mahākaccana sutta & its parallel in the Āgama - bhikkhu anālayo

8/2/2019 Mahkaccana Sutta & Its Parallel in the gama - Bhikkhu Anlayo

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The Verses on an Auspicious Night, Anlayo 5

The Verses on an Auspicious Night,Explained by Mahkaccna A Studyand Translation of the Chinese Version

Bhikkhu Anlayo

Abstract :

The present paper offers a study and an annotated translation of the Madhyama-gamaparallel to theMahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta. The first part of thearticle examines two differences found between thePli and the Chinese versions, differences that appear to be due to the influence of notions held by thereciters on the transmission of the discourse. This is followed by a translation of the Madhyama-gama version. The final part of the article evaluates the sig-nificance of the verses on an auspicious night, which form the main theme of theMahkaccnabhaddeka-ratta-suttaand its Chinese counterpart

Introduction

Most of the discourses collected in the four Pli Nikyashavecounterparts in the gamas preserved in Chinese translation.Such parallel versions, being end products of oral transmis-sion by different Buddhist schools and eventually resulting intexts preserved in quite different languages, often agree inmany respects. At the same time, parallel versions also ex-hibit a number of variations and thus show the degree towhich oral transmission affected the discourse material that

we now have at our disposal.These two aspects, the general agreement and the occurrenceof variations, reflect the dynamics that underlies the oraltransmission of the early discourses, which was under the in-fluence of two determining factors. One of these two factors


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Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies, Number Four, 20076 8

is the considerable emphasis placed on correct and accurate transmission

of what was perceived to be the authentic word of the Buddha. In this re-spect, the early Buddhist oral tradition differs decisively from the freeimprovisation that characterizes oral tradition of a more narrative type.The other determining factor is that those responsible for transmitting thetextual legacy of early Buddhism had not necessarily undergone trainingin memorizing skills from their early youth onwards, as was the case forVedic reciters.1 This makes it nearly unavoidable for errors in transmis-sion to occur.The Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta is a good example of the degreeto which parallel versions concur in most aspects of their presentation,yet at the same time exhibit some differences. The Pli version, whichoccurs as the one-hundred-thirty-third discourse in the Majjhima-ni-kya,2 reports that adeva visits a monk and finds out that the latter doesnot know the verses on an auspicious night. Thedeva then tells the monkthat he should learn these verses from the Buddha. The monk followsthis suggestion and, having learned the verses from the Buddha, ap-proaches Mahkaccna for a more detailed explanation of their signifi-cance.The same pattern of events recurs in the Madhyama-gama parallel tothe Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta .3 This Madhyama-gama parallelis part of a discourse collection translated by the Kashmiri GautamaSa ghadeva during the period 397-398 AD, based on a written originalread out by Sa gharak a, another Kashmiri monk. The Chinese monkDao-ci ( ) acted as the scribe, assisted by Li-bao ( ) and Kang-hua ( ).4 The original used for translation appears to have been in aPr krit and with high probability stems from a Sarvstivda recitertradition.5 In addition to the Madhyama-gama version, another twopartial parallels to the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta are known. Oneof these is another Chinese translation, while the other parallel has beenpreserved in Tibetan.6

Two Significant Differences Out of the variations found between the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta and its Madhyama-gama counterpart, two instances are of par-ticular significance and thus deserve a more detailed examination. Oneof these two instances occurs in Mahkaccnas explanation of theverses spoken by the Buddha in the Madhyama-gama version. Accord-ing to the Madhyama-gama account, when describing the need to avoid


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attachment to past experiences, Mahkaccna qualifies the sense organs

as "really" existing.7

This qualification, which has no counterpart in thePli version, could be related to the school affiliation of the Madhyama-gama, which with considerable probability is the Sarvstivda tradition.The Mahvibh uses precisely the same expression in its treatment of the Sarvstivda tenet that the past and the future really exist, a positionthat met with opposition by other Buddhist schools.8 Thus in the presentinstance it seems as if a belief held by the Sarvstivdins may havecaused a change in the formulation of a canonical passage.What is particularly noteworthy about the present case is that the qualifi-cation of the sense organs as "really" existing is not used in regard topresent and future times. Hence, though the use of this qualification ap-

pears to express the influence of Sarvstivda thought, this influenceseems to have been of a somewhat accidental type, since it is not appliedconsistently. If the application of this qualification were the outcome of conscious editing, one would expect the same qualification to have beensimilarly applied to sense organs in future and present times.9 This is significant, since it indicates that even in the case of probable in-fluence of the school affiliation on the text, such influence may not bethe outcome of deliberate change. In the present case, it seems as if partof a Sarvstivda analysis of sense experience, which would have madesome statement to the effect that the sense organs "really" exist, becamepart of the discourse during the process of transmission. Because of theaccidental nature of this intrusion of exegetical material into the dis-course, apparently only the treatment of the past was affected, and thetreatment of present and future experiences remained in a more originalform.An example of later influence appears to also occur in the Majjhima-nikya version, with which we come to the second of the two instancesannounced above. This instance occurs in relation to the question askedby thedeva who came to visit Samiddhi. According to the Pli account,thedeva first asks Samiddhi if he knows the "summary and the analysis"on an auspicious night. When Samiddhi admits that he does not knowthem, thedeva asks if he knows the "verses" on an auspicious night,which Samiddhi also does not know.10 The corresponding passage in the Madhyama-gama version reports only a single query, which concernsthe verses.11 The presentation in the Pli discourse is to some extent puzzling, sincethe "verses" would correspond to the "summary". This can be seen in thelater part of the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta , where, after the Bud-


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dha has spoken the verses without further explaining their meaning, the

monks wonder who would be able to explain the meaning of this "sum-mary".12 This clearly identifies the verses as the summary. In fact, apartfrom the verses it would be difficult to find anything else that could bereckoned as a summary.Not only the reference to a "summary", but also the mentioning of an"analysis" does not fit subsequent events too well. This comes to light inthe section that describes the exchange between Samiddhi and the Bud-dha. After reporting what had taken place earlier, Samiddhi formulateshis request for a teaching by repeating the question thedeva had askedhim, that is, by inquiring about a "summary" and its "analysis".13 Thoughthe Buddha agrees to this, after having taught the verses he retires to his

dwelling without delivering any analysis or explanation of the verses.14

This is rather puzzling, since once the Buddha has agreed to Samiddhisrequest, one might wonder why he should suddenly change his mind andwithdraw without delivering the analysis he has just indicated that he iswilling to give. In the Madhyama-gamaversion, thedeva and Samiddhihad only been discussing the verses, so that when Samiddhi comes to seethe Buddha he only asks to be taught the verses. In view of this, in the Madhyama-gama it is quite natural for the Buddha to teach only theverses.Thus it seems as if the inquiry after a "summary" and an "analysis" in the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta does not fit its context too well, andthe flow of events in the Madhyama-gamaversion is more natural.The same pattern recurs in the case of theUddesavibha ga-suttaand its Madhyama-gama parallel. In the Pli version of this discourse, theBuddha himself announces a teaching that involves a summary and ananalysis, but then withdraws to his dwelling after giving only the sum-mary.15 In the Madhyama-gamaparallel, the Buddha does not make anysuch announcement, so that here the Buddhas departure after teachingonly a summary does not create any inconsistency.16 Another relevant case is the Lomasaka giyabhaddekaratta-sutta, whichalso reports how adeva asks a monk about the summary and analysis of an auspicious night, followed by asking him about the verses.17 As here,

too, the verses correspond to the summary, this double inquiry createsthe same redundancy as in the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta. In thiscase, again, the Madhyama-gamacounterpart and another Chinese par-allel only have a single inquiry.18 On considering these three instances,one might wonder what could have caused these recurrent references to a


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summary and its analysis, which do not fit the remainder of these dis-

courses.Explicit references to a summary and an analysis occur also in the intro-ductory section to another two discourses in this particular chapter of the Majjhima-nikya.19 Other discourses in this chapter announce a sum-mary, which they then follow with an analysis, while still other dis-courses adopt the pattern of a summary and its analysis without explicitannouncement.20 Thus the basic pattern, where a "summary" statement isfollowed by a more detailed explanation, an "analysis", appears to be auniting theme of this particular chapter in the Majjhima-nikya, the"chapter on analysis",Vibha gavagga.21 This characteristic pattern would have given a strong sense of cohesionand connectedness to this group of discourses during oral transmission.This can be seen in the circumstance that altogether nine counterparts tothe discourses found in theVibha ga-vaggaof the Majjhima-nikyaarelocated in the corresponding chapter on analysis in the Madhyama-gama.22 This is a remarkable correspondence, as the two collectionshave only four chapters in common. Of these four chapters, two chaptershave each four discourses in common and one chapter has only two dis-courses in common with its counterpart.23 Thus for the Majjhima-nikyachapter on "analyses" and the Madhyama-gama chapter on "analyses"to share altogether nine discourses is remarkable, suggesting that the pat-tern where a summary is followed by an analysis did indeed form astrong bond that kept this group of discourses together in the two recitertraditions.Thus the reciters must have been well aware of the pattern responsiblefor the formation of this chapter. Since the references to a summary andan analysis are absent from the respective Madhyama-gama parallels,and in several cases these references do not fit their context, resulting inredundancies and inconsistencies, the most plausible explanation wouldbe that they came to be part of the Pli discourses during oral transmis-sion. That is, during the oral transmission of the discourses now col-lected in the Majjhima-nikyaa remark, which originally may have been just a mnemonic aid to help the reciters be aware of the characteristicshared by this group of discourses, might have become part of the dis-courses themselves.In the case of the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta, this reference to asummary and an analysis creates both a redundancy (mentioning a "sum-mary" and again the "verses") and an inconsistency (the Buddha with-draws without teaching the analysis he had agreed to deliver). Thus the


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case of the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta could be another example

of how a notion held by the reciters influenced the wording of a dis-course during the course of oral transmission.The two cases discussed above the redundant query after a summaryand an exposition in the Pli version and the qualification of past senseorgans as truly existing in the Chinese version thus seem to testify tothe same phenomenon, namely to the influence exercised by views andideas held by the reciters on the way they transmitted the discourse. Inboth cases, these influences result in creating inconsistencies within thediscourses themselves, either by having the Buddha not give an analysishe had earlier agreed to give, or by qualifying only the sense organs of the past as truly existing, without applying the same to present and future

sense organs. In both cases, if these influences had been the outcome of conscious editing, one would expect the editors to have executed theirtask with more care and consistency, either by avoiding having the Bud-dha announce an analysis he then does not give, or by applying the quali-fication "really" consistently. Thus both cases are probably best under-stood as results of a more accidental type of change, as would be onlynatural for material transmitted by oral means.24 After these introductoryremarks, we are now ready to turn to the discourse itself.

Translation 25

Discourse on a Deva at the Hot Spring Grove26 1. Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in Rjagaha,staying in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels Feeding Place.27 VenerableSamiddhi was at that time also dwelling in Rjagaha, staying at the HotSpring Grove.When the night was over, towards dawn, venerable Samiddhi left hisdwelling and approached the hot springs, took off his robes and, [havingleft] them on the bank, entered the hot springs to take a bath. Havingtaken a bath he came out, wiped his body [dry] and put on his robes.28 At that time there was adeva of excellent bodily shape, with a majesticappearance. When the night was over, towards dawn, [thisdeva] ap-proached venerable Samiddhi, bowed down with its head [touching theground] to pay respect and,29 having stepped back, stood at one side. Thebrilliance of the excellent splendour of thatdevas appearance illumi-nated the hot springs and their banks. [After] having stepped back andstood at one side, thedeva respectfully said to venerable Samiddhi:


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2. "Monk, do you remember the verses30 on an auspicious night?"31

Venerable Samiddhi replied to thedeva: "I do not remember the verseson an auspicious night." He [then] asked thedeva: "Do you rememberthe verses on an auspicious night?"The deva replied: "I also do not remember the verses on an auspiciousnight."Venerable Samiddhi asked thedeva again: "Who remembers the verseson an auspicious night?"32 The deva answered: "The Blessed One is dwelling here in Rjagaha,staying in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels Feeding Place. He remem-bers the verses on an auspicious night. Monk, you could personally ap-proach the Blessed One and from him [learn how] to remember and re-cite the verses on an auspicious night. Why is that? [Because] the verseson an auspicious night pertain to the teachings, they pertain to what isbeneficial, being the root of the holy life, they [lead to] progress inknowledge, progress in realization, and progress towards Nibbna.33 [As]a son of a good family who, out of faith, has left the household life to be-come homeless and practise the path, [you] should [learn how] to re-member and recite the verses on an auspicious night."After speaking like this, thedeva paid respects with its head at the feet of venerable Samiddhi and, having circumambulated him three times, van-ished from that place.34

3. Not long after thedeva had disappeared, venerable Samiddhi ap-proached the Buddha, bowed down with his head [touching the ground]to pay respect and, having stepped back, sat at one side and respectfullysaid: "Blessed One, today, when the night was over ... (repeat the ac-count of the meeting between Samiddhi and thedeva, as given above)."35 The Blessed One asked: "Samiddhi, do you know thatdevas name andwhere he comes from?"36 Venerable Samiddhi replied: "Blessed One, I do not know thatdevasname and I also do not know where he comes from."The Blessed One said: "Samiddhi, thatdeva is called Main Hall;37 he is ageneral of the troops in the heaven of the Thirty-three."Then venerable Samiddhi respectfully said: "Blessed One, now is theright time, Well-gone One, now is the right time for the Blessed One toteach the verses on an auspicious night to the monks.38 Having heardthem from the Blessed One, the monks will remember them well."


