Contents
· Prologue
· Part I: From Birth to the Attainment of Arahatship
· Part II: Maturity of Insight
· Friendships
· The Helper
· Attainment
· The Turner of the Wheel
· The Elder's Relatives
· The Unresentful
· Part III: The Further Shore
· The Last Debt Paid
· Cunda Sutta
· Ukkacela Sutta
· Part IV: Discourses of Sariputta
· Part V: Sariputta in the Jatakas
· Appendix: A Note on the Relics of Sariputta and Maha-Moggallana
· Notes
Prologue
In many temples of Sri Lanka you will find on either side of the Buddha image,
the statues of two monks. Their robes are draped over one shoulder and they
stand in the attitude of reverence, with joined palms. Quite often there are
a few flowers at their feet, laid there by some pious devotee.
If you ask who they are, you will be told that they are the Enlightened One's
two Chief Disciples, the Arahats Sariputta and Maha Moggallana. They stand in
the positions they occupied in life. Sariputta on the Buddha's right, Maha Moggallana
on his left. When the great stupa at Sanchi was opened up in the middle of the
last century, the relic chamber was found to contain two stone receptacles;
the one to the north held the body relics of Maha Moggallana, while that on
the south enclosed those of Sariputta. Thus they had lain while the centuries
rolled past and the history of two thousand years and more played out the drama
of impermanence in human life. The Roman Empire rose and fell, the glories of
ancient Greece became a distant memory; new religions wrote their names, often
with blood and fire, on the changing face of the earth, only to mingle at last
with legends of Thebes and Babylon, and gradually the tides of commerce shifted
the great centers of civilisation from East to West, while generations that
had never heard the Teaching of the Buddha arose and passed away. But all the
time that the ashes of the saints lay undisturbed, forgotten in the land that
gave them birth, their memory was held dear wherever the Buddha's message spread,
and the record of their lives was passed down from one generation to another,
first by word of mouth, then in the written pages of the Buddhist Tripitaka,
the most voluminous and detailed scripture of any religion. next to the Enlightened
One himself, it is these two disciples of his who stand highest in the veneration
of Buddhists in the Theravada lands. Their names are as inseparable from the
annals of Buddhism as that of the Buddha himself. If it has come about that
in the course of time many legends have been woven into the tradition of their
lives, this is but the natural outcome of the devotion that has always been
felt for them.
And that high esteem was fully justified. Few religious teachers have been so
well served by their immediate disciples as was the Buddha. This you will see
as you read these pages, for they tell the story of one of the two greatest
of them, Sariputta, who was second only to the Buddha in the depth and range
of his understanding, and his ability to teach the Doctrine of Deliverance.
In the Tripitaka there is no connected account of his life, but it can be pieced
together from the various incidents, scattered throughout the canonical texts
and commentaries, in which he figures. Some of them are more than incidents,
for his life so closely interwoven with the life and ministry of the Buddha
that he plays an essential part in it, and on a number of occasions it is the
Sariputta himself who takes the leading role -- as skilled preceptor and exemplar,
as kind and considerate friend, as guardian of the welfare of the bhikkhus under
his charge, as faithful repository of his Master's doctrine, the function which
earned him the title of Dhamma-senapati, Marshal of the Dhamma, and always as
himself, a man unique in his patience and steadfastness, modest and upright
in thought, word and deed, a man to whom one act of kindness was a thing to
be remembered with gratitude so long as life endured. Even among the Arahats,
saints freed from all defilements of passion and delusion, he shone like the
full moon in a starry sky.
This then is the man, of profound intellect and sublime nature, a true disciple
of the Great Teacher, whose story we have set down, to the best of our ability,
in the pages that follow. If you, the reader, can gather from this imperfect
record something of the qualities of man perfected, of man fully liberated and
raised to the highest level of his being; of how such a man acts and speaks
and comports himself towards his fellows; and if the reading of it gives you
strength and faith in the assurance of what man may become, then our work has
been worthwhile, and is fully rewarded.
Part I
From Birth to the Attainment of Arahatship
The story begins at two brahmanical villages in India, called Upatissa and Kolita,
which lay not far from the city Rajagaha. Before our Buddha had appeared in
the world a brahman lady named Sari, living in Upatissa village,[1] conceived;
and also, on the same day at Kolita village, did another brahman lady whose
name was Moggalli. The two families were closely connected, having been friends
with one another for seven generations. From the first day of their pregnancy
the families gave due care to the mothers-to-be, and after ten months both women
gave birth to boys, on the same day. On the name-giving day the child of the
brahman lady Sari received the name Upatissa, as he was a son of the foremost
family of that village; and for the same reason Moggalli's son was named Kolita.
When the boys grew up they were educated, and acquired mastery of all the sciences.
Each of them had a following of five hundred brahman youths, and when they went
to the river or park for sport and recreation, Upatissa used to go with five
hundred palanquins, and Kolita with five hundred carriages.
Now at Rajagaha there was an annual event called the Hilltop Festival. Seats
were arranged for both youths and they sat together to witness the celebrations.
When there was occasion for laughter, they laughed; when the spectacles were
exciting, they became excited; and they paid their fees for the extra shows.
In this manner they enjoyed the festival for a second day; but on the third
day their understanding was awakened and they could no longer laugh or get excited,
nor did they feel inclined to pay for extra shows as they had done on the first
days. Each of them had the same thought: "What is there to look at here?
Before these people have reached a hundred years they will all have come to
death. What we ought to do is to seek for a teaching of deliverance."
It was with such thoughts in mind that they took their seats at the festival.
Then Kolita said to Upatissa: "How is this, my dear Upatissa? You are not
as happy and joyous as you were on the other days. You seem now to be in a discontented
mood, What is on your mind?"
"My dear Kolita, to look at these things here is of no benefit at all.
it is utterly worthless! I ought to seek a teaching of deliverance for myself.
That, my Kolita, is what I was thinking, seated here. But you, Kolita, seem
to be discontented, too."
And Kolita replied: "Just as you have said, I also feel." When he
knew that his friend had the same inclinations, Upatissa said: "That was
a good thought of ours. But for those who seek a teaching of deliverance there
is only one thing to do: to leave home and become ascetics. But under whom shall
we live the ascetic life?"
At that time, there lived at Rajagaha an ascetic of the sect of the Wanderers
(paribbajaka), called Sañjaya, who had a great following of pupils. Deciding
to get ordination under him, Upatissa and Kolita went there, each with his own
following of five hundred Brahman youths and all of them received ordination
from Sañjaya. And from the time of their ordination under him, Sañjaya's
reputation and support increased abundantly.
Within a short time the two friends had learned Sañjaya's entire doctrine
and they asked him: "Master, does your doctrine go so far only, or is there
something beyond?"
Sañjaya replied: "So far only it goes. You know all."
Hearing this, they thought to themselves: "If that is the case, it is useless
to continue the Holy Life under him. We have gone forth from home to seek a
teaching of deliverance. Under him we cannot find it. But India is vast; if
we wander through villages, towns and cities we shall certainly find a master
who can show us the teaching of deliverance." And after that, whenever
they heard that there were wise ascetics or brahmans at this or that place,
they went and discussed with them. But there was none who was able to answer
their questions, while they were able to reply to those who questioned them.
Having thus traveled through the whole of India they turned back, and arriving
at their old place they agreed between them that he who should attain to the
Deathless State first, should inform the other. It was a pact of brotherhood,
born of the deep friendship between the two young men.
Some time after they had made that agreement, the Blessed One, the Buddha, came
to Rajagaha. It was when he had delivered the Fire Sermon at Gaya Peak that
he remembered his promise, given before his Enlightenment to King Bimbisara,
that he would come to Rajagaha again when he had attained his goal. So in stages
the Blessed One journeyed from Gaya to Rajagaha, and having received from King
Bimbisara the Bamboo Grove Monastery (Veluvana) he resided there.
Among the sixty-one Arahats (Saints) whom the Master had sent forth to proclaim
to the world the virtues of the Triple Gem, there was the Elder Assaji, who
belonged to the group of five ascetics, the Buddha's erstwhile companions before
his Enlightenment, and afterwards his first disciples. The Elder Assaji had
returned to Rajagaha from his wanderings, and when one morning he was going
for alms in the city he was seen by Upatissa, who was on his way to the Paribbajaka
ascetic's monastery. Struck by Assaji's dignified and serene appearance, Upatissa
thought: "Never before have I seen such a monk. He must be one of those
who are Arahats, or on the way to Arahatship. Should I not approach him and
ask, 'Under whom have you been ordained? Who is your teacher and whose teaching
do you profess?'"
But then he thought: "It is not the proper time now for putting questions
to this monk, as he is going for alms through the streets. I had better follow
behind him, after the manner of supplicants." And he did so.
Then, when the Elder had gathered his almsfood, and Upatissa saw him going to
another place intending to sit down and take his meal, he prepared for him his
own ascetic's seat that he carried with him, and offered it to the Elder. The
Elder Assaji took his meal, after which Upatissa served him with water from
his own water-container, and in that way performed towards Assaji the duties
of a pupil to a teacher.
After they had exchanged the usual courteous greetings. Upatissa said: "Serene
are your features, friend. Pure and bright is your complexion. Under whom, friend,
have you gone forth as an ascetic? Who is your teacher and whose doctrine do
you profess?"
Assaji replied: "There is, O friend, the Great Recluse, the scion of the
Sakyas, who has gone forth from the Sakya clan. Under that Blessed One I have
gone forth. That Blessed One is my teacher and it is his Dhamma that I profess."
"What does the venerable one's master teach, what does he proclaim?"
Questioned thus, the Elder Assaji thought to himself: "These wandering
ascetics are opposed to the Buddha's dispensation. I shall show him how profound
this dispensation is". So he said: "I am but new to the training,
friend. It is not long since I went forth from home, and I came but recently
to this teaching and discipline. I cannot explain the Dhamma in detail to you."
The wanderer replied: "I am called Upatissa, friend. Please tell me according
to your ability, be it much or little. It will be my task to penetrate its meaning
by way of a hundred or a thousand methods." And he added:
"Be it little or much that you can tell,
the meaning only, please proclaim to me!
To know the meaning is my sole desire;
Of no avail to me are many words."
In response, the Elder Assaji uttered this stanza:
"Of all those things that from a cause arise,
Tathagata the cause thereof has told;
And how they cease to be, that too he tells,
This is the doctrine of the Great Recluse."[2]
Upon hearing the first two lines, Upatissa became established in the Path of
Stream-entry, and to the ending of the last two lines he already listened as
a Stream-winner.
