The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [233]
“Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that.”
A second time…And a third time Puṇṇa, the ox-duty ascetic, said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, this Seniya is a naked dog-duty ascetic who does what is hard to do: he eats his food when it is thrown to the ground. He has long taken up and practised that dog-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Well, Puṇṇa, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that,’ I shall therefore answer you.
3. “Here, Puṇṇa, someone develops the dog-duty fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the dog-habit fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the dog-mind fully [388] and uninterruptedly; he develops dog-behaviour fully and uninterruptedly. Having done so, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of dogs. But if he has such a view as this: ‘By this virtue or observance or asceticism or holy life I shall become a [great] god or some [lesser] god,’ that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal realm.601 So, Puṇṇa, if his dog-duty succeeds, it will lead him to the company of dogs; if it fails, it will lead him to hell.”
4. When this was said, Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic cried out and burst into tears. Then the Blessed One told Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, the ox-duty ascetic: “Puṇṇa, I could not persuade you when I said: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that.’” [Then Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic said:] “Venerable sir, I am not crying because the Blessed One has said this about me, but because I have long taken up and practised this dog-duty. Venerable sir, this Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, is an ox-duty ascetic. He has long taken up and practised that ox-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that.”
A second time…And a third time Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic asked the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, this Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, is an ox-duty ascetic. He has long taken up and practised that ox-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Well, Seniya, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say: ‘Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that,’ I shall therefore answer you.
5. “Here, Seniya, someone develops the ox-duty fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the ox-habit fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the ox-mind fully and uninterruptedly; he develops ox-behaviour fully and uninterruptedly. Having done so, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of oxen. [389] But if he has such a view as this: ‘By this virtue or observance or asceticism or holy life I shall become a [great] god or some [lesser] god,’ that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal realm. So, Seniya, if his ox-duty succeeds, it will lead him to the company of oxen; if it fails, it will lead him to hell.”
6. When this was said, Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, the ox-duty ascetic cried out and burst into tears. Then the Blessed One told Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic: “Seniya, I could not persuade you when I said: ‘Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that.’”
[Then Puṇṇa the ox-duty ascetic said:] “Venerable sir, I am