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applicable to all; Middle Morality and Major Morality which are mostly
practised by Sama¼as and Bræhma¼as. 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) Brahmajæla 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 Saµgha and the pupil praising the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saµgha,
gave rise to this famous discourse which is listed first in this Nikæya.
In connection with the maligning of the Buddha, the Dhamma and
the Saµgha, 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
Saµgha, 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, samædhi, and Wisdom, paññæ. 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 sama¼as and bræhma¼as 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, Antænanta Di¥¥hi,
(iv) Four Kinds of ambiguous evasion, Amarævikkhepa Væda,
(v) Two Doctrines of Non-Causality, Adhiccasamuppanna Væda.
There were sama¼as and bræhma¼as, 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 Saññæ after death,
Uddhæmæghætanika Saññø Væda,
(ii) Eight Kinds of Belief in the Non-Existence of Saññæ after death,
Uddhamæghætanika Asaññø Væda,
(iii)Eight Kinds of Belief in the Existence of Neither Saññæ Nor Non-
saññæ after death, Uddhamæghætanika Nevasaññø Næsaññø Væda,
(iv)Seven Kinds of Belief in Annihilation, Uccheda Væda,
(v) Five Kinds of Mundane Nibbæna as realizable in this very life,
Di¥¥hadhamma Nibbæna Væda.
The Buddha said that whatever sama¼as and bræhma¼as
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, søla, but also concentration, samædhi, and liberation,
vimutti, wisdom, paññæ, that transcend all these wrong views.
All the sama¼as and bræhma¼as 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) Sæmaññaphala Sutta, Discourse on the Fruits of the Life of a Sama¼a
On one full moon night while the Buddha was residing in
Ræjagaha at the mango grove of Jøvaka this discourse on the fruits of the
life of a sama¼a, personally experienced in this very life, was taught to
King Ajætasattu on request by him. The Buddha explained to him the
advantage of the life of a sama¼a by giving him the examples of a servant
of his household or a landholder cultivating the King's own land
becoming a sama¼a 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 sama¼a by elaborating on (i) how a
householder, hearing the dhamma taught by a Buddha, leaves the home
life and becomes a sama¼a out of pure faith; (ii) how he becomes
established in three categories of Søla, minor, middle and major; (iii) how
he gains control over his sense-faculties so that no depraved states of
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