SA 977（九七七） 尸婆

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was staying at the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha.

At that time, the ascetic Śiṣya came to where the Buddha was, exchanged greetings with the World-Honored One, and then sat to one side. He said to the Buddha, "Gautama! There are some śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas who have this view and say, 'If a person has knowledge and perception, it is all due to past causes and conditions. By practicing austerities, past karma is exhausted, no new karma is created, and causes and conditions are cut off. In the future, there will be no more afflictions. Because the afflictions are exhausted, karma is exhausted. Because karma is exhausted, suffering is exhausted. For those who have exhausted suffering, they reach the end of suffering.' What does Gautama say about this now?"

The Buddha told Śiṣya, "Those śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas really speak like that, but they are not correct, not precise, foolish, unskilled, and not discerning. Why is that? Sometimes suffering arises from wind, and sentient beings are aware of it. Sometimes it arises from phlegm, sometimes from saliva, sometimes from a combination of factors, sometimes from self-harm, sometimes from harm by others, sometimes from seasonal changes. As for self-harm, it means pulling out hair, pulling out beards, always standing with raised hands, squatting on the ground, lying in ashes and dirt, lying on thorns, lying on pestles or boards, smearing cow dung on the ground and lying on it, lying in water, bathing three times a day, or standing on one foot, turning the body with the sun. Such various sufferings are diligently practiced. Śiṣya! This is called self-harm. As for harm by others, it means being harmed by others' hands, stones, knives, sticks, and other things. This is called harm by others. Śiṣya! If it is harmed by the seasons, then in winter it is very cold, in spring it is very hot, and in summer it is both cold and hot. This is called harm by seasonal changes. This is the truth of the world, not false. Śiṣya! There is this truth in the world, that one is harmed by wind, up to seasonal changes. Sentient beings are truly aware of this. You also have these afflictions, such as wind, phlegm, saliva, up to seasonal changes. You are truly aware of this. Śiṣya! If those śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas say that all that is known and perceived by people is due to past causes and conditions, and they abandon the true affairs of the world and follow their own views, speaking falsely,

"Śiṣya! There are five causes and five conditions that give rise to mental suffering and distress. What are the five? They are: due to being entangled by craving, being entangled by craving gives rise to mental suffering and distress; due to being entangled by anger, sleep, agitation, remorse, and doubt, being entangled by anger, sleep, agitation, remorse, and doubt gives rise to mental suffering and distress. Śiṣya! These are called the five causes and five conditions that give rise to mental suffering and distress. Śiṣya! There are five causes and five conditions that do not give rise to mental suffering and distress. What are the five? They are: due to being entangled by craving, being entangled by craving gives rise to mental suffering and distress. By being free from that entanglement by craving, mental suffering and distress do not arise. This is called the five causes and five conditions that do not give rise to mental suffering and distress. One can be free from burning in this very life, not waiting for the right time, penetrating and seeing for oneself, realizing it through one's own wisdom. Śiṣya! There is also freedom from burning in this very life, not waiting for the right time, penetrating and seeing for oneself, realizing it through one's own wisdom, namely the eightfold noble path - right view up to right concentration."

When this teaching was spoken, the ascetic Śiṣya, far from dust and defilements, attained the purity of the Dharma-eye. At that time, the ascetic Śiṣya, having seen the Dharma, attained the Dharma, understood the Dharma, entered the Dharma, was free from doubt, not relying on others, entered the true Dharma and Vinaya, and attained fearlessness. He then rose from his seat, arranged his robes, joined his palms, and said to the Buddha, "World-Honored One! May I now be able to go forth in the true Dharma and Vinaya, receive full ordination, and attain the status of a bhikṣu?"

The Buddha told Śiṣya, "You may now go forth..." as above, up to "your mind is well liberated, and you have attained arahantship."