When he become a Stream-winner, and before he had achieved the higher attainments,
he thought: "Here will the means of deliverance be found!" and he
said to the Elder: "Do not enlarge upon this exposition of the Dhamma,
venerable sir. This will suffice. But where does our Master live?"
"In the Bamboo Grove Monastery, wanderer."
"Then please go on ahead, venerable sir. I have a friend with whom I agreed
that he who should reach the Deathless State first, should tell the other. I
shall inform him, and together we shall follow on the road you went and shall
come into the Master's presence." Upatissa then prostrated himself at the
Elder's feet, saluted him and, taking the Elder's leave, went back to the park
of the Wandering Ascetics.
Kolita saw him approaching and thought: "Today my friend's appearance is
quite changed. Surely, he must have found the Deathless State!"
And when he asked him about it, Upatissa replied: "Yes, friend, the Deathless
State has been found!" and he recited to him the stanza he had heard. At
the end of the verse, Kolita was established in the Fruition of Stream-entry
and he asked: "Where, my dear, does the Master live?"
"I learned from our teacher, the Elder Assaji, that he lives at the Bamboo
Grove Monastery."
"Then let us go, Upatissa, and see the Master," said Kolita.
But Sariputta was one who always respected his teacher, and therefore he said
to his friend: "First, my dear, we shall go to our teacher, the Wanderer
Sañjaya, and tell him that we have found the Deathless. If he can grasp
it, he will penetrate to the Truth. And even if he does not he may, out of confidence
in us, come with us to see the Master; and hearing the Buddha's teaching, he
will attain to the penetration of the Path and Fruition."
So both of them went to Sañjaya and said: "Oh, our teacher! What
are you doing? A Buddha has appeared in the world! Well proclaimed is his Teaching
and in right conduct lives his community of monks. Let us go and see the Master
of the Ten Powers!"
"What are you saying, my dear?" Sañjaya exclaimed. And refusing
to go with them he spoke to them of the gain and fame they would enjoy if they
would share his, the teacher's, place.
But they said: "Oh, we should not mind always remaining in the state of
pupils! But you, O teacher, you must know whether to go or not!"
Then Sañjaya thought: "If they know so much, they will not listen
to what I say." And realizing that, he replied: "You may go, then,
but I cannot."
"Why not, O teacher?"
"I am a teacher of many. If I were to revert to the state of a disciple,
it would be as if a huge water tank were to change into a small pitcher. I cannot
live the life of a pupil now."
"Do not think like that, O teacher!" they urged.
"Let it be, my dear. You may go, but I cannot."
"Oh teacher! When a Buddha has appeared in the world, people flock to him
in large crowds and pay homage to him, carrying incense and flowers. We too
shall go there. And then what will happen to you?"
To which Sañjaya replied: "What do you think, my pupils: are there
more fools in this world, or more wise people?"
"Fools there are many, O teacher, and the wise are few."
"If that is so, my friends, then the wise ones will go to the wise recluse
Gotama, and the fools will come to me, the fool. You may go now, but I shall
not."
So the two friends left, saying: "You will come to understand your mistake,
O teacher!" And after they had gone there was a split among Sañjaya's
pupils, and his monastery became almost empty. Seeing his place empty, Sañjaya
vomited hot blood. Five hundred of his disciples had left along with Upatissa
and Kolita, out of whom two hundred and fifty returned to Sañjaya. With
the remaining two hundred and fifty, and their own following, the two friends
arrived at the Bamboo Grove Monastery.
There the Master, seated among the fourfold assembly[3] was preaching the Dhamma,
and when the Blessed One saw the two coming he addressed the monks: "These
two friends, Upatissa and Kolita, who are now coming, will be two excellent
disciples to me, a blessed pair."
Having approached, the friends saluted the Blessed One reverentially and sat
down at one side. When they were seated they spoke to the Blessed One, saying:
"May we obtain, O Lord, the ordination of the Going Forth under the Blessed
One, may we obtain the Higher Ordination!"
And the Blessed One said: "Come, O bhikkhus! Well proclaimed is the Dhamma.
Now live the Life of Purity, to make an end of suffering!" This alone served
as the ordination of these venerable ones.
Then the master continued his sermon, taking the individual temperaments[4]
of the listeners into consideration; and with the exception of the two chief
disciples all of them attained to Arahatship. But the two chief disciples had
not yet completed the task of attaining to the three higher paths of sanctity.
The reason for this was the greatness of the "knowledge pertaining to the
perfection of a disciple" (savakaparami-ñana), which they had still
to reach.
Upatissa received the name of Sariputta on becoming a disciple of the Buddha,
while Kolita became known as Maha Moggallana.
Now the Venerable Maha Moggallana went to live at a village in Magadha called
Kallavala, on which he depended for almsfood. On the seventh day after his ordination
when he was doing the recluse's work (of meditation), fatigue and torpor fell
upon him. But spurred on by the Master,[5] he dispelled his fatigue, and while
listening to the Master expounding to him the meditation subject of the elements
(dhatu-kammatthana), he completed the task of winning to the three higher paths
and reached the acme of a disciple's perfections (savaka-parami).
But the Venerable Sariputta continued to stay near the Master, at a cave called
the Boar's Shelter (Sukarakhata-lena), depending on Rajagaha for his almsfood.
Half a month after his ordination the Blessed One gave a discourse on the comprehension
of feelings[6] to the Venerable Sariputta's nephew, the wandering ascetic Dighanakha.
The Venerable Sariputta was standing behind the Master, fanning him. While following
with his thoughts the progress of the discourse, as though sharing the food
prepared for another, the Venerable Sariputta on that occasion reached the acme
of "knowledge pertaining to a disciple's perfection and attained to Arahatship
together with the fourfold analytical knowledge (patisambhida-ñana)."[7]
And his nephew, at the end of the sermon, was established in the Fruition of
Stream-entry.[8]
Now it may be asked: Did not the Venerable Sariputta possess great wisdom; and
if so, why did he attain to the disciple's perfections later than the Venerable
Maha Moggallana? The answer is, because of the greatness of the preparations
necessary for it. When poor people want to go anywhere they take to the road
at once; but in the case of kings, larger preparations are required, as for
instance to get ready the elephants and chariots, and so on. Thus it was in
this case.
On that same day, when the evening shadows had lengthened, the Master caused
his disciples to assemble and bestowed upon the two Elders the rank of Chief
Disciples. At this, some monks were displeased and said among themselves: "The
Master should have given the rank of Chief Disciples to those who were ordained
first, that is, the Group of Five disciples. If not to them, then either to
the group of two hundred and fifty bhikkhus headed by Yasa, or to the thirty
of the Auspicious Group (Bhaddavaggiya), or else to the three Kassapa brothers.
But passing over all these Great Elders, he has given it to those whose ordination
was the very last of all."
The Master inquired about the subject of their talk. When he was told, he said:
"I do not show preference, but give to each what he has aspired to. When,
for instance, Kondañña-the Knower in a previous life gave almsfood
nine times during a single harvest, he did not aspire to Chief Discipleship;
his aspiration was to be the very first to penetrate to the highest state, Arahatship.
And so it came about. But when Sariputta and Maha Moggallana many aeons ago,
at the time of the Buddha Anomadassi, were born as the brahman youth Sarada
and landowner Sirivaddhaka, they made the aspiration for Chief Discipleship.
This, O bhikkhus, was the aspiration for these my sons at that time. Hence I
have given them just what they aspired to, and did not do it out of preference."
This account of the beginning of the Venerable Sariputta's career is taken from
the Commentary to the Anguttara Nikaya, Etad-agga section, with some passages
from the parallel version in the Dhammapada Commentary. From it some of the
principal traits of the Venerable Sariputta's character are already discernible.
His capacity for deep and constant friendship showed itself while he was still
a worldling, a youth nurtured in luxury and pleasure, and it persisted after
he had abandoned the household life. On receiving his first insight into the
Dhamma, and before proceeding any further, his first thought was for his friend
Kolita and the vow they had sworn together. His penetrating intellect is revealed
in the promptness with which he grasped the essence of the Buddha's teaching
from a few simple words. And, most rare of all, he combined that intellectual
power with a modesty and sweetness of nature that expressed itself in gratitude
and reverence for anyone, even the misguided Sañjaya, who had taught
him things of value. It was no wonder, therefore, that throughout his life he
continued to show respect for the Venerable Assaji, from whom he had gained
his introduction to the Buddha's Teaching. We are told in the Commentary to
the Nava Sutta (Sutta-Nipata), and also in the Commentary to v. 392 of the Dhammapada,
that whenever the Venerable Sariputta lived in the same monastery as the Elder
Assaji, he always went to pay obeisance to him immediately after having done
so to the Blessed One. This he did out of reverence, thinking: "This venerable
one was my first teacher. It was through him that I came to know the Buddha's
Dispensation." And when the Elder Assaji lived in another monastery, the
Venerable Sariputta used to face the direction in which the Elder Assaji was
living, and to pay homage to him by touching the ground at five places (with
the head, hands and feet), and saluting with joined palms.
But this led to misunderstanding, for when other monks saw it they said: "After
becoming a Chief Disciple, Sariputta still worships the heavenly quarters! Even
today he cannot give up his brahmanical views!" Hearing these remarks,
the Blessed One said: "It is not so, bhikkhus. Sariputta does not worship
the heavenly quarters. He salutes him through whom he came to know the Dhamma.
It is him he salutes, worships and reveres as his teacher. Sariputta is one
who gives devout respect to his teacher." It was then that the Master preached
to the monks assembled there the Nava Sutta,[9] which starts with the words:
"As gods their homage pay to Indra,
So should a man give reverence to him
From whom he learned the Dhamma."
Another example of the Venerable Sariputta's gratitude is given in the story
of Radha Thera. The Commentary to verse 76 of the Dhammapada relates that there
was living at Savatthi a poor brahman who stayed in the monastery. There he
performed little services such as weeding, sweeping, and the like and the monks
supported him with food. They did not, however, want to ordain him. One day
the Blessed One, in his mental survey of the world, saw that this brahman was
mature for Arahatship. he inquired about him from the assembled monks, and asked
whether any one of them remembered to have received some help from the poor
brahman. The Venerable Sariputta said that he remembered that once, when he
was going for alms in Rajagaha, this poor brahman had given him a ladle full
of almsfood that he had begged for himself. The Master asked Sariputta to ordain
the man, and he was given the name Radha. The Venerable Sariputta then advised
him time and again as to what things should be done, and always Radha received
his admonitions gladly, without resentment. And so, living according to the
Elder's advice, he attained Arahatship in a short time.
