The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [91]
7–10. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain village...224
11–14. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain town…
15–18. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain city…
19–22. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain country…
23. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain person...(as in §3) [107]…That very night or that very day, that bhikkhu should depart from that person without taking leave; he should not continue following him.
24. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain person...(as in §4)...Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu should depart from that person after taking leave;225 he should not continue following him.
25. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain person...(as in §5)...Having reflected thus, that bhikkhu should continue following that person; he should not depart from him.
26. “Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu lives in dependence upon a certain person…(as in §6) [108]…That bhikkhu should continue following that person as long as life lasts; he should not depart from him even if told to go away.”
That is what the Blessed One said. The bhikkhus were satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Madhupiṇḍika Sutta
The Honeyball
1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Sakyan country at Kapilavatthu in Nigrodha’s Park.
2. Then, when it was morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, went into Kapilavatthu for alms. When he had wandered for alms in Kapilavatthu and had returned from his almsround, after his meal he went to the Great Wood for the day’s abiding, and entering the Great Wood, sat down at the root of a bilva sapling for the day’s abiding.
3. Daṇḍapāni the Sakyan, while walking and wandering for exercise, also went to the Great Wood, and when he had entered the Great Wood, he went to the bilva sapling where the Blessed One was and exchanged greetings with him. When this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he stood at one side leaning on his stick and asked the Blessed One: “What does the recluse assert, what does he proclaim?”226
4. “Friend, I assert and proclaim [my teaching] in such a way that one does not quarrel with anyone in the world with its gods, its Māras, and its Brahmās, in this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and its people; in such a way that perceptions no more underlie that brahmin who abides detached from sensual pleasures, without perplexity, shorn of worry, free from craving for any kind of being.”227
5. When this was said, Daṇḍapāni the Sakyan shook his head, [109] wagged his tongue, and raised his eyebrows until his forehead was puckered in three lines.228 Then he departed, leaning on his stick.
6. Then, when it was evening, the Blessed One rose from meditation and went to Nigrodha’s Park, where he sat down on a seat made ready for him and told the bhikkhus what had taken place. Then a certain bhikkhu asked the Blessed One:
7. “But, venerable sir, how does the Blessed One assert and proclaim [his teaching] in such a way that he does not quarrel with anyone in the world with its gods, its Māras, and its Brahmās, in this generation with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and its people? And, venerable sir, how is it that perceptions no more underlie the Blessed One, that brahmin who abides detached from sensual pleasures, without perplexity, shorn of worry, free from craving for any kind of being?”
8. “Bhikkhu, as to the source through which perceptions and notions [born of] mental proliferation beset a man: if nothing is found there to delight in, welcome and hold to, this is the end of the underlying tendency