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4. The Blessed One said: "Samiddhi, listen, listen, pay proper attention

to what I shall teach to you."Venerable Samiddhi respectfully said: "Yes, indeed." Then, [when] allthe monks [were ready] to listen and receive the instructions, the Buddhaproclaimed [these verses]:39 5. "Be careful not to think about the past,and do not long for the future.Matters of the past have already ceased,the future has not yet come.40 As for phenomena in the present moment,one should contemplate

with mindfulness [their] lack of stability.The wise awaken in this way.41 If one undertakes [such] practice of noble ones,who [would] be worried about death?I shall disengage from [all] that [which is related to death],[so that this] great suffering and misery comes to an end.42 Practise diligently like this,day and night without negligence!Therefore, the verses on an auspicious nightshould regularly be taught."43 6. Having spoken like this, the Buddha got up from his seat and enteredhis dwelling to sit in meditation.7. The monks thereon had the following reflection: "Venerable friends,please know that the Blessed One has given this instruction in brief and,without explaining its details, has gotten up from his seat and entered hisdwelling to sit in meditation, [namely]Be careful not to think about thepast ... (repeat as above)".44 They further had the following reflection: "Venerable friends, whowould be able explain in detail the meaning of what the Blessed One has just said in brief?" They further had the following reflection: "VenerableMahkaccna is always praised by the Blessed One and by [his] wise

companions in the holy life. Venerable Mahkaccna would be able toexplain in detail the meaning of what the Blessed One has just said inbrief. Venerable friends, let us together approach venerable Mahkac-cna and request him to explain its meaning. If venerable Mahkaccnaexplains it, we shall remember it well."45


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8. Thereon the monks approached venerable Mahkaccna, exchanged

greetings, stepped back to sit at one side, and respectfully said: "Vener-able Mahkaccna, please know that the Blessed One has given this in-struction in brief and, without explaining its details, has gotten up fromhis seat and entered his dwelling to sit in meditation, [namely]: Be care-ful not to think about the past ....46 We only wish that venerable Mah-kaccna would give [us] a detailed explanation, out of compassion."47 9. Venerable Mahkaccna said: "Venerable friends, listen to a similespoken by me. On hearing a simile wise ones will understand its mean-ing. Venerable friends, just as if there were a man who wants to searchfor heartwood. In order to search for heartwood, [he] enters the forest,holding an axe.48 He sees a great tree possessed of roots, branches, joints,

twigs, leaves, flowers and heartwood. That man does not take hold of theroots, branches, joints, and heartwood, but only takes hold of the twigsand leaves.49 Venerable friends, what you said is just like that. [Though] the BlessedOne is present [you] leave [him] and come to ask me about this meaning.Why is that? Venerable friends, please know that the Blessed One is theeye, is knowledge, is meaning, is the Dhamma, is the master of the Dhamma, is the general of the Dhamma, he teaches the true meaning, therevelation of all meanings is because of the Blessed One.50 Venerablefriends, you should have approached the Blessed One to ask about thismeaning: Blessed One, how is this? What is its meaning? As theBlessed One explains it, [you], venerable friends, could have well re-membered it accordingly."10. Then the monks respectfully said: "Yes, indeed, Venerable Mah-kaccna, the Blessed One is the eye, is knowledge, is meaning, is the Dhamma, is the master of the Dhamma, is the general of the Dhamma,he teaches the true meaning, the revelation of all meanings is because of the Blessed One. We should have approached the Blessed One to askabout this meaning: Blessed One, how is this? What is its meaning? Asthe Blessed One would have explained it, we should have remembered itwell. Yet, venerable Mahkaccna is always praised by the Blessed Oneand by [his] wise companions in the holy life. Venerable Mahkaccnawill be able explain in detail the meaning of what the Blessed One has just said in brief. We only wish that venerable Mahkaccna would give[us] a detailed explanation, out of compassion."51 11. Venerable Mahkaccna said to the monks: "Venerable friends, listentogether to what I say.


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12-13.52 Venerable friends, how does a monk think about the past? Ven-

erable friends, with the really existing eye a monk came to know agree-able forms,53 which the mind [now] remembers, forms that are yearnedfor, that are connected with desire, that the mind delights in, that [be-come] a basis for holding on [to forms], a basis that is from the past. Hisconsciousness has desires and is defiled with attachment in regard to thepast. Because of consciousness having desires and being defiled with at-tachment, he delights in those [forms]. Because of delighting in them, he[keeps on] thinking about the past.54 It is the same for the ear, the nose,the tongue, the body ... and the mind.55 14. Venerable friends, how does a monk not think about the past? ... (re-peat as above with appropriate changes).56

15. Venerable friends, how does a monk long for the future? Venerablefriends, if there are eye, forms, and eye-consciousness of the future, anda monk wishes to obtain what has not yet been obtained, [or] his mindlongs for [more of] what has already been obtained, [then] because of having longing in his mind he delights in those [forms]. Because of de-lighting in them, he longs for the future.57 It is the same for the ear, thenose, the tongue, the body ... and the mind.58 16. Venerable friends, how does a monk not long for the future? ... (re-peat as above with appropriate changes).59 17. Venerable friends, how does a monk cling to phenomena in the pre-sent moment? Venerable friends, if there are eye, forms, and eye-con-sciousness of the present, and a monks consciousness has desires and isdefiled with attachment for the present, [then] because consciousness hasdesires and is defiled with attachment, he delights in those [forms]. Be-cause of delighting in them, he clings to phenomena in the present mo-ment.60 It is the same for the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body ... andthe mind.61 18. Venerable friends, how does a monk not cling to phenomena in thepresent moment? ... (repeat as above with appropriate changes)62.19. Venerable friends, regarding this instruction in brief given by theBlessed One who, without explaining its details, got up from his seat and

entered his dwelling to sit in meditation, [namely]:Be careful not tothink about the past ....63 This brief instruction given by the Blessed One without explaining itsdetails, I would explain in detail in this way, employing these phrasesand words. Venerable friends, you can approach the Buddha and set out


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[my explanation] in full [to him].64 As the Blessed One explains its

meaning, [you], venerable friends, can remember it accordingly."20. Then, having heard venerable Mahkaccnas explanation, themonks remembered well [how] to recite it, rose from their seats, circum-ambulated venerable Mahkaccna three times, and left.65 Approachingthe Buddha they bowed down with their heads to pay respect, steppedback, sat at one side and respectfully said: "Blessed One, the instruction just given by the Blessed One in brief without drawing out the meaningin detail, after which [the Blessed One] got up from his seat and enteredhis dwelling to sit in meditation, the venerable Mahkaccna has ex-plained in detail employing these phrases and words."21. Having heard it, the Blessed One expressed his praise: "Well done,well done. My disciple is endowed with the eye, with knowledge, withmeaning, with Dhamma.66 Why is that? [Because] in regard to this instruction given by the teacher to the disciples in short, without explain-ing its details, that disciple has explained it in detail employing thesephrases and words. You should remember it accordingly like this, [just]as the monk Mahkaccna has explained it. Why is that?67 With the helpof this explanation [you] will [be able] to properly contemplate its mean-ing like this."The Buddha spoke like this. Those monks heard what the Buddha said,delighted in it and put it into practice.

