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applicable to all; Middle Morality and Major Morality which are mostly
practised by Sama�as and Br�hma�as. It also discusses the wrong views
then prevalent as well as brahmin views of sacrifice and caste, and
various religious practices such as extreme self-mortification.
(1) Brahmaj�la Sutta, Discourse on the Net of Perfect Wisdom.
An argument between Suppiya, a wandering ascetic, and his pupil
Brahmadatta, with the teacher maligning the Buddha, the Dhamma and
the Sa�gha and the pupil praising the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sa�gha,
gave rise to this famous discourse which is listed first in this Nik�ya.
In connection with the maligning of the Buddha, the Dhamma and
the Sa�gha, the Buddha enjoined his disciples not to feel resentment, nor
displeasure nor anger, because it would only be spiritually harmful to
them. As to the words of praise for the Buddha, the Dhamma and the
Sa�gha, the Buddha advised his disciples not to feel pleased, delighted
or elated, for it would be an obstacle to their progress in the Path.
The Buddha said that whatever worldling, puthujjana, praised the
Buddha he could not do full justice to the peerless virtues of the Buddha,
namely, his Superior Concentration, sam�dhi, and Wisdom, pa���. A
worldling could touch on only "matters of a trifling and inferior nature,
mere morality." The Buddha explained the three grades of morality and
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said there were other dhammas profound, hard to see, subtle and
intelligible only to the wise. Anyone wishing to praise correctly the true
virtues of the Buddha should do so only in terms of these dhammas.
Then the Buddha continued to expound on various wrong views.
There were sama�as and br�hma�as who, speculating on the past,
adhered to and asserted their wrong views in eighteen different ways,
namely:
(i) Four Kinds of Belief in Eternity, Sassata Di��hi,
(ii) Four Kinds of Dualistic belief in Eternity and Non-eternity, Ekacca
Sassata Di��hi,
(iii) Four Views of the World being Finite or Infinite, Ant�nanta Di��hi,
(iv) Four Kinds of ambiguous evasion, Amar�vikkhepa V�da,
(v) Two Doctrines of Non-Causality, Adhiccasamuppanna V�da.
There were sama�as and br�hma�as, who, speculating on the
future, adhered to and asserted their wrong views in forty-four ways,
namely:
(i) Sixteen Kinds of Belief in the Existence of Sa��� after death,
Uddh�m�gh�tanika Sa��� V�da,
(ii) Eight Kinds of Belief in the Non-Existence of Sa��� after death,
Uddham�gh�tanika Asa��� V�da,
(iii)Eight Kinds of Belief in the Existence of Neither Sa��� Nor Non-
sa��� after death, Uddham�gh�tanika Nevasa��� N�sa��� V�da,
(iv)Seven Kinds of Belief in Annihilation, Uccheda V�da,
(v) Five Kinds of Mundane Nibb�na as realizable in this very life,
Di��hadhamma Nibb�na V�da.
The Buddha said that whatever sama�as and br�hma�as
speculated on the past, or the future or both the past and the future, they
did so in these sixty-two ways or one of these sixty-two ways.
The Buddha announced further that he knew all these wrong
views and also what would be the destination, the next existence, in
which the one holding these views would be reborn.
The Buddha gave a detailed analysis of these wrong views
asserted in sixty-two ways and pointed out that these views had their
origin in feeling which arose as a result of repeated contact through the
six sense bases. Whatever person holds these wrong views, in him feeling
gives rise to craving; craving gives rise to clinging; clinging gives rise to
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existence; the kammic causal process in existence gives rise to rebirth;
and rebirth gives rise to ageing, death, grief, lamentation, pain, distress
and despair.
But whatever person knows, as they really are, the origin of the
six sense bases of contact, their cessation, their pleasurableness, their
danger and the way of escape from them, he realizes the dhammas, not
only mere morality, s�la, but also concentration, sam�dhi, and liberation,
vimutti, wisdom, pa���, that transcend all these wrong views.
All the sama�as and br�hma�as holding the sixty-two categories
of wrong views are caught in the net of this discourse just like all the fish
in a lake are contained in a finely meshed net spread by a skilful
fisherman or his apprentice.
(2) S�ma��aphala Sutta, Discourse on the Fruits of the Life of a Sama�a
On one full moon night while the Buddha was residing in
R�jagaha at the mango grove of J�vaka this discourse on the fruits of the
life of a sama�a, personally experienced in this very life, was taught to
King Aj�tasattu on request by him. The Buddha explained to him the
advantage of the life of a sama�a by giving him the examples of a servant
of his household or a landholder cultivating the King's own land
becoming a sama�a to whom the King himself would show respect and
make offerings of requisites, providing him protection and security at the
same time.
The Buddha provided further elucidation on other advantages,
higher and better, of being a sama�a by elaborating on (i) how a
householder, hearing the dhamma taught by a Buddha, leaves the home
life and becomes a sama�a out of pure faith; (ii) how he becomes
established in three categories of S�la, minor, middle and major; (iii) how
he gains control over his sense-faculties so that no depraved states of
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