SN6:10 Kokalika (2)
- DG BB TBW © Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi. (More copyright information)
1At Sāvatthī. [n.407] This sutta is also at Sn III, 10 (pp. 123–31), with the name spelt Kokaliya. The prose portions are identical, but Sn 661–78 gives detailed descriptions of the torments in hell not included here. AN V 170–74 combines SN6.9 and SN6.10. The background to Kokalika's animosity towards the two chief disciples is related in the prologue to Ja No. 480; see too Dhp-a IV 90–93; BL 3:247–49. Then the bhikkhu Kokalika approached the Blessed One, sn.i.150 paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said: "Venerable sir, Sāriputta and Moggallana have evil wishes; they have come under the control of evil wishes."
When this was said, the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokalika: "Do not speak thus, Kokalika! Do not speak thus, Kokalika! Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallana, Kokalika. Sāriputta and Moggallana are well behaved."
A second time the bhikkhu Kokalika said to the Blessed One: A second time the bhikkhu Kokalika said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, all the same I say that Sāriputta and Moggallana have evil wishes; they have come under the control of evil wishes." And a second time the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokalika: "Do not speak thus, Kokalika! … Sāriputta and Moggallana are well behaved."
A third time the bhikkhu Kokalika said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, all the same I say that Sāriputta and Moggallana have evil wishes; they have come under the control of evil wishes." And a third time the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokalika: "Do not speak thus, Kokalika! … Sāriputta and Moggallana are well behaved."
2Then the bhikkhu Kokalika rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, and departed, keeping him on his right. Not long after the bhikkhu Kokalika had left, his entire body became covered with boils the size of mustard seeds. These then grew to the size of mung beans; then to the size of chickpeas; then to the size of jujube stones; then to the size of jujube fruits; then to the size of myrobalans; then to the size of unripe beluva fruits; then to the size of ripe beluva fruits. When they had grown to the size of ripe beluva fruits, they burst open, exuding pus and blood. Then, on account of that illness, the bhikkhu Kokalika died, sn.i.151 and because he had harboured animosity towards Sāriputta and Moggallana, after his death he was reborn in the Paduma hell. [n.408] Spk: The Paduma hell is not a separate hell realm but a particular place in the great Avīci hell where the duration of the torment is measured by paduma units. The same applies to the Abbuda hell, etc., mentioned below.
3Then, when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, stood to one side, and said to him: "Venerable sir, the bhikkhu Kokalika has died, and because he harboured animosity towards Sāriputta and Moggallana, after his death he has been reborn in the Paduma hell." This is what Brahma Sahampati said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One and, keeping him on his right, he disappeared right there.
4Then, when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: "Bhikkhus, last night, when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati approached me and said to me: … as above … Having said this, he paid homage to me and, keeping me on his right, he disappeared right there."
5When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, how long is the life span in the Paduma hell?"
"The life span in the Paduma hell is long, bhikkhu. It is not easy to count it and say it is so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years."
"Then is it possible to give a simile, venerable sir?"
6"It is possible, bhikkhu. Suppose, bhikkhu, there was a Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed. At the end of every hundred years a man would remove one seed from there. That Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed might by this effort be depleted and eliminated more quickly than a single Abbuda hell would go by. Twenty Abbuda hells are the equivalent of one Nirabbuda hell; twenty Nirabbuda hells are the equivalent of one Ababa hell; twenty Ababa hells are the equivalent of one Aṭaṭa hell; twenty Aṭaṭa hells are the equivalent of one Ahaha hell; twenty Ahaha hells are the equivalent of one Kumuda hell; twenty Kumuda hells are the equivalent of one Sogandhika hell; twenty Sogandhika hells are the equivalent of one Uppala hell; twenty Uppala hells are the equivalent of one Puṇḍarika hell; and twenty Puṇḍarika hells are the equivalent of one Paduma hell. Now, bhikkhu, the bhikkhu Kokalika has been reborn in the Paduma hell because he harboured animosity towards Sāriputta and Moggallana." [n.409] Spk explains the scale for measuring time as follows: one koṭi = ten million years; a koṭi of koṭis = one pakoṭi; a koṭi of pakoṭis = one koṭipakoṭi; a koṭi of koṭipakoṭis = one nahuta; a koṭi of nahutas = one ninnahuta; a koṭi of ninnahutas = one abbuda; twenty abbudas = one nirabbuda.
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this:
7v.592 "When a person has taken birth
An axe is born inside his mouth
With which the fool cuts himself
Uttering defamatory speech.
8v.593 "He who praises one deserving blame,
Or blames one deserving praise,
Casts with his mouth an unlucky throw
By which he finds no happiness.
[n.410a] In have translated the previous verse a little freely in order to make more apparent the connection with the next verse. Literally it should be rendered: "The fool collects a disaster with his mouth." Kali means both the losing throw at dice and a disaster.
9v.594 "Trifling is the unlucky throw
That brings the loss of wealth at dice,
The loss of all, oneself included;
Worse by far—this unlucky throw
Of harbouring hate against the fortunate ones.
