122. （一二二）瞻波经

I have heard thus:

At one time, the Buddha was wandering in Campā, by the side of the Ganges River.

At that time, on the fifteenth day of the month, when the Buddha was about to give the Dharma talk on the liberation of the mind, he sat on the prepared seat in front of the assembly of monks. After the Buddha had sat down, he immediately entered concentration and observed the minds of the assembly with his mind-reading ability. Having observed the minds of the assembly, he remained silent until the first watch of the night. Then, a monk rose from his seat, put on his robe, joined his palms towards the Buddha, and said, "World-Honored One! The first watch of the night has already passed. The Buddha and the assembly of monks have been sitting here for a long time. I only wish that the World-Honored One would give the Dharma talk on the liberation of the mind." At that time, the World-Honored One remained silent and did not reply. Then, the World-Honored One continued to sit in silence until the middle watch of the night.

That monk rose from his seat again, put on his robe, joined his palms towards the Buddha, and said, "World-Honored One! The first watch of the night has already passed, and the middle watch is about to end. The Buddha and the assembly of monks have been sitting here for a long time. I only wish that the World-Honored One would give the Dharma talk on the liberation of the mind." The World-Honored One remained silent and did not reply again. Then, the World-Honored One continued to sit in silence until the last watch of the night.

That monk rose from his seat again, put on his robe, joined his palms towards the Buddha, and said, "World-Honored One! The first watch of the night has already passed, and the middle watch is also over. The last watch of the night is about to end, and dawn is approaching. It will not be long before dawn breaks. The Buddha and the assembly of monks have been sitting here for a long time. I only wish that the World-Honored One would give the Dharma talk on the liberation of the mind."

At that time, the World-Honored One said to that monk, "In this assembly, there is a monk who is not pure."

At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana was also in the assembly. Then Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana thought, "Why did the World-Honored One say that there is a monk in this assembly who is not pure? I should enter the samādhi of suchness and observe the minds of the assembly with the wisdom of knowing the minds of others through the samādhi of suchness."

Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana then entered the samādhi of suchness and observed the minds of the assembly with the wisdom of knowing the minds of others through the samādhi of suchness. Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana then knew for whom the World-Honored One had said that there was a monk in this assembly who was not pure. Then Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana rose from his samādhi, went before that monk, took him by the arm, led him out, opened the door, and placed him outside, saying, "Fool, go away! Do not stay here! You are no longer allowed to join the assembly of monks. From now on, you are not a monk." He closed the door, locked it, returned to the Buddha, bowed at the Buddha's feet, sat to one side, and said, "World-Honored One, I have already expelled the monk for whom the World-Honored One said that there was a monk in this assembly who was not pure. World-Honored One, the first part of the night has passed, the middle part of the night is over, and the last part of the night is almost over. It is about to dawn, and it will not be long before dawn. The Buddha and the assembly of monks have been sitting here for a long time. I only wish that the World-Honored One would teach the liberation."

The World-Honored One said, "Mahāmaudgalyāyana! That foolish person will incur great blame for disturbing the World-Honored One and the assembly of monks. Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If the Tathāgata were to teach liberation in an impure assembly, that person's head would burst into seven pieces. Therefore, Mahāmaudgalyāyana! From now on, you should teach liberation. The Tathāgata will no longer teach liberation. Why is that? Mahāmaudgalyāyana! There may be a foolish person who knows right and wrong, observes well, bends and stretches, bows and looks up, with proper deportment, wears the saṃghāṭī robe and other robes, and carries the alms bowl, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, sleeping, waking, speaking, and being silent, all with right knowledge, appearing to be a true practitioner of the holy life, going to the places of true practitioners of the holy life, but they may not be recognized. Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If the practitioners of the holy life recognize them, they will think, 'This monk is defiled, this monk is disgraced, this monk is hated, this monk is a thorn.' Having recognized them, they will then expel them. Why is that? So as not to pollute the practitioners of the holy life.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana! It is like a householder with a good rice field or wheat field, where there grows a weed called 'impure wheat'. Its roots are similar, and its stems, joints, leaves, and flowers are all also similar to wheat. Later, when the grains are ripe, the householder sees them and thinks, 'This wheat is defiled, this wheat is disgraced, this wheat is hated, this wheat is a thorn.' Having recognized them, he then pulls them out and throws them away. Why is that? So as not to pollute the good wheat. In this way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana! There may be a foolish person who knows right and wrong, observes well, bends and stretches, bows and looks up, with proper deportment, wears the saṃghāṭī robe and other robes, and carries the alms bowl, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, sleeping, waking, speaking, and being silent, all with right knowledge, appearing to be a true practitioner of the holy life, going to the places of true practitioners of the holy life, but they may not be recognized. Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If the practitioners of the holy life recognize them, they will think, 'This monk is defiled, this monk is disgraced, this monk is hated, this monk is a thorn.' Having recognized them, they will then expel them. Why is that? So as not to pollute the practitioners of the holy life.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana! It is like a householder in autumn winnowing grain. If there are ripe grains in the grain pile, the winnowing stops. If they are unripe or chaff, they are blown away by the wind. The householder sees them and then takes a broom to sweep and clean them. Why is that? So as not to pollute the other good, pure rice. In this way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana! There may be a foolish person who knows right and wrong, observes well, bends and stretches, bows and looks up, with proper deportment, wears the saṃghāṭī robe and other robes, and carries the alms bowl, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, sleeping, waking, speaking, and being silent, all with right knowledge, appearing to be a true practitioner of the holy life, going to the places of true practitioners of the holy life, but they may not be recognized. Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If the practitioners of the holy life recognize them, they will think, 'This monk is defiled, this monk is disgraced, this monk is hated, this monk is a thorn.' Having recognized them, they will then expel them. Why is that? So as not to pollute the practitioners of the holy life.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana! It is like a householder who, in order to cross a stream, builds a bridge. Taking an axe, he enters the forest and knocks on the trees. If they are solid, the sound is small. If they are hollow, the sound is loud. The householder, having recognized this, then cuts off the knots and intends to make a bridge. In this way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana! There may be a foolish person who knows right and wrong, observes well, bends and stretches, bows and looks up, with proper deportment, wears the saṃghāṭī robe and other robes, and carries the alms bowl, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, sleeping, waking, speaking, and being silent, all with right knowledge, appearing to be a true practitioner of the holy life, going to the places of true practitioners of the holy life, but they may not be recognized. Mahāmaudgalyāyana! If the practitioners of the holy life recognize them, they will think, 'This monk is defiled, this monk is disgraced, this monk is hated, this monk is a thorn.' Having recognized them, they will then expel them. Why is that? So as not to pollute the practitioners of the holy life.

Then the World-Honored One spoke this verse:

Those who gather together should know: evil desires, hatred, anger, not speaking
harboring grudges, stinginess, jealousy, flattery, and deceit. In the assembly, they pretend
to be peaceful, but in private they claim to be śramaṇas. Secretly
they engage in evil deeds and have wrong views, not guarding themselves
Deceitfully speaking false words, such people should be known. They should not
be allowed to gather together, but be expelled and not allowed to
stay. Those who deceive and speak falsely many times, not being peaceful
but claiming to be peaceful, should be expelled and distanced from those
who know the time and practice purity. The pure should always associate
with the pure. By associating, one attains peace, and thus attains the
end of suffering.

The Buddha spoke thus. Those bhikṣus, having heard the Buddha's words, rejoiced and practiced accordingly.