Significance of the Verses :

The central element of the above discourse is the set of verses spoken bythe Buddha, which revolves around the theme of how to properly spendan "auspicious night". The allusion to an auspicious night could well be apopular phrase taken over and infused with a deeper meaning,68 some-thing the discourses often depict the Buddha as doing.69 Though the basicidea of an auspicious night would stem from ancient Indian conceptionsof particular nights that are considered spiritually auspicious, the lastverse in both versions makes it clear that the recommendations given arenot meant for a single night only, as such practice should be undertaken

"day and night".70

In fact, references to a night in ancient Indian usageneed not exclude the daytime, as "night" can function as an umbrellaterm for both day and night.71 Thus the central message of the Mahkac-cnabhaddekaratta-sutta and its Madhyama-gama parallel would bethat by letting go of past memories, by being free from yearning for the


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future, and by dwelling without attachment in the present moment, any

time becomes a truly "auspicious" time.As Mahkaccna clarifies in the two versions of the present discourse,the problem faced when trying to put this instruction into practice is thatthe mind may succumb to longing and desires in relation to any of thesenses and in regard to any of the three time periods. In regard to thepast, this may take place by reviving memories of what happened informer times. These could be beautiful things one has seen, pleasant mu-sic or words heard, fragrant scents that one has smelled, delicious fla-vours one has tasted, delightful physical touches, or even pleasant mentalexperiences that took place without being directly stimulated by somesensory input. Reviving such memories one "follows after" the past.72

Yet, what is past is gone and has ceased completely, thus spending thepresent moment immersed in memories of the past is to waste the poten-tial of the here and now.73 The same applies to any future experience, in that the tendency of theuntrained mind is to spend much time in daydreaming and fantasizingabout experiences yet to come. Underlying such daydreams is a longingfor pleasant experiences by way of any of the six senses, a wish to havethings exactly the way one would like them to be. Yet, such wishfulthinking is unrealistic, based on egocentric desires, and again simply awaste of time since it neglects taking advantage of whatever the presentmoment has to offer.

As any attempt at formal meditation practice will easily show, to avoidrevival of past memories and fantasies about the future is not an easytask and requires sustained effort at repeatedly returning to the only mo-ment where we can really live: the precious present moment. Though toremain in the present moment is already a demanding task, the Mah-kaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta and its Madhyama-gama parallel indicatethat to spend a truly "auspicious night" requires more than that: the pre-sent moments experience should be productive of insight. According tothe Chinese version, one should contemplate the lack of stability of whattakes place in the present, thereby becoming aware of the impermanentnature of all experience. The Pli version speaks of remaining unshakea-bly established in contemplating arisen phenomena with insight.74 Ac-cording to the commentary, this intends contemplation of impermanence,together with the other insight contemplations that build on awareness of impermanence.75 Hence awareness of impermanence seems to be the key to the verses onan auspicious night, in that one who maintains clear understanding of the


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changing nature of phenomena will remain established in the present

moment free from attachment and thereby avoid either dwelling on thepast or longing for the future.The same theme recurs in other discourses related to this particular set of verses. In the Majjhima-nikya, the Mahkaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta isone out of four discourses that take the verses on an auspicious night astheir common theme. The first of these discourses is the Bhaddekaratta-sutta,76 which follows the verses with an explanation given by the Bud-dha himself. In this explanation, the Buddha points out that delight inmemories of past experiences related to the five aggregates of clinging isto dwell on the past; wishing for some particular future manifestation of the five aggregates of clinging is to yearn for the future; and mistaking

any of the five aggregates of clinging as a self means that one is not pro-perly contemplating the present moment. In the nandakaccnabhad-dekaratta-sutta,77 nanda delivers precisely the same explanation on theverses, an explanation the Buddha then approvingly repeats. Finally, inthe Lomasaka giyabhaddekaratta-sutta a monk approaches the Buddhafor an explanation of the verses.78 In reply, the Buddha gives the sameexplanation as in the Bhaddekaratta-sutta. That is, the Bhaddekaratta-sutta, the nandakaccnabhaddekaratta-sutta and the Lomasaka giya-bhaddekaratta-sutta provide the same explanation of the verses on anauspicious night, based on the five aggregates of clinging.This is perhaps not surprising, since the five aggregates of clinging are aparticularly prominent object of insight contemplation in the discourses.Such contemplation forms part of the instructions given in theSatipa - hna-sutta, according to which mindfulness should be directed to theimpermanent nature of each aggregate.79 Instructions on this way of meditating are, according to a discourse in theSa yutta-nikya, compa-rable to a lions roar.80 Just as all the other animals will be full of fearwhen the lion sallies forth from his lair and roars his lions roar, so toothe gods in their heavenly abodes become full of fear on hearing theseinstructions by the Buddha, since they are made to realize that even theircelestial existence is impermanent.To become fully aware of the changing nature of all aspects of personalexistence, by contemplating according to the instructions given in thislions roar, thoroughly undermines all desires and ignorance and there-with erodes all conceited notions of a substantial "I".81 It may well be forthis reason that awareness of the impermanent nature of the five aggre-gates stands out in the discourses as a particularly prominent cause forgaining liberation.82 Thus to spend a truly auspicious night could indeed


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well be undertaken by directing awareness to the arising and passing

away of the five aggregates, thereby remaining with detachment in thepresent moment, without dwelling on fond memories from the past orengaging in fantasies about the future.Whereas the Buddha and nanda relate the verses on an auspicious nightto the five aggregates, Mahkaccna offers an explanation that is basedon the six senses. The Buddhas endorsement of Mahkaccnas exposi-tion clarifies that this different presentation is but a complementary per-spective on the same topic. That is, to view experience from the perspec-tive of the five aggregates or to view it from the perspective of the sixsenses are complementary approaches to the development of insight.Both are analyses of subjective existence, the one focussing on the con-

stituents of subjective personality, while the other takes up the differentfacets of subjective experience. In both cases, the main point remains thesame, in that by leaving behind past and future, and by remaining withawareness of impermanence in the present moment, the path to liberationunfolds.This basic requirement, aptly described in the verses on an auspiciousnight and treated from complementary perspectives by the Buddha andMahkaccna, finds a succinct expression in a verse in the Dhamma- pada, a verse that has been preserved similarly in a range of parallel ver-sions:Let go of the past, let go of the future,Let go of the present, transcending becoming. Muca pure muca pacchatomajjhe muca bhavassa pragu.83


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ABBREVIATIONS 84

D Derge editionDhp DhammapadaJ JtakaKhv KathvatthuM Madhyama-gama (T 26)MN Majjhima-nikya Q Peking editionS Sa yukta-gama (T 99)S2 partialSa yukta-gama (T 100)SHT Sanskrithandschriften aus den TurfanfundenSN Sa yutta-nikyaSN2 Sagthavagga of theSa yutta-nikya, new PTS edition (1998)T Taish

REFERENCES

Anlayo 2005: "Some Pli Discourses in the Light of Their Chinese Par-allels", Buddhist Studies Review, 2005, vol. 22 pp. 1-14 and 93-105.