This time the bhikkhus remarked on Sariputta's sense of gratitude and said that
he who himself willingly accepts advice obtains pupils who do the same. Commenting
on this, the Buddha said that not only then, but also formerly Sariputta had
showed gratitude and remembered any good deed done to him. And in that connection
the Master told the Alinacitta Jataka, the story of a grateful elephant.[10]
Part II
Maturity of Insight
Friendships
If Sariputta was notable for his lasting sense of gratitude, he was no less
so for his capacity for friendship. With Maha Moggallana, the friend and companion
of his youth, he maintained a close intimacy, and many were the conversations
they held on the Dhamma. One of these, which is of special interest as throwing
light on the process of Venerable Sariputta's attainment, is recorded in the
Anguttara Nikaya, Catukka-nipata, No. 167. It relates that once the Venerable
Maha Moggallana went to see the Elder and said to him:
"There are four ways of progress, brother Sariputta:
difficult progress, with sluggish direct-knowledge;
difficult progress, with swift direct-knowledge;
easy progress, with sluggish direct-knowledge;
easy progress, with direct-knowledge.
"By which of these four ways of progress, brother, was your mind freed
from the cankers without remnants of clinging?" To which the Venerable
Sariputta replied: "By that of those four ways of progress, brother, which
is easy and has swift direct-knowledge."
The explanation of this passage is that if the suppression of the defilements
preparatory to absorption or insight takes place without great difficulty, progress
is called "easy" (sukha-patipada); in the reverse case it is "difficult"
or "painful" (dukkha-patipada). If, after the suppression of the defilements,
the manifestation of the Path, the goal of insight, is quickly effected, the
direct-knowledge (connected with the Path) is called "swift" (khippabhiñña);
in the reverse case it is "sluggish" (dandabhiñña).
In this discourse the Venerable Sariputta's statement refers to his attainment
of Arahantship. His attainment of the first three Paths, however, was, according
to the commentary to the above text, connected with "easy progress and
sluggish direct-knowledge."
In such ways as this did the two friends exchange information about their experience
and understanding of the Dhamma. They were also frequently associated in attending
to affairs of the Sangha. One such occasion was when they combined in winning
back certain monks who had been led astray by Devadatta. There is an interesting
passage[11] in this connection which shows that the Venerable Sariputta's generous
praise of Devadatta's achievements before the latter brought about a schism
in the Sangha was the cause of a slight embarrassment. It relates that when
the Buddha asked Sariputta to proclaim in Rajagaha that Devadatta's deeds and
words should no longer be regarded as connected with the Buddha, Dhamma and
Sangha, the Venerable Sariputta said: "Formerly I spoke at Rajagaha in
praise of Devadatta's magical powers?" "Yes, Lord," the elder
replied. "So you will now speak truthfully also, Sariputta, when you make
this proclamation about Devadatta." So, after receiving the formal approval
of the Sangha, the Venerable Sariputta, together with many monks, went to Rajagaha
and made the declaration about Devadatta.
When Devadatta had formally split the Sangha by declaring that he would conduct
Sangha-acts separately, he went to Vultures' Peak with five hundred young monks
who through ignorance had become his followers. To win them back, the Buddha
sent Sariputta and Maha Moggallana to the Vultures' Peak, and while Devadatta
was resting, the two Chief Disciples preached to the monks, who attained to
Stream-entry and went back to the Master.[12]
Another time when the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Maha Moggallana
worked together to restore order in the Sangha was when a group of monks led
by Assaji (not the Elder Assaji referred to earlier) and Punnabbassu, living
at Kitagiri, were misbehaving. In spite of repeated admonitions, these monks
would not mend their ways, so the two Chief Disciples were sent to pronounce
the penalty of pabbajaniya-kamma (excommunication) on those who would not submit
to the discipline.[13]
Venerable Sariputta's devotion to his friend was fully reciprocated; we are
told of two occasions when Sariputta was ill, and Maha Moggallana attended to
him and brought him medicine.
Yet there was nothing exclusive about the Venerable Sariputta's friendships,
for according to the commentary to the Maha-Gosinga Sutta there was also a bond
of mutual affection between him and the Elder Ananda. On the part of Sariputta
it was because he thought: "He is attending on the Master -- a duty which
should have been performed by me"; and Ananda's affection was due to the
fact that Sariputta had been declared by the Buddha as his foremost disciple.
When Ananda gave Novice Ordination to young pupils he used to take them to Sariputta
to obtain Higher ordination under him. The Venerable Sariputta did the same
in regard to Ananda, and in that way they had five hundred pupils in common.
Whenever the Venerable Ananda received choice robes or other requisites he would
offer them to Sariputta, and in the same way, Sariputta passed on to Ananda
any special offerings that were made to him. Once Ananda received from a certain
brahman a very valuable robe, and with the Master's permission he kept it for
ten days awaiting Sariputta's return. The sub-commentary says that later teachers
commented on this: "There may be those who say: 'We can well understand
that Ananda, who had not yet attained to Arahatship, felt such affection. But
how is it in the case of Sariputta, who was a canker-free Arahat?" To this
we answer: 'Sariputta's affection was not one of worldly attachment, but a love
for Ananda's virtues (guna-bhatti).'"
The Buddha once asked the Venerable Ananda: "Do you, too, approve of Sariputta?"
And Ananda replied: "Who, O Lord, would not approve of Sariputta, unless
he were childish, corrupt, stupid or of perverted mind! Learned, O Lord, is
the Venerable Sariputta; of great wisdom, O Lord, is the Venerable Sariputta;
of broad, bright, quick, keen and penetrative wisdom is the Venerable Sariputta;
of few wants and contented, inclined to seclusion, not fond of company, energetic,
eloquent, willing to listen, an exhorter who censures what is evil."[14]
In the Theragatha (v. 1034f) we find the Venerable Ananda describing his emotion
at the time of Sariputta's death. "When the Noble Friend (Sariputta) had
gone," he declares, "the world was plunged in darkness for me."
But he adds that after the companion had left him behind, and also the Master
had passed away, there was no other friend like mindfulness directed on the
body. Ananda's sorrow on learning of the Venerable Sariputta's death is also
described very movingly in the Cunda Sutta.[15]
Sariputta was a true friend in the fullest sense of the word. He well understood
how to bring out the best in others, and in doing so did not hesitate sometimes
to speak straightforwardly and critically, like the ideal friend described by
the Buddha, who points out his friend's faults. It was in this way that he helped
the venerable Anuruddha in his final break-through to Arahatship, as recorded
in the Anguttara Nikaya (Tika-Nipata No. 128):
Once the Venerable Anuruddha went to see the Venerable Sariputta. When they
had exchanged courteous greetings he sat down and said to the Venerable Sariputta:
"Friend Sariputta, with the divine eye that is purified, transcending human
ken, I can see the thousandfold world-system. Firm is my energy, unremitting;
my mindfulness is alert and unconfused; the body is tranquil and unperturbed;
my mind is concentrated and one-pointed. And yet my mind is not freed from cankers,
not freed from clinging."
"Friend Anuruddha," said the Venerable Sariputta, "that you think
thus of your divine eye, this is conceit in you. That you think thus of your
firm energy, your alert mindfulness, your unperturbed body and your concentrated
mind, this is restlessness in you. That you think of your mind not being freed
from the cankers, this is worrying[16] in you. It will be good, indeed, if the
Venerable Anuruddha, abandoning these three states of mind and paying no attention
to them, will direct the mind to the Deathless Element."
And the Venerable Anuruddha later on gave up these three states of mind, paid
no attention to them and directed his mind to the Deathless Element. And the
Venerable Anuruddha, living then alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, with determined
mind, before long reached in this very life, understanding and experiencing
it by himself, that highest goal of the Holy Life, for the sake of which noble
sons go forth entirely from home into homelessness. And he knew: "Exhausted
is rebirth, lived is the holy life, the work is done, nothing further remains
after this." Thus the Venerable Anuruddha became one of the Arahats.
Sariputta must have been stimulating company, and sought after by many. What
attracted men of quite different temperament to him and his conversation can
be well understood from the incident described in the Maha-Gosinga Sutta (Majjhima
Nikaya No. 32). One evening the Elders Maha Moggallana, Maha Kassapa, Anuruddha,
Revata and Ananda went to Sariputta to listen to the Dhamma. The Venerable Sariputta
welcomed them, saying: "Delightful is this Gosinga Forest of Sala trees;
there is moonlight tonight, all the Sala trees are in full bloom, and it seems
that heavenly perfume drifts around. What kind of monk, do you think, Ananda,
will lend more luster to this Gosinga Sala Forest?"
The same question was put to the others as well, and each answered according
to his individual nature. Finally, Sariputta gave his own answer, which was
as follows:
"There is a monk who has control over his mind, who is under the control
of his mind.[17] In whatever (mental) abiding or attainment he wishes to dwell
in the forenoon, he can dwell in it at that time. In whatever (mental) abiding
or attainment he wishes to dwell at noon, he can dwell in it at that time. In
whatever (mental) abiding or attainment he wishes to dwell in the evening, he
can dwell in it at that time. It is as though a king's or royal minister's cloth
chest were full of many-colored garments; so that whatever pair of garments
he wishes to wear in the morning, or at noon, or in the evening, he can wear
it at will at those times. Similarly it is with a monk who has control over
his mind, who is not under the control of his mind; in whatever (mental) abiding
or attainment he wishes to dwell in the morning, or at noon, or in the evening,
he can do so at will at those times. Such a monk, friend Moggallana, may lend
luster to this Gosinga Sala Forest."
They then went to the Buddha, who approved of all their answers and added his
own.
We see from this episode that Sariputta, with all his powerful intellect and
his status in the Sangha, was far from being a domineering type who tried to
impose his views on others. How well did he understand how to stimulate self-expression
in his companions in a natural and charming way, conveying to them the pensive
mood evoked by the enchanting scenery! His own sensitive nature responded to
it, and drew a similar response from his friends.
There are many such conversations recorded between Sariputta and other monks,
not only the Venerables Maha Moggallana, Ananda and Anuruddha, but also Maha
Kotthita, Upavana, Samiddhi, Savittha, Bhumija and many more. It seems that
the Buddha himself liked to talk to Sariputta, for he often did so, and many
of his discourses were addressed to his "Marshal of the Law," to use
the title he gave him.
Once, Sariputta repeated some words the Master had spoken to Ananda on another
occasion. "This is the whole of the Life of Purity (brahmacariya); namely,
noble friendship, noble companionship, noble association."[18]
There could be no better exemplification of that teaching than the life of the
Chief Disciple himself.
