The Samyutta Nikaya
The Grouped Discourses
Samyutta Nikaya VII.2
Akkosa Sutta
Insult
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was
staying near Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the
Squirrels' Sanctuary. Then the brahman Akkosaka
("Insulter") Bharadvaja heard that a brahman of the Bharadvaja
clan had gone forth from the home life into homelessness in the presence
of the Blessed One. Angered & displeased, he went to the Blessed One
and, on arrival, insulted & cursed him with rude, harsh words.
When this was said, the Blessed One
said to him: "What do you think, brahman: Do friends &
colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to you as guests?"
"Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends &
colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to me as guests."
"And what do you think: Do you serve them with
staple & non-staple foods & delicacies?"
"Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple &
non-staple foods & delicacies."
"And if they don't accept them, to whom do those
foods belong?"
"If they don't accept them, Master Gotama, those
foods are all mine."
"In the same way, brahman, that with which you
have insulted me, who is not insulting; that with which you have taunted
me, who is not taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not
berating: that I don't accept from you. It's all yours, brahman. It's all
yours.
"Whoever returns insult to one who is insulting,
returns taunts to one who is taunting, returns a berating to one who is
berating, is said to be eating together, sharing company, with that
person. But I am neither eating together nor sharing your company,
brahman. It's all yours. It's all yours."
"The king together with his court know this of
Master Gotama -- 'Gotama the contemplative is an arahant' -- and yet still
Master Gotama gets angry."[1]
[The Buddha:]
Whence is there anger
for one free from anger,
tamed,
living in tune --
one released through right knowing,
calmed
& Such.
You make things worse
when you flare up
at someone who's angry.
Whoever doesn't flare up
at someone who's angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
You live for the good of both
-- your own, the other's --
when, knowing the other's provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When you work the cure of both
-- your own, the other's --
those who think you a fool
know nothing of Dhamma.
When this was said, the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja
said to the Blessed One, "Magnificent, Master
Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was
overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was
lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see
forms, in the same way has Master Gotama -- through many lines of
reasoning -- made the Dhamma clear. I go to the Blessed One for refuge, to
the Dhamma, & to the community of monks. Let me obtain the going forth
in Master Gotama's presence, let me obtain admission."
Then the brahman Akkosaka
Bharadvaja received the going forth & the admission in the Blessed
One's presence. And not long after his admission --
dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute -- he in no long
time reached & remained in the supreme goal of the holy life, for
which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing &
realizing it for himself in the here & now. He knew: "Birth is
ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further
for the sake of this world." And so Ven. Bharadvaja became another
one of the Arahants.
Note
1. Akkosaka thinks that the
Buddha is cursing him -- and thus angry -- when actually the Buddha is
simply stating a fact in line with the law of kamma.
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