MN 39 Maha-Assapura Sutta: The Greater Discourse at Assapura
Thus have i heard.
On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Angan country at a town of the Angans named Assapura. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus." "Venerable sir," they replied. The Blessed One said this: "'Recluses, recluses,' bhikkhus, that is how people perceive you. And when you are asked, 'What are you?', you claim that you are recluses. Since that is what you are designated and what you claim to be, you should train thus: 'We will undertake and practice those things that make one a recluse, that make one a brahmin, so that our designations may be true and our claims genuine, and so that the services of those whose robes, alms food, resting place, and medicinal requisites we use shall bring them great fruit and benefit, and so that our going forth shall not be in vain but fruitful and fertile.'
CONDUCT AND LIVELIHOOD
"And what, bhikkhus, are the things that make one a recluse, that make one a brahmin? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'We will be possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing.'416 Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing. That much is enough, that much has been done, the goal of recluseship has been reached, there is nothing more for us to do'; and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done. "What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'Our bodily conduct shall be purified, clear and open, flawless and restrained, and we will not laud ourselves and disparage others on account of that purified bodily conduct.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing and our bodily conduct has been purified. That much is enough, that much has been done, the goal of recluseship has been reached, there is nothing more for us to do'; and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done. "
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'Our verbal conduct shall be purified, clear and open, flawless and restrained, and we will not laud ourselves and disparage others on account of that purified verbal conduct.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct has been purified, and our verbal conduct has been purified. That much is enough... and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'Our mental conduct shall be purified, clear and open, flawless and restrained, and we will not laud ourselves and disparage others on account of that purified mental conduct.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct and our mental conduct have been purified. That much is enough...and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'Our livelihood shall be purified, clear and open, flawless and restrained, and we will not laud ourselves and disparage others on account of that purified livelihood.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct, mental conduct and our livelihood have been purified. That much is enough..and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
RESTRAINT OF THE SENSES
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'We will guard the doors of our sense faculties. On seeing a form with the eye, we will not grasp at its signs and features. When we left the eye faculty unguarded, evil unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade us, thus we will need to practice the way of its restraint, we will guard the eye faculty, we will undertake the restraint of the eye faculty. On hearing a sound with the ear...On smelling an odour with the nose...On tasting a flavour with the tongue...On touching a tangible with the body...On cognizing a mind-object with the mind, we will not grasp at its signs and features. When we left the mind faculty unguarded, evil unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade us, we will need to practice the way of its restraint, we will guard the mind faculty, we will undertake the restraint of the mind faculty.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct, mental conduct, and livelihood have been purified, and we guard the doors of our sense faculties. That much is enough.. and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
MODERATION IN EATING
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'We will be moderate in eating. Reflecting wisely, we will take food neither for amusement nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the endurance and continuance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering: "Thus I shall terminate old feelings without arousing new feelings and I shall be healthy and blameless and shall live in comfort."' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct, mental conduct and livelihood have been purified, we guard the doors of our sense faculties and we are moderate in eating. That much is enough.. and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
WAKEFULNESS
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'We will be devoted to wakefulness. During the day, while walking back and forth and sitting, we will purify our minds of obstructive states. In the first watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, we will purify our minds of obstructive states. In the middle watch of the night we will lie down on the right side in the lion's pose with one foot overlapping the other, mindful and fully aware, after noting in our minds the time for rising. After rising, in the third watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, we will purify our minds of obstructive states.' Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct, mental conduct, and livelihood have been purified, we guard the doors of our sense faculties, we are moderate in eating, and we are devoted to wakefulness. That much is enough.. and you may be contented with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done.
MINDFULNESS AND FULL AWARENESS
"What more is to be done? Bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'We will be possessed of mindfulness and full awareness. We will act in full awareness when going forward and returning; when looking ahead and looking away; we will act in full awareness when flexing and extending our limbs; when wearing our robes and carrying our outer robe and bowl; when eating, drinking, eating; when defecating and urinating; we will act in full awareness when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, talking, and keeping silent.'
Now, bhikkhus, you may think thus: 'We are possessed of shame and fear of wrongdoing, our bodily conduct, verbal conduct, mental conduct, and livelihood have been purified, we guard the doors of our sense faculties, we are moderate in eating, we are devoted to wakefulness, and we are possessed of mindfulness and full awareness. That much is enough, that much has been done, the goal of recluseship has been reached, there is nothing more for us to do'; and you may rest content with that much. Bhikkhus, I inform you, I declare to you: You who seek the recluse's status, do not fall short of the goal of recluseship while there is more to be done. ABANDONING OF THE HINDRANCES
"What more is to be done? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu resorts to a secluded resting place: the forest, the root of a tree, a mountain, a ravine, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, an open space, a heap of straw. After returning from his alms round, after his meal he sits down, folding his legs crosswise, setting his body erect and establishing mindfulness before him. Abandoning covetousness for the world, he abides with a mind free from covetousness; he purifies his mind from covetousness. Abandoning ill will and hatred, he abides with a mind free from ill will, compassionate for the welfare of all living beings; he purifies his mind from ill will and hatred. Abandoning sloth and torpor, he abides free from sloth and torpor, percipient of light, mindful and fully aware; he purifies his mind from sloth and torpor. Abandoning restlessness and remorse, he abides un-agitated with a mind inwardly peaceful; he purifies his mind from restlessness and remorse. Abandoning doubt, he abides having gone beyond doubt, un-perplexed about wholesome states; he purifies his mind from doubt."