Bapat, P. V. 1969: "Chinese Madhyamgama and the Language of itsBasic Text", in Dr. Satkari Mookerji Felicitation Volume, B. P.Sinha (ed.), Varanasi: Chowkhamba Publications, pp. 1-6.

Bareau, Andr 1955a: Le Premiers Conciles Bouddhiques,Paris: PressesUniversitaires de France.Bareau, Andr 1955b: LesSectes Bouddhiques du Petit V hicule, Paris:

Publications de lcole Franaise dExtrme-Orient.Bernhard, Franz 1965:Udnavarga, Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Rup-

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Introduction and Commentary, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.Childers, Robert Caesar 1993 (1875): A Dictionary of the Pali Lan-

guage, New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.Cone, Margaret 1989: "Patna Dharmapada", Journal of the Pali Text So-

ciety, vol. 13 pp. 101-217.Cox, Collett 1995: Disputed Dharmas, Early Buddhist Theories on Ex-

istence, An Annotated Translation of the Section on Factors Dis-sociated from Thought from Sa ghabhadras Nyynusra,To-kyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies.


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Enomoto, Fumio 1984: "The Formation and Development of the Sar-

vstivda Scriptures", inProceedings of the Thirty-First Inter-national Congress of Human Sciences in Asia and North Africa,Y. Tatsuro (ed.), Tokyo: Th Gakkai, pp. 197-198.

Enomoto, Fumio1986: "On the Formation of the Original Texts of theChinese gamas", Buddhist Studies Review, vol. 3 pp. 19-30.

Enomoto, Fumio 1989: "arrrthagth, a Collection of CanonicalVerses in the Yogcrabhmi", inSanskrit-Texte aus dem Bud-dhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen Folge 1, Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, vol. 1 pp. 17-35.

Frauwallner, Erich 1956:The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature, Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio edEstremo Oriente.

Gethin, Rupert 1992:The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiy Dhamm, Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Gombrich, Richard F. 1990: "Recovering the Buddhas message",The Buddhist Forum, vol. 1 pp. 5-20.

Hershock, Peter D. 2005: "Valuing Karma: A Critical Concept for Ori-enting Interdependence Toward Personal and Public Good", Journal of Buddhist Ethics, On-line Conference on RevisioningKarma,http://www.buddhistethics.org/karma12/hershock01.pdf.

Hirakawa, Akira, 1997: Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary, Tokyo:Reiyukai

L, Cheng 1963: "gama", inEncyclopaedia of Buddhism, G.P. Mala-lasekera (ed.), Sri Lanka: Department of Buddhist Affairs, vol. 1no. 2 pp. 241-244.

Mayeda [= Maeda], Egaku 1985: "Japanese Studies on the Schools of theChinese gamas", in Zur Schulzugehrigkeit von Werken der Hnayna-Literatur , H. Bechert (ed.), Gttingen: Vandenhoeck& Ruprecht, vol. 1 pp. 94-103.

Minayeff, I.P. et al. 1983: Buddhist Texts from Kashgar and Nepal, NewDelhi.

Minh Chau, Thich 1991:The Chinese Madhyama gama and the Pli Majjhima Nikya,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

amoli, Bhikkha 2005 (1995):The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Bhikkhu Bodhi (ed.), Boston: Wisdom. ananda 1984 (1973): Ideal Solitude, An exposition of the Bhad-dekaratta Sutta, Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society.

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Nattier, Jan 2003: A Few Good Men: The Bodhisattva Path according to

The Inquiry of Ugra (Ugraparip cch), Honolulu: University of Hawaii PressPulleyblank, Edwin G. 1991: Lexicon of Reconstructed Pronunciation in

Early Middle Chinese, Late Middle Chinese and Early Manda-rin, Vancouver: UBC Press.

Rhys Davids, C.A.F. 1902: Review [of Majjhima-NikyaPTS ed. vol. IIand III], Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, pp. 472-483.

Rhys Davids, T.W. 1921: Dialogues of the Buddha, Translated from thePli of the Dgha Nikya,London: Oxford University Press, vol.3.

Skilling, Peter 1997: Mahstras: Great Discourses of the Buddha, Ox-ford: Pali Text Society, vol. 2.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu 2002: Handful of Leaves, An Anthology, Santa Cruz:Sati Centre for Buddhist Studies.

von Hinber, Oskar 1982: "Uplis Verses in the Majjhimanikya andthe Madhyamgama", in Indological and Buddhist Studies, Vol-ume in Honour of Professor J. W. de Jong on his 60th birthday,L.A. Hercus (ed.), Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies, pp. 243-251.

von Hinber, Oskar 1989: Der Beginn der Schrift und fr he Schriftlich-keit in Indien,Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner.

Waldschmidt, Ernst et al. 1971:Sanskrithandschriften aus den Turfan- funden, Teil 3, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner.

Waldschmidt, Ernst 1980: "Central Asian Stra Fragments and their Re-lation to the Chinese gamas", inThe Language of the Earliest Buddhist Tradition, H. Bechert (ed.), Gttingen: Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht, pp. 136-174.

Wayman, Alex 1989: "Doctrinal Affiliation of the Buddhist MasterAsa ga" in Amal Praj: Aspects of Buddhist Studies, Profes-sor P.V. Bapat Felicitation Volume, N.H. Samtani et al. (ed.),Delhi: Sri Satguru, pp. 201-221.

Winternitz, Moriz 1908:Geschichte der Indischen Literatur, Erster Band, Einleitung, Der Veda, Die volkst mlichen Epen und diePur as, Leipzig: C.F. Amelangs.

Yin-shun ( ) 1983 (1962): [The Compilation of the Early Buddhist Canon], Taipei: .Zongtse, Champa Thupten et al. 1990:Udnavarga, Band III: Der tibeti-sche Text , Gttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.


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*I am indebted to Rod Bucknell, Giuliana Martini, Ken Su and the reviewers of the CJBS for helpful comments on earlier versions of this article.1 Von Hinber 1989: 67-68 points out that while Brahmins were trained fromtheir childhood onwards in memorizing, training as a reciter in the early Bud-dhist tradition would only begin after ordination, which usually took place at alater age; cf. also Frauwallner 1956: 172-173 and Gombrich 1990: 6-7.2 MN 133 at MN III 192-199.3 M 165 at T I 696b-698c. The introductory narration of the meeting betweenSamiddhi and adeva recurs as the prologue to another discourse of differentcontent, SN 1:20 at SN I 8,16 (or SN2 20 at SN2 I 18,10), cf. also Jtaka tale no.167 at J II 57. This meeting led to a different discussion, as the visitingdevatried to tempt Samiddhi with sensual pleasures. The parallels to SN 1:20, S1078 at T II 281c4 and S2 17 at T II 379a24, do not give the name of the monk.4 T I 809b26: , ,

