The Five Destinations and Nibbana — In
Detail
37. (1) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after death,
he will reappear in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy
destination, in perdition, in hell.' And then later on, with the
divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see that
on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in a
state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, in
hell, and is experiencing extremely painful, racking, piercing
feelings. Suppose there were a charcoal pit deeper than a man's
height full of glowing coals without flame or smoke; and then a man
scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched and thirsty,
came by a path going in one way only and directed to that same
charcoal pit. Then a man with good sight on seeing him would say:
'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has taken such a
path, that he will come to this same charcoal pit'; and then later
on he sees that he has fallen into that charcoal pit and is
experiencing extremely painful, racking, piercing feelings. So too,
by encompassing mind with mind... piercing feelings.
38. (2) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after death,
he will reappear in the animal realm.' And then later on, with the
divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see that
on the dissolution of the body, after death, he has reappeared in
the animal realm and is experiencing painful, racking, piercing
feelings. Suppose there were a cesspit deeper than a man's height
full of filth; and then a man [75] scorched and exhausted by hot
weather, weary, parched and thirsty, came by a path going in one
way only and directed to that same cesspit. Then a man with good
sight on seeing him would say: 'This person so behaves... that he
will come to this same cesspit'; and then later on he sees that he
has fallen into that cesspit and is experiencing painful, racking,
piercing feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind...
piercing feelings.
39. (3) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after death,
he will reappear in the realm of ghosts.' And then later on... I
see that... he has reappeared in the realm of ghosts and is
experiencing much painful feeling. Suppose there were a tree
growing on uneven ground with scanty foliage casting a dappled
shade; and then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary,
parched and thirsty, came by a path going in one way only and
directed to that same tree. Then a man with good sight on seeing
him would say: 'This person so behaves... that he will come to this
same tree'; and then later on he sees that he is sitting or lying
in the shade of that tree experiencing much painful feeling. So
too, by encompassing mind with mind... much painful feeling.
40. (4) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after death,
he will reappear among human beings.' And then later on... I see
that... he has reappeared among human beings and is experiencing
much pleasant feeling. Suppose there were a tree growing on even
ground with thick foliage casting a deep shade; and then a man
scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched and thirsty,
came by a path going in one way only and directed to that same
tree. Then a man with good sight on seeing him would say: 'This
person so behaves... that he will come to this same tree'; and then
later on he sees that he is sitting or lying in the shade of that
tree experiencing much pleasant feeling. So too, by encompassing
mind with mind... much pleasant feeling [76]
41. (5) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that on the dissolution of the body, after death,
he will reappear in a happy destination, in the heavenly world.'
And then later on... I see that... he has reappeared in a happy
destination, in the heavenly world and is experiencing extremely
pleasant feelings. Suppose there were a mansion, and it had an
upper chamber plastered within and without, shut off, secured by
bars, with shuttered windows, and in it there was a couch spread
with rugs, blankets and sheets, with a deerskin coverlet, with a
canopy as well as crimson pillows for both (head and feet); and
then a man scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched
and thirsty, came by a path going in one way only and directed to
that same mansion. Then a man with good sight on seeing him would
say: 'This person so behaves... that he will come to this same
mansion'; and later on he sees that he is sitting or lying in that
upper chamber in that mansion experiencing extremely pleasant
feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind... extremely
pleasant feelings.
42. (6) "By encompassing mind with mind I understand a certain
person thus: 'This person so behaves, so conducts himself, has
taken such a path that by realizing it for himself with direct
knowledge, he here and now will enter upon and abide in the
deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless
with the destruction of the taints.' And then later on I see that
by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, he here and now
enters upon and abides in the deliverance of mind and deliverance
by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints,
and is experiencing extremely pleasant feelings.[16] Suppose there were a
pond with clean, agreeable, cool water, transparent, with smooth
banks, delightful, and nearby a dense wood; and then a man scorched
and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched and thirsty, came by a
path going in one way only and directed towards that same pond.
Then a man with good sight on seeing him would say: 'This person so
behaves... that he will come to this same pond'; and then later on
he sees that he has plunged into the pond, bathed, drunk and
relieved all his distress, fatigue and fever and has come out again
and is sitting or lying in the wood [77] experiencing extremely
pleasant feelings. So too, by encompassing mind with mind...
extremely pleasant feelings. These are the five destinations.
43. "Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say of
me: 'The recluse Gotama does not have any superhuman states, any
distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. The
recluse Gotama teaches a Dhamma (merely) hammered out by reasoning,
following his own line of inquiry as it occurs to him' — unless he
abandons that assertion and that state of mind and relinquishes
that view, then as (surely as if he had been) carried off and put
there he will wind up in hell. Just as a bhikkhu possessed of
virtue, concentration and wisdom would here and now enjoy final
knowledge, so it will happen in this case, I say, that unless he
abandons that assertion and that state of mind and relinquishes
that view, then as (surely as if he had been) carried off and put
there he will wind up in hell.