"Bhikkhus, suppose a man were to take a loan and undertake business and his business were to succeed such that he could repay all the money of the old loan and there would remain enough extra to maintain a wife; then on considering this, he would be glad and full of joy. Or suppose a man were afflicted, suffering and gravely ill, and his food would not agree with him and his body had no strength, but later he would recover from the affliction and his body would regain strength; then on considering this, he would be glad and full of joy. Or suppose a man were imprisoned in a jail, but later he would be released from prison, safe and secure, with no loss to his property; then on considering this, he would be glad and full of joy. Or suppose a man were a slave, not self-dependent but dependent on others, unable to go where he wants, but later on he would be released from slavery, self-dependent, independent of others, a freed man able to go where he wants; then on considering this, he would be glad and full of joy. Or suppose a man with wealth and property were to enter a-road across a desert, but later on he would cross over the desert, safe and secure, with no loss to his property; then on considering this, he would be glad and full of joy.
So too, bhikkhus, when these five hindrances are un-abandoned in himself, a bhikkhu sees them respectively as a debt, a disease, a jail, slavery, and a road across a desert. But when these five hindrances have been abandoned in himself, he sees that as freedom from debt, healthiness, release from prison, freedom from slavery, and a land of safety.
THE FOUR JHANAS
"Having abandoned these five hindrances, imperfections of the mind that weaken wisdom, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. He makes the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. Just as a skilled bath man or a bath man's apprentice heaps bath powder in a metal basin and, sprinkling it gradually with water, kneads it until the moisture wets his ball of bath powder, soaks it, and pervades it inside and out, yet the ball itself does not ooze; so too, a bhikkhu makes the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion.
"Again, bhikkhus, with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhana, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. He makes the rapture and pleasure born of concentration drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the rapture and pleasure born of concentration. "
"Again, bhikkhus, with the fading away as well of rapture, a bhikkhu abides in equanimity, and mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhana, on account of which noble ones announce: 'He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.' He makes the pleasure divested of rapture drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the pleasure divested of rapture. Just as, in a pond of blue or red or white lotuses, some lotuses that are born and grow in the water thrive immersed in the water without rising out of it, and cool water drenches, steeps, fills, and pervades them to their tips and their roots, so that there is no part of all those lotuses un-pervaded by cool water; so too, a bhikkhu makes the pleasure divested of rapture drench, steep, fill, and pervade this body, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the pleasure divested of rapture."
"Again, bhikkhus, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. He sits pervading this body with a pure bright mind, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the pure bright mind. Just as though a man were sitting covered from the head down with a white cloth, so that there would be no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the white cloth; so too, a bhikkhu sits pervading this body with a pure bright mind, so that there is no part of his whole body un-pervaded by the pure bright mind.
THE THREE TRUE KNOWLEDGES
"When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the recollection of past lives. He recollects his manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births...(as Sutta 4)...Thus with their aspects and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives. "
"When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the passing away and reappearance of beings...(as Sutta 4). Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions. Just as though there were two houses with doors and a man with good sight standing there between them saw people entering the houses and coming out and passing to and fro, so too, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, a bhikkhu sees beings passing away and reappearing...and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions."
"When his concentrated mind is thus purified, bright unblemished, rid of imperfection and attained to imperturbability, he directs it to knowledge of the destruction of the taints. He understands as it actually is: "This is suffering'...'This is the origin of suffering'...'This is the cessation of suffering'..."This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering'...'These are the taints'...'This is the origin of the taints'...'This is the cessation of the taints'..."This is the way leading to the cessation of the taints.' "When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge: 'It is liberated.' He understands: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.'
"Just as if there were a lake in a mountain recess, clear and undisturbed, so that a man with good sight standing on the bank could see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting, he might think: "There is this lake, clear and undisturbed, and there are these shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also these shoals of fish swimming about and resting.' Similarly a bhikkhu understands as it actually is: 'This is suffering.'...He understands: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.'
THE ARAHANT
"Bhikkhus, a bhikkhu such as this is called a recluse, a brahmin, one who has been washed, one who has attained to knowledge, a holy scholar, a noble one, an arahant. "
:And how is a bhikkhu a recluse? He has quietened down evil unwholesome states that defile, bring renewal of being, cause trouble and suffering, leading to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is a recluse. "
"And how is a bhikkhu a brahmin? He has expelled evil unwholesome states that defile...and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is a brahmin."
"And how is a bhikkhu one who has been washed? He has washed off evil unwholesome states that defile.. .and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is one who has been washed. "
"And how is a bhikkhu one who has attained to knowledge? He has known evil unwholesome states that defile...and lead to future birth, ageing, and death. That is how a bhikkhu is one who has attained to knowledge."
"And how is a bhikkhu a holy scholar? The evil unwholesome states that defile...and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, have streamed a way from him. That is how a bhikkhu is a holy scholar."
"And how is a bhikkhu a noble one? Evil unwholesome states that defile...and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, are far a way from him. That is how a bhikkhu is a noble one. "
"And how is a bhikkhu an arahant? Evil unwholesome states that defile, bring renewal of being, give trouble, ripen in suffering, and lead to future birth, ageing, and death, are far away from him. That is how a bhikkhu is an arahant."
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's words.
The Buddha elucidates "the things that make one a recluse" with a discourse covering many aspects of the bhikkhu's training. Since monks are called recluses (samanā) they must train themselves to be true samanas and brāhmanas; they should be
conscientious and scrupulous,
pure and restrained in bodily, verbal and mental conduct
Be mindful and protect your sense-gates: Sight, smell, taste, sound, touch and mind
Restraint and moderation in eating
Be alert and mindful
Striving to abandon the five hindrances and cultivating the jhāna meditative states
Such a person can then truly be called a samana, a brahmin and arahant. He is an ideal recluse.
References: 1. www.accesstoinsight.org 2. https://suttacentral.net/ 3. The middle length discourses of the Buddha (Bhikkhu Bodhi)