, , (a variant reading gives the name of the last as )5 On the original language of the Madhyama-gama see Bapat 1969: 5; Eno-moto 1986: 20 and von Hinber 1982: 250. On its school affiliation see Eno-moto 1984; L 1963: 242; Mayeda 1985: 98; Minh Chau 1991: 27; Wald-schmidt 1980: 136 and Yin-shun 1983: 703.6 The partial Chinese parallel is T 1362 at T XXI 881c-882c, which has the title"discourse spoken by the Buddha on [the topic of] a good night", , adiscourse that according to the Taish edition was translated during the 7th cen-tury by Yi Jing ( ). The partial Tibetan parallel was probably translated dur-ing the early 9th century, a translation attributed to Jinamitra, Dnala, and Yeshes sde. This translation occurs three times in the Derge edition as no. 313 at Dmdo sde sa 161b-163b, no. 617 at Drgyud bum ba 56a-58b and no. 974 at Dgzungs dus wa 90a-92a; and twice in the Peking edition as no. 979 at Qmdoshu 171a-173b and no. 599 at Qrgyud ya 96b-98b. The occurrence of three ver-sions of this translation in the Derge edition and two versions in the Peking edi-tion appears to be due to some uncertainty about the category to which this textshould be assigned, with the result that it was finally placed into two or eveninto three categories, namelystra, tantra , and dhra , cf. also Skilling 1997:81-83. The Chinese and Tibetan versions parallel only the first part of MN 133and M 165, as they do not have Mahkaccnas commentary on the verses.7 M 165 at T I 697c20: , while in the case of future and present experienceM 165 at T I 698a15+21only employs , without .8 T 1545 at T XXVII 393a24: ; cf. also the discussion in theVij-nakya, T 1539 at T XXVI 534c18, with a rsum in Bareau 1955a: 137; and the

survey in Cox 1995: 136-137, with further references in her notes. The Thera-vdin critique of this position can be found in Khv 116 under the headingsab-bamatthtikath.9 This treatment of only the past as really existing would not only differ from theposition taken in the Sarv stiv da school(s), but also from that taken in the K -yap ya tradition, which apparently affirmed a partial existence of the path (in as


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much as the past is still to bear fruit) and a partial existence of the future (in asmuch as some future events are already now determined), cf. Bareau 1955b: 202and Khv 151-155.10 MN 133 at MN III 192,10: "do you remember the summary and analysis on anauspicious night?",dhresi ... bhaddekarattassa uddesa ca vibha ga ca?; fol-lowed at MN III 192,16 by: "do you remember the verses on an auspiciousnight?",dhresi ... bhaddekarattiyo gth?11 M 165 at T I 696c7. The same is also the case for the other Chinese transla-tion and the Tibetan version, though these speak of the "discourse" on an auspi-cious night, instead of the "verses", cf. T 1362 at T XXI 881c10: "have youheard the discourse on the wholesome night?", ?; and Qmdo shu171b1: "monk, do you know the discourse on an auspicious night?",dge slongkhyod kyis mtshan mo bzang poi mdo sde shes sam? A brief discussion of thisinconsistency in MN 133 has already appeared in Anlayo 2005: 101.12 MN 133 at MN III 193,24: "Friends, the Blessed One, having given this sum-mary in brief to us ... has retired to his dwelling ... who would explain the mean-ing of this summary given in brief?",ida kho no, vuso, Bhagav sa khittenauddesa uddisitv ... vihra pavi ho ... ko nu kho imassa Bhagavat sa khit-tena uddesassa uddi hassa ... attha vibhajjeyya?13 MN 133 at MN III 193,5: "it would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed Onewere to teach me the summary and the analysis on an auspicious night",sdhume, bhante, Bhagav bhaddekaratassa uddesa ca vibha ga ca desetu. 14 MN 133 at MN III 193,8: "then, monk, listen and pay careful attention, I willspeak",tena hi, bhikkhu, su hi sdhuka manasikarohi, bhsissmi, a stan-dard pericope for indicating the impending delivery of the teaching that hasbeen requested.15 MN 138 at MN III 223,5: "I will teach you a summary and an analysis,monks, listen and attend well, I am about to speak",uddesavibha ga vo, bhik-khave, desissmi, ta su tha sdhuka manasikarotha bhsissmi. Bodhi in amoli 2005: 1349 note 1249 comments that "it is strange that the Buddha,having announced that he will teach a summary and an exposition, should reciteonly the summary and leave without giving the exposition".16 In M 164 at T I 694b16, the Buddha instead announces that he will give ateaching that is good in the beginning, middle and end, etc.17 MN 134 at MN III 199,27: "do you remember the summary and analysis on anauspicious night?",dhresi ... bhaddekarattassa uddesa ca vibha ga ca?, fol-lowed at MN III 200,5 by: "do you remember the verses on an auspiciousnight?",dhresi ... bhaddekarattiyo gth?18 Both versions inquire after the verses together with their meaning, M 166 atT I 698c14: and T 77 at T I 886b7: .19 MN 131 at MN III 187,17 and MN 132 at MN III 190,1, where, however, thereference to a summary and an analysis does not create any redundancy or in-consistency.


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20

MN 137 at MN III 216,8; MN 139 at MN III 230,20 and MN 140 at MN III239,15 explicitly identify their introductory statement as a summary, which theythen follow by a more detailed analysis. MN 135 at MN III 203,10; MN 136 atMN III 209,2 and MN 141 at MN III 248,4 proceed from a succinct statement toits analysis, without, however, announcing this explicitly.21 The only exception to this appears to be MN 142, which does not follow thispattern. Rhys Davids 1902: 475 is of the opinion that MN 142 "seems to belong,in its subject-matter, to the Vinaya" and was "probably interpolated" in the Maj- jhima-nikya.22 This is the 13th chapter in the Madhyama-gama, the , which con-tains the counterparts to MN 132, MN 133, MN 134, MN 135, MN 136, MN137, MN 138, MN 139, and MN 140, though in a different sequence.23 The 4th Majjhima-nikya chapter on pairs ( Mahyamaka-vagga) has a coun-terpart in the 15th Madhyama-gama chapter on pairs ( ), which containsparallels to MN 31, MN 32, MN 39 and MN 40. The 9th Majjhima-nikyachap-ter on kings ( Rja-vagga) has a counterpart in the 6th Madhyama-gama chapterrelated to kings ( ), which contains parallels to MN 81 and MN 83. The10th Majjhima-nikyachapter on Brahmins ( Brhma a-vagga) has a counterpartin the 12th Madhyama-gama chapter on Brahmins ( ), which containsparallels to MN 91, MN 93, MN 96 and MN 99.24 Nattier 2003: 52 explains that "to assume a creative individual author as thedriving force behind interpolations in Buddhist scripture is to import a modelthat is foreign to most of the literary processes that have shaped the productionof Indian religious texts".25 In order to facilitate comparison between the two versions, in my translationof M 165 I adopt the paragraph numbering used in amoli 2005: 1044-1049 for the Pli discourse. For the same reason, I employ Pli terminologythroughout, without thereby intending to take a position on the original languageof the Madhyama- gama. 26 , thus differing from the Pli versions title Mahkaccnabhaddeka-ratta-sutta .27 According to MN 133 at MN III 192,2, the Buddha was also staying in theta- podrma.28 In MN 133 at MN III 192,5, Samiddhi just stands and lets his limbs dry bythemselves,a hsi gattni pubbpayamno.29 MN 133 does not report that thedeva paid respect by bowing down.30 In MN 133 at MN III 192,11, thedeva instead inquires after the "summary andanalysis" of these verses,uddesa ca vibha ga ca, and after Samiddhi has ex-

plained that he does not know them, thedeva asks after the verses themselves.31 M 165 at T I 696c7: , yielding the early middle Chinese pronuncia-tionbat dih la t jh (following Pulleyblank 1991: 27, 76 and 203). Sanskrit frag-ment versions of this expression can be found in SHT III 816 V3 in Wald-schmidt 1971: 32, which reads:bhadragartrya (cf. also R2), and in fragment 3b3 in Minayeff 1983: 243, which reads:bhadrakartriya . The Tibetan version


