati brahmacariyaṁ carissāmi yāva me bhagavā na byākarissati: “sassato loko”ti vā “asassato loko”ti vā …pe…
EN
or that after death a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists.’ That would still remain undeclared by the Realized One, and meanwhile that individual would die. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is not eternal’ there would be the living of the spiritual life.
PL
“neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā”ti vā’ti— abyākatameva taṁ, mālukyaputta, tathāgatena assa, atha so puggalo kālaṁ kareyya. ‘Sassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no. ‘Asassato loko’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no.
EN
When there is the view that the cosmos is eternal or that the cosmos is not eternal, there is rebirth, there is old age, there is death, and there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress. And it is the defeat of these things in this very life that I advocate. It’s not true that if there were the view ‘the cosmos is finite’ …
‘a realized one both still exists and no longer exists after death’ … ‘a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists after death’ there would be the living of the spiritual life. When there are any of these views there is rebirth, there is old age, there is death, and there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress.
PL
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi. ‘Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evaṁ no. ‘Neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati brahmacariyavāso abhavissāti, evampi no. ‘Hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti, mālukyaputta, diṭṭhiyā sati, ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti vā diṭṭhiyā sati attheva jāti …pe…
EN
And it is the defeat of these things in this very life that I advocate. So, Māluṅkyaputta, you should remember what I have not declared as undeclared, and what I have declared as declared. And what have I not declared?
PL
yesāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme nighātaṁ paññapemi. Tasmātiha, mālukyaputta, abyākatañca me abyākatato dhāretha; byākatañca me byākatato dhāretha. Kiñca, mālukyaputta, mayā abyākataṁ?
EN
I have not declared the following: ‘the cosmos is eternal,’ ‘the cosmos is not eternal,’ ‘the cosmos is finite,’
‘a realized one no longer exists after death,’ ‘a realized one both still exists and no longer exists after death,’
PL
mayā abyākataṁ; ‘na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti— mayā abyākataṁ; ‘hoti ca na ca hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti—
EN
‘a realized one neither still exists nor no longer exists after death.’ And why haven’t I declared these things?
PL
mayā abyākataṁ; ‘neva hoti na na hoti tathāgato paraṁ maraṇā’ti— mayā abyākataṁ. Kasmā cetaṁ, mālukyaputta, mayā abyākataṁ?
EN
Because they aren’t beneficial or relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They don’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. That’s why I haven’t declared them. And what have I declared? I have declared the following: ‘this is suffering,’
PL
Na hetaṁ, mālukyaputta, atthasaṁhitaṁ na ādibrahmacariyakaṁ na nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati. Tasmā taṁ mayā abyākataṁ. Kiñca, mālukyaputta, mayā byākataṁ? ‘Idaṁ dukkhan’ti, mālukyaputta, mayā byākataṁ;
EN
‘this is the origin of suffering,’ ‘this is the cessation of suffering,’
‘this is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.’ And why have I declared these things? Because they are beneficial and relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.
That’s why I have declared them. So, Māluṅkyaputta, you should remember what I have not declared as undeclared, and what I have declared as declared.” That is what the Buddha said.
PL
Tasmā taṁ mayā byākataṁ. Tasmātiha, mālukyaputta, abyākatañca me abyākatato dhāretha; byākatañca me byākatato dhārethā”ti. Idamavoca bhagavā.
EN
Satisfied, Venerable Māluṅkyaputta approved what the Buddha said.
Sutraya