Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 42.11

With Bhadraka

Bhadrakasutta — Gāmaṇivagga

Setting
Uruvelakappa, in the land of the Mallas
Speakers
Bhadraka, a village chief, questioning the Buddha
Form
A refusal to teach about past or future, followed by a live demonstration using the questioner's own present experience
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — a first-hand demonstration rather than an abstract argument

Why this discourse

Bhadraka asks the Buddha to teach him the origin and passing away of suffering. Rather than teaching about the past or future — which would leave room for doubt — the Buddha teaches entirely in the present moment, using Bhadraka's own immediate experience: some people's misfortune would cause him grief, others' would not, and the difference is nothing but his own desire and attachment toward them. Bhadraka confirms this with his own most personal example — his son Ciravāsī, whose safety he worries over daily, and a woman toward whom he felt nothing until he came to know her, at which point her safety, too, became a source of possible grief.

Reading guide

Teaching refused in the abstract, given in the present

The Buddha's own explicit reason for declining to teach about the past or future — that it would leave room for doubt — frames the entire discourse's own method: whatever is taught must be verifiable right now, not taken on the strength of a claim about another time.

Desire named as the variable, not the people themselves

The exact same category of misfortune (execution, imprisonment, a fine) causes grief for some people and not others, and Bhadraka himself identifies the difference precisely: desire and attachment (chandarāga), not any feature of the people affected.

A universal principle, extended from a single case

The Buddha's own move from “this present phenomenon you have seen” to a general claim about all suffering past, present, and future models exactly how a first-hand observation can ground a universal principle without appeal to unverifiable claims about other times.

A test case chosen for its own difficulty

Bhadraka's own example — his son Ciravāsī, and later the boy's own mother, whom he felt nothing for until meeting her — are deliberately chosen as the hardest possible cases: the people he would find it most natural to grieve over, precisely because his own desire for their wellbeing runs deepest.

Key terms

dukkhassa samudayañca atthaṅgamañca — “the origin and disappearance of suffering” — Bhadraka's own request, and this discourse's own subject
idheva nisinno ettheva te nisinnassa — “as I am sitting right here and you are sitting right there” — the Buddha's own insistence on teaching in the present moment rather than about past or future
chandarāgo — “desire and passion” — the single variable this discourse identifies as the root of suffering, demonstrated rather than merely asserted
chando hi mūlaṁ dukkhassa — “desire is the root of suffering” — this discourse's own closing formula, repeated for each test case in turn
ciravāsī nāma kumāro — “a boy called Ciravāsī” — Bhadraka's own son, the deliberately hard test case brought forward to confirm the principle

The text

The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Mallas, near the Mallian town named Uruvelakappa. Then Bhadraka the village chief went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Please, sir, let the Blessed One teach me the origin and disappearance of suffering.” “Chief, if I were to teach you about the origin and disappearance of suffering in connection with the past, saying ‘this is how it was in the past,’ you might have doubts or uncertainties about that. If I were to teach you about the origin and disappearance of suffering in connection with the future, saying ‘this is how it will be in the future,’ you might have doubts or uncertainties about that. Rather, chief, I will teach you about the origin and disappearance of suffering as I am sitting right here and you are sitting right there. Listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, sir,” Bhadraka replied. The Buddha said this: “What do you think, chief? Are there any people here in Uruvelakappa who, if they were executed, imprisoned, fined, or condemned, it would cause you sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress?” “There are, sir.” “But are there any people here in Uruvelakappa who, if they were executed, imprisoned, fined, or condemned, it would not cause you sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress?” “There are, sir.” “What’s the cause, chief, what’s the reason why, if this was to happen to some people it could cause you sorrow, while if it happens to others it does not?” “The people regarding whom this would give rise to sorrow are those I have desire and passion. The people regarding whom this would not give rise to sorrow are those I don’t have desire and passion.” “With this present phenomenon that you have seen, understood, immediately attained, and fathomed, you can apply the same method to the past and future: ‘All the suffering that arose in the past was rooted and sourced in desire. For desire is the root of suffering. All the suffering that will arise in the future will be rooted and sourced in desire. For desire is the root of suffering.’” “It’s incredible, sir, it’s amazing! How well said this was by the Buddha! ‘All the suffering that arises is rooted and sourced in desire. For desire is the root of suffering.’ I have a boy called Ciravāsi, who resides in a house away from here. I rise early and dispatch someone, saying: ‘Go, I must say, and check on my boy Ciravāsi.’ Until they get back I worry: ‘I hope nothing’s wrong with Ciravāsi!’” “What do you think, chief? If Ciravāsi was executed, imprisoned, fined, or condemned, would it cause you sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress?” “How could it not, sir?” “This too is a way to understand: ‘All the suffering that arises is rooted and sourced in desire. For desire is the root of suffering.’ What do you think, chief? Before you’d seen or heard of Ciravāsi’s mother, did you have any desire or passion or fondness for her?” “No, sir.” “Then was it because you saw or heard of her that you had desire or passion or fondness for her?” “Yes, sir.” “What do you think, chief? If Ciravāsi’s mother was executed, imprisoned, fined, or condemned, would it cause you sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness, and distress?” “How could it not, sir?” “This too is a way to understand: ‘All the suffering that arises is rooted and sourced in desire. For desire is the root of suffering.’”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 3
Why does the Buddha decline to teach about the origin of suffering in connection with the past or future?
Correct: A. Framing the whole discourse's own method: verify right now, not by appeal to another time.
Question 2 of 3
What single variable does Bhadraka himself identify as causing grief over some people's misfortune but not others'?
Correct: A. Identified through Bhadraka's own direct reflection on his present experience, not asserted by the Buddha alone.
Question 3 of 3
Why does the discourse use Bhadraka's own son as a test case?
Correct: A. Confirming the principle even in the hardest, most personal case available.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

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