1At Kapilavatthu. Now on that occasion Sarakāni [n.343] I transcribe the name as in Se. Be and Ee have Saraṇāni. the Sakyan had died, and the Blessed One had declared him to be a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. Thereupon a number of Sakyans, having met and assembled, deplored this, grumbled, and complained about it, saying: "It is wonderful indeed, sir! It is amazing indeed, sir! Now who here won’t be a stream-enterer when the Blessed One has declared Sarakāni the Sakyan after he died to be a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination? Sarakāni the Sakyan was too weak for the training; he drank intoxicating drink!" [n.344] Sikkhādubbalyaṃ āpādi majjapānaṁ apāyi. This would be a breach of the fifth precept. The Sakyans thought that if Sarakāni violated a precept he would lack the fourth factor of stream-entry and thus could not be a stream-enterer.

2Then Mahānāma the Sakyan approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported this matter to him. The Blessed One said:

3"Mahānāma, when a lay follower has gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, how could he go to the nether world? For if one speaking rightly were to say of anyone: ‘He was a lay follower who had gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha,’ it is of Sarakāni the Sakyan that one could rightly say this. sn.v.376 Mahānāma, Sarakāni the Sakyan had gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, so how could he go to the nether world?

4"Here, Mahānāma, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus: ‘The Blessed One is … teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’ And so in the Dhamma and the Saṅgha. He is one of joyous wisdom, of swift wisdom, and he has attained liberation. By the destruction of the taints, in this very life he enters and dwells in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. This person, Mahānāma, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, freed from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. [n.345] This is the arahant, who is actually free from all future rebirth; freedom from the nether world is mentioned only as the "thread" tying the sutta together. On "joyous wisdom, swift wisdom" (hāsapañña, javanapañña), see I, n. 184.

5"Here, Mahānāma, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. He is one of joyous wisdom, of swift wisdom, yet he has not attained liberation. With the utter destruction of the five lower fetters he has become one of spontaneous birth, due to attain Nibbāna there without returning from that world. This person too, Mahānāma, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, freed from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world.

6"Here, Mahānāma, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. With the utter destruction of three fetters and with the diminishing of greed, hatred, and delusion, he is a once-returner who, after coming back to this world only one more time, will make an end to suffering. This person too, Mahānāma, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, freed from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. sn.v.377

7"Here, Mahānāma, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. With the utter destruction of three fetters he is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. This person too, Mahānāma, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, freed from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world.

8"Here, Mahānāma, some person does not possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. However, he has these five things: the faculty of faith, the faculty of energy, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. And the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata are accepted by him after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom. This person too, Mahānāma, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm, or the domain of ghosts, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. [n.346] This is the dhammānusārī, the Dhamma-follower; the next paragraph describes the saddhanusari, the faith-follower. Though the terms themselves are not used here, their descriptions match their formal definitions at MN I 479. According to SN25.1, these two types have reached the plane of the noble ones but have not yet realized the fruit of stream-entry; they are bound to do so before they die. See III, n. 268.
It should be noted that while they have faith one of the five faculties, they do not yet have "confirmed confidence" aveccappasāda in the Triple Gem. And though it is said that they "do not go to hell" agantā nirayaṁ, etc., it cannot be said that they are "freed from hell" parimutto nirayā, etc., for actual release from the bad destinations comes only with the attainment of the fruit.

9"Here, Mahānāma, some person does not possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. However, he has these five things: the faculty of faith … the faculty of wisdom. And he has sufficient faith in the Tathāgata, sufficient devotion to him. This person too, Mahānāma, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm, or the domain of ghosts, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world.

"Even if these great sal trees, Mahānāma, could understand what is well spoken and what is badly spoken, then I would declare these great sal trees to be stream-enterers, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as their destination. How much more, then, Sarakāni the Sakyan? Mahānāma, Sarakāni the Sakyan undertook the training at the time of his death." [n.347] Spk says that at the time of his death he was a fulfiller of the three trainings in virtue, concentration, and wisdom. This implies that while he might have indulged in strong drink earlier, before his death he undertook strict observance of the precepts and thereafter attained stream-entry. sn.v.378

1Kapilavatthunidānaṁ. Tena kho pana samayena saraṇāni sakko kālaṅkato hoti. So bhagavatā byākato: "sotāpanno avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo"ti. Tatra sudaṁ sambahulā sakkā saṅgamma samāgamma ujjhāyanti khīyanti vipācenti: "acchariyaṁ vata bho, abbhutaṁ vata bho. Ettha dāni ko na sotāpanno bhavissati. Yatra hi nāma saraṇāni sakko kālaṅkato; so bhagavatā byākato: ‘sotāpanno avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’ti. Saraṇāni sakko sikkhādubbalyamāpādi, majjapānaṁ apāyī"ti.

2Atha kho mahānāmo sakko yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho mahānāmo sakko bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

"idha, bhante, saraṇāni sakko kālaṅkato. So bhagavatā byākato: ‘sotāpanno avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’ti. Tatra sudaṁ, bhante, sambahulā sakkā saṅgamma samāgamma ujjhāyanti khīyanti vipācenti – acchariyaṁ vata, bho, abbhutaṁ vata, bho. Ettha dāni ko na sotāpanno bhavissati. Yatra hi nāma saraṇāni sakko kālaṅkato; so bhagavatā byākato: ‘sotāpanno avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇo’ti. Saraṇāni sakko sikkhādubbalyamāpādi, majjapānaṁ apāyī"ti.

3"Yo so, mahānāma, dīgharattaṁ upāsako buddhaṁ saraṇaṁ gato dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gato saṅghaṁ saraṇaṁ gato, so kathaṁ vinipātaṁ gaccheyya. Yañhi taṁ, mahānāma, sammā vadamāno vadeyya: ‘dīgharattaṁ upāsako buddhaṁ saraṇaṁ gato dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gato saṅghaṁ saraṇaṁ gato’ti, saraṇāni sakkaṁ sammā vadamāno vadeyya. Saraṇāni, mahānāma, sakko dīgharattaṁ upāsako buddhaṁ saraṇaṁ gato dhammaṁ saraṇaṁ gato saṅghaṁ saraṇaṁ gato. So kathaṁ vinipātaṁ gaccheyya.

4Idha, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti – itipi so bhagavā … pe … satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti. Dhamme … pe … saṅghe … pe … hāsapañño javanapañño vimuttiyā ca samannāgato. So āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihārati. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo parimutto nirayā parimutto tiracchānayoniyā parimutto pettivisayā parimutto apāyaduggativinipātā.

5Idha pana, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti – itipi so bhagavā … pe … satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti. Dhamme … pe … saṅghe … pe … hāsapañño javanapañño na ca vimuttiyā samannāgato. So pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā opapātiko hoti tattha parinibbāyī anāvattidhammo tasmā lokā. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo parimutto nirayā parimutto tiracchānayoniyā parimutto pettivisayā parimutto apāyaduggativinipātā.

6Idha pana, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti – itipi so bhagavā … pe … satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti. Dhamme … pe … saṅghe … pe … na hāsapañño na javanapañño na ca vimuttiyā samannāgato. So tiṇṇaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā rāgadosamohānaṁ tanuttā sakadāgāmī hoti, sakideva imaṁ lokaṁ āgantvā dukkhassantaṁ karoti. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo parimutto nirayā parimutto tiracchānayoniyā parimutto pettivisayā parimutto apāyaduggativinipātā.

7Idha pana, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti – itipi so bhagavā … pe … satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavāti; dhamme … pe … saṅghe … pe … na hāsapañño na javanapañño na ca vimuttiyā samannāgato. So tiṇṇaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā sotāpanno hoti avinipātadhammo niyato sambodhiparāyaṇoti. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo parimutto nirayā parimutto tiracchānayoniyā parimutto pettivisayā parimutto apāyaduggativinipātā.

8Idha pana, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo na heva kho buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti … na dhamme … pe … na saṅghe … pe … na hāsapañño na javanapañño na ca vimuttiyā samannāgato. Api cassa ime dhammā honti – saddhindriyaṁ, vīriyindriyaṁ, satindriyaṁ, samādhindriyaṁ, paññindriyaṁ. Tathāgatappaveditā cassa dhammā paññāya mattaso nijjhanaṁ khamanti. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo agantā nirayaṁ agantā tiracchānayoniṁ agantā pettivisayaṁ agantā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ.

9Idha pana, mahānāma, ekacco puggalo na heva kho buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti … na dhamme … pe … na saṅghe … pe … na hāsapañño na javanapañño na ca vimuttiyā samannāgato, api cassa ime dhammā honti saddhindriyaṁ … pe … paññindriyaṁ. Tathāgate cassa saddhāmattaṁ hoti pemamattaṁ. Ayampi kho, mahānāma, puggalo agantā nirayaṁ agantā tiracchānayoniṁ agantā pettivisayaṁ agantā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ.

Ime cepi, mahānāma, mahāsālā subhāsitaṁ dubbhāsitaṁ ājāneyyuṁ, ime cāhaṁ mahāsāle byākareyyaṁ: ‘sotāpannā avinipātadhammā niyatā sambodhiparāyaṇā’ti; kimaṅgaṁ pana saraṇāniṁ sakkaṁ. Saraṇāni, mahānāma, sakko maraṇakāle sikkhaṁ samādiyī"ti.

Catutthaṁ.