44. "Sariputta, I recall having lived a holy life possessing
four factors. I have practiced asceticism — the extreme of
asceticism; I have practiced coarseness — the extreme of
coarseness; I have practiced scrupulousness — the extreme of
scrupulousness; I have practiced seclusion — the extreme of
seclusion.[17]
45. "Such was my asceticism, Sariputta, that I went naked,
rejecting conventions, licking my hands, not coming when asked, not
stopping when asked; I did not accept food brought or food
specially made or an invitation to a meal; I received nothing from
a pot, from a bowl, across a threshold, across a stick, across a
pestle, from two eating together, from a pregnant woman, from a
woman giving suck, from a woman lying with a man, from where food
was advertised to be distributed, from where a dog was waiting,
from where flies were buzzing; I accepted no fish or meat, I drank
no liquor, wine or fermented brew. I kept to one house, to one
morsel; I kept to two [78] houses, to two morsels;... I kept to
seven houses, to seven morsels. I lived on one saucerful a day, on
two saucerfuls a day... on seven saucerfuls a day; I took food once
a day, once every two days... once every seven days, and so on up
to once every fortnight; I dwelt pursuing the practice of taking
food at stated intervals. I was an eater of greens or millet or
wild rice or hide-parings or moss or ricebran or rice-scum or
sesamum flour or grass or cowdung. I lived on forest roots and
fruits, I fed on fallen fruits. I clothed myself in hemp, in
hemp-mixed cloth, in shrouds, in refuse rags, in tree bark, in
antelope hide, in strips of antelope hide, in kusa-grass fabric, in
bark fabric, in wood-shavings fabric, in head-hair wool, in animal
wool, in owls' wings. I was one who pulled out hair and beard,
pursuing the practice of pulling out hair and beard. I was one who
stood continuously, rejecting seats. I was one who squatted
continuously, devoted to maintaining the squatting position. I was
one who used a mattress of spikes; I made a mattress of spikes my
bed. I dwelt pursuing the practice of bathing in water three times
daily including the evening. Thus in such a variety of ways I dwelt
pursuing the practice of tormenting and mortifying the body. Such
was my asceticism.
46. "Such was my coarseness, Sariputta, that just as the bole of
a tinduka tree, accumulating over the years, cakes and flakes off,
so too, dust and dirt, accumulating over the years, caked off my
body and flaked off. It never occurred to me: 'Oh, let me rub this
dust and dirt off with my hand, or let another rub this dust and
dirt off with his hand' — it never occurred to me thus. Such was my
coarseness.
47. "Such was my scrupulousness, Sariputta, that I was always
mindful in stepping forwards and stepping backwards. I was full of
pity even for (the beings in) a drop of water thus: 'Let me not
hurt the tiny creatures in the crevices of the ground.' Such was my
scrupulousness.
48. "Such was my seclusion, Sariputta, that [79] I would plunge
into some forest and dwell there. And when I saw a cowherd or a
shepherd or someone gathering grass or sticks, or a woodsman, I
would flee from grove to grove, from thicket to thicket, from
hollow to hollow, from hillock to hillock. Why was that? So that
they should not see me or I see them. Just as a forest-bred deer,
on seeing human beings, flees from grove to grove, from thicket to
thicket, from hollow to hollow, from hillock to hillock, so too,
when I saw a cowherd or a shepherd... Such was my seclusion.
49. "I would go on all fours to the cow-pens when the cattle had
gone out and the cowherd had left them, and I would feed on the
dung of the young suckling calves. As long as my own excrement and
urine lasted, I fed on my own excrement and urine. Such was my
great distortion in feeding.
50. "I would plunge into some awe-inspiring grove and dwell
there — a grove so awe-inspiring that normally it would make a
man's hair stand up if he were not free from lust. When those cold
wintry nights came during the 'eight-days interval of frost,' I
would dwell by night in the open and by day in the grove.[18] In the last month of
the hot season I would dwell by day in the open and by night in the
grove. And there came to me spontaneously this stanza never heard
before:
Chilled by night and scorched by day,
Alone in awe-inspiring groves,
Naked, no fire to sit beside,
The sage yet pursues his quest.
51. "I would make my bed in a charnel ground with the bones of
the dead for a pillow. And cowherd boys came up and spat on me,
urinated on me, threw dirt at me, and poked sticks into my ears.
Yet I do not recall that I ever aroused an evil mind (of hate)
against them. Such was my abiding in equanimity. [80]
52. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmans whose
doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about through
food.'[19] They say: 'Let us live
on kola-fruits,' and they eat kola-fruits, they eat kola-fruit
powder, they drink kola-fruit water, and they make many kinds of
kola-fruit concoctions. Now I recall having eaten a single
kola-fruit a day. Sariputta, you may think that the kola-fruit was
bigger at that time, yet you should not regard it so: the
kola-fruit was then at most the same size as now. Through feeding
on a single kola-fruit a day, my body reached a state of extreme
emaciation. Because of eating so little my limbs became like the
jointed segments of vine stems or bamboo stems. Because of eating
so little my backside became like a camel's hoof. Because of eating
so little the projections on my spine stood forth like corded
beads. Because of eating so little my ribs jutted out as gaunt as
the crazy rafters of an old roofless barn. Because of eating so
little the gleam of my eyes sank far down in their sockets, looking
like a gleam of water which has sunk far down in a deep well.
Because of eating so little my scalp shrivelled and withered as a
green bitter gourd shrivels and withers in the wind and sun.
Because of eating so little my belly skin adhered to my backbone;
thus if I touched my belly skin I encountered my backbone, and if I
touched my backbone I encountered my belly skin. Because of eating
so little, if I tried to ease my body by rubbing my limbs with my
hands, the hair, rotted at its roots, fell from my body as I
rubbed.
53-55. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmans whose
doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about through food.'
They say: 'Let us live on beans'... 'Let us live on sesamum'...
'Let us live on rice,' and they eat rice, they eat rice powder,
[81] they drink rice water, and they make various kinds of rice
concoctions. Now I recall having eaten a single rice grain a day.
Sariputta, you may think that the rice grain was bigger at that
time, yet you should not regard it so: the rice grain was then at
most the same size as now. Through feeding on a single rice grain a
day, my body reached a state of extreme emaciation. Because of
eating so little... the hair, rotted at its roots, fell from my
body as I rubbed.
56. "Yet, Sariputta, by such conduct, by such practice, by such
performance of austerities, I did not attain any superhuman states,
any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.
Why was that? Because I did not attain that noble wisdom which when
attained is noble and emancipating and leads the one who practices
in accordance with it to the complete destruction of suffering.
57. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmans whose
doctrine and view is this: 'Purification comes about through the
round of rebirths.' But it is impossible to find a realm in the
round that I have not already [82] passed through in this long
journey, except for the gods of the Pure Abodes; and had I passed
through the round as a god in the Pure Abodes, I would never have
returned to this world.[20]
58. "There are certain recluses and brahmans whose doctrine and
view is this: 'Purification comes about through (some particular
kind of) rebirth.' But it is impossible to find a kind of rebirth
that I have not been reborn in already in this long journey, except
for the gods of the Pure Abodes...
59. "There are certain recluses and brahmans whose doctrine and
view is this: 'Purification comes about through (some particular)
abode.' But it is impossible to find a kind of abode that I have
not already dwelt in... except for the gods of the Pure
Abodes...
60. "There are certain recluses and brahmans whose doctrine and
view is this: 'Purification comes about through sacrifice.' But it
is impossible to find a kind of sacrifice that has not already been
offered up by me in this long journey, when I was either a
head-anointed noble king or a well-to-do-brahman.
61. "There are certain recluses and brahmans whose doctrine and
view is this: 'Purification comes about through fire-worship.' But
it is impossible to find a kind of fire that has not already been
worshipped by me in this long journey, when I was either a
head-anointed noble king or a well-to-do brahman.
62. "Sariputta, there are certain recluses and brahmans whose
doctrine and view is this: 'As long as this good man is still
young, a black-haired young man endowed with the blessing of youth,
in the prime of life, so long is he perfect in his lucid wisdom.
But when this good man is old, aged, burdened with years, advanced
in life, and come to the last stage, being eighty, ninety or a
hundred years old, then the lucidity of his wisdom is lost.' But it
should not be regarded so. I am now old, aged, burdened with years,
advanced in life, and come to the last stage: my years have turned
eighty. Now suppose that I had four disciples with a hundred years'
lifespan, perfect in mindfulness, retentiveness, memory and
lucidity of wisdom.[21] Just as a skilled
archer, trained, practiced and tested, could easily shoot a light
arrow across the shadow of a palm tree, suppose that they were even
to that extent perfect in mindfulness, retentiveness, [83] memory
and lucidity of wisdom. Suppose that they continuously asked me
about the four foundations of mindfulness and that I answered them
when asked and that they remembered each answer of mine and never
asked a subsidiary question or paused except to eat, drink, consume
food, taste, urinate, defecate and rest in order to remove
sleepiness and tiredness. Still the Tathagata's exposition of the
Dhamma, his explanations of factors of the Dhamma, and his replies
to questions would not yet come to an end, but meanwhile those four
disciples of mine with their hundred years' lifespan would have
died at the end of those hundred years. Sariputta, even if you have
to carry me about on a bed, still there will be no change in the
lucidity of the Tathagata's wisdom.
63. "Rightly speaking, were it to be said of anyone: 'A being
not subject to delusion has appeared in the world for the welfare
and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the
good, welfare and happiness of gods and humans,' it is of me indeed
that rightly speaking this should be said."
64. Now on that occasion the Venerable Nagasamala was standing
behind the Blessed One fanning him.[22] Then he said to the
Blessed One: "It is wonderful, venerable sir, it is marvellous! As
I listened to this discourse on the Dhamma, the hairs of my body
stood up. Venerable sir, what is the name of this discourse on the
Dhamma?"
"As to that, Nagasamala, you may remember this discourse on the
Dhamma as 'The Hair-raising Discourse.' "[23]
That is what the Blessed One said. The Venerable Nagasamala was
satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.