[n.411a] Spk paraphrases pādas a-c: "This misfortune is trifling, that is, the loss of wealth at dice along with all that one owns too, including oneself." Spk glosses sugatesu, "fortunate ones," in pāda e as sammaggatesu puggalesu, "persons who have rightly attained"; thus here the term refers more widely to all arahants, not only to the Buddha. The verse is also at Uv 8:4, minus pāda c (which Norman considers a later addition), and at P-Dhp 301, which includes pāda c but with saddhammam pi in place of SN's sabbassa pi. For a theory regarding the historical evolution of the verse, see GD, p. 268, n. to 659.
10v.595 "For a hundred thousand nirabbudas
And thirty-six more, and five abbudas,
The maligner of noble ones goes to hell,
Having set evil speech and mind against them."
1Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "pāpicchā, bhante, sāriputtamoggallānā pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā"ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "mā hevaṁ, kokālika, avaca; mā hevaṁ, kokālika, avaca. Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ. Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā"ti. Dutiyampi kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kiñcāpi me, bhante, bhagavā saddhāyiko paccayiko; atha kho pāpicchāva bhante, sāriputtamoggallānā pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā"ti.
Dutiyampi kho bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "mā hevaṁ, kokālika, avaca; mā hevaṁ, kokālika, avaca. Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ. Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā"ti.
Tatiyampi kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kiñcāpi … pe … icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā"ti. Tatiyampi kho bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "mā hevaṁ … pe … pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā"ti.
2Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi. Acirapakkantassa ca kokālikassa bhikkhuno sāsapamattīhi pīḷakāhi sabbo kāyo phuṭo ahosi. Sāsapamattiyo hutvā muggamattiyo ahesuṁ, muggamattiyo hutvā kalāyamattiyo ahesuṁ, kalāyamattiyo hutvā kolaṭṭhimattiyo ahesuṁ, kolaṭṭhimattiyo hutvā kolamattiyo ahesuṁ, kolamattiyo hutvā āmalakamattiyo ahesuṁ, āmalakamattiyo hutvā beluvasalāṭukamattiyo ahesuṁ, beluvasalāṭukamattiyo hutvā billamattiyo ahesuṁ, billamattiyo hutvā pabhijjiṁsu. Pubbañca lohitañca pagghariṁsu. Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu teneva ābādhena kālamakāsi. Kālaṅkato ca kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapajji sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā.
3Atha kho brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho brahmā sahampati bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kokāliko, bhante, bhikkhu kālaṅkato. Kālaṅkato ca, bhante, kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā"ti. Idamavoca brahmā sahampati. Idaṁ vatvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyīti.
4Atha kho bhagavā tassā rattiyā accayena bhikkhū āmantesi: "imaṁ, bhikkhave, rattiṁ brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yenāhaṁ tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā maṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati maṁ etadavoca: ‘kokāliko, bhante, bhikkhu kālaṅkato. Kālaṅkato ca, bhante, kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā’ti. Idamavoca, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati, idaṁ vatvā maṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyī"ti.
5Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kīvadīghaṁ nu kho, bhante, padume niraye āyuppamāṇan"ti?
"Dīghaṁ kho, bhikkhu, padume niraye āyuppamāṇaṁ. Taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ: ‘ettakāni vassāni iti vā, ettakāni vassasatāni iti vā, ettakāni vassasahassāni iti vā, ettakāni vassasatasahassāni iti vā’"ti.
"Sakkā pana, bhante, upamaṁ kātun"ti? "Sakkā, bhikkhū"ti bhagavā avoca:
6"Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho. Tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaṁ tilaṁ uddhareyya; khippataraṁ kho so, bhikkhu, vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva eko abbudo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati abbudā nirayā, evameko nirabbudanirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati nirabbudā nirayā, evameko ababo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ababā nirayā, evameko aṭaṭo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati aṭaṭā nirayā, evameko ahaho nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ahahā nirayā, evameko kumudo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati kumudā nirayā, evameko sogandhiko nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati sogandhikā nirayā, evameko uppalanirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati uppalā nirayā, evameko puṇḍariko nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati puṇḍarikā nirayā, evameko padumo nirayo. Padume pana, bhikkhu, niraye kokāliko bhikkhu upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā"ti.
Idamavoca bhagavā. Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:
7"Purisassa hi jātassa,
kuṭhārī jāyate mukhe;
Yāya chindati attānaṁ,
bālo dubbhāsitaṁ bhaṇaṁ.
8Yo nindiyaṁ pasaṁsati,
Taṁ vā nindati yo pasaṁsiyo;
Vicināti mukhena so kaliṁ,
Kalinā tena sukhaṁ na vindati.
9Appamattako ayaṁ kali,
Yo akkhesu dhanaparājayo;
Sabbassāpi sahāpi attanā,
Ayameva mahantaro kali;
Yo sugatesu manaṁ padosaye.
10Sataṁ sahassānaṁ nirabbudānaṁ,
Chattiṁsati pañca ca abbudāni;
Yamariyagarahī nirayaṁ upeti,
Vācaṁ manañca paṇidhāya pāpakan"ti.
Paṭhamo vaggo.
11Āyācanaṁ gāravo brahmadevo,
Bako ca brahmā aparā ca diṭṭhi;
Pamādakokālikatissako ca,
Turū ca brahmā aparo ca kokālikoti.