On one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large Saṅgha of monks, arrived at Venāgapura, a brahman town of the Kosalans. The brahman householders of Venāgapura heard it said, “Gotama the contemplative—the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the Sakyan clan—has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation has spread: ‘He is indeed a Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in clear-knowing & conduct, Well-Gone, an expert with regard to the cosmos, unexcelled trainer of people fit to be tamed, teacher of devas & human beings, awakened, blessed. He makes known—having realized it through direct knowledge—this world with its devas, Māras, & Brahmās, this generation with its contemplatives & brahmans, its rulers & commonfolk; he explains the Dhamma admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; he expounds the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. It is good to see such a worthy one.’”
So the brahman householders of Venāgapura went to the Blessed One. On arrival, some of them bowed down to the Blessed One and sat to one side. Some of them exchanged courteous greetings with him and, after an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, sat to one side. Some of them sat to one side having saluted him with their hands palm-to-palm over their hearts. Some of them sat to one side having announced their name & clan. Some of them sat to one side in silence.
As they were sitting there, the brahman Vaccagotta of Venāgapura said to the Blessed One, “How amazing, Master Gotama! How astounding! How clear Master Gotama’s faculties are; how pure his complexion, & bright!
“Just as a yellow jujube fruit in the autumn is pure & bright, in the same way, clear are Master Gotama’s faculties, pure his complexion, & bright!
“Just as a palmyra fruit, freshly removed from its stalk, is pure & bright, in the same way, clear are Master Gotama’s faculties, pure his complexion, & bright!
“Just as an ornament of gold from the Jambū River—well-crafted by a skilled goldsmith, very skillfully wrought & placed on a red brocade—shines, glows, & radiates, in the same way, clear are Master Gotama’s faculties, pure his complexion, & bright!
“Whatever high or luxurious beds there are—a dais, a throne, a long-haired coverlet, a decorated coverlet, a white spread made of animal hair, a wool coverlet with floral designs, a blanket of cotton batting, a wool coverlet decorated with animals, a wool covering with fleece on both sides, a wool covering with fleece on one side, a silken sheet decorated with jewels, fringed with silver or gold, a dancer’s carpet, an elephant-back rug, a horse-back rug, a chariot rug, a spread of black antelope skins, a sheet of kadali-deer hide, a bed with a canopy above, a bed with red cushions at either end: Surely Master Gotama obtains them at will, without trouble, without difficulty!”
“But, brahman, those high or luxurious beds—a dais, a throne… a bed with red cushions at either end—are rarely obtained by one gone forth, and even if obtained, are not allowable.
“However, there are these three high & luxurious beds that I now obtain at will, without trouble, without difficulty. Which three? The divine high & luxurious bed, the Brahmā high & luxurious bed, the noble high & luxurious bed. These are the three high & luxurious beds that I now obtain at will, without trouble, without difficulty.”
“But which, Master Gotama, is the divine high & luxurious bed that Master Gotama now obtains at will, without trouble, without difficulty?”
“There is the case, brahman, where I dwell in dependence on a village or town. Early in the morning, having adjusted my under robe and carrying my bowl & robes, I enter that village or town for alms. After my meal, returning from my alms round, I go right into the forest. Gathering the grass & leaves there into a pile, I sit down cross-legged with my body erect, establishing mindfulness to the fore.
“Quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities, I enter & remain in the first jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, I enter & remain in the second jhāna: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation—internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, I remain in equanimity, mindful & alert, and sense pleasure with the body. I enter & remain in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasant abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain—as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress—I enter & remain in the fourth jhāna: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.”
“If, brahman, having become like this, I am walking back & forth, my walking back & forth on that occasion is divine. If, having become like this, I am standing, my standing on that occasion is divine. If, having become like this, I am sitting, my sitting on that occasion is divine. If, having become like this, I am lying down, this, on that occasion, is my divine high & luxurious bed.”
“How amazing, Master Gotama! How astounding! Who else aside from Master Gotama could obtain at will, without trouble, without difficulty, such a divine high & luxurious bed?
“But which, Master Gotama, is the Brahmā high & luxurious bed that Master Gotama now obtains at will, without trouble, without difficulty?”
“There is the case, brahman, where I dwell in dependence on a village or town. Early in the morning, having adjusted my under robe and carrying my bowl & robes, I enter that village or town for alms. After my meal, returning from my alms round, I go right into the forest. Gathering the grass & leaves there into a pile, I sit down cross-legged with my body erect, establishing mindfulness to the fore.
“I dwell pervading the first direction [the east] with an awareness imbued with goodwill, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, & all around, everywhere, in its entirety, I dwell pervading the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with goodwill—abundant, enlarged, immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will. I dwell pervading the first direction with an awareness imbued with compassion… empathetic joy… equanimity, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth. Thus above, below, & all around, everywhere, in its entirety, I dwell pervading the all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with equanimity—abundant, enlarged, immeasurable, without hostility, without ill will.
“If, brahman, having become like this, I am walking back & forth, my walking back & forth on that occasion is Brahmā-like. If, having become like this, I am standing, my standing on that occasion is Brahmā-like. If, having become like this, I am sitting, my sitting on that occasion is Brahmā-like. If, having become like this, I am lying down, this, on that occasion, is my Brahmā high & luxurious bed.”
“How amazing, Master Gotama! How astounding! Who else aside from Master Gotama could obtain at will, without trouble, without difficulty, such a Brahmā high & luxurious bed?
“But which, Master Gotama, is the noble high & luxurious bed that Master Gotama now obtains at will, without trouble, without difficulty?”
“There is the case, brahman, where I dwell in dependence on a village or town. Early in the morning, having adjusted my under robe and carrying my bowl & robes, I enter that village or town for alms. After my meal, returning from my alms round, I go right into the forest. Gathering the grass & leaves there into a pile, I sit down cross-legged with my body erect, establishing mindfulness to the fore.
“I discern: ‘Passion has been abandoned in me, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Aversion has been abandoned in me, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Delusion has been abandoned in me, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.
“If, brahman, having become like this, I am walking back & forth, my walking back & forth on that occasion is noble. If, having become like this, I am standing, my standing on that occasion is noble. If, having become like this, I am sitting, my sitting on that occasion is noble. If, having become like this, I am lying down, this, on that occasion, is my noble high & luxurious bed.”
“How amazing, Master Gotama! How astounding! Who else aside from Master Gotama could obtain at will, without trouble, without difficulty, such a noble high & luxurious bed?
“Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama—through many lines of reasoning—made the Dhamma clear. We go to Master Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of monks. May Master Gotama remember us as lay followers who have gone to him for refuge, from this day forward, for life.”
Origin URL: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN3_64.html