Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The noble search is the search for that which is free of birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption — and the Buddha tells the story of his own noble search from leaving home through two insufficient teachers, to awakening, to the decision to teach, as evidence that the search can be completed.
The two searches (§§5–12)
The discourse’s opening distinction is one of the clearest structural teachings in the canon. The ignoble search (anariyapariyesanā) is not defined by what you seek but by the relationship between the seeker and the sought. A being who is themselves subject to birth seeks what is also subject to birth — partners, children, animals, gold. A being subject to aging seeks what is also subject to aging. The same for sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption. The structural insight: the ignoble search is one in which the seeker and the sought share the same defect. It is a search that cannot, by its nature, solve the seeker’s problem.
The noble search (ariyapariyesanā) reverses this. Someone who is subject to birth, understanding the drawback in being subject to birth, seeks what is free of birth — the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment (nibbāna). The structural logic: the noble search is one in which the seeker seeks something with a different nature from their own current condition. It is the only search that can solve the problem.
The six categories are not arbitrary. They map the full scope of dukkha: birth (the entry into a new existence), aging (the deterioration of the body), sickness (the vulnerability of the body), death (the ending of this existence), sorrow (the mental suffering that accompanies loss), and corruption (saṃkilesa — the defilements that keep the cycle going). Each category gets its own section with its own list of examples: partners, children, bondservants, livestock, gold. The repetition is deliberate. The discourse is making the reader feel the full weight of what the ignoble search means before offering the alternative.
Going forth (§§13–14)
The Buddha then narrates his own transition from the ignoble search to the noble search. The language is famously direct: “While still with pristine black hair, blessed with youth, in the prime of life — though my mother and father wished otherwise, weeping with tearful faces — I shaved off my hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness.”
This is not a mythological account. There are no celestial signs, no divine announcements. There is a young man, his weeping parents, a razor, and a decision. The discourse places the going-forth squarely within the logic of the two searches: the Bodhisattva recognizes that he has been seeking things with the same defect as himself, and he stops.
Āḻāra Kālāma (§15)
The first teacher the Bodhisattva finds is Āḻāra Kālāma. The account is one of the canon’s most precise portraits of a spiritual apprenticeship. The Bodhisattva arrives, asks to study, is told the teaching is such that “a sensible person can soon realize it with their own insight.” He memorizes the doctrine quickly. But then he asks the decisive question: “To what extent have you realized this teaching with your own insight?” Kālāma declares the dimension of nothingness (ākiñcaññāyatana) — the third of the four formless attainments.
The Bodhisattva then reasons: “It’s not just Kālāma who has faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things.” He quickly matches Kālāma’s attainment. Kālāma’s response is generous and striking: “I am like you and you are like me. Come, we should both lead this community together.”
But the Bodhisattva’s diagnosis is exact: “This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of nothingness.” The dimension of nothingness is a very high meditative attainment. But it is still within the conditioned. It leads to rebirth in that dimension — not to the deathless. Realizing this, the Bodhisattva leaves.
Uddaka Rāmaputta (§16)
The second teacher, Uddaka son of Rāma, follows the same structural pattern. The Bodhisattva arrives, studies, asks the key question. Uddaka declares the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception (nevasaññānāsaññāyatana) — the fourth and highest of the formless attainments, one level beyond Kālāma’s achievement.
Again the Bodhisattva matches the attainment. But Uddaka goes further than Kālāma: he offers the Bodhisattva the position of sole teacher. “Come now, reverend! You should lead this community.” The Bodhisattva is being offered the highest available position in the highest available teaching system.
And again, the diagnosis is the same: this teaching leads only as far as rebirth in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. It does not lead to extinguishment. The Bodhisattva leaves, disappointed.
The structural parallel between the two teacher episodes is part of the discourse’s argument. Each teacher represents the highest available attainment in the contemplative culture of the time. The Bodhisattva masters both. And both are insufficient. The discourse is not criticizing Kālāma or Uddaka — both are portrayed as generous, perceptive, and genuinely accomplished. The point is that the entire tradition of formless attainments, taken to its highest point, does not solve the problem the noble search is trying to solve.
