Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center
MN-63
The Shorter Discourse to Mālunkyāputta
-
Cūḷamālunkya Sutta
MN-63
The Shorter Discourse
to Mālunkyāputta
Cūḷamālunkya Sutta
Venerable Bhante
Vimalaramsi
31-Dec-05
MN: 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one
occasion the Blessed One was living at Sāvatthi in Jeta's Grove,
Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
2. Then, while the venerable
Mālunkyāputta was alone in meditation, the following thought arose in
his mind:
"These speculative views have been
left undeclared by the Blessed One, set aside and rejected by him,
namely: 'the world is eternal' and 'the world is not eternal'; 'the
world is finite' and 'the world is infinite'; 'the soul is the same as
the body' and 'the soul is one thing and the body another'; and 'after
death a Tathāgata exists' and 'after death a Tathāgata does not exist'
and 'after death a Tathāgata both exists and does not exist' and 'after
death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist.' The Blessed One
does not declare these to me, and I do not approve of and accept the
fact that he does not declare these to me, so I shall go to the Blessed
One and ask him the meaning of this. If he declares to me either 'the
world is eternal' or 'the world is not eternal' or 'after death a
Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist,' then I will lead the holy
life under him; if he does not declare these to me, then I will abandon
the training and return to the low life."
BV: This is kind of an interesting
sutta. This monk gets it set in his mind that these views are really
important to understand – whether the world is eternal, whether it’s not
eternal, whether the soul is part of the body or not, and all of these
kinds of things. But, these are all just conceptual thinking and they
lead to a lot of philosophical discussion, but there is never any answer
to give. Because, you take one position, I’m going to take the other
position, and then we are going to discuss that all night, but there is
no solution! So, when the Buddha was asked these kinds of things, he
never answered it. And, this monk is making it up in his mind: “Well, if
the Buddha is not going to answer these kinds of things, then I don’t
want to be a monk anymore, because I want to know these things.” So, he
is trying to set it up in his mind that if he’s not going to get the
answers, then he’ll just become a layman again. So…
MN: 3. Then, when it was evening, the
venerable Mālunkyāputta rose from meditation and went to the Blessed
One. After paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and told him:
"Here, venerable sir, while I was
alone in meditation, the following thought arose in my mind: 'These
speculative views have been left undeclared by the Blessed One. If he
does not declare these to me, then I will abandon the training and
return to the low life.' If the Blessed One knows 'the world is
eternal,' let the Blessed One declare to me 'the world is eternal'; if
the Blessed One knows 'the world is not eternal.' let the Blessed One
declare to me 'the world is not eternal.' If the Blessed One does not
know either 'the world is eternal' or 'the world is not eternal.' then
it is straightforward for one who does not know and does not see to say:
'I do not know, I do not see.'
"If the Blessed One knows 'the world
is finite,’ … ‘the world is infinite,’… ‘the soul is the same as the
body,’… ‘the soul is one thing and the body another,’…‘after
death a Tathāgata exists.' …'after death a Tathāgata does not exist.'…If
the Blessed One knows 'after death a Tathāgata both exists and does not
exist.' let the Blessed One declare that to me; if the Blessed One knows
'after death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist,' let the
Blessed One declare that to me. If the Blessed One does not know either
'after death a Tathāgata both exists and does not exist' or 'after death
a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist,' then it is
straightforward for one who does not know and does not see to say: 'I do
not know, I do not see.'"
BV: Now, this is when this monk gets
slapped a little bit for demanding to have these kind of speculative
answers.
MN: 4. "How then, Mālunkyāputta, did I
ever say to you: 'Come, Mālunkyāputta, lead the holy life under me and I
will declare to you "the world is eternal"...or "after death a Tathāgata
neither exists nor does not exist"'?"—"No, venerable sir."—"Did you ever
tell me: 'I will lead the holy life under the Blessed One, and the
Blessed One will declare to me "the world is eternal"...or "after death
a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist'"?"— "No, venerable
sir."—"That being so, misguided man, who are you and what are you
abandoning?
BV: SLAP!
MN: 5. "If anyone should say thus: 'I
will not lead the holy life under the Blessed One until the Blessed One
declares to me "the world is eternal"...or "after death a Tathāgata
neither exists nor does not exist." that would still remain
undeclared by the Tathāgata and meanwhile that person would die.
Suppose, Mālunkyāputta, a man were wounded by an arrow thickly smeared
with poison, and his friends and companions, his kinsmen and relatives,
brought a surgeon to treat him. The man would say: 'I will not let the
surgeon pull out this arrow until I know whether the man who wounded me
was a noble or a brahmin or a merchant or a worker.' And he would say:
'I will not let the surgeon pull out this arrow until I know the name
and clan of the man who wounded me;...until I know whether the man who
wounded me was tall or short or of middle height;...until I know whether
the man who wounded me was dark or brown or golden-skinned;...until I
know whether the man who wounded me lives in such a village or town or
city;...until I know whether the bow that wounded me was a long bow or a
crossbow;...until I know whether the bowstring that wounded me was fibre
or reed or sinew or hemp or bark;...until I know whether the shaft that
wounded me was wild or cultivated;...until I know with what kind of
feathers the shaft that wounded me was fitted—whether those of a vulture
or a heron or a hawk or a peacock or a stork;...until I know with what
kind of sinew the shaft that wounded me was bound—whether that of an ox
or a buffalo or a deer or a monkey;...until I know what kind of arrow it
was that wounded me—whether it was hoof-tipped or curved or barbed or
calf-toothed or oleander.'