The Helper
Among the bhikkhus Sariputta was outstanding as one who helped others. We find
a reference to this in the Devadaha Sutta.[19] Some visiting monks, about to
return to their own places, took formal leave of the Buddha. He then advised
them to see the Venerable Sariputta and take leave of him also, telling them:
"Sariputta, O bhikkhus, is wise, and a helper of his fellow monks."
The Commentary, in explanation of these words, says: "Sariputta was a helper
in two ways: by giving material help (amisanuggaha) and the help of the Dhamma
(dhammanuggaha)."
The Elder, it is said, did not go on almsround in the early morning hours as
the other bhikkhus did. Instead, when they had all gone he walked around the
entire monastery grounds, and wherever he saw an unswept place, he swept it;
wherever refuse had not been removed, he threw it away; where furniture such
as beds, chairs, etc., or earthenware had not been properly arranged, he put
them in order. He did that lest other, non-Buddhist ascetics, visiting the monastery,
might see some disorderliness and speak in contempt of the bhikkhus.
Then he used to go to the hall for the sick, and having spoken consoling words
to the patients he would ask them about their needs. To procure their requirements
he took with him young novices, and went in search of medicine either by way
of the customary almsround or to some appropriate place. When the medicine was
obtained he would give it to the novices, saying: "Caring for the sick
has been praised by the Master! Go now, good people, and be heedful!" After
sending them back to the monastery sick room he would go on the alms-round or
take his meal at a supporter's house. This was his habit when staying for some
time at a monastery.
But when going on a journey on foot with the Blessed One, he did not go with
the very first of the monks, shod with sandals and umbrella in hand, as one
who thinks: "I am the Chief Disciple." But letting the young novices
take his bowl and robes sending them with the others, he himself would first
attend to those who were old, very young, or unwell, making them apply oil to
any sores they might have on their bodies. Then, either later on the same day
or on the next day, he would leave together with them.
Once, when for that reason the Elder Sariputta had arrived particularly late
at the place where the others were resting, he did not get proper quarters for
the night, and seated himself under a tent made from robes. The Master saw this,
and next day he caused the monks to assemble and told them the story of the
elephant, the monkey and the partridge who, after deciding which was the eldest
of them, lived together showing respect for the seniormost.[20] He then laid
down the rule that "lodgings should be allocated according to seniority."[21]
In this way the Venerable Sariputta was a helper by giving material help.
Sometimes he would give material help and the help of the Dhamma together, as
when he visited Samitigutta, who suffered from leprosy, in the infirmary. The
Theragatha Commentary tells us that he said to Samitigutta: "Friend, so
long as the aggregates (khandha) continue, all feeling is just suffering. Only
when the aggregates are no more is there no more suffering." Having thus
given him the contemplation of feelings as subject of meditation, Sariputta
went away. Samitigutta, following the Elder's instruction, developed insight
and realised the six supernormal powers (chalabhiñña) as an Arahat.[22]
Again, when Anathapindika was lying on his deathbed, Sariputta visited him,
accompanied by Ananda. Sariputta preached to the dying man on non-attachment,
and Anathapindika was greatly moved by the profound discourse.[23]
Another sickbed sermon given by the Elder to Anathapindika is preserved in the
Sotapatti-Samyutta (Vagga 3, Sutta 6). In this discourse, Anathapindika is reminded
that those things which lead to rebirth in states of woe are no longer in him,
but that he possesses the four basic qualities of Stream-entry (sotapattiyanga)
and the eight path factors: in considering this, his pains would subside. As
the result, his pains did subside.
Once the Elder Channa was lying ill and in great pain. The Venerable Sariputta
paid him a visit, in company with the Elder Maha Cunda. Seeing the sick monk's
agonies, Sariputta at once offered to go in search of medicines and suitable
food for him. But Channa told them he had decided to take his life, and after
they had left he did so. Afterwards the Buddha explained that the Elder Channa's
act was without demerit and blameless, since he had attained Arahatship while
dying. This story is found in the Channovada Sutta (Majjh. 144).
It is said that whenever Sariputta gave advice, he showed infinite patience;
he would admonish and instruct up to a hundred or a thousand times, until his
pupil was established in the Fruition of Stream-entry. Only then did he discharge
him and give his advice to others. Very great was the number of those who, after
receiving his instruction and following it faithfully, attained to Arahatship.
In the Sacca-vibhanga Sutta (Majjh. 141) the Buddha says: "Sariputta is
like a mother who brings forth, while Moggallana is like a nurse of that which
has been brought forth. Sariputta trains to the Fruit of Stream-entry, and Moggallana
trains to the highest goal."
Explaining this passage, the Commentary says: "When Sariputta accepted
pupils for training, whether they were ordained by him or by others, he favored
them with his material and spiritual help, looked after them in sickness, gave
them a subject of meditation and at last, when he knew that they had become
Stream-winners and had risen above the dangers of the lower worlds, he dismissed
them in the confident knowledge that 'Now they can, by their own manly strength,
produce the higher stages of Saintship.' Having thus become free from concern
about their future, he instructed new groups of pupils. But Maha Moggallana,
when training pupils in the same way, did not give up concern for them until
they had attained Arahatship. This was because he felt, as was said by the Master:
'As even a little excrement is of evil smell, I do not praise even the shortest
spell of existence, be it no longer than a snap of the fingers.'"
But although the Majjhima Commentary says that Sariputta used to lead his regular
pupils only up to Stream-entry, in individual cases he helped monks to attain
the higher stages. The Udana Commentary, for example, says that "at that
time bhikkhus in higher training (sekha) often used to approach the Venerable
Sariputta for a subject of meditation that could help them to attain the three
higher Paths." It was after taking instruction from Sariputta that the
Elder Lakuntika Bhaddiya ("The Dwarf") attained Arahatship,[24] having
been a Stream-winner at the time. There is also the case of the Venerable Anuruddha,
referred to on p. 27.
It was in this manner that the Venerable Sariputta gave the help of the Dhamma.
He was a great leader of men and an outstanding spiritual adviser. To the latter
task he brought not only a keen and perceptive understanding of the human mind,
but also a warm, human interest in others which must have been a great encouragement
to those under his spiritual guidance. We have already seen how ready he was
to give generous praise where it was due; he was also keen at all times to meet
noble monks, particularly those whom the Master had commended. One such was
the Elder Punna Mantaniputta; when Sariputta learned that he had come on a visit
he went to meet him. Without telling him who he was, he listened to Punna's
great discourse, the Stage Coach simile (Majjh. No. 24), and when it was ended
gave it high praise.
Administering to the physical as well as the spiritual needs of the monks under
his charge, restraining them with kindly admonitions and encouraging them with
the praise their efforts deserved, guiding them on the path showing in all he
did that vital sympathetic interest which draws forth the best from a pupil,
Sariputta combined the qualities of a perfect teacher with those of a perfect
friend. He was ready to help in every way, in small things as in great. Filled
with the virtue of the Holy Life himself, he was quick to see virtue in others,
expert in developing it in those in whom it was latent, and among the first
to extol it where it was in full flower. His was no cold, aloof perfection,
but the richest intermingling of spiritual exaltation with the qualities that
are finest and most endearing in a human being.
Attainment
Two stanzas in the Theragatha (995, 996) relate, in words ascribed to the Venerable
Sariputta himself, the way in which he attained Arahatship. There he tells us:
"It was to another that the Blessed One was teaching the Dhamma; to the
Dhamma-preaching I listened intently for my own good. And not in vain, for freed
from all defilements, I gained release."
In the next two verses (996-7) the Elder declares that he felt no inclination
to develop the five supernormal powers (abhiñña). However, the
Iddhividha-Katha of the Patisambhida Magga credits him with possessing the intensive
degree of meditative concentration called "the power of intervention by
concentration" (samadhi-vipphara-iddhi), which is capable of intervening
in certain normal physiological processes or other natural events. This is illustrated
by the anecdote in the Visuddhimagga, Ch. XII, which records that once when
the Venerable Sariputta was living with the Elder Maha Moggallana at Kapotakandara,
he was sitting meditating in the open with his hair freshly shaved when he was
given a malicious blow on the head by a mischievous spirit. The blow was a very
severe one, but at the time it was given "the Elder was absorbed in meditative
attainment; consequently he suffered no harm." The source of this story
is the Udana (IV.4) which continues the account as follows:
The Venerable Maha Moggallana saw the incident and approached the Venerable
Sariputta to ask how he fared. He asked him: "Brother, are you comfortable?
Are you doing well? Does nothing trouble you?"
"I am comfortable, brother Moggallana," said the Venerable Sariputta.
"I am doing well, brother Moggallana. Only my head troubles me a little."
Whereupon the Venerable Maha Moggallana said: "O wonderful is it, brother
Sariputta! O marvelous is it, brother Sariputta! How great is the psychic power,
and how great is the might of the Venerable Sariputta! For just now, brother
Sariputta, a certain demon gave you a blow on the head. And a mighty blow it
was! With such a blow one might fell an elephant seven or seven and a half cubits
high, or one might split a mountain peak. But the Venerable Sariputta says only
this, 'I am comfortable, brother Moggallana. I am doing well, brother Moggallana.
Only my head troubles me a little.'"
Then the Venerable Sariputta replied: "O wonderful is it, brother Moggallana!
O marvelous is it, brother Moggallana! How great is the psychic power and how
great is the might of the Venerable Moggallana, that he should see any demon
at all! As for me, I have not seen so much as a mud-sprite!"
The Anupada Sutta (Majjh. III) contains a description of Sariputta's attainments
given by the Buddha himself. In it the Blessed One declares that the Venerable
Sariputta had mastered the nine meditative attainments, that is the four fine-material
and four immaterial jhanas and the cessation of perception and feeling. And
in the Sariputta Samyutta[25] the Venerable Elder mentions the fact himself,
in speaking to Ananda, adding that in all the stages he was free of any self-reference:
"I had no such thoughts as 'I am entering the jhana; I have entered it;
I am rising from it.'" And on another occasion he describes to Ananda how
he attained to such developed concentration of mind that with regard to the
earth element he was without earth perception of them. Yet it seems that he
was without perception of them. Yet it seems that he was not entirely without
perception of another kind, his only perception being that "Nibbana is
ceasing of coming-to-be" (bhava-nirodha).[26]
This detached attitude to the jhanic attainments may have been due to the meditative
"abiding in voidness" (suññata-vihara) which the Venerable
Sariputta cultivated. We read in the Pindapata-parisuddhi Sutta (Majjh. 151)
that the Buddha once remarked on the Venerable Sariputta's radiant features
and asked him by which state of mind this radiance had been caused.[27] The
Venerable Sariputta replied that he frequently practiced the abiding in voidness,
upon which the Buddha said that this was the abode of great men, and proceeded
to describe it in detail. The Udana records that on three occasions the Master
saw the Venerable Sariputta seated in meditation outside the monastery and uttered
verses (udana) in praise of a firm and calm mind.
