[89] Then the bhikkhu Kokālika approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the bhikkhu Kokālika said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil wishes (pāpicchā); they have come under the sway of evil wishes." "Do not say so, Kokālika! Do not say so, Kokālika! Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika: Sāriputta and Moggallāna are well-behaved."
A second time the bhikkhu Kokālika said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, although the Blessed One is worthy of my faith and trust, still Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil wishes; they have come under the sway of evil wishes." "Do not say so, Kokālika! Do not say so, Kokālika! Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika: Sāriputta and Moggallāna are well-behaved."
A third time the bhikkhu Kokālika said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, although the Blessed One is worthy of my faith and trust, still Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil wishes; they have come under the sway of evil wishes." "Do not say so, Kokālika! Do not say so, Kokālika! Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika: Sāriputta and Moggallāna are well-behaved."
Then the bhikkhu Kokālika rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, circumambulated him keeping his right side towards him, and departed. And not long after the bhikkhu Kokālika had departed, his whole body broke out in boils the size of mustard seeds. Having been the size of mustard seeds, they became the size of mung beans; having been the size of mung beans, they became the size of chickpeas; having been the size of chickpeas, they became the size of jujube stones; having been the size of jujube stones, they became the size of jujube fruits; having been the size of jujube fruits, they became the size of myrobalan fruits; having been the size of myrobalan fruits, they became the size of unripe beluva fruits; having been the size of unripe beluva fruits, they became the size of ripe beluva fruits; and having become the size of ripe beluva fruits, they burst open, discharging pus and blood. And he lay there on banana leaves like a fish that had swallowed poison.
Then Tudi, an independent brahmā (paccekabrahmā), approached the bhikkhu Kokālika; having approached, standing in the air, he said this to the bhikkhu Kokālika: "Place confidence in Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika: Sāriputta and Moggallāna are well-behaved." "Who are you, friend?" "I am Tudi, an independent brahmā." "Friend, were you not declared by the Blessed One to be a non-returner (anāgāmī)? Then why have you come back here? See how far you have gone wrong in this!"
Then Tudi the independent brahmā addressed the bhikkhu Kokālika in verse:
"When a person is born,
an axe is born in his mouth,
with which the fool cuts himself,
uttering ill-spoken speech.
One who praises him who deserves blame,
or blames him who deserves praise,
gathers ill-luck with his mouth;
through that ill-luck he finds no happiness.
Trifling is this ill-luck —
the loss of one's wealth at dice,
(even of all one has, together with oneself);
this alone is the greater ill-luck:
that one should corrupt one's mind
against the sublime ones.
For a hundred thousand nirabbudas
and thirty-six more, and five abbudas,
the reviler of the noble ones goes to hell (niraya),
having directed evil speech and mind against them."
Then the bhikkhu Kokālika died of that very illness; and having died, the bhikkhu Kokālika was reborn in the Paduma hell, having harboured hatred in his mind against Sāriputta and Moggallāna. Then, when the night was far advanced, Brahmā Sahampati, of surpassing beauty, illuminating the entire Jetavana, approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, Brahmā Sahampati said this to the Blessed One: "Venerable sir, the bhikkhu Kokālika has died; and having died, venerable sir, the bhikkhu Kokālika has been reborn in the Paduma hell, having harboured hatred in his mind against Sāriputta and Moggallāna." This is what Brahmā Sahampati said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One, circumambulated him keeping his right side towards him, and vanished right there.
Then, when that night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus, this night, when the night was far advanced, Brahmā Sahampati, of surpassing beauty, illuminating the entire Jetavana, approached me; having approached, he paid homage to me and stood to one side. Standing to one side, bhikkhus, Brahmā Sahampati said this to me: 'Venerable sir, the bhikkhu Kokālika has died; and having died, venerable sir, the bhikkhu Kokālika has been reborn in the Paduma hell, having harboured hatred in his mind against Sāriputta and Moggallāna.' This is what Brahmā Sahampati said, bhikkhus. Having said this, he paid homage to me, circumambulated me keeping his right side towards me, and vanished right there."
When this was said, a certain bhikkhu said this to the Blessed One: "How long, venerable sir, is the measure of the lifespan in the Paduma hell?" "Long, bhikkhu, is the measure of the lifespan in the Paduma hell. It is not easy to reckon it as: 'so many years,' or 'so many hundreds of years,' or 'so many thousands of years,' or 'so many hundreds of thousands of years.'"
"But is it possible, venerable sir, to make a simile?"
"It is possible, bhikkhu," said the Blessed One. "Suppose, bhikkhus, there were a Kosalan cartload of twenty khārīs of sesame seed, and from it, at the end of every hundred thousand years, a man were to take out a single sesame seed. Sooner, bhikkhu, would that Kosalan cartload of twenty khārīs of sesame seed come to exhaustion and depletion by this method than would a single Abbuda hell. Just as, bhikkhu, twenty Abbuda hells are one Nirabbuda hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Nirabbuda hells are one Ababba hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Ababba hells are one Ahaha hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Ahaha hells are one Aṭaṭa hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Aṭaṭa hells are one Kumuda hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Kumuda hells are one Sogandhika hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Sogandhika hells are one Uppala hell; just as, bhikkhu, [twenty] Uppala hells are one Puṇḍarīka hell; just as, bhikkhu, twenty Puṇḍarīka hells are one Paduma hell. And, bhikkhu, the bhikkhu Kokālika has been reborn in the Paduma hell, having harboured hatred in his mind against Sāriputta and Moggallāna."
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Well-Gone One, the Teacher, further said this:
"When a person is born,
an axe is born in his mouth,
with which the fool cuts himself,
uttering ill-spoken speech.
One who praises him who deserves blame,
or blames him who deserves praise,
gathers ill-luck with his mouth;
through that ill-luck he finds no happiness.
Trifling is this ill-luck —
the loss of one's wealth at dice,
(even of all one has, together with oneself);
this alone is the greater ill-luck:
that one should corrupt one's mind
against the sublime ones.
For a hundred thousand nirabbudas
and thirty-six more, and five abbudas,
the reviler of the noble ones goes to hell,
having directed evil speech and mind against them."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.