[328] "I was delighted and satisfied with the worthy Kassapa's very first simile; but wishing to hear these varied and brilliant responses to questions, I thought to oppose the worthy Kassapa in this way. Excellent, worthy Kassapa! Excellent, worthy Kassapa! Just as, worthy Kassapa, one might set upright what has been overturned, or uncover what has been concealed, or point out the path to one who has gone astray, or hold up an oil lamp in the darkness so that those with eyes may see forms — even so has the Dhamma been made clear in many ways by the worthy Kassapa. I, worthy Kassapa, go to the Blessed One Gotama for refuge, and to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of bhikkhus. May the worthy Kassapa remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life from this day forth. And I wish, worthy Kassapa, to perform a great sacrifice (yañña). May the worthy Kassapa instruct me in what will be for my lasting welfare and happiness."
"Chieftain (rājañña), in the kind of sacrifice at which cattle are slain, or goats and sheep are slain, or chickens and pigs are slain, or various creatures come to destruction, and the recipients are of wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness (sati), and wrong concentration (samādhi) — a sacrifice of that kind, chieftain, is not of great fruit, not of great benefit, not of great splendor, not of great pervasion. Suppose, chieftain, a farmer, taking seed and plow, were to enter the forest, and there, in a bad field, on bad ground, where the stumps and thorns had not been cleared away, he were to plant seeds that were broken, rotten, damaged by wind and sun, lacking pith, and not well stored; and the heavens did not from time to time bestow proper showers of rain — would those seeds attain growth, increase, and abundance, and would the farmer obtain abundant fruit?"
"Not so, worthy Kassapa."
"Even so, chieftain, in the kind of sacrifice at which cattle are slain, or goats and sheep are slain, or chickens and pigs are slain, or various creatures come to destruction, and the recipients are of wrong view, wrong intention, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration — a sacrifice of that kind, chieftain, is not of great fruit, not of great benefit, not of great splendor, not of great pervasion.
But, chieftain, in the kind of sacrifice at which no cattle are slain, no goats and sheep are slain, no chickens and pigs are slain, and no various creatures come to destruction, and the recipients are of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration — a sacrifice of that kind, chieftain, is of great fruit, of great benefit, of great splendor, of great pervasion. Suppose, chieftain, a farmer, taking seed and plow, were to enter the forest, and there, in a good field, on good ground, where the stumps and thorns had been well cleared away, he were to plant seeds that were unbroken, not rotten, undamaged by wind and sun, possessed of pith, and well stored; and the heavens did from time to time bestow proper showers of rain — would those seeds attain growth, increase, and abundance, and would the farmer obtain abundant fruit?"
"So it is, worthy Kassapa."
"Even so, chieftain, in the kind of sacrifice at which no cattle are slain, no goats and sheep are slain, no chickens and pigs are slain, and no various creatures come to destruction, and the recipients are of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration — a sacrifice of that kind, chieftain, is of great fruit, of great benefit, of great splendor, of great pervasion."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.