We may perhaps imagine the Venerable Sariputta seated in meditation in a bower
such as that mentioned in the Devadaha Sutta (Khandha Samyutta, No.2), where
it is said "Once the Blessed One lived in the Sakya country, at Devadaha,
a market town of the Sakyas... At that time the Venerable Sariputta was seated,
not far from the Blessed One, under an Elagala bush." The Commentary to
the text tells us: "At Devadaha there was a bower under an Elagala bush.
This bush grows where there is a constant supply of flowing water. People had
made a bower with four posts over which they let the bush grow, forming a roof.
Under it they made a seat by placing bricks there and strewing it with sand.
It was a cool place for the daytime, with a fresh breeze blowing from the water."
It may well have been in some such rustic shelter as this that the Buddha saw
Sariputta deep in meditation, on those occasions when he extolled his disciple's
tranquillity and detachment.
Concerning his attainment to analytical knowledge (patisambhida-ñana),
the Venerable Sariputta speaks of it in the Anguttara Nikaya (Fours, No. 172),
where he says:
"It was half a month after my ordination, friends that I realized, in all
their parts and details, the analytical knowledge of meaning, the analytical
knowledge of the Dhamma, the analytical knowledge of language, the analytical
knowledge of perspicuity. These I expound in many ways, teach them and make
them known, establish and reveal them, explain and clarify them. If anyone has
any doubt or uncertainty, he may ask me and I shall explain (the matter). Present
is the Master who is well acquainted with our attainments."
From all of this it is evident that the Venerable Sariputta was a master of
all the stages of attainment up to and including the highest insight-knowledge.
What could be more aptly said of him than this, in the Buddha's own words:
"If one could ever say rightly of one that he has come to mastery and perfection
in noble virtue, in noble concentration, in noble wisdom and noble liberation,
it is of Sariputta that one could thus rightly declare.
"If one could ever say rightly of one that he is the Blessed One's true
son, born of his speech, born of the Dhamma, formed of the Dhamma, heir to the
Dhamma, not heir to worldly benefit, it is Sariputta that one could thus rightly
declare.
"After me, O monks, Sariputta rightly turns the supreme Wheel of Dhamma,
even as I have turned it."
Majjh. 111, Anupada Sutta
The Turner of the Wheel
The discourses of Sariputta and the books attributed to him form a comprehensive
body of teaching that for scope and variety of exposition can stand beside that
of the Master himself. Sariputta understood in a unique way how to organize
and present the rich material of the Dhamma lucidly, in a manner that was intellectually
stimulating and also an inspiration to practical effort. We find this exemplified
in two classic discourses of the Majjhima Nikaya, the Samma-ditthi Sutta (No.
9) and the Greater Sutta on the Elephant Footprint Simile (No. 28).
The Greater Discourse on the Elephant Footprint Simile[28] is a masterpiece
of methodical treatment. It begins with the statement that the Four Noble Truths
comprise everything that is salutary, then singles out the Truth of Suffering
as being identifiable with the five aggregates of personality. From these, the
aggregate of corporeality is chosen for detailed investigation; it is shown
to consist of the four great elements, each of which is said to be internal
and external. The bodily parts and functions belonging to the internal element
are stated in detail, and it is said of both the internal and external elements
that they neither belong to a self, nor constitute a self. This insight leads
to disgust and detachment regarding the elements.
The discourse then goes on to show the impermanence of the mighty external elements
when they are involved in great upheavals of nature, and against that background
it is stressed that this tiny body, the product of craving, can never be regarded
as "I" or "mine" or considered in the sense of "I am."
And when a monk who has this firm and deeply rooted insight meets with abuse,
blame and hostility on the part of others, he is able to analyze the situation
soberly and so remain master of it. He recognizes that the painful feeling that
has arisen in him is produced by ear-contact, which is in itself no more than
a conditioned phenomenon; and of all the constituent parts of the situation
he knows that they are impermanent. This he discerns with reference to contact,
feeling, perception, formations and consciousness. At this point of the discourse
we see that the other four aggregates, the mental components of personality,
are introduced in an organic context, together with the already mentioned factor
of contact. The discourse then continues: "Then his mind, just by taking
only the elements as its object, becomes elated, gladdened, firm and intent;
and even if he is beaten and injured he will think: 'This body is of such a
nature that is liable to such injuries.'" Thereupon he recollects the Master's
Simile of the Saw and will resolve to follow the Buddha's injunction to suffer
all injuries in patience, whatever may happen to him.
But, the sermon continues, if when thus remembering the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
the monk's equanimity does not endure, he will be stirred by a sense of urgency
and feel ashamed that, in spite of that recollection of the Triple Gem, he could
not remain constant. On the other hand, if his endurance persists he will experience
happiness. "Even to this extent, much has been achieved by that monk,"
says the sutta.
Here all the four elements are treated identically. The concluding section starts
by comparing the body and its constituent parts with a house, which is made
up of its various components. After that follows an exposition of the conditioned
arising of the sixfold perceptual consciousness. In mentioning the five sense-organs
and sense-objects as the basic conditions for the arising of five-sense consciousness,
derived corporeality is here introduced by means of a prominent part of it,
thus completing the treatment of the corporeal aggregate. With the state of
consciousness having thus arisen, all five aggregates are given, and in that
way their conjunction can be understood, as well as their dependent origination.
And in this connection Sariputta quotes the Master: "He who understands
dependent origination understands the Dhamma; and he who understands the Dhamma
understands dependent origination." Desire, inclination and attachment
in regard to the five aggregates is the origin of suffering. Removal of that
desire, inclination and attachment is the cessation of suffering. And of the
monk who has understood this it is said: "Even to this extent, much has
been achieved by that monk," Thus the exposition is rounded off with the
Four Noble Truths. This discourse is indeed like an intricate and beautifully
constructed piece of music ending on a solemn and majestic chord.
Another model exposition of the Venerable Sariputta's is the Samma-ditthi Sutta.[29]
This is a masterpiece of teaching, which also provides a framework for further
elaboration, such as given in the extensive commentary to it. The Commentary
says: "In the Buddha Word as collected in the five great Nikayas there
is no discourse other than the Discourse on Right Understanding, wherein the
Four Noble Truths are stated thirty-two times, and thirty-two times the state
of Arahatship." The same discourse also gives us an original exposition
of dependent origination, with slight, but very instructive, variations. Each
factor of dependent origination is used, as are also the additional sections,
to illustrate the right understanding of the Four Noble Truths, the comprehension
of which is thus greatly enhanced, broadened and deepened. This discourse has
been widely used for instructional purposes throughout the centuries down to
the present day.
Another of the Venerable Sariputta's discourses is the Sama-citta Sutta[30]
which was listened to by the "devas of tranquil mind." It is concerned
with the first three stages of sanctitude, the Stream-winner, the Once-returner
and the Non-returner. Its purpose is to clarify the question of their residuum
of rebirths, in the five-sense world or in the fine-material and non-material
worlds, which depends upon their mode of practice and on the fetters of existence
still remaining. It is a very short discourse, but had a singular impact on
the huge assembly of devas who, according to tradition, assembled to hear it.
It is said that a very large number of them attained Arahatship, and innumerable
were those who reached Stream-entry. This discourse of the Venerable Sariputta
is, in fact, counted among the few which had unusually far-reaching results
among beings of the higher worlds; and although it is a very brief text rather
cryptic without the commentarial explanation, it had a high reputation in succeeding
centuries. It is the sermon that was preached by the Arahat Mahinda on the evening
of his arrival in Ceylon, and the Mahavamsa (XIV, 34ff), Ceylon's famous chronicle,
relates that on this occasion, also, numerous devas listened and achieved penetration
of the Dhamma.
The high regard in which the discourse is held, and the strong impact ascribed
to it, may be attributed to the fact that it helps those on the Path to define
their position as to the kind of rebirths still to be expected by them. Devas
on higher levels of development are sometimes inclined to regard their heavenly
status as final, and do not expect to be reborn in the five-sense world, as
may sometimes be the case. The Great Elder's discourse gave them a criterion
by which to judge their position. For worldlings still outside the Paths, as
well, it must have offered valuable orientation for the direction of their efforts.
The Sangiti Sutta ("The Recital") and Dasuttara Sutta ("Up to
Ten"), two more of the Venerable Sariputta's sermons, are the last two
texts of the Digha Nikaya, the Collection of Long Discourses. Both these texts
are compilations of doctrinal terms, in which a large number of topics are classified
as falling into groups of from one to ten members. The reason for bringing the
compilation only up to ten may have been that there are only very few groups
of doctrinal terms extending beyond ten members, and these could be supposed
to be well known and easily remembered. The Sangiti Sutta was preached in the
presence of the Buddha, and at its conclusion received his express approval.
While in the Sangiti Sutta the doctrinal terms are arranged solely in numerical
groups of one to ten, in the Dasuttara Sutta each of these ten groups has tenfold
subdivision which serves to bring out the practical significance of these groups,
for example:
"One thing(1) is of great importance, (2) should be developed, (3) should
be fully known, (4) should be abandoned, (5) implies decline, (6) implies progress,
(7) is hard to penetrate, (8) should be made to arise, (9) should be directly
known, (10) should be realized. What is the one thing of great importance? Heedfulness
in salutary things..."
These texts must have been compiled at a fairly late period of the Buddha's
and the Venerable Sariputta's life, when there was already in existence a large
body of doctrine and carefully transmitted discourses which required organizing
for ready use, and also anthologies of salient features of the Dhamma became
a useful aid in a comprehensive study of the Teaching. The Sangiti Sutta was
delivered at the time of Nigantha Nataputta's death, on the date of which, however,
scholars differ. It was, in fact, this event that occasioned the preaching of
the sutta, for it speaks of the dissensions, schisms and doctrinal disagreements
that arose among the Jains immediately after the death of their Master, Nigantha
Nataputta, otherwise Mahavira. This was taken as a warning example by the Venerable
Sariputta, who in his discourse stresses that this text "should be recited
by all in concord and without dissension, so that the Holy Life should last
long for the welfare and happiness of gods and men." The commentators say
that the Sangiti Sutta is meant to convey the "flavor of concord"
(samaggi-rasa) in the Teaching, which is strengthened by doctrinal proficiency
(desana-kusalata).
The practical purpose of the Dasuttara Sutta is indicated in the Venerable Sariputta's
introductory verses:
"The Dasuttara (Discourse) I shall proclaim -- a teaching for the attainment
of Nibbana and the ending of suffering, the release from all bondage."
