The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [354]
“He cannot do so, sir.”
“General, what do you think? Have you heard of the gods of the Thirty-three?”
“Yes, sir, I have heard of them. And King Pasenadi of Kosala has heard of them too.”
“General, what do you think? Can King Pasenadi of Kosala topple the gods of the Thirty-three or banish them from that place?”
“Sir, King Pasenadi of Kosala cannot even see the gods of the Thirty-three, so how could he topple them or banish them from that place?”
“So too, general, those gods who are still subject to ill will and who come back to this [human] state cannot even see those gods who are no longer subject to ill will and who do not come back to this [human] state; so how could they topple them or banish them from that place?”
15. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala asked the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, what is this bhikkhu’s name?”
“His name is Ānanda, great king.”
“Ānanda [joy] he is indeed, venerable sir, and Ānanda he appears. What [132] the venerable Ānanda has said appears reasonable, what he has said appears to be supported by reason. But, venerable sir, is there Brahmā?”
“Why do you ask that, great king?”
“Venerable sir, I was asking whether that Brahmā comes back to this [human] state or whether he does not.”
“Great king, any Brahmā who is still subject to ill will comes back to this [human] state, any Brahmā who is no longer subject to ill will does not come back to this [human] state.”
16. Then a man announced to King Pasenadi of Kosala: “Great king, Sañjaya, the brahmin of the Ākāsa clan, has come.”
King Pasenadi of Kosala asked Sañjaya, the brahmin of the Ākāsa clan: “Brahmin, who introduced this story to the palace?”
“Sire, it was General Viḍūḍabha.”
General Viḍūḍabha said: “Sire, it was Sañjaya, the brahmin of the Ākāsa clan.”
17. Then a man announced to King Pasenadi of Kosala: “Sire, it is time to depart.”
King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, we have asked the Blessed One about omniscience, and the Blessed One has answered about omniscience; we approve of and accept that answer, and so we are satisfied. We have asked the Blessed One about purification in the four castes, and the Blessed One has answered about purification in the four castes; we approve of and accept that answer, and so we are satisfied. We have asked the Blessed One about the gods, and the Blessed One has answered about the gods; we approve of and accept that answer, and so we are satisfied. We have asked the Blessed One about the Brahmās, and the Blessed One has answered about the Brahmās; we approve of and accept that answer, and so we are satisfied. Whatever we asked the Blessed One, that the Blessed One has answered; we approve of and accept those answers, and so we are satisfied. [133] And now, venerable sir, we depart. We are busy and have much to do.”
“You may go, great king, at your own convenience.”
18. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words, rose from his seat, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping him on his right, he departed.
5
The Division on Brahmins (Br̄hmạavagga)
Brahmāyu Sutta
Brahmāyu
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was wandering in the country of the Videhans with a large Sangha of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus.
2. Now on that occasion the brahmin Brahmāyu was living at Mithilā. He was old, aged, burdened with years, advanced in life, and come to the last stage; he was in his hundred and twentieth year. He was a master of the Three Vedas with their vocabularies, liturgy, phonology, and etymology, and the histories as a fifth; skilled in philology and grammar, he was fully versed in natural philosophy and in the marks of a Great Man.850
3. The brahmin Brahmāyu heard: “The recluse Gotama, the son