Uruvelā and awakening (§§17–18)
After leaving Uddaka, the Bodhisattva travels to Uruvelā. The description of the place is unusually sensory: “a delightful park, a lovely grove with a flowing river that was clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby was a village to resort to for alms.” This is the middle path in physical terms: a beautiful, calm place near enough to a village that the practitioner can eat.
The awakening itself is described with remarkable compression: “Being myself liable to be reborn … I sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment — and I found it.” The discourse uses the same language as the definition of the noble search. The noble search has been completed. Knowledge and vision arose: “My freedom is unshakable; this is my last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.”
The compression is deliberate. MN 26 does not describe the method of awakening (the night watches, the recollection of past lives, the divine eye, the destruction of the āsavas). Those details are given in MN 36 and MN 4. MN 26’s focus is on the search and its completion, not on the technique.
The hesitation and Brahmā Sahampati (§§19–21)
What follows the awakening is one of the most psychologically striking passages in the canon. The newly awakened Buddha considers not teaching: “This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute. But people like clinging, they love it and enjoy it.”
The hesitation is not false modesty. The Buddha has just discovered something that goes against the stream of human desire. He identifies two specific reasons it will be hard to communicate: dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) — the structural principle underlying the teaching — and nibbāna itself — the cessation of all that beings are accustomed to pursuing. His mind inclines to “remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.”
Then Brahmā Sahampati intervenes. The highest divinity in the Brahmā realm perceives the Buddha’s hesitation and appears before him: “Sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes. They’re in decline because they haven’t heard the teaching. There will be those who understand!”
The Buddha then surveys the world “with the eye of a Buddha” and sees what Brahmā described. The image he uses is one of the most famous in the canon: the lotus simile. In a pool, some lotuses sprout and grow underwater without rising above it. Some reach the surface. And some rise above the water and stand with no water clinging to them. Beings are like this — some are deep in the mud, some are at the surface, and some are ready to bloom. The Buddha decides to teach.
Choosing whom to teach (§§22–30)
The Buddha’s first thought is to teach Āḻāra Kālāma. But a divinity informs him that Kālāma died seven days ago. His second thought is Uddaka Rāmaputta — but Uddaka died just the previous night. In both cases, the Buddha’s response is the same: “He was indeed very wise. Had he heard this teaching, he would have understood it quickly.” The deaths of Kālāma and Uddaka are not narrative decoration. They are structural reminders that even the most advanced practitioners are still subject to death when they have not found the deathless.
The Buddha then remembers the five mendicants (pañcavaggiya) who had attended him during his period of extreme asceticism and who left when he abandoned that path. He sees with his divine eye that they are at the Deer Park in Isipatana, near Varanasi. He sets out walking.
On the road he encounters the wanderer Upaka, who notices his extraordinary appearance: “Your faculties are very clear, friend. Your complexion is pure and bright. Who is your teacher?” The Buddha declares himself fully awakened. Upaka’s response is one of the canon’s most understated moments: he says “Okay, friend,” shakes his head, takes a side road, and leaves. The first person the Buddha meets after awakening simply walks away.
When the Buddha arrives at the Deer Park, the five mendicants see him coming and agree among themselves not to honor him — he had, in their view, abandoned the ascetic path and “turned back to luxury.” But as he approaches, they cannot hold to their plan. They take his bowl and robe, prepare a seat, and offer water. They address him as “friend” — as an equal, not as a teacher. The Buddha corrects them: “Don’t address the Realized One by name and as friend. I am an arahant, a fully awakened Buddha.”
The five mendicants resist twice before accepting his claim. The Buddha then teaches them — two at a time while three go for alms, then three while two go. Under his instruction, they realize the noble search for themselves. “Knowledge and vision arose in them: ‘Our freedom is unshakable; this is our last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’”
The deer simile and the meditative attainments (§§31–42)
The discourse’s final movement shifts register. After the autobiographical narrative, the Buddha teaches the five cords of sensual pleasure and gives the simile of the wild deer and the hunter’s snare — a simile closely related to MN 25’s parable of the sown fields. Those attached to sensual pleasures are like a deer caught in a snare. Those who have seen the drawbacks and developed insight into escape are like a deer that roams free where the hunter cannot reach.