"All this would still not be known to
that man and meanwhile he would die. So too, Mālunkyāputta, if anyone
should say thus: 'I will not lead the holy life under the Blessed One
until the Blessed One declares to me: "the world is eternal" or "after
death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist.'" that would still
remain undeclared by the Tathāgata and meanwhile that person would die.
6. "Mālunkyāputta, if there is the
view 'the world is eternal.' the holy life cannot be lived; and if there
is the view 'the world is not eternal.' the holy life cannot be lived.
Whether there is the view 'the world is eternal' or the view 'the world
is not eternal.' there is birth, there is ageing, there is death, there
are sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, the destruction of
which I prescribe here and now.
"If there is the view 'the world is
finite,’ … 'the world is infinite,'…'the soul is the same as the body,'…
'the soul is one thing and the body another,'…'after death a Tathāgata
exists,'…'after death a Tathāgata does not exist,' the holy life cannot
be lived. If there is the view 'after death a Tathāgata both exists and
does not exist,' the holy life cannot be lived; and if there is the view
'after death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exis’.' the holy
life cannot be lived. Whether there is the view 'after death a Tathāgata
both exists and does not exist' or the view 'after death a Tathāgata
neither exists nor does not exist,' there is birth, there is ageing,
there is death, there are sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair,
the destruction of which I prescribe here and now.
BV: So, what he is basically saying is
– get out of your concepts about these things – they don’t lead to the
cessation of suffering. There is still birth, there is still… all of the
links of Dependent Origination that arise when the conditions are right
for them to arise. It goes from birth, all the way through death,
ignorance, formations, consciousness, mentality/materiality, six-fold
base, contact, feeling, craving, clinging, being… Don’t like that
translation (of “being”) even yet – experience, habitual tendency…
Birth, death and ageing again. These processes are continually arising
and passing away. Knowing whether the soul is one thing and the body is
something else, doesn’t lead to seeing this. It leads to a lot of mental
gymnastics, so that you can get into good arguments and discussions, but
it doesn’t lead to the cessation of suffering – that’s what the whole of
the Buddha’s teaching is about. He never guaranteed anybody that he
would answer philosophical questions. He did, however, say: “If you
follow this path, and you see this, and you see this, and you see this,
it will lead to the cessation of suffering.”
Every time you are sitting down to
meditate, you sit with your back nicely straight, you sit in a
comfortable posture – whether it’s on a chair, on the floor, it doesn’t
really matter – you stay with your object of meditation. If you are
practicing loving kindness, you stay with that glowing warm feeling of
loving kindness, you make a wish for happiness – and feel that wish,
whatever your wish happens to be. If you make a wish for somebody to be
peaceful and calm, then feel that peace and calm. Put that peace and
calm feeling into your heart, into that radiating warm glowing feeling,
and stay with that feeling as long as you can. If there is a
distraction, let go of the distraction. A distraction is anything that
pulls your mind away from your object of meditation. Let go of the
distraction – if it’s a thought let the thought be there, but don’t keep
your attention on the thought. Notice that there is a tension or
tightness and let that tension or tightness go. There’s tension and
tightness in both body and mind, especially, tension and tightness in
the head. Let it be, relax, feel your mind expand and take a little step
down. And then, take that mind that is very pure, that is very clear,
that doesn’t have any distraction in it, back to your object of
meditation. It doesn’t matter how many times your mind gets distracted,
you still treat every distraction in the same way. Every time you let go
of that distraction and relax, and gently come back to your object of
meditation – you are developing your mindfulness so that it becomes
sharper, more alert. So, any kind of distraction, even though you would
call it a hindrance, is a very important aspect of the meditation that
helps you! Too many times people will talk about just sitting in
silence, or sitting in peace, or sitting in calm – and that’s nice, but
you don’t really learn how your mind is working. The Buddha was real big
on talking about The Four Noble Truths. Every one of the links of
Dependent Origination is a form of suffering. Every one of them! Every
one of those links is a form of suffering. What’s the cause of
suffering? What’s The Second Noble Truth? – what’s the origin of that
suffering? How do you get to the cessation of that suffering? There is
the cessation when you let it be, and relax and come back. What is the
way leading to the cessation of the suffering – or the cessation of the
craving, because that’s what it really boils down to? The Four Noble
Truths are about the cause of craving, the cessation of craving and the
way leading to the cessation of craving. When your mind becomes more
clear, you begin to see hindrances when they first start to arise, and
this is important! If you don’t see a hindrance when it first arises,
you will get caught by that hindrance and then you will have all kinds
of emotional and physical problems arise because of it. Now, it doesn’t
matter whether that distraction is a sensation that arises in your body,
or a mental feeling that arises in your mind. Either way, you treat
feeling in the same way. When a feeling arises – the truth is it’s
there. Whether you like it to be there or not doesn’t really matter.
