Connected Discourses with Lakkhaṇa

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. Now on that occasion the Venerable Lakkhaṇa and the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna were dwelling on Mount Vulture Peak.³⁴³ The series of suttas included in this saṁyutta also occurs at Vin III 104-8. Spk: The Venerable Lakkhaṇa, a great disciple, had been one of the thousand jaṭila ascetics who received higher ordination by the “Come, bhikkhu” utterance (see Vin I 32-34). He attained arahantship at the end of the Discourse on Burning (35:28). Since he possessed a Brahmā-like body that was endowed with auspicious marks (lakkhaṇasampanna), perfect in all respects, he was called “Lakkhaṇa.” Then, in the morning, the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna dressed and, taking bowl and robe, he approached the Venerable Lakkhaṇa and said to him: “Come, friend Lakkhaṇa, let us enter Rājagaha for alms.”

2“All right, friend,” the Venerable Lakkhaṇa replied. Then, as he was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna displayed a smile in a certain place.³⁴⁴ Spk: The reason for Moggallāna’s smile, as is mentioned in the text below, is that he saw a being reborn in the world of ghosts whose body was a skeleton. Having seen such a form of individual existence, he should have felt compassion, so why did he display a smile? Because he recollected his own success in gaining release from the prospect of such forms of rebirth and the success of the Buddha-knowledge; for the Buddhas teach such things through their own direct cognition (paccakkhaṁ katvā) and have thoroughly penetrated the element of phenomena (suppaṭividdhā buddhānaṁ dhammadhātu). The Venerable Lakkhaṇa said to him: “For what reason, friend Moggallāna, did you display a smile?”

3“This is not the time for that question, friend Lakkhaṇa. Ask me that question when we are in the presence of the Blessed One.” [255]

4Then, when the Venerable Lakkhaṇa and the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna had walked for alms in Rājagaha and returned from their alms round, after their meal they approached the Blessed One. Having paid homage to the Blessed One, they sat down to one side, and the Venerable Lakkhaṇa said to the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna: “Here, as he was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, the Venerable Mahāmoggallāna displayed a smile in a certain place. For what reason, friend Moggallāna, did you display that smile?”

5“Here, friend, as I was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, I saw a skeleton moving through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following it in hot pursuit, were pecking at it between the ribs, stabbing it, and tearing it apart while it uttered cries of pain.³⁴⁵ I follow Be: vitudenti vitacchenti virājenti. Se reads vitudanti only, while Ee has vitacchenti vibhajenti. Spk comments only on vitudenti: “They ran and moved here and there, piercing him again and again with their metal beaks as sharp as sword blades.” According to Spk, the vultures, etc., were actually yakkhas (yakkhagijjhā, yakkhakākā, yakkhakulalā); for such a form does not come into the visual range of natural vultures, etc. It occurred to me: ‘It is wonderful, indeed! It is amazing, indeed! That there could be such a being, that there could be such a spirit, that there could be such a form of individual existence!’”³⁴⁶ Evarūpo pi nāma satto bhavissati evarūpo pi nāma yakkho bhavissati evarūpo pi nāma attabhāvapaṭilābho bhavissati. Spk: In saying this Moggallāna shows his sense of urgency in the Dhamma, arisen out of compassion for such beings. The expression attabhāvapaṭilābho, which literally means “acquisition of selfhood,” is used idiomatically to denote a concrete form of individual identity. Attabhāva sometimes occurs in a more restricted sense with reference to the physical body, for instance at Ud 54,17-19.

6Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus, there are disciples who dwell having become vision, having become knowledge, in that a disciple can know, see, and witness such a sight. In the past, bhikkhus, I too saw that being, but I did not speak about it. For if I had spoken about it, others would not have believed me, and if they had not believed me that would have led to their harm and suffering for a long time.

7“That being, bhikkhus, used to be a cattle butcher in this same Rājagaha. Having been tormented in hell for many years, for many hundreds of years, for many thousands of years, for many hundreds of thousands of years as a result of that kamma, [256] as a residual result of that same kamma he is experiencing such a form of individual existence.”³⁴⁷ Spk: As a residual result of that same kamma (tass’ eva kammassa vipākāvasesena): of that “kamma (to be experienced) in subsequent lives” (aparāpariyakamma) accumulated by different volitions. For the rebirth in hell is produced by a certain volition, and when its result is exhausted rebirth is produced among the ghosts, etc., having as its object the residue of that kamma or the sign of the kamma (see CMA 5:35-38). Therefore, because that rebirth comes about through correspondence of kamma or correspondence of object (kammasabhāgatāya ārammaṇasabhāgatāya vā), it is called “a residual result of that same kamma.” It is said that at the time he passed away from hell, a heap of flesh-less cows’ bones became the sign (i.e., the object of the last conscious process, which then becomes the object of the rebirth-consciousness). Thus he became a ghost (in the form of) a skeleton, as if making manifest to the wise the hidden kamma.

(The remaining suttas of this subchapter follow the same pattern as the first. As in the Pāli text, so in translation here only the phrases that differ are given.)

2. The Piece of Meat

1… “Here, friend, as I was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, I saw a piece of meat moving through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following it in hot pursuit, were stabbing at it and tearing it apart as it uttered cries of pain.”…

2“That being, bhikkhus, was a cattle butcher in this same Rājagaha....”³⁴⁸ Spk: He had earned his living for many years as a cattle butcher who seasoned pieces of beef, dried them, and sold the dried meat. When he passed away from hell, a piece of meat became the sign and he became a ghost (in the form of) a piece of meat.

3. The Lump of Meat

1... “I saw a lump of meat….”

2“That being was a poultry butcher in this same Rājagaha….”

4. The Flayed Man

1... “I saw a flayed man….”

2“That being was a sheep butcher in this same Rājagaha….” [257]

5. Sword Hairs

1… “I saw a man with body-hairs of swords moving through the air. Those swords kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a hog butcher in this same Rājagaha….”

6. Spear Hairs

1… “I saw a man with body-hairs of spears moving through the air. Those spears kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a deer hunter in this same Rājagaha….”

7. Arrow Hairs

1… “I saw a man with body-hairs of arrows moving through the air. Those arrows kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a torturer in this same Rājagaha....”³⁴⁹ Spk: He was an executioner who inflicted many punishments on state criminals and then finally shot them with arrows. After arising in hell, when he was subsequently reborn through the residual result of that kamma the state of being pierced by an arrow became the sign and therefore he became a ghost with body-hairs of arrows.

8. Needle Hairs (1)³⁵⁰ In Be and Se, this sutta is entitled Sūciloma and the following sutta Dutiya-sūciloma, while in Ee the former is entitled Sūci-sārathi and the latter Sūcako. In Be and Se, the miserable spirit in the former sutta is said to have been a sūta, glossed by Spk as assadamaka, a horse trainer, while in Ee he is said to have been a sūcaka. In all three eds., the spirit in the following sutta is said to have been a sūcaka, glossed by Spk as pesuññakāraka, a slanderer. I follow Be and Se both with respect to the titles of the two suttas and the former identities of the tormented spirits.

1… “I saw a man with body-hairs of needles moving through the air. Those needles kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a horse trainer in this same Rājagaha….”

9. Needle Hairs (2)

1… “I saw a man with body-hairs of needles moving through the air. [258] Those needles entered his head and came out from his mouth; they entered his mouth and came out from his chest; they entered his chest and came out from his belly; they entered his belly and came out from his thighs; they entered his thighs and came out from his calves; they entered his calves and came out from his feet, while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a slanderer in this same Rājagaha....”³⁵¹ Spk: He was a slanderer who divided people from each other and brought them to ruin and misery by his insinuations. Therefore, as people were divided by him through his insinuations (tena sūcetvā manussā bhinnā), to experience the pain of being pierced by needles (sūcīhi bhedanadukkhaṁ paccanubhotuṁ), he took that kamma itself as the sign and became a needle-haired ghost (sūcilomapeta). (The aptness of the retribution is established by the similarity between the Pāli word sūci, needle, and the verb sūceti, to insinuate, to indicate.)

10. Pot Testicles

1… “I saw a man whose testicles were like pots moving through the air. When he walked, he had to lift his testicles onto his shoulders, and when he sat down he sat on top of his testicles. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following him in hot pursuit, were stabbing at him and tearing him apart while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was a corrupt magistrate in this same Rājagaha....” ³⁵² Gāmakūṭa, lit. “village cheat.” Spk: He secretly accepted bribes and, committing an evident wrong by his skewed judgements, misallocated the belongings of others. Hence his private parts were exposed. Since he caused an unbearable burden for others by imposing harsh penalties, his private parts became an unbearable burden for him. And since he was unrighteous (visama) when he should have been righteous, his private parts became uneven (visama) and he had to sit on them. Interestingly, Ee (apparently based on SS) here reads dhaṅkā for crows in place of kākā in the other eds. See I, v. 808d and I, n. 566.
[259]

1... “I saw a man with head submerged in a pit of dung….”

2“That being was an adulterer in this same Rājagaha....”³⁵³ Spk: Having experienced contact with another man’s wife, having enjoyed vile pleasure, sensual pleasure, he has been reborn in circumstances where, as a counterpart of that kamma, he experiences contact with filth and undergoes pain.

12. The Dung Eater

1… “I saw a man submerged in a pit of dung, eating dung with both hands….”

2“That being, bhikkhus, was a hostile brahmin in this same Rājagaha. In the time of the Buddha Kassapa’s Dispensation, he invited the Bhikkhu Saṅgha to a meal. Having had rice pots filled with dung, he said to the bhikkhus: ‘Sirs, eat as much as you want from this and take the rest away with you.’...”³⁵⁴ I read the first word of this sentence with Se and SS as ato, as against the exclamation aho in Be and Ee.

13. The Flayed Woman

1… “I saw a flayed woman moving through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following her in hot pursuit, were stabbing at her and tearing her apart while she uttered cries of pain….”

2“That woman was an adulteress in this same Rājagaha....”³⁵⁵ Spk: She cheated on her husband and enjoyed contact with other men. Thus she fell away from pleasant contact and, as a counterpart of that kamma, was reborn as a flayed woman to experience painful contact. [260]

14. The Ugly Woman

1… “I saw a woman, foul-smelling and ugly, moving through the air. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following her in hot pursuit, were stabbing at her and tearing her apart while she uttered cries of pain….”

2“That woman was a fortune-teller in this same Rājagaha....”³⁵⁶ Maṅgulitthi. Spk glosses: maṅgulin ti virūpaṁ duddasikaṁ bībhacchaṁ. She deceived people, accepting scents and flowers, telling them they could become rich by performing certain rites. She caused the multitude to accept a bad view, a wrong view. Thus she herself became foul-smelling because of taking scents and flowers, and ugly because of making them accept a bad view.

15. The Sweltering Woman

1… “I saw a woman, her body roasting, sweltering, sooty, moving through the air, while she uttered cries of pain....”³⁵⁷ Spk explains uppakkaṁ okiliniṁ okirinaṁ thus: She was lying on a bed of coals, trembling and turning around as she was cooked, therefore she was roasting (uppakkā), i.e., with body cooked by the hot fire. She was sweltering (okilinī ), with a sweating body; and sooty (okirinī), completely covered with soot.

2“That woman was the chief queen of the king of Kaliṅga. Of a jealous character, she poured a brazier of coals over one of the king’s consorts….”

16. The Headless Trunk

1… “I saw a headless trunk moving through the air; its eyes and mouth were on its chest. Vultures, crows, and hawks, following it in hot pursuit, were stabbing at it and tearing it apart while it uttered cries of pain….”

2“That being was an executioner named Hārika in this same Rājagaha….”

17. The Evil Bhikkhu

1… “I saw a bhikkhu moving through the air. His outer robe, bowl, waistband, [261] and body were burning, blazing, and flaming while he uttered cries of pain….”

2“That bhikkhu had been an evil bhikkhu in the Buddha Kassapa’s Dispensation....”³⁵⁸ Spk: While using the four requisites provided by the people out of faith, being unrestrained in bodily and verbal conduct and corrupt in his means of livelihood, he went about playfully to his heart’s content. The same method of explanation applies in the following cases too.

18. The Evil Bhikkhunı̄

1… “I saw a bhikkhunı̄ moving through the air. Her outer robe, bowl, waistband, and body were burning, blazing, and flaming while she uttered cries of pain….”

2“That bhikkhunı̄ had been an evil bhikkhunı̄ in the Buddha Kassapa’s Dispensation….”

19–21. The Evil Probationary Nun, Etc.

3… “Here, friend, as I was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, I saw a probationary nun…a novice monk…a novice nun moving through the air. Her outer robe, bowl, waistband, and body were burning, blazing, and flaming while she uttered cries of pain. It occurred to me: ‘It is wonderful, indeed! It is amazing, indeed! That there could be such a being, that there could be such a spirit, that there could be such a form of individual existence!’”

4Then the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus, there are disciples who dwell having become vision, having become knowledge, in that a disciple can know, see, and witness such a sight. [262] In the past, bhikkhus, I too saw that novice nun, but I did not speak about it. For if I had spoken about it, others would not have believed me, and if they had not believed me that would have led to their harm and suffering for a long time.

5“That novice nun had been an evil novice nun in the Buddha Kassapa’s Dispensation. Having been tormented in hell for many years, for many hundreds of years, for many thousands of years, for many hundreds of thousands of years as a result of that kamma, as a residual result of that same kamma she is experiencing such a form of individual existence.”