Dasuttaram pavakkhami dhammam nibbanappattiya dukkhas' antakiriyaya sabbaganthapamocanam.
It seems likely that these two suttas served as a kind of index to selected
teachings. They may have been useful also to those monks who did not memorize
a great many texts; to them they may have been helpful in presenting numerous
aspects of the Teaching in a form that was easily memorized and assimilated.
Both of these discourses admirably illustrate the Venerable Sariputta's concern
with the preservation of the Dhamma, and his systematic way of ensuring that
it was transmitted intact in all its details. It was for that purpose that he
provided "study aids" such as these and other discourses, together
with works like the Niddesa.
* * *
A summary of other discourses given by the Venerable Sariputta is included at
the end of this book. We shall now turn to a consideration of larger canonical
works attributed to him.
The first is the Niddesa, which belongs to the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta
Pitaka. it is the only work of an exclusively commentarial character included
in the Pali Tipitaka. Of its two parts, the Maha Niddesa is a commentary to
the Atthaka-vagga of the Sutta Nipata, while the Cula Niddesa comments on the
Parayana-vagga and the Khaggavisana Sutta, likewise of the Sutta Nipata.
The Atthaka-vagga and the Parayana-vagga are the last two books of the Sutta
Nipata, and doubtlessly belong to the oldest parts not only of that work but
of the entire Sutta Pitaka. They were highly appreciated even in the earlier
days of the Sangha, and of the Buddhist laity as well, as is testified by the
fact that the Udana records a recital of the Atthaka-vagga by Sona Thera and
the Anguttara Nikaya a recital of the Parayana-vagga by the female lay disciple,
Nandamata. On at least five occasions the Buddha himself has given explanations
of verses contained in these two parts of the Sutta Nipata. Apart from the high
esteem in which they were evidently held, the fact that these two verse collections
contain numerous archaic words and terse aphoristic sayings makes it understandable
that in very early days a commentary on them was composed which was later included
in the canonical scriptures. The traditional attribution of it to the Venerable
Sariputta must be regarded as highly plausible.[31] It is quite in character
with the great Elder's concern with the methodical instruction of bhikkhus that
the Niddesa contains not only word explanations, clarifications of the context
and supporting quotations from the Buddha Word, but also material obviously
meant for linguistic instruction, such as the addition of many synonyms of the
word explained. On this subject, Prof. E.J. Thomas writes as follows:[32]
The most characteristic feature of the Niddesa... consists of a list of synonyms
of the words commented on. Such lists are not used to explain the meaning of
a word in a particular context. They are repeated in the same form wherever
the word occurs and were evidently intended to be learned in the same way as
the modern kosha (dictionary)... Much of this is also found in the Abhidhamma
books, but in the Niddesa it is used as general matter applied to passages for
which it was not immediately intended... This shows a system for learning the
vocabulary of the Canon, and for explaining archaic forms, but no further grammatical
teaching occurs apart from the description of certain terms as particles...
in the Niddesa we thus have direct evidence of a general system of instruction
applied to a definite work, consisting of interpretation, doctrinal teaching
and the verbal expositions of the beginnings of grammar. The Abhidhamma books
and related works like the Patisambhida Magga give other traces of its existence.
It appears to be this system which is expressly referred to in the Niddesa (1,
234) and other places as the four kinds of analysis (patisambhida); the analysis
of meanings (attha), of conditions (dhamma), of grammatical analysis (nirutti),
and clearness of insight (patibhana). The Nirutti of the Niddesa is of the kind
that we should expect to exist when Pali was a living language. All the grammatical
analysis that was required was a knowledge of those words in the Scriptures
that had become obsolete, and the explanation of unusual grammatical forms by
means of current expressions... We can see from its different forms and readings
that it underwent changes and received additions, and in the case of a work
used continually for instruction this would be inevitable.
The Venerable Sariputta states that he attained to the four kinds of analytical
knowledge (patisambhida) two weeks after his ordination, that is, on attaining
Arahatship.[33] This fact, and the extensive application of nirutti-patisambhida,
"grammatical analysis," in the Niddesa, make it quite probable that
he was actually the author of both the Niddesa and the Patisambhida Magga.
The Maha Niddesa contains also the commentary on the Sariputta Sutta (also called
the "Therapañha Sutta") which forms the last text of the Atthaka-vagga.
The first part of this text, with verses in praise of the Master and questions
put to him, is ascribed to Sariputta. The Maha Niddesa explains the opening
stanza as referring to the Buddha's return from Tavatimsa heaven after he had
preached the Abhidhamma there. Apart from that it contains only his questions,
the essential part of the text being the Buddha's replies.
The Patisambhida Magga has the appearance of a manual of higher Buddhist studies,
and its range is as broad as that of the mind of its reputed author. At the
beginning it presents treatises on 72 types of knowledge (ñana) and on
the types of wrong speculative views (ditthi), both of which show the methodical
and penetrative mind of the Venerable Sariputta. In the Treatise on Knowledge,
as well as in other chapters of the work, there are found a large number of
doctrinal terms appearing for the first time and only in the Patisambhida Magga.
It also contains elaborations of terms and teachings that are mentioned only
briefly in other and older parts of the Sutta Pitaka. In addition to this, it
contains material on meditation of great practical value, as for example on
mindfulness of breathing,[34] metta-bhavana, and numerous insight-exercises.
There is also, to give variety to the subject matter, a passage of hymnic character
and great beauty, on the Great Compassion of the Tathagata. Mahanama Thera of
Ceylon, who wrote the Saddhammappakasini, the commentary to the work, confidently
ascribes it to the Venerable Sariputta, and in the introductory stanzas gives
eloquent praise of the great Elder. In the Patisambhida Magga itself, Sariputta
is mentioned twice, once as being one who possesses samadhi-vipphara-iddhi (in
the Iddhividha-katha) and again in the Maha-pañña-katha, Solasa-pañña-niddesa,
where it is said: "Those whose wisdom is equal to that of Sariputta, they
partake to some extent of the Buddha-knowledge."
We come now to one of the most important contributions made by the Venerable
Sariputta to Buddhist teaching. According to tradition (e.g., in the Atthasalini),
the Buddha preached the Abhidhamma in the Tavatimsa heaven to his mother, Queen
Maya, who had been reborn as deva in that world. He did this for three months,
and when returning daily to earth for his meals, he gave to the Venerable Sariputta
the "method" (naya) of that portion of Abhidhamma he had preached.
The Atthasalini says; "Thus the giving of the method was to the Chief Disciple,
who was endowed with analytical knowledge, as though the Buddha stood on the
edge of the shore and pointed out the ocean with his open hand. To the Elder
the doctrine taught by the Blessed One in hundreds and thousands of methods
became very clear." Thereafter, the Elder passed on what he had learned
to his five hundred disciples.
Further it is said: "The textual order of the Abhidhamma originated with
Sariputta; the numerical series in the Great Book (Patthana) was also determined
by him. In this way the Elder, without spoiling the unique doctrine, laid down
the numerical series in order to make it easy to learn, remember, study and
teach the Law."
The Atthasalini, the Commentary to the Dhamma-sangani also ascribes to Sariputta
the following contributions to the canonical Abhidhamma:
(a) The 42 couplets (dyads; duka) of the Suttanta Matika, which follows the
Abhidhamma Matika, both of which preface the seven Abhidhamma books. The 42
Suttanta couplets are explained in the Dhammasangani and this likewise has probably
to be ascribed to the Elder.
(b) The fourth and last part of the Dhammasangani, the Atthuddhara-kanda, the
"Synopsis".
(c) The arrangement for the recitation of the Abhidhamma (vacanamagga).
(d) The Numerical Section (gañanacara) of the Patthana.
In the Anupada Sutta[35] the Buddha himself speaks of the Venerable Sariputta's
analysis of meditative consciousness into its chief mental concomitants, which
the Elder undertook from his own experience, after rising from each of the meditative
attainments in succession. This analysis may well be either a precursor or an
abridgment of the detailed analysis of jhana-consciousness given in the Dhammasangani.
Concerning the Venerable Sariputta's mastery of the Dhamma, and its exposition,
the Buddha had this to say:
"The Essence of Dhamma (dhammadhatu) has been so well penetrated by Sariputta,
O monks, that if I were to question him therein for one day in different words
and phrases, Sariputta would reply likewise for one day in various words and
phrases. And if I were to question him for one night, or a day and a night,
or for two days and nights, even up to seven days and nights, Sariputta would
expound the matter for the same period of time, in various words and phrases."
Nidana Samyutta, No. 32
And on another occasion the Master employed this simile:
"If he is endowed with five qualities, O monks, the eldest son of a World-ruling
Monarch righteously turns the Wheel of sovereignty that had been turned by his
father. And that Wheel of Sovereignty cannot be overturned by any hostile human
being. What are the five qualities? The eldest son of a World-ruling Monarch
knows what is beneficial, knows the Law, knows the right measure, knows the
right time and knows the society (with which he has to deal, parisa).
Similarly, O monks, is Sariputta endowed with five qualities and rightly turns
the supreme Wheel of Dhamma, even as I have turned it. And this Wheel cannot
be overturned by ascetics, or priests, by deities or Brahma, nor by anyone else
in the world. What are those five qualities? Sariputta, O monks, knows what
is beneficial, knows the Teaching, knows the right measure, knows the right
time and knows the assembly (he is to address)."
Anguttara Nikaya, V. 132
Other Theras were not behind in their appreciation. The Elder Vangisa, in his
encomium in the Theragatha (vv. 1231-3) praises Sariputta who "teaches
in brief and also speaks in detail," while in the same compilation other
great Elders, Maha Kassapa (vv. 1082-5) and Maha Moggallana (vv. 1158; 1176-7;
1182) also give their meed of praise. And the Venerable Maha Moggallana, at
the end of Sariputta's Discourse on Guiltlessness,[36] uttered these words of
tribute to his friend's sermon: "To (virtuous and earnest) monks who have
heard the exposition of the Venerable Sariputta it will be like food and drink
to their ears and mind. How well does he lift up his fellow-monks from what
is unwholesome, and confirm them in what is good!"
The relationship in which the two Chief Disciples stood to one another in the
matter of teaching was explained by the Buddha when he said:
"Associate, O monks with Sariputta and Moggallana, and keep company with
them! They are wise bhikkhus and helpers of their fellow-monks. Sariputta is
like a mother who brings forth, and Moggallana is like a nurse to what has been
brought forth. Sariputta trains (his pupils) in the Fruition of Stream-entry,
and Moggallana trains them for the highest goal.
"Sariputta is able to expound the Four Noble Truths in detail, to teach
them and make them intelligible, to proclaim, reveal and explain them, and make
them clear."
Majjh. 141, Sacca-vibhanga Sutta
And in the Anguttara Nikaya (11, 131);
"A monk of faith, O bhikkhus, should cherish this right aspiration: 'Oh,
may I become such as Sariputta and Moggallana!' For Sariputta and Moggallana
are the model and standard for my bhikkhu-disciples."
That the Venerable Sariputta's great reputation as a teacher of the Dhamma long
survived him, to become a tradition among later Buddhists, is shown by the concluding
passages of the Milinda-pañha, written some three hundred years later.
There, King Milinda compares Nagasena Thera to the Venerable Sariputta, saying:
"In this Buddha's Dispensation there is none other like yourself for answering
questions, except the Elder Sariputta, the Marshal of the Law."
That grand reputation still lives today, upheld by the cherished teachings of
the Great Disciple, preserved and enshrined in some of the oldest books of Buddhism
alongside the words of his Master.
The Elder's Relatives
As we have already seen, the Venerable Sariputta was born into a brahman family
of Upatissa village (or Nalaka), near Rajagaha, his father's name being Vaganta
and his mother's Sari. He had three brothers: Cunda, Upasena and Revata, and
three sisters named Cala, Upacala and Sisupacala. All six took ordination and
attained Arahatship.
Cunda was known by the name Samanuddesa, meaning "the Novice" in the
Sangha, even after becoming a bhikkhu; this was to distinguish him from the
Elder Maha Cunda. At the time of Sariputta's death, Cunda was his attendant
and it was he who informed the Buddha of his passing away, bringing with him
the Chief Disciple's relics. The story is told in the Cunda Sutta, an outline
of which will be given elsewhere in this book.
Upasena, who came to be known as Vagantaputta, or "Son of Vaganta,"
as Sariputta is "Son of Sari", was said by the Buddha to be foremost
among those of all-pleasing deportment (samantappasadika). He died of a snakebite,
as is related in the Salatayana Samyutta, Vagga 7, Sutta 7.
Revata was the youngest of the brothers, and their mother, wishing to prevent
his seeking ordination, had him married when he was a very young boy. But on
the wedding day he saw the grandmother of his future wife, an old woman of 120,
stricken with all the signs of decrepitude. At once he became disgusted with
worldly life. Escaping from the wedding procession by a ruse, he fled to a monastery
and was ordained. In later years he was on his way to see the Buddha when he
stopped at a forest of acacia trees (khadira-vana), and while spending the rainy
season there he attained Arahatship. After that he became known as Revata Khadiravaniya
-- "Revata of the Acacia Forest." The Buddha distinguished him as
being the foremost among forest dwellers.
The three sisters, Cala, Upacala and Sisupacala, wishing to follow their brothers'
example, became nuns after their marriage. In marriage, each of them had a son
who was named after his mother Cala (or Cali) and so on. These three sons were
also ordained, being received as novices by Revata Khadtravaniya. Their good
conduct was praised by the Venerable Sariputta, who met them when he went to
see his youngest brother who was ill. This is recorded in the Commentary to
the Theragatha, v. 42.
Cala, Upacala and Sisupacala as nuns are said to have been approached by Mara
with taunting and tempting questions, to which they gave excellent replies.
These are recorded in the Theragatha and Bhikkhuni Samyutta.
In contrast to all these, Sariputta's mother was a staunch brahman and hostile
to the Buddha's Teaching and his followers. In the Commentary to the Dhammapada
(v. 400) it is related that once, when the Venerable Sariputta was in his own
village of Nalaka with a large retinue of monks, he came to his mother's house
in the course of his almsround. His mother gave him a seat and served him with
food, but while she did so she uttered abusive words: "Oh, you eater of
others' leavings!" she said. "When you fail to get leavings of sour
rice-gruel you go from house to house among strangers, licking the leavings
off the backs of ladies! And so it was for this that you gave up eighty crores
of wealth and became a monk! You have ruined me! Now go on and eat!"
Likewise, when she was serving food to the monks, she said: "So! You are
the men who have made my son your page boy! Go on, eat now!"
Thus she continued reviling them, but the Venerable Sariputta spoke not a word.
He took his food, ate it and in silence returned to the monastery. The Buddha
learned of the incident from the Venerable Rahula, who had been among the monks
at the time. All the bhikkhus who heard of it wondered at the Elder's great
forbearance, and in the midst of the assembly the Buddha praised him, uttering
the stanza:
"He that is free from anger, who performs his duties faithfully.
He that guards the precepts, and is free from lust;
He that has subdued himself, he that wears his last body --
He it is I call a brahman."
It was not until right at the close of Sariputta's life that he was able to
convert his mother; that story will be told later on. But the incident that
has been related here leads us to a consideration of the great Elder's most
pleasing characteristics, his humility, patience and forbearance.
The Unresentful
It is the neighborhood of Jetavana, where the Buddha is residing. Some men are
in a group, talking about the noble qualities of the Elder Sariputta. "Such
great patience has our noble Elder," they are saying, "that even when
people abuse him and strike him, he feels no trace of anger."
"Who is this that never gets angry?" The question is from a brahman,
a holder of false views. And when they tell him, "It is our Elder, Sariputta,"
he retorts: "It must be that nobody has ever provoked him."
"That is not so brahman," they reply. "Well, then, I will provoke
him to anger." "Provoke him to anger if you can!" "Leave
it to me," says the brahman. "I know just what to do to him."
The Venerable Sariputta enters the city on his round for alms. Approaching him
from behind, the brahman strikes him in a tremendous blow on the back. "What
was that?" says the Venerable Sariputta; and without so much as turning
to look, he continues on his way.
The fire of remorse leaps up in every part of the brahman's body. Prostrating
himself at the Elder's feet he begs for pardon. "For what?" asks the
Elder, mildly. "To test your patience I struck you," the penitent
brahman replies. "Very well, I pardon you."
"Reverend sir," the brahman says, "if you are willing to pardon
me, hereafter please take your food only at my house." With these words
he takes the Elder's almsbowl, which the Elder willingly yields, and leading
him to his house serves him with food.
But those who saw the assault are enraged. They gather at the brahman's house,
armed with sticks and stones, to kill him. When the Venerable Sariputta emerges,
accompanied by the brahman carrying his bowl, they cry: "Reverend sir,
order this brahman to turn back!"
"Why, lay disciples?" asks the Elder. They answer: "The man struck
you. We are going to give him what he deserves!"
"But what do you mean? Was it you, or me, he struck?"
"It was you, reverend sir." "Well, if it was me he struck, he
has begged my pardon. Go your ways." And so, dismissing the people and
permitting the brahman to return, the great Elder calmly makes his way to the
monastery.
This incident, recorded in the Dhammapada Commentary, was the occasion of the
Buddha's uttering the verses 389 and 390 of the Dhammapada, which are among
those that give the Buddha's definition of what constitutes a brahman, that
is to say, rectitude of conduct rather than birth or rank.
Let none strike a brahman;
Let no brahman return a blow.
Shame on him that strikes a brahman!
More shame on the brahman who returns the blow!
Not small is the gain to a brahman
Who restrains his mind from what is dear;
As fast as the will to injure wanes
So fast indeed does suffering decline.
Dhammapada, vv 389, 390
The Venerable Sariputta's humility was as great as his patience. He was willing
to receive correction from anyone, not only with submission but with gratitude.
It is told in the Commentary to the Devaputta Samyutta, Susima Sutta, that once,
through a momentary negligence, a corner of the Elder's under-robe was hanging
down, and a seven-year-old novice, seeing this, pointed it out to him. The Venerable
Sariputta stepped aside at once and arranged the garment in the proper equally-circular
way. Then he stood before the novice with folded hands, saying: "Now it
is correct, teacher!"[37]
There is a reference to this incident in the Questions of Milinda, where these
verses are ascribed to the Venerable Sariputta:
"One who this very day, at the age of seven, has gone forth --
If he should me, I accept it with (bended) head.
At sight of him, I give him ardent zeal and regard.
With respect may I again and again set him in the teacher's place!"
On one occasion the Buddha mildly reproved Sariputta for not having carried
his teaching far enough. When the brahman Dhanañjani was on his deathbed
he was visited by the Venerable Sariputta. The Elder, reflecting that brahmans
are bent on the Brahma-world (or "union with Brahma") taught the dying
man the way to it through the Brahma-viharas. As a result, it is said, the brahman
was in fact reborn there.
When the Venerable Sariputta returned from the visit, the Master asked him:
"Why, Sariputta, while there was more to do, did you set the brahman Dhanañjani's
thoughts on the inferior Brahma-world, and then rising from your seat, leave
him?" The Venerable Sariputta replied: "I thought: 'These brahmans
are bent on the Brahma-world. Should I not show the brahman Dhanañjani
the way to the communion with Brahma?"
"The brahman Dhanañjani has died, Sariputta", said the Buddha,
"and he has been reborn in the Brahma-world."
This story, which is found in the Dhanañjani Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya
(97), is interesting as an illustration of the undesirability of rebirth in
an inferior Brahma-world for one who is capable of bringing rebirth entirely
to an end. For while the Buddha himself sometimes showed only the way to Brahma,
as for example in the Tevijja Sutta, it seems probable that in the case of Dhanañjani
the Master saw that he was fit to receive a higher teaching, while the Venerable
Sariputta, lacking the capacity of knowing others' hearts (lokiya-abhiñña),
was not able to discern that fact. The result is that Dhanañjani will
spend an incalculable period in the Brahma-world and will have to take human
birth again before he can achieve the goal.
The Venerable Sariputta received another gentle reproof when, having asked the
Buddha why it was that the Sasana of some of the Buddhas of the past did not
last very long, and the Buddha had replied that it was because those Enlightened
Ones did not preach very much Dhamma, did not lay down regulations for the disciples,
nor institute the recital of the Patimokkha, Sariputta said that it was now
time for the Blessed One to promulgate the regulations and to recite the Patimokkha,
so that the Holy Life might last for a long period. The Buddha said: "Let
it be, Sariputta! the Tathagata himself will know the time for it. The Master
will not lay down regulations for the disciples nor recite the Patimokkha until
signs of corruption have appeared in the Sangha."[38]
The disciple's concern that the Sasana should endure as long as possible is
characteristic of Sariputta; equally characteristic was it of the Buddha that
he did not wish to lay down regulations until such time as it was absolutely
necessary to do so. He went on to explain that at that time the least-advanced
member of the Sangha was a Sotapanna (perhaps a fact of which the Venerable
Sariputta was not aware), and therefore it was not yet necessary to lay down
the rules of the bhikkhu life.
The Catuma Sutta[39] records another occasion when the great Elder was admonished
by the Master. A large number of monks, newly ordained, as the Commentary tell
us, by the Venerable Sariputta and Maha Moggallana, had come with the latter
to pay their respects to the Buddha for the first time. On arrival they were
allotted quarters and started chatting with the resident monks of Catuma. Hearing
the noise, the Buddha summoned the resident monks to question them about it,
and was told that the commotion was caused by the new arrivals. The text does
not say the visiting monks were present at the time, but they must have been,
for the Buddha addressed them with the words: "Go away, monks I dismiss
you. You should not stay with me."
The newly ordained monks left, but some persons intervened in their behalf and
they were allowed to return.
The Buddha then said to the Venerable Sariputta: "What did you think, Sariputta,
when I dismissed that group of monks?"
The Venerable Sariputta replied: "I thought: 'The Blessed One wishes to
remain unconcerned and to abide in the state of happiness here-and-now; so we
too shall remain unconcerned and abide in the state of happiness here-and-now."
"Hold, Sariputta! Do not allow such a thought ever to arise in you again!"
the Buddha said. Then turning to Maha Moggallana, he put the same question.
"When the Blessed One dismissed those monks," replied Maha Moggallana,
"I thought: 'The Blessed One wishes to remain unconcerned and to abide
in the state of happiness here-and-now. Then I and the Venerable Sariputta should
now look after the community of monks.'"
"Well spoken, Moggallana, well spoken!" said the Master. "It
is either myself or Sariputta or Moggallana who should look after the community
of monks."
The Sutta account is lacking in certain details which would place the story
in the proper light necessary for an understanding of all its implications,
but it is possible that since the monks who had been dismissed were pupils of
Sariputta and Maha Moggallana, the Elder wished to show his displeasure with
them and to indicate by his aloofness that they had behaved badly.
Once, when the Buddha was residing at Jetavana, the Venerable Sariputta was
the victim of a false accusation. It so happened that at the end of the rains
the Elder took leave of the Master and departed with his own retinue of monks
on a journey. A large number of monks also took leave of Sariputta, and in dismissing
them he addressed those who were known by their personal and family names, by
those names. Among them there was a monk who was not known by his personal and
family name, but a strong desire arose in him that the Chief Disciple should
address him by those names in taking his departure.
In the great throng of monks, however, the Venerable Sariputta did not give
him this distinction, and the monk was aggrieved. "He does not greet me
as he does the other monks," he thought, and conceived a grudge against
Sariputta. At the same time it chanced that the hem of the Elder's robe brushed
against him, and this added to his grievance. He approached the Buddha and complained;
"Lord, the Venerable Sariputta, doubtless thinking to himself, 'I am the
Chief Disciple', struck me a blow that almost damaged my ear. And having done
that without so much as begging my pardon, he set out on his journey."
The Buddha summoned Sariputta into his presence. Meanwhile, the Venerable Maha
Moggallana and the Venerable Ananda, knowing that a calumny was about to be
exposed, summoned all the monks, convoking an assembly. "Approach, venerable
sirs!" they called. "When the Venerable Sariputta is face to face
with the Master, he will roar the roar of a lion!"[40]
And so it came about. When the Master questioned the great Elder, instead of
denying the charge he said: "O Lord, one who is not firmly established
in the contemplation of the body with regard to his body, such a one may be
able to hurt a fellow monk and leave without apologizing." Then followed
the Venerable Sariputta's lion's roar. He compared his freedom from anger and
hatred with the patience of the earth which receives all things, clean and unclean;
his tranquillity of mind to a bull with severed horns, to a lowly Candala youth,
to water, fire and wind, and to the removal of impurity; he compared the oppression
he felt from his own body to the oppression of snakes and corpses, and the maintenance
of his body to that of fatty excrescences. In nine similes he described his
own virtues, and nine times the great earth responded to the words of truth.
The entire assembly was moved by the majestic force of his utterance.
As the Elder proclaimed his virtues, remorse filled the monk who had unjustly
traduced him. Immediately, he fell at the feet of the Blessed One, admitting
his slander and confessing his fault. Thereupon the Buddha said: "Sariputta,
pardon this deluded man, lest his head should split into seven pieces."
Sariputta's reply was: "Venerable sir, I freely pardon this venerable monk."
And, with joined palms, he added, "May this venerable monk also pardon
me if I have in any way offended him."
In this way they were reconciled. The other monks were filled with admiration,
saying: "See, brethren, the surpassing goodness of the Elder! He cherishes
neither anger nor hatred against this lying, slanderous monk! Instead, he crouches
before him, stretches his hands in reverence, and asks his pardon."
The Buddha's comment was: "Bhikkhus, it is impossible for Sariputta and
his like to cherish anger or hatred. Sariputta's mind is like the great earth,
firm like a gate post, like a pool of still water."
Unresentful like the earth, firm like a gate post,
With mind like a clear pool, such is the virtuous man
For whom the round of births exists no more.[41]
Another incident of this nature, in the early Sangha, did not end so happily,
for the calumniator refused to admit his fault. He was a monk named Kokalika,
who approached the Buddha with a slander against the two Chief Disciples; "Sariputta
and Moggallana have bad intentions, O Lord!" he said. "They are in
the grip of evil ambition."
The Master replied: "Do not say so, Kokalika! Do not say so! Have friendly
and trustful thoughts towards Sariputta and Moggallana! They are of good behavior,
and lovable!"
But the misguided Kokalika paid no heed to the Buddha's words. He persisted
with his false accusation, and soon after that his whole body became covered
with boils, which continued to grow until eventually he died of his illness.
This incident was well-known. It is recorded in the following places in the
Sutta-pitaka: Brahma Samyutta No. 10; Sutta Nipata, Mahavagga No. 10; Anguttara
Nikaya V. 170, and Takkariya Jataka (No. 481). A comparison of these two incidents
reveals the importance of penitence. Neither the Venerable Sariputta nor Maha
Moggallana bore the monk Kokalika any ill-will for his malice, and his apologies,
had he offered them, would have made no difference to the attitude of the two
Chief Disciples. But they would have benefited the erring monk himself, averting
the consequences of his bad kamma. Evil rebounds upon those who direct it towards
the innocent, and so Kokalika was judged and punished by himself, through his
own deeds.
Part III
The Further Shore
The Last Debt Paid
We now come to the year of the Master's Parinibbana. The Blessed One had spent
the rainy season at Beluva village,[42] near Vesali, and when the Retreat was
over he left that place and, going by the way he had come, returned by stages
to Savatthi and arrived at the Jeta Grove Monastery.
There the Elder Sariputta, the Marshal of the Law, paid homage to the Blessed
One and went to his day quarters. When his own disciples had saluted him and
left, he swept the place and spread his leather mat. Then, having rinsed his
feet, he sat down cross-legged and entered into the state of the Fruition Attainment
of Arahatship.
At the time predetermined by him, he arose from the meditation, and this thought
occurred to him: "Do the Enlightened Ones have their final passing away
first, or the Chief Disciples?" And he saw that it is the Chief Disciples
who pass away first. Thereupon he considered his own life-force, and saw that
its residue would sustain him only for another week.
He then considered: "Where shall I have my final passing away?" And
he thought: "Rahula finally passed away among the deities of the Thirty-three,
and the Elder Kondañña the Knower at the Chaddanta Lake.[43] Where,
then, will be my place?"
While thinking this over repeatedly he remembered his mother, and the thought
came to him: "Although she is the mother of seven Arahats[44] she has no
faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Has she the supportive conditions
in her to acquire that faith or has she not?"
Investigating the matter he discerned that she had the supportive conditions
for the Path-intuition (abhisamaya) of Stream-entry. Then he asked himself:
"Though whose instruction can she win to the penetration of truth?"
And he saw that not through anyone else's but only through his own instruction
in the Dhamma, could it come about. And following upon that came the thought:
"If I now remain indifferent, people will say: 'Sariputta has been a helper
to so many others; on the day, for instance, when he preached the Discourse
to the Deities of Tranquil Mind a large number of devas attained Arahatship,
and still more of them penetrated to the first three Paths; and on other occasions
there were many who attained to Stream-entry, and there thousands of families
who were reborn in heavenly worlds after the Elder had inspired them with joyous
confidence in the Triple Gem. Yet despite this he cannot remove the wrong views
of his own mother? Thus people may speak of me. Therefore I shall free my mother
from her wrong views, and shall have my final passing away in the very chamber
where I was born."
Having made that decision, he thought: "This very day I shall ask the Master's
permission and then leave for Nalaka." And, calling the elder Cunda, who
was his attendant, he said: "Friend Cunda, please ask our group of five
hundred bhikkhus to take their bowls and robes, for I wish to go to Nalaka."
And the elder Cunda did as he was bidden.
The bhikkhus put their lodgings in order, took their bowls and robes, and presented
themselves before the Elder Sariputta. He, for his own part, had tidied up his
living quarters and swept the place where he used to spend the day. Then, standing
at the gate, he looked back at the place, thinking: "This is my last sight
of it. There will be no more coming back."
Then, together with the five hundred bhikkhus he went to the Blessed One, saluted
him and spoke: "May, O Lord, the Blessed One permit, may the Exalted One
consent: the time of my final passing away has come, I have relinquished the
life-force.
Lord of the World, O greatest Sage!
From life I soon shall be released.
Going and coming no more shall be;
This is the last time that I worship thee.
Short is the life that now remains to me;
But seven days from now, and I shall lay
This body down, throwing the burden off.
Grant it, O Master! Give permission, Lord!
At last for me Nibbana's time has come,
Relinquished have I now the will to live."
Now, says the text, if the enlightened One were to have replied, "You may
have your final passing away," hostile sectarians would say that he was
speaking in praise of death; and if he had replied, "Do not have your final
passing away," they would say that he extolled the continuation of the
round of existence. Therefore the Blessed One did not speak in either way, but
asked: "Where will your final passing away take place?"
The Venerable Sariputta replied: "In the Magadha country, in the village
called Nalaka, there in the chamber of my birth shall I finally pass away."
Then the Blessed One said: "Do, Sariputta, what you think timely. But now
your elder and younger brethren in the Sangha will no longer have the chance
to see a bhikkhu like you. Give them once more a discourse on Dhamma."
The great Elder then gave a discourse, displaying all his descending to mundane
truth, rising again, and again descending, he expounded the Dhamma directly
and in symbols. And when he had ended his discourse he paid homage at the feet
of the Master. embracