Discourses
Āmagandha Sutta
The ascetic Tissa addressed the Buddha Kassapa 1. Millet, cingula beans and
peas, edible leaves and roots, the fruit of any creeper; the virtuous who eat
these, obtained justly, do not tell lies out of sensuous delight.
2.
O Kassapa, you who eat any food given by others, which is
well-prepared, nicely
arranged, pure and appealing; he who enjoys such food made with
rice, eats
[rotting flesh that emits a] stench.
3.
O brahmin, although you say that the charge of stench does not
apply to you
whilst eating rice with well-prepared fowl, yet I inquire the
meaning of this
from you: of what kind is your stench?
4. The Buddha Kassapa: Taking life, beating, wounding, binding, stealing,
lying, deceiving, worthless knowledge, adultery; this is stench. Not the eating
of meat.
5.
In this world those individuals who are unrestrained in sensual
pleasures, who
are greedy for sweet things, who are associated with impure
actions, who are of
nihilistic views, [which are] crooked and difficult to follow, this
is stench.
Not the eating of meat.
6.
In this world those who are rude, arrogant, backbiting,
treacherous, unkind,
excessively egoistic, miserly, and do not give anything to anybody;
this is
stench. Not the eating of meat.
7.
Anger, pride, obstinacy, antagonism, deceit, envy, boasting,
excessive egoism,
association with the immoral; this is stench. Not the eating of
meat.
8.
Those who are of bad morals, refuse to pay their debts, slanderous,
deceitful in
their dealings, pretentious, those who in this world, being the
vilest of men,
commit such wrong things; this is stench. Not the eating of meat.
9.
Those persons who, in this world, are uncontrolled towards living
beings, who
are bent on injuring others, having taken their belongings;
immoral, cruel,
harsh, disrespectful; this is stench. Not the eating of meat.
10.
Those who attack these living beings either out of greed or of
hostility and are
always bent upon evil, go to darkness after death, and fall
headlong into woeful
states; this is stench. Not the eating of meat.
11.
Abstaining from fish and meat, nakedness, shaving of the head,
matted hair,
smearing with ashes, wearing rough deerskins, attending the
sacrificial fire;
none of the various penances in the world performed for unhealthy
ends, neither
incantations, oblations, sacrifices nor seasonal observances,
purify a person
who has not overcome his doubts.
12.
He who lives with his senses guarded and conquered and is
established in the
Dhamma, delights in uprightness and gentleness; who has gone beyond
attachments
and has overcome all sorrows; that wise man does not cling to what
is seen and
heard.
13.
Thus the Buddha Kassapa preached this again and again. That ascetic
who was
well-versed in the [Vedic] hymns understood it. The sage who is
free from
defilements, non-attached and difficult to follow, uttered this
[discourse] in
beautiful stanzas.
14.
Thus having listened to the well-spoken words of the Buddha who is
free from
defilements, which end all misery, he worshipped the Tathāgāta with
humble mind
and requested to be admitted into the Order at that very place.
(Sutta Nipāta, Hammalawa Saddhātissa, Curzon Press)
Source: http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Suttas/Amagandha/amagandha.html
For the merit, happiness and well-being of Major General Lucky Wijayaratne and
Sujatha Wijayaratne. May this merit help them both to gain the lasting peace of
Nibbana!
Commentary to the Āmagandha Sutta
Where was the Āmagandha Sutta taught? By whom was it taught, and to whom? The
commentary to a Sutta often adds important information about the context in
which the teaching was given. Out of context, some discourses can easily be
misunderstood.
The
commentary traces the origin of this sutta to a period before the
appearance of
Buddha Gotama. A Brahmin named Āmagandha led the life of a hermit
along with
five hundred disciples. They lived in the Himalayan foot hills
where they had a
hermitage and lived on forest fruits and roots. They abstained
completely from
fish and meat. Due to a deficiency of salt in their diet, all of
the hermits
suffered from jaundice. For this reason they went to a border
village to beg for
salt and vinegar. Being warmly invited by the villagers who
respectfully
provided them with almsfood, they spent four months a year in
dwellings built by
the villagers.
Then
the Buddha arose in the world and after setting in motion the Wheel
of the
Dhamma, he arrived at Sāvatthi after some years. While residing
there, the
Buddha saw these hermits in his divine eye and realised that they
had the
necessary perfections for the attainment of Arahantship.
Accordingly, the Buddha
went to the village where they stayed for four months of the year,
and taught
the Dhamma to the villagers. The villagers became Stream-winners,
Once-returners, and Non-returners, while a few of them entered the
Sangha and
became Arahants.
When
the hermits led by Āmagandha came to the village to seek salt as
usual, they
noticed a conspicuous change in the behaviour of the villagers. The
villagers no
longer greeted them with the great excitement that they had shown
previously.
Amāgandha asked whether there was a famine, or if they had been
punished by the
king, or whether there was some fault in the conduct of the hermits
to explain
the transformation of the village. The villagers told him about the
arrival of
the Buddha, whose teaching of the Dhamma they had heard, and from
which they had
all benefited immensely. When the hermit Āmagandha heard the word
“Buddha,” he
asked, “Did you say ‘Buddha,’ householder? Even this sound is rare
to hear in
this world.” When the householder confirmed it he was pleased and
asked further,
“Does the Buddha eat stench?” The householder asked, “What is this
stench?”
Āmagandha replied, “Fish and meat is called stench.” The
householder replied,
“Venerable sir, the Buddha does eat fish and meat.” Disappointed at
this,
Āmagandha resolved to go and see the Buddha and ask him about it
himself.
Having asked where the Buddha stayed, Āmagandha set off hastily towards the
Jetavana grove at Sāvatthī, accompanied by the five hundred
hermits. When the
hermits arrived, the Buddha was seated in the fourfold assembly to
teach the
Dhamma. After mutual exchange of friendly greetings, the hermit
Āmagandha asked
the Buddha if he avoided eating fish and meat, which he considered
to be stench.
The Buddha replied that fish and meat should not be considered as
stench. On the
other hand, all kinds of mental defilements and unwholesome deeds
should be
regarded as stench. To convince Āmagandha completely, the Buddha
recollected the
same dialogue between himself and the Buddha Kassapa.
At
that time the Bodhisatta had been a Brahmin by the name of Tissa
who had asked
the same question. Āmagandha’s pride was humbled, and he entered
the Sangha
along with his five hundred disciples, who all attained Arahantship.
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