He then enumerates the same nine meditative attainments as in MN 25 — the four absorptions, the four formless attainments, and the cessation of perception and feeling — each described as the place “where the Evil One cannot see.” The final attainment, cessation of perception and feeling combined with wisdom, is where the corruptions come to an end and the practitioner “has crossed over clinging to the world.”
Three questions Western students often ask
“Why does the Buddha hesitate to teach? If compassion is central to the Buddhist path, wouldn’t the impulse to teach be immediate?” The hesitation is not a failure of compassion. It is a realistic assessment of the communication problem. The Buddha has discovered something that “goes against the stream” of human desire. Dependent origination is structurally complex. Nibbāna is the cessation of everything beings are accustomed to pursuing. Teaching it to beings who “like clinging, love it, and enjoy it” is not like sharing information — it is like asking someone to release what they most deeply hold onto. The hesitation shows that the Buddha takes the difficulty seriously. It is Brahmā’s intervention that provides the missing piece: not all beings are equally mired. Some have “little dust in their eyes.” The lotus simile makes the point: the question is not whether the teaching is hard, but whether there are beings ready for it.
“The two teachers Āḻāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta seem to be portrayed positively. Why are their teachings insufficient?” The discourse does not criticize them. Kālāma is generous enough to offer the Bodhisattva joint leadership; Uddaka offers him sole leadership. Both are described as intelligent and accomplished. The insufficiency is structural, not moral. Kālāma’s highest attainment is the dimension of nothingness; Uddaka’s is the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. These are the third and fourth formless attainments — the highest available in the contemplative tradition of the time. But they are still conditioned states that lead to rebirth in corresponding realms. The Bodhisattva’s diagnosis is precise: they do not lead to “disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.” The seven-term formula is the discourse’s standard for what a complete teaching must achieve. The formless attainments achieve none of these. When the Buddha learns that both teachers have died, the structural point becomes vivid: even the highest formless attainment does not free one from death.
“The wanderer Upaka just walks away after the Buddha declares himself fully awakened. What is the significance of this?” Upaka’s response is one of the most psychologically realistic moments in the canon. He has just met someone who claims to be the fully awakened Buddha — the “Infinite Victor” who has “destroyed all corruptions” and is going to “beat the drum of the deathless.” Upaka’s response: “Okay, friend,” followed by a head-shake and a side road. The detail shows that the claim of awakening, stated in the abstract without a teaching relationship, does not communicate. Upaka has no framework for evaluating the claim. He is not hostile — he simply has no basis for engagement. The contrast with the five mendicants is instructive: they resist too, but they have a prior relationship with the Bodhisattva, and they can see the change in him. The discourse suggests that awakening is communicated through relationship and teaching, not through assertion.
Key terms
The text
The setting
§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.
§2Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. Then several mendicants went up to Venerable Ānanda and said to him, “Reverend, it’s been a long time since we’ve heard a Dhamma talk from the Buddha. It would be good if we got to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.” “Well then, reverends, go to the brahmin Rammaka’s hermitage. Hopefully you’ll get to hear a Dhamma talk from the Buddha.” “Yes, reverend,” they replied.
§3Then, after the meal, on his return from almsround, the Buddha addressed Ānanda, “Come, Ānanda, let’s go to the stilt longhouse of Migāra’s mother in the Eastern Monastery for the day’s meditation.” So the Buddha went with Ānanda to the Eastern Monastery for the day’s meditation.
In the late afternoon the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed Ānanda, “Come, Ānanda, let’s go to the eastern gate to bathe.” So the Buddha went with Ānanda to the eastern gate to bathe. When he had bathed and emerged from the water he stood in one robe drying his limbs. Then Ānanda said to the Buddha, “Sir, the hermitage of the brahmin Rammaka is nearby. It’s so delightful, so lovely. Please visit it out of sympathy.” The Buddha consented with silence.
§4He went to the brahmin Rammaka’s hermitage. Now at that time several mendicants were sitting together in the hermitage talking about the teaching. The Buddha stood outside the door waiting for the talk to end. When he knew the talk had ended he cleared his throat and knocked on the door-panel. The mendicants opened the door for the Buddha, and he entered the hermitage, where he sat on the seat spread out and addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?”
“Sir, our unfinished discussion on the teaching was about the Buddha himself when the Buddha arrived.”
“Good, mendicants! It’s appropriate for gentlemen like you, who have gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness, to sit together and talk about the teaching. When you’re sitting together you should do one of two things: discuss the teachings or keep noble silence.
The two searches
§5Mendicants, there are these two quests: the noble quest and the ignoble quest.
And what is the ignoble quest? It’s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn seeks what is also liable to be reborn. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, they seek what is also liable to these things.
§12And what is the noble quest? It’s when someone who is themselves liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, seeks that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. Themselves liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, they seek that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. This is the noble quest.
Going forth
§13Mendicants, before my awakening—when I was still unawakened but intent on awakening—I too, being liable to be reborn, sought what is also liable to be reborn. Myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, I sought what is also liable to these things. Then it occurred to me: ‘Why do I, being liable to be reborn, grow old, fall sick, sorrow, die, and become corrupted, seek things that have the same nature? Why don’t I seek that which is free of rebirth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment?’
§14Some time later, while still with pristine black hair, blessed with youth, in the prime of life—though my mother and father wished otherwise, weeping with tearful faces—I shaved off my hair and beard, dressed in ocher robes, and went forth from the lay life to homelessness.
Āḻāra Kālāma
§15Once I had gone forth I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Āḻāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.’
Āḻāra Kālāma replied, ‘Stay, venerable. This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own tradition with their own insight and live having achieved it.’
I quickly memorized that teaching. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others.
Then it occurred to me, ‘It is not solely by mere faith that Āḻāra Kālāma declares: “I realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.” Surely he meditates knowing and seeing this teaching.’
So I approached Āḻāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, to what extent do you say you’ve realized this teaching with your own insight?’ When I said this, he declared the dimension of nothingness.
Then it occurred to me, ‘It’s not just Āḻāra Kālāma who has faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don’t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that Āḻāra Kālāma says he has realized with his own insight?’
I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it. So I approached Āḻāra Kālāma and said to him, ‘Reverend Kālāma, is it up to this point that you realized this teaching with your own insight, and declare having achieved it?’ ‘I have, reverend.’ ‘I too, reverend, have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.’
‘We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that I’ve realized with my own insight, and declare having achieved it, you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. I am like you and you are like me. Come now, reverend! We should both lead this community together.’
And that is how my tutor Āḻāra Kālāma placed me, his pupil, on the same position as him, and honored me with high praise.
Then it occurred to me, ‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of nothingness.’ Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.
Uddaka Rāmaputta
§16I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him, ‘Reverend, I wish to lead the spiritual life in this teaching and training.’
Uddaka replied, ‘Stay, venerable. This teaching is such that a sensible person can soon realize their own tradition with their own insight and live having achieved it.’
I quickly memorized that teaching. As far as lip-recital and verbal repetition went, I spoke the doctrine of knowledge, the elder doctrine. I claimed to know and see, and so did others.
Then it occurred to me, ‘It is not solely by mere faith that Rāma declared: “I realize this teaching with my own insight, and live having achieved it.” Surely he meditated knowing and seeing this teaching.’
So I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him, ‘Reverend, to what extent did Rāma say he’d realized this teaching with his own insight?’ When I said this, Uddaka son of Rāma declared the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
Then it occurred to me, ‘It’s not just Rāma who had faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom; I too have these things. Why don’t I make an effort to realize the same teaching that Rāma said he had realized with his own insight?’
I quickly realized that teaching with my own insight, and lived having achieved it. So I approached Uddaka son of Rāma and said to him, ‘Reverend, had Rāma realized this teaching with his own insight up to this point, and declared having achieved it?’ ‘He had, reverend.’ ‘I too have realized this teaching with my own insight up to this point, and live having achieved it.’
‘We are fortunate, reverend, so very fortunate to see a venerable such as yourself as one of our spiritual companions! So the teaching that Rāma had realized with his own insight, and declared having achieved it, you’ve realized with your own insight, and dwell having achieved it. Rāma was like you and you are like Rāma. Come now, reverend! You should lead this community.’
And that is how my spiritual companion Uddaka son of Rāma placed me in the position of a tutor and honored me with high praise.
Then it occurred to me, ‘This teaching doesn’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment. It only leads as far as rebirth in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.’ Realizing that this teaching was inadequate, I left disappointed.
Uruvelā and awakening
§17I set out to discover what is skillful, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace. Traveling stage by stage in the Magadhan lands, I arrived at the town of Senā in Uruvelā. There I saw a delightful park, a lovely grove with a flowing river that was clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby was a village to resort to for alms.
Then it occurred to me, ‘This park is truly delightful, a lovely grove with a flowing river that’s clean and charming, with smooth banks. And nearby there’s a village to resort to for alms. This is good enough for striving for a gentleman wanting to strive.’ So I sat down right there, thinking, ‘This is good enough for striving.’
§18And so, being myself liable to be reborn, understanding the drawbacks in being liable to be reborn, I sought that which is free of rebirth, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and I found it. Being myself liable to grow old, fall sick, die, sorrow, and become corrupted, understanding the drawbacks in these things, I sought that which is free of old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment—and I found it.
Knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My freedom is unshakable; this is my last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’
The hesitation
§19Then it occurred to me, ‘This principle I have discovered is deep, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, sublime, beyond the scope of logic, subtle, comprehensible to the astute. But people like clinging, they love it and enjoy it. It’s hard for them to see this topic; that is, specific conditionality, dependent origination. It’s also hard for them to see this topic; that is, the stilling of all activities, the letting go of all attachments, the ending of craving, fading away, cessation, extinguishment. And if I were to teach this principle, others might not understand me, which would be wearying and troublesome for me.’
And then these verses, which were neither supernaturally inspired, nor learned before in the past, occurred to me:
‘I’ve struggled hard to realize this,
enough with trying to explain it!
Those mired in greed and hate
can’t really understand this teaching.
It goes against the stream, subtle,
deep, obscure, and very fine.
Those besotted by greed cannot see,
for they’re cloaked in a mass of darkness.’
So, as I reflected like this, my mind inclined to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.
Brahmā Sahampati’s intervention
§20Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing my train of thought, thought, ‘Oh lord! The world will be lost, the world will perish! For the mind of the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha, inclines to remaining passive, not to teaching the Dhamma.’
Then, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from the realm of divinity and reappeared in front of me. He arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his cupped palms toward me, and said, ‘Sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes. They’re in decline because they haven’t heard the teaching. There will be those who understand the teaching!’
The lotus simile
§21Then, understanding the Divinity’s invitation, I surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha, because of my compassion for sentient beings. And I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes; with keen faculties and with weak faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach. And some of them lived seeing the danger in the fault to do with the next world, while others did not.
It’s like a pool with blue water lilies, or pink or white lotuses. Some of them sprout and grow in the water without rising above it, thriving underwater. Some of them sprout and grow in the water reaching the water’s surface. And some of them sprout and grow in the water but rise up above the water and stand with no water clinging to them.
In the same way, I saw sentient beings with little dust in their eyes, and some with much dust in their eyes.
Then the divinity Sahampati, knowing that his request for me to teach the Dhamma had been granted, saluted me, circumambulated me, and vanished on the spot.
Choosing whom to teach
§22Then it occurred to me, ‘Who should I teach first? Who will understand this teaching quickly?’ Then it occurred to me, ‘Āḻāra Kālāma is intelligent, clever, and wise. He’s gone a long time with little dust in his eyes. Why don’t I teach the Dhamma to Āḻāra Kālāma first? He’ll quickly understand this teaching.’
Then a divinity came to me and said, ‘For seven days Āḻāra Kālāma has been dead.’ And knowledge and vision arose in me that Āḻāra Kālāma had indeed passed away seven days prior. Then it occurred to me, ‘Āḻāra Kālāma was indeed very wise. Had he heard this teaching, he would have understood it quickly.’
§23Then it occurred to me, ‘Who should I teach first? Who will understand this teaching quickly?’ Then it occurred to me, ‘Uddaka son of Rāma is intelligent, clever, and wise. He’s gone a long time with little dust in his eyes. Why don’t I teach the Dhamma to Uddaka first? He’ll quickly understand this teaching.’
Then a divinity came to me and said, ‘Just last night Uddaka son of Rāma has been dead.’ And knowledge and vision arose in me that Uddaka son of Rāma had died the previous night. Then it occurred to me, ‘Uddaka son of Rāma was indeed very wise. Had he heard this teaching, he would have understood it quickly.’
§24Then it occurred to me, ‘Who should I teach first? Who will understand this teaching quickly?’ Then it occurred to me, ‘The five mendicants were very helpful to me when I was striving with intensity. Why don’t I teach the Dhamma to the five mendicants first?’ Then it occurred to me, ‘Where are the five mendicants living now?’ I saw with my divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, that the five mendicants were living in Varanasi at Isipatana, the Deer Park.
So I left Uruvelā and traveled to Varanasi.
Meeting the wanderer Upaka
§25The wanderer Upaka saw me traveling on the road between Gayā and Bodh Gayā. When he saw me, he said, ‘Your faculties are very clear, friend. Your complexion is pure and bright. Whom have you gone forth under? Who is your teacher? Whose teaching do you admire?’
‘I am the victor over all,
the knower of all;
unsullied in all things,
I’ve given up everything,
freed in the ending of craving.
Having found it for myself,
whom would I call my teacher?
I have no teacher;
no one is like me.
In the world with its gods,
I have no counterpart.
For I am the perfected one in the world,
the supreme teacher.
I alone am fully awakened,
cooled, extinguished.
I go to the city of Kasi
to set the Wheel of the Dhamma rolling.
In this world that’s gone blind,
I beat the drum of the deathless.’
‘As you claim, friend, you should be an Infinite Victor.’
‘The victors are those like me
who’ve destroyed their corruptions.
I’ve overcome all evil,
so, Upaka, I am a victor.’
When I said this, the wanderer Upaka said, ‘Okay, friend,’ shook his head, took a side road, and left.
The five mendicants
§26Then I traveled stage by stage to Varanasi, to Isipatana, the Deer Park, where the five mendicants were. The five mendicants saw me coming from a distance. When they saw me, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the ascetic Gotama, who has become casual and has abandoned his striving. He’s turned back to luxury. We shouldn’t bow to him, shouldn’t stand up for him, shouldn’t offer him his bowl and robe. All the same, we should prepare a seat, in case he wants to sit.’
But as I got closer, they couldn’t stick to their plan. Some came to greet me and took my bowl and robe, some prepared a seat, and some offered water for washing. But they addressed me by name and as ‘friend.’
§§27–28When I said this, I told the five mendicants, ‘Don’t address the Realized One by name and as friend, mendicants. I am an arahant, a fully awakened Buddha. Listen, mendicants, the deathless has been found. I will teach you, I will explain the Dhamma. Following my instructions, you will soon—in this very life—realize for yourselves with direct knowledge the superior human state, the excellent spiritual path, and having achieved it, you will dwell in it.’
§29I taught two mendicants while three went out for alms. What the three collected in alms I used to support the six of us. Then I taught three mendicants while two went out for alms. What the two collected I used to support the six of us.
§30Then, as I was teaching and instructing the five mendicants like this, they came to understand—and seeking freedom from rebirth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, and corruption, they realized the supreme sanctuary from the yoke, extinguishment. Knowledge and vision arose in them: ‘Our freedom is unshakable; this is our last rebirth; now there’ll be no more future lives.’
The five cords of sensual pleasure
§§31–33Mendicants, any ascetics or brahmins who are attached, infatuated, and immersed in these five cords of pleasure—sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches—without seeing the drawbacks and with undeveloped insight into escape should be seen as beset by misfortune, caught by the Evil One.
Where the Evil One cannot see
§34In the same way, a mendicant, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see.
§35Furthermore, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§36Furthermore, with the fading away of rapture, a mendicant enters and remains in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§37Furthermore, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§38Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite space. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§39Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, enters and remains in the dimension of infinite consciousness. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§40Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§41Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra …
§42Furthermore, a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. This mendicant is said to have blinded Māra, put out his eyes without a trace, and gone where the Wicked One cannot see. And they’ve crossed over clinging to the world.”
That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.
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