74. To Dīghanakha (MN74)

Thus I heard:

On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Rājagaha in the Sūkarakhata Cave.

Then the wanderer Dīghanakha went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When the courteous and amiable talk was finished, he stood at one side, and he said: “Master Gotama, my theory and my view is this: ‘I have no liking for any’.”

“This view of yours, Aggivessana, ‘I have no liking for any’, have you no liking for that too?”

“Even if I had a liking for this view of mine, it would be all the same, Master Gotama, it would be all the same.”

“Well, Aggivessana, there are plenty in the world who say: ‘It would be all the same, it would be all the same’ and who yet do not abandon that view and do cling to some other view; and there are few in the world who say: ‘It would be all the same, it would be all the same’ and yet do abandon that view and do not cling to some other view.

“Some monks and divines hold the theory and the view: ‘I have a liking for all.’ Some monks and divines hold the theory and the view: ‘I have no liking for any.’ Some monks and divines hold the theory and the view: ‘I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some.’ The monks and divines among these whose theory and view is: ‘I have a liking for all’ have a view that is close to lust, to bondage, to relishing, to acceptance, to clinging; the monks and divines among these whose theory and view is: ‘I have no liking for any’ have a view that is close to non-lust, to non-bondage, to non-relishing, to non-acceptance, to non-clinging.”

When this was said, the wanderer Dīghanakha remarked: “Master Gotama commends my field of views, Master Gotama recommends my field of views.”

“Aggivessana, monks and divines among these whose theory and view is: ‘I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some’ have a view that, in what they have a liking for, is close to lust, bondage, relishing, acceptance, clinging, and, in what they have no liking for, is close to non-lust, non-bondage, non-relishing, non-acceptance, non-clinging.

“Now a wise man among these monks and divines whose theory and view is: ‘I have a liking for all’ considers thus: ‘If I obstinately misapprehend and insist upon the assertion of this my view: “I have a liking for all” that “only this is true; anything else is wrong”, then I shall clash with the two others, both with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have no liking for any” and with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some.” I shall clash with these two, and when there is a clash, there are disputes; when there are disputes, there are quarrels; when there are quarrels, there is harm.’ When he foresees for himself this clash, these disputes, these quarrels, and this harm, he abandons that view and does not cling to some other view. This is how there comes to be the abandoning of these views; this is how there comes to be the relinquishing of these views.

“A wise man among these monks and divines whose theory and view is: ‘I have no liking for any’ considers thus: ‘If I obstinately misapprehend and insist upon the assertion of this my view: “I have no liking for any” that “only this is true; anything else is wrong”, then I shall clash with the two others, both with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have a liking for all” and with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some.” I shall clash with these two, and when there is a clash, there are disputes… ’ When he sees for himself this clash, these disputes, these quarrels, this harm, he abandons that view and does not cling to some other view. This is how there comes to be the abandoning of these views, this is how there comes to be the relinquishing of these views.

“A wise man among these monks and divines whose theory and view is: ‘I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some’ considers thus: ‘If I obstinately misapprehend and insist upon the assertion of this my view: “I have a liking for some, I have no liking for some” that “only this is true; anything else is wrong”, then I shall clash with the two others, both with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have a liking for all” and with the monk or divine whose theory and view is: “I have no liking for any.” I shall clash with these two, and when there is a clash… ’ That is how there comes to be the relinquishing of these views.

“Now, Aggivessana, this body that has form consists of the four great elements, it is procreated by a mother and father and built up out of boiled rice and bread, it has the nature of impermanence, of being worn and rubbed away, of dissolution and disintegration. It must be regarded as impermanent, as liable to suffering, as a disease, as a cancer, as a dart, as a calamity, as an affliction, as alien, as falling to pieces, as void, as not self. When a man regards it thus, he abandons his desire for the body, affection for the body, and his habit of treating the body as the basis for all his inferences.

“There are three kinds of feeling: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. On the occasion when a man feels pleasant feeling he does not feel painful feeling or neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling on that occasion: he feels only pleasant feeling on that occasion. On the occasion when he feels painful feeling he does not feel pleasant feeling or neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling on that occasion: he feels only painful feeling on that occasion. On the occasion when he feels neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling he does not feel pleasant feeling or painful feeling on that occasion: he feels only neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling on that occasion.

“Pleasant feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen and has the nature of exhaustion, of fall, of fading, and of ceasing. Also painful feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen and has the nature of exhaustion, of fall, of fading, and of ceasing. Also neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen and has the nature of exhaustion, of fall, of fading, and of ceasing.

“When a well-taught noble disciple sees thus, he becomes dispassionate towards pleasant feeling, becomes dispassionate towards painful feeling, becomes dispassionate towards neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling; being dispassionate his lust fades away; with the fading of lust he is liberated. When his mind is liberated, then comes the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Birth is exhausted, the life divine has been lived, what was to be done is done, there is no more of this to come.’

“A bhikkhu whose mind is liberated thus, Aggivessana, sides with none, disputes with none, and he employs, though without misapprehending it, the speech currently used in the world.”

Now on that occasion the venerable Sāriputta was standing behind the Blessed One fanning him. Then he thought: “The Blessed One, it seems, speaks of the abandoning of these various dhammas, having directly known them; the Sublime One speaks, it seems, of the relinquishing of these various dhammas, having directly known them.” As he considered thus his mind was liberated from taints through not clinging.

But in the Wanderer Dīghanakha the spotless immaculate vision of the Dhamma arose: “All that is subject to arising is subject to cessation.” Then he saw and reached and knew and fathomed the Dhamma; he crossed beyond uncertainty, had done with questioning, gained intrepidity and became independent of others in the Teacher’s Dispensation.

He said: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gotama, as though he were righting the overthrown, revealing the hidden, showing the way to one who is lost, holding up a lamp in the darkness for those with eyes to see forms.

“I go to Master Gotama for refuge, and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. From today let Master Gotama remember me as a follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.”

This is an excerpt from A Treasury of the Buddha's Words, a collection of suttas from the Majjhima Nikāya translated by Ven. Nyanamoli Thera and edited by Khantipalo Bhikkhu in 1977.

It was printed in Thailand by Mahāmakut Rājavidyālaya Press for free distribution.