The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [392]
7. “Bhāradvāja, I say that there is a diversity among those recluses and brahmins who claim [to teach] the fundamentals of the holy life after having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge here and now. There are some recluses and brahmins who are traditionalists, who on the basis of oral tradition claim [to teach] the fundamentals of the holy life after having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge here and now; such are the brahmins of the Three Vedas. There are some recluses and brahmins who, entirely on the basis of mere faith, claim [to teach] the fundamentals of the holy life after having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge here and now; such are the reasoners and investigators.919 There are some recluses and brahmins who, having directly known the Dhamma for themselves920 among things not heard before, claim [to teach] the fundamentals of the holy life after having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge here and now.
8. “I, Bhāradvāja, am one of those recluses and brahmins who, having directly known the Dhamma for themselves among things not heard before, claim [to teach] the fundamentals of the holy life after having reached the consummation and perfection of direct knowledge here and now. As to how I am one of those recluses and brahmins, that may be understood in the following way.
9. “Here, Bhāradvāja, before my enlightenment, while I was still only an unenlightened Bodhisatta, I considered thus: ‘Household life is crowded and dusty; life gone forth is wide open. It is not easy while living in a home to lead the holy life utterly perfect and pure as a polished shell. Suppose I shave off my hair and beard, put on the yellow robe, and go forth from the home life into homelessness.’
10–13. “Later, Bhāradvāja, [212] while still young...(as Sutta 26, §§14–17)...And I sat down thinking: ‘This will serve for striving.’
14–30. “Now these three similes occurred to me spontaneously never heard before...(as Sutta 36, §§17–33; but in the present sutta in §§17–22—corresponding to §§20–25 of Sutta 36—the sentence “But such painful feeling that arose in me did not invade my mind and remain” does not occur)...the five bhikkhus were disgusted and left me, thinking: ‘The recluse Gotama now lives luxuriously; he has given up his striving and reverted to luxury.’
31–41. “Now when I had eaten solid food and regained my strength, then quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states...(as Sutta 36, §§34–44; but in the present sutta in §§36, 38, and 41—corresponding to §§39, 41, and 44 of Sutta 36—the sentence “But such pleasant feeling that arose in me did not invade my mind and remain” does not occur)...as happens in one who abides diligent, ardent, and resolute.”
42. When this was said, the brahmin student Sangārava said to the Blessed One: “Master Gotama’s striving was unfaltering, Master Gotama’s striving was that of a true man, as it should be for an Accomplished One, a Fully Enlightened One. But how is it, Master Gotama, are there gods?”
“It is known to me to be the case, Bhāradvāja, that there are gods.”
“But how is this, Master Gotama, that when you are asked, ‘Are there gods?’ you say: ‘It is known to me to be the case, Bhāradvāja, that there are gods’? If that is so, isn’t what you say empty and false?”921
“Bhāradvāja, when one is asked, ‘Are there gods?’ [213] whether one answers, ‘There are gods,’ or ‘It is known to me to be the case [that there are gods],’ a wise man can draw the definite conclusion that there are gods.”
“But why didn’t Master Gotama answer me in the first way?”
“It is widely accepted in the world, Bhāradvāja, that there are gods.”
43. When this was said, the brahmin student Sangārava said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama