[101] Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Verañjā, at the root of Naḷeru's neem tree. Then the brahmin Verañja approached the Blessed One; having approached, he exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when the courteous and amiable talk was concluded, he sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the brahmin Verañja said to the Blessed One: "I have heard this, Master Gotama: 'The ascetic Gotama does not pay homage to brahmins who are aged, elderly, of great age, advanced in life, come to the last stage of life, nor does he rise up for them, nor invite them to a seat.' And that is indeed so, Master Gotama; for Master Gotama does not pay homage to brahmins who are aged, elderly, of great age, advanced in life, come to the last stage of life, nor does he rise up for them, nor invite them to a seat. That, Master Gotama, is not at all proper."
"Brahmin, in this world with its devas, with Māra, with Brahmā, in this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and humans, I do not see anyone to whom I should pay homage, or for whom I should rise up, or whom I should invite to a seat. For, brahmin, if the Tathāgata were to pay homage to anyone, or rise up for him, or invite him to a seat, that person's head would split apart."
"Master Gotama is devoid of taste (arasarūpa)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is devoid of taste.' For, brahmin, the tastes of forms, the tastes of sounds, the tastes of odors, the tastes of flavors, and the tastes of tangibles have been abandoned by the Tathāgata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is devoid of taste' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is without enjoyment (nibbhoga)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is without enjoyment.' For, brahmin, the enjoyments of forms, the enjoyments of sounds, the enjoyments of odors, the enjoyments of flavors, and the enjoyments of tangibles have been abandoned by the Tathāgata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is without enjoyment' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is a proponent of non-doing (akiriyavāda)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is a proponent of non-doing.' For I, brahmin, assert the non-doing of bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and mental misconduct; I assert the non-doing of the manifold evil, unwholesome states. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is a proponent of non-doing' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is an annihilationist (ucchedavāda)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is an annihilationist.' For I, brahmin, assert the annihilation of lust (rāga), hatred, and delusion; I assert the annihilation of the manifold evil, unwholesome states. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is an annihilationist' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is one given to disgust (jegucchī)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is one given to disgust.' For I, brahmin, assert disgust with bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and mental misconduct; I assert disgust at the acquisition of the manifold evil, unwholesome states. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is one given to disgust' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is an abolitionist (venayika)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is an abolitionist.' For I, brahmin, teach the Dhamma for the removal of lust, hatred, and delusion; I teach the Dhamma for the removal of the manifold evil, unwholesome states. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is an abolitionist' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is a tormentor (tapassī)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is a tormentor.' For I, brahmin, declare that evil, unwholesome states — bodily misconduct, verbal misconduct, and mental misconduct — are to be burned up. One in whom, brahmin, the evil, unwholesome states to be burned up have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising — him I call 'a tormentor.' In the Tathāgata, brahmin, the evil, unwholesome states to be burned up have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is a tormentor' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it."
"Master Gotama is one withdrawn from the womb (appagabbha)."
"There is, brahmin, a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is one withdrawn from the womb.' For one in whom, brahmin, future lying in a womb and production of renewed existence have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising — him I call 'one withdrawn from the womb.' In the Tathāgata, brahmin, future lying in a womb and production of renewed existence have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that they are no longer subject to future arising. This, brahmin, is a way in which one speaking rightly could say of me: 'The ascetic Gotama is one withdrawn from the womb' — but not the one you have in mind when you say it.
"Suppose, brahmin, a hen had eight, ten, or twelve eggs, and she had covered them properly, warmed them properly, and incubated them properly. The first among those chicks to break through the eggshell with the point of its claw or with its beak and hatch out safely — what should it be called: the eldest or the youngest?"
"It should be called the eldest, Master Gotama; for it, Master Gotama, is the eldest among them."
"So too, brahmin, in a generation gone to ignorance, become like an egg, completely enveloped, I alone in the world broke through the eggshell of ignorance and awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. For I, brahmin, am the eldest, the best of the world.
"My energy, brahmin, was aroused without slackening; my mindfulness was established, unmuddled; my body was tranquil, undisturbed; my mind (citta) was concentrated, one-pointed. Secluded indeed from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered and dwelt in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought and examination, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought and examination, I entered and dwelt in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought and examination, and has rapture and happiness born of concentration (samādhi). With the fading away of rapture, I dwelt equanimous and, mindful and clearly comprehending, I experienced happiness with the body; I entered and dwelt in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare: 'He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily.' With the abandoning of pleasure and the abandoning of pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and grief, I entered and dwelt in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed the mind to the knowledge (ñāṇa) of the recollection of past abodes. I recollected my manifold past abodes, that is: one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births; many aeons of world-contraction, many aeons of world-expansion, many aeons of world-contraction and expansion: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span; passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere; there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span; passing away from there, I was reborn here.' Thus I recollected my manifold past abodes with their aspects and particulars. This, brahmin, was the first true knowledge attained by me in the first watch of the night: ignorance was dispelled, true knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose — as happens for one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my first breaking out, like the chick's breaking out of the eggshell.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed the mind to the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of beings. With the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, I saw beings passing away and being reborn — inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and I understood how beings fare on according to their kamma: 'These beings, alas, who were endowed with bodily misconduct, endowed with verbal misconduct, endowed with mental misconduct, revilers of the noble ones, holding wrong view, undertaking actions based on wrong view — with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world, hell. But these beings who were endowed with bodily good conduct, endowed with verbal good conduct, endowed with mental good conduct, not revilers of the noble ones, holding right view, undertaking actions based on right view — with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human, I saw beings passing away and being reborn — inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate — and I understood how beings fare on according to their kamma. This, brahmin, was the second true knowledge attained by me in the middle watch of the night: ignorance was dispelled, true knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose — as happens for one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my second breaking out, like the chick's breaking out of the eggshell.
"When my mind was thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, unblemished, rid of defilement, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability, I directed the mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the taints (āsava). I directly knew as it really is: 'This is suffering (dukkha).' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of suffering.' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of suffering.' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering.' I directly knew as it really is: 'These are the taints.' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the origin of the taints.' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the cessation of the taints.' I directly knew as it really is: 'This is the way of practice leading to the cessation of the taints.' When I knew and saw thus, my mind was liberated from the taint of sensuality, my mind was liberated from the taint of existence, my mind was liberated from the taint of ignorance. When it was liberated, there came the knowledge: 'It is liberated.' I directly knew: 'Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.' This, brahmin, was the third true knowledge attained by me in the last watch of the night: ignorance was dispelled, true knowledge arose; darkness was dispelled, light arose — as happens for one who dwells heedful, ardent, and resolute. This, brahmin, was my third breaking out, like the chick's breaking out of the eggshell."
When this was said, the brahmin Verañja said to the Blessed One: "Master Gotama is the eldest! Master Gotama is the best! Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent, Master Gotama! Just as, Master Gotama, one might set upright what had been overturned, or reveal what was hidden, or point out the way to one who was lost, or hold up an oil lamp in the darkness so that those with eyes might see forms, so the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gotama. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, and to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of bhikkhus. Let Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forth for as long as life lasts."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.