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Q mdo shu 171a7 (used throughout this study as a representative of the alto-gether five extant versions) speaks of an "auspicious night",mtshan mo bzang po, corresponding tobhadrakartr . MN 133 at MN III 192,11 readsbhaddeka-ratta . Bodhi in amoli 2005: 1342 note 1210 explains that "ratta and ratti could be taken to represent respectively either Sktrtra and rtri (= night) orSktrakta and rakti (= attachment)". The Sanskrit and Tibetan versions supportthe first alternative.32 This inquiry and thedeva directing Samiddhi to the Buddha are not found inMN 133.33 In MN 133 at MN III 192,25, the deva only indicates that these verses arebeneficial and fundamental for the holy life,atthasa hita and dibrahmacari- yaka. The next sentence in M 165 (on the son of a good family) is without acounterpart in MN 133. 34 In MN 133 at MN III 192,27, the deva simply vanishes, without paying re-spect or performing circumambulations.35 M 165 repeats the full account of the meeting between Samiddhi and thedeva.36 This inquiry and the subsequent revelation of thedevas name is not found inMN 133.37 At this point, M 165 at T I 697a11 switches from the earlier , *deva, to

, *devaputta. Childers 1993: 115 s.v.devaputto explains that "devaputto ...means simply a male deva", so that this change of terminology may be of nofurther significance.38 In MN 133 at MN III 193,6, Samiddhi instead requests the Buddha to teachthe summary and analysis on an auspicious night.39 MN 133 does not explicitly refer to other monks at this point, though theirpresence is evident from the continuity of the discourse.40 Parallels to this verse can also be found in theYogcrabhmi, T 1579 at TXXX 387c28, cf. also Enomoto 1989: 35 and Wayman 1989: 209; further paral-lels are listed in Skilling 1997: 82.41 The second part of this verse in MN 133 at MN III 193,15 instead reads: "im-movable and unshakeable, having known it let him [continue to] cultivate [inthis way]",asa hra asa kuppa , ta vidvmanubrhaye . The correspond-ing part in T 1362 at T XXI 882a5 reads: "erroneous ideas in the mind are diffi-cult to dispel, [hence] the wise should contemplate properly", ,

. The Tibetan version at Qmdo shu172a8 reads: "without being led astrayby conceptual thought, one [should] completely and thoroughly understand[phenomena]",rnam par rtog pas mi phrogs par, de dag thams cad khong du

chud .42 MN 133 at MN III 193,16 reads: "right now diligence should be done, whoknows if death will come tomorrow, there is no bargaining with Death and hisgreat armies",ajj eva kiccam tappa , ko ja mara a suve, na hi no sa -gara tena, mahsenena maccun . T 1362 at T XXI 882a6 reads: "it is fitting toquickly make an effort, who knows what will happen tomorrow, because that


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King of Death [and his] assembly, are closely following you",

, , , . The Tibetan parallel at Qmdo shu172a8 reads:

"I may die tomorrow - who knows? [Therefore], already today I should be dili-gent, [since] the King of Death and [his] great army are not my friends",sangtsam shi yang su shes kyis, de ring nyid du brtun te byas, chi bdag sde chen dedang ni, bdag tu bshes pa ma yin no.43 The second part of this verse in MN 133 at MN III 193,19 instead reads: "tohim, indeed, the night is auspicious, so the peaceful sage has explained",ta vebhaddekaratto ti, santo cikkhate muni. The corresponding part in T 1362 at TXXI 882a8 reads: "for this reason I, the sage, have now expounded the discourseon an auspicious night", , . The relevant part of this versein Qmdo shu 172b2 reads: "for this reason the discourse on an auspicious nighthas always been taught by the sage",de phyir mtshan mo bzang po yi, mdo sdethub pas rtag tu gsungs.44 M 165 gives the verses in full.45 In MN 133, the monks do not explicitly indicate their intention to rememberMahkaccnas explanation.46 M 165 repeats the verses and the reflection of the monks.47 In MN 133 at MN III 194,29, the request by the monks does not refer to com-passion. 48 MN 133 does not mention the axe.49 M 165 at T I 697c4 employs the character to describe the action of thisman. The usual meaning of is "to touch", though Hirakawa 1997: 1069 indi-cates that the same character can also renderupahanyamna and parm a,which would better fit the present context. MN 133 at MN III 195,1 speaks of thinking that heartwood should be sought among branches and leaves,skha- palse sram pariyesitabba maeyya.50 MN 133 at MN III 195,5 reads: "the Blessed one knows [what is to be]known, the Blessed One sees [what is to be] seen, he has become vision, he hasbecome knowledge, he has become the Dhamma, he has become Brahm, he isthe speaker, expounder, and elucidator of meaning, the giver of the Deathless,the lord of the Dhamma, theTathgata", Bhagav jna jnti passa passaticakkhubhto abhto dhammabhto brahmabhto vatt pavatt atthassa nin-net amatassa dt dhammassm tathgato.51 In MN 133 at MN III 195,19, the monks express their hope that giving an ex-planation will not inconvenience him,agarukaritv. According to M 165 at TI 697c17, they appeal to his compassion, .52 Under paragraph 12 in amolis translation, corresponding to MN 133 at

MN III 195,27 in the PTS edition, Mahkaccna repeats the verses spoken bythe Buddha. In M 165, this repetition comes only at the end of Mahkaccnasexplanation at T I 698b8, where it is also found in MN 133 at MN III 198,9.53 M 165 at T I 697c20: . Notably, in relation to future andpresent, M 165 does not qualify the sense organs as "really" existing.