What you need to do is allow the feeling to be there, let go of that
tight mental fist that’s gripped around it, that doesn’t want that
feeling to be there, that wants the feeling to be different. Allow the
feeling to be there and relax.
When a physical feeling arises, ninety
eight percent of the time, there are thoughts about the feeling that
arise: “I wish it wasn’t there, why does it have to bother me now?!”
Every thought about the feeling causes the feeling to be bigger and more
intense. So first, you let go of the thoughts and relax. Next, you see
the tight mental fist wrapped around the feeling – you allow the feeling
to be there without any resistance at all, and relax. Bring that relaxed
mind back to your object of meditation. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a
physical feeling, or an emotional feeling – you treat all feeling in the
same way. If it’s sensation that arises – you get a pain in your knee,
or a pain in your back – you treat it in the same way as you treat
sadness, depression, unhappiness of whatever form it seems to take. You
keep letting go, and letting that feeling be, relaxing and coming back.
The essence of the Buddha’s teaching is not about WHY things arise –
that’s for psychotherapists, that’s for psychologists, they can look at
that if they want. The meditation is about HOW mind’s attention moves
from one thing to another, to another, to another. You want to be able
to see very clearly HOW mind moves. And, the more clearly you see
HOW
mind moves, the easier it is to recognize it and let it go so the
movement doesn’t last as long. When that starts to happen, your mind
starts to stay on your object of meditation by itself without any effort
for longer and longer periods of time.
One of the things that I rather insist
on when people are practicing Loving-Kindness especially, but also
mindfulness of breathing, is that you smile. And smile all the time.
Smile with your mind, smile with your eyes, even though your eyes are
closed. Smile with your lips, a little Buddha smile, and smile with your
heart. I had somebody yesterday tell me that they weren’t about to walk
around with a smile plastered on their face. And I said: “Why?” And he
said: “Well, it’s not a real smile.” And honestly, it doesn’t matter
whether it’s a real smile or not, at first. As you smile more and more,
your mental state starts to go up. And, when your mental state goes up,
joy has a tendency to arise. When joy arises, your mind is very alert,
your mind is very clear, your mind is very agile, and it’s easy to
recognize when your mind starts to get pulled down, and you can let that
go. This helps you to have equanimity all of the time. OK, so I’ll get
off my soap box now. (Laughs)
MN: 7. "Therefore, Mālunkyāputta,
remember what I have left undeclared as undeclared, and remember what I
have declared as declared. And what have I left undeclared? 'The world
is eternal'—I have left undeclared. 'The world is not eternal'—I have
left undeclared. 'The world is finite'—I have left undeclared. 'The
world is infinite'—I have left undeclared. 'The soul is the same as the
body'—I have left undeclared. The soul is one thing and the body
another'—I have left undeclared. 'After death a Tathāgata exists'—I have
left undeclared. 'After death a Tathāgata does not exist'—I have left
undeclared. 'After death a Tathāgata both exists and does not exist'—I
have left undeclared. 'After death a Tathāgata neither exists nor does
not exist'—I have left undeclared.
8. "Why have I left that undeclared?
Because it is unbeneficial, it does not belong to the fundamentals of
the holy life, it does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to
cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.
That is why I have left it undeclared.
9. "And what have I declared? 'This is
suffering'—I have declared. This is the origin of suffering'—I have
declared. This is the cessation of suffering'—I have declared. This is
the way leading to the cessation of suffering'—I have declared.
10. "Why have I declared that? Because
it is beneficial, it belongs to the fundamentals of the holy life, it
leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to
direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have
declared it.
"Therefore, Mālunkyāputta, remember
what I have left undeclared as undeclared, and remember what I have
declared as declared."
That is what the Blessed One said. The
venerable Mālunkyāputta was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One's
words.
BV: Sadhu.
So – Let’s share some merit.
May suffering ones, be suffering free
And the fear struck, fearless be
May the grieving shed all grief
And may all beings find relief.
May all beings share this merit that we
have thus acquired
For the acquisition of all kinds of
happiness.
May beings inhabiting space and earth
Devas and nagas of mighty power
Share this merit of ours.
May they long protect the Lord Buddha's
dispensation.
Sadhu . . . Sadhu . . . Sadhu
. . .
BV: And that’s the
way it is.
Note:
Those who have always wondered
about the fate of the monk who almost left the Buddha to satisfy his
metaphysical curiosity will be gladdened to know that in his old age
Mālunkyāputta received a brief discourse on the six sense bases from the
Buddha, went off into solitary meditation, and attained arahantship. See
SN 35:95/ iv.72-76. His verses are at Theragāthā 399-404 and 794-817.
| Transcription team: |
Pete Argli |
 |
|
Erwin Jansen |
 |
|
| SS |
 |
Sutta text translation:
(C) Bhikkhu Bodhi 1995, 2001. Reprinted from The Middle Length
Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya with
permission of Wisdom Publications,