[255] "Mahāli, on one occasion I was dwelling at Kosambī, in Ghosita's Park. Then two renunciates — Maṇḍiya the wanderer and Jāliya, the pupil of the wood-bowl ascetic — approached me; having approached, they exchanged greetings with me, and when the courteous and memorable talk was concluded, they stood to one side. Standing to one side, those two renunciates said to me: 'How is it, friend Gotama — is the soul (jīva) the same as the body, or is the soul one thing and the body another?'
"'Then, friends, listen and attend well; I will speak.'
"'Yes, friend,' [they replied]. I said this:
"'Here, friends, a Tathāgata arises in the world, an Arahant, a Perfectly Awakened One … (to be expanded as in the Sāmaññaphala) … Thus, friends, a bhikkhu is accomplished in virtue (sīla) … he enters and dwells in the first jhāna. Now, friends, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, would it be fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another"?'
"'Friend, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, it is not fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'
"'But, friends, I know thus and see thus; and yet I do not say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'
"'… the second jhāna … the third jhāna … he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna. Now, friends, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, would it be fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another"?'
"'Friend, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, it is not fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'
"'But, friends, I know thus and see thus; and yet I do not say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'
"'He directs and inclines the mind (citta) toward knowledge and vision (ñāṇadassana). Now, friends, when a bhikkhu … he understands: "… there is nothing further for this state of being." Now, friends, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, would it be fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another"?'
"'Friend, when a bhikkhu knows thus and sees thus, it is not fitting for him to say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'
"'But, friends, I know thus and see thus; and yet I do not say: "The soul is the same as the body," or "The soul is one thing, the body another."'"
Thus spoke the Blessed One. Delighted, Oṭṭhaddha the Licchavi rejoiced in what the Blessed One had said.
The Mahāli Sutta, the sixth, is finished.
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The Jāliya Sutta, the seventh
[Editions note: The Siam Raṭṭha edition (with the PTS edition) reads 'na kallaṁ' — 'it is not fitting to say' — where the Mahāsaṅgīti edition reads 'kallaṁ' ('it is fitting'). This translation follows the Siam Raṭṭha reading.]
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.