80. Vekhanassa Sutta

1.[40] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.

2.Then the wanderer Vekhanassa went to the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him.⁷⁸⁷ MA identifies Vekhanassa as Sakuludāyin’s teacher. When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he stood at one side and in the Blessed One’s presence he uttered this exclamation:

“This is the perfect splendour, this is the perfect splendour!”

“But, Kaccāna, why do you say: ‘This is the perfect splendour, this is the perfect splendour!’? What is that perfect splendour?”

“Master Gotama, that splendour is the perfect splendour which is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime.”

“But, Kaccāna, what is that splendour that is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime?”

“Master Gotama, that splendour is the perfect splendour that is unsurpassed by any other splendour higher or more sublime.”

3–11.“Kaccāna, you might continue for a long time in this way...(as Sutta 79, §§10–18)...[41, 42] yet you do not indicate what that splendour is.

12.“Kaccāna, there are these five cords of sensual pleasure.⁷⁸⁸ MA: Even though he was a wanderer, he was keenly intent on sensual pleasures. The Buddha undertook this teaching in order to make him recognise his strong concern with sensual pleasures, and thus the discourse would be beneficial to him. What five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. Sounds cognizable by the ear…Odours cognizable by the nose…Flavours cognizable by the tongue… Tangibles cognizable by the body [43] that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. These are the five cords of sensual pleasure.

13.“Now, Kaccāna, the pleasure and joy that arise dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasure. Thus sensual pleasure [arises] through sensual pleasures, but beyond sensual pleasure there is a pleasure at the peak of the sensual, and that is declared to be the highest among them.”⁷⁸⁹ In the Pali this sentence takes the form of a riddle, and the translation here is conjectural. MA explains that the “pleasure at the peak of the sensual” (or “the highest sensual pleasure,” kāmaggasukhaṁ) is Nibbāna.

14.When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa said: “It is wonderful, Master Gotama, it is marvellous, how well that has been expressed by Master Gotama: ‘Thus sensual pleasure [arises] through sensual pleasures, but beyond sensual pleasure there is a pleasure at the peak of the sensual, and that is declared to be the highest among them.’”

“Kaccāna, for you who are of another view, who accept another teaching, who approve of another teaching, who pursue a different training, who follow a different teacher, it is hard to know what sensuality is, or what sensual pleasure is, or what the pleasure at the peak of the sensual is. But those bhikkhus who are arahants with taints destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and are completely liberated through final knowledge—it is they who would know what sensuality is, what sensual pleasure is, or what the pleasure at the peak of the sensual is.”

15.When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa was angry and displeased, and he reviled, disparaged, and censured the Blessed One, saying: “The recluse Gotama will be worsted.” He then said to the Blessed One: “So then there are some recluses and brahmins here who, without knowing the past and without seeing the future, yet claim: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’ What they say turns out to be ridiculous; it turns out to be mere words, empty and hollow.”

16.“If any recluses and brahmins [44], without knowing the past and without seeing the future, yet claim: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being,’ they can be reasonably confuted. Rather, let the past be, Kaccāna, and let the future be. Let a wise man come, one who is honest and sincere, a man of rectitude. I instruct him, I teach him the Dhamma in such a way that by practising as instructed he will soon know and see for himself: ‘Thus, indeed, there rightly comes to be liberation from the bond, that is, from the bond of ignorance.’ Suppose, Kaccāna, there were a young tender infant lying prone, bound by stout bonds [at the four limbs] with the fifth at the neck; and later on, as a result of his growth and the maturing of his faculties, those bonds loosened, then he would know ‘I am free’ and there would be no more bondage. So too, let a wise man come…‘Thus, indeed, there rightly comes to be liberation from the bond, that is, from the bond of ignorance.’”

17.When this was said, the wanderer Vekhanassa said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear...(as Sutta 74, §19)...for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. From today let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.”