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54

MN 133 at MN III 195,32 reads: "such was my eye in the past, such wereforms, [thinking like this] consciousness is bound by desire and lust. Due toconsciousness being bound by desire and lust, he delights in [the past visual ex-perience]. Delighting in that, he follows after the past",iti me cakkhu ahosiattam addhna iti rp ti tattha chandargapa ibaddha hoti vi a ,chandargapa ibaddhatt vi assa tad abhinandati, tad abhinandato attaanvgameti.55 M 165 abbreviates ear, nose, tongue and body, but again gives a full treat-ment of the mind.56 M 165 treats the opposite case in full, following the pattern of its treatmentof thinking about the past.57 MN 133 at MN III 196,25 reads: "may my eye be such in the future, mayforms be such, [thinking like this] the mind is inclined towards getting of whathas not been gotten. Because of the mind being inclined, he delights in [the fu-ture visual experience]. Delighting in that, he hopes for the future",iti me cak-khu siy angata addhna iti rp ti appa iladdhassa pa ilbhya citta pa idahati, cetaso pa idhnapaccay tad abhinandati, tad abhinandato anga-ta pa ika khati.58 M 165 abbreviates ear, nose, tongue and body, but again gives a full treat-ment of the mind.59 M 165 treats the opposite case in full, following the pattern of its treatmentof longing for the future.60 MN 133 at MN III 197,15 reads: "the eye and forms, friends, are both pres-ently arisen. [If] consciousness is bound by desire and lust in regard to what ispresently arisen, [then], due to consciousness being bound by desire and lust, hedelights in [the present visual experience]. Delighting in that, he is overwhelmedby presently arisen phenomena", ya c vuso cakkhu ye c rp ubhayameta paccuppanna , tasmi yeva paccuppanne chandargapa ibaddha hotivi a , chandargapa ibaddhatt vi assa tad abhinandati, tad abhinan-dato paccuppannesu dhammesu sa hrati.61 M 165 abbreviates ear, nose, tongue and body, but again gives a full treat-ment of the mind.62 M 165 treats the opposite case in full, following the pattern of its treatmentof clinging in the present moment.63 M 165 gives the verses in full.64 MN 133 does not report that Mahkaccna explicitly told the monks to repeathis explanation in front of the Buddha, though the same is implicit in his invita-tion that they should ask the Buddha about the meaning of the verses, MN III198,14: eta attha pa ipuccheyytha.65 MN 133 does not record that the monks remembered Mahkaccnas exposi-tion well, nor that they circumambulated him.66 The Buddhas praise of Mahkaccna in MN 133 at MN III 199,11 reads:"monks, Mahkaccna is wise, monks, Mahkaccna has great wisdom", pa -

ito, bhikkhave, Mahkaccno, mahpao, bhikkhave, Mahkaccno.67 This question and the following sentence are not found in MN 133.


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68

Cf. amoli 2005: 1343 note 1210. aponika 1977: 346 note 966 relatesthe expressionbhaddekaratta to the Brahminical custom of spending a religiousobservance night by fasting, staying awake, and meditating.69 Rhys Davids 1921: 132 illustrates this mode of teaching with the imagery of "pouring new wine into the old bottles". Hershock 2005: 4 speaks of "openlyaccommodating ... existing political, social and religious authorities" and thenfocussing "on how they might be skilfullyredirected ", expressive of a "generalstrategy of accepting, but then pointedly revising the meaning" of contemporaryconceptions.70 MN 133 at MN III 193,18: ahoratta , and M 165 at T I 697a24: . a-nanda 1984: 3 comments that "the Bhaddekaratta-suttas do not appear to envis-age withdrawal from thoughts of the past, future and present for so little as onenight. On the contrary, the verses ... say that the person to be calledbhaddeka-ratta is he who abides ardently and unweariedly day and night, that is, surely forsome consecutive time lasting longer than one night".71 According to Thanissaro 2002: 346, the reference to a night in the expressionbhaddekaratta "should be interpreted in light of the custom common in cul-tures that follow the lunar calendar of calling a 24-hour period of day-and-night a night"; cf. also Winternitz 1908: 361 note 1, who explains that Indiansreckon time in "nights", instead of "days".72 MN 133 at MN III 193,11 enjoins that one "should not follow after the past",atta nnvgameyya, with the commentary Ps IV 239 explaining thatanv-gameti intendsanugacchati, "to go after" (by way of craving and views).73 ananda 1984: 27 clarifies, however, that "it is not so much the mere recol-lection of the past that is the bondage ... it is the tendency to retrace, revive, re-live and relish the past that has to be eliminated", that is, the problem is notmemory as such, but attachment and delight in regard to what is remembered.74 MN 133 at MN III 193,13: tattha tattha vipassati, asa hra asa kuppa .75 Ps V 1:aniccnupassandhi sattahi anupassanhi ... vipassati.76 MN 131 at MN III 187-189. This discourse appears to have no Chinese coun-terpart. However, Sanskrit fragment SHT III 816 in Waldschmidt 1971: 32could be a partial parallel to MN 131, as SHT III 816 V1-2 records that the Bud-dha was at Jetas Grove by Svatth and addressed the monks on his own whendelivering the verses, which is similar to the introductory narration in MN 131at MN III 187,13.77 MN 132 at MN III 189-191, which has a parallel in M 167 at T I 699c-700b.78 MN 134 at MN III 199-202, which has two Chinese parallels, M 166 at T I698c-699c and T 77 at T I 886a-887a.79 MN 10 at MN I 61,3: iti rpa , iti rpassa samudayo, iti rpassa atthagamo;iti vedan ... iti sa ... iti sa khr ... iti vi a , iti vi assa samudayo,iti vi assa atthagamo.80 SN 22:78 at SN III 84,22.81 SN 22:102 at SN III 157,3: iti rpa ... iti vi assa atthagamo ti. evabhvit ... aniccasa ... sabba kmarga pariydiyati ... sabbam avijja pariydiyati, sabbam asmimna samhanati. The parallel S 270 at T II


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70c28 similarly indicates that awareness of the impermanent nature of the fiveaggregates will remove all desires, conceit and ignorance, , , , ,

, , . . . , .82 Gethin 1992: 56 comments that "the practice of watching rise and fall with re-gard to the five aggregates of grasping seems to be particularly associated withthe gaining of the insight that leads directly to the destruction of thesavas, di-rectly to awakening".83 Dhp 348; with parallels in verse 161 in Brough 2001: 144,muju pura muju pachadu, majadu muju bhavasa parako; verse 150 in Cone 1989: 142,muca pure muca pacchato, majjhe muca bhavassa prag; verse 29.57 in Bernhard1965: 391,muca purato muca pacato, madhye muca bhavasya praga ;verse 29.60 in Zongtse 1990: 326: "let go of past and future, let go of [what is]in between, transcend existence,sngon bral phyi ma dang bral zhing, dbus bralsrid pai pha rol phyin; T 210 at T IV 569b12: "avoid [what is] before and befree of [what is] behind, let go of the middle, cross over [all] that", ,

(following the indication in Hirakawa 1997: 1177 thatcan also ren-der pari + h ); T 212 at T 752c23: " let go of [what is] before, let go of [whatis] behind, let go of [what is] between, transcend existence", , ;and T 213 at T IV 794a13: " let go of [what is] before and let go of [what is] be-hind, let go of [what is] between, transcend existence", , . 84 In the case of Pli and Chinese sources, quotations are according to the PTSand Taish editions by giving first the discourse by number and then its locationby volume, page and line; in the case of Tibetan sources, quotations are to thelocation in the Derge and Peking editions.

mahākaccana sutta & its parallel in the Āgama - bhikkhu anālayo

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