The Discourse about Pilindivaccha (UD3.6)

Thus I heard: At one time the Gracious One was dwelling near Rājagaha, in Bamboo Wood, at the Squirrels’ Feeding Place. Then at that time venerable Pilindivaccha accosted monks with words of contempt.

Then many monks went to the Gracious One, and after going and worshipping the Gracious One, they sat down on one side. While sat on one side those monks said this to the Gracious One: “Venerable Pilindivaccha, reverend Sir, accosts monks with words of contempt.”

Then the Gracious One addressed a certain monk, saying: “Please go, monk, and with my word address the monk Pilindivaccha, saying: ‘The Teacher, friend Pilindivaccha, calls you.’ ”

“Yes, reverend Sir,” said that monk, and after replying to the Gracious One, he went to venerable Pilindivaccha, and after going, he said this to venerable Pilindivaccha: “The Teacher, venerable friend, calls you.”

“Yes, friend,” said venerable Pilindivaccha, and after replying to that monk, he went to the Gracious One, after going and worshipping the Gracious One, he sat down on one side. While sat on one side the Gracious One said this to venerable Pilindivaccha: “Is it true, as it seems, Vaccha, that you accost monks with words of contempt?”

“Yes, reverend Sir.”

Then the Gracious One, after applying his mind to venerable Pilindivaccha’s previous lives, addressed the monks, saying: “You should not be offended, monks, at the monk Vaccha, it is not with hatred on the inside, monks, that Vaccha accosts the monks with words of contempt. For the monk Vaccha, monks, for five hundred lives has been reborn in a brāhmaṇa family without interruption, for a long time he has been one who has accosted others with words of contempt, because of this Vaccha accosted the monks with words of contempt.”

Then the Gracious One, having understood the significance of it, on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:

“In whom dwells no deceit and no conceit,
He who is free from lust, unselfish, not yearning,
Who has dispelled anger, who is himself completely emancipated,
He is a brāhmaṇa, he is an ascetic, he is a monk.”

Translated by Bhikkhu Ānandajoti from the Buddha Jayanthi Tripitaka text. Version 2.2, revised February 2008.

The text and translation, together with detailed notes and discussions, may be found in multiple formats on the translator’s website, Ancient Buddhist Texts.

Used by kind permission of Bhikkhu Ānandajoti.

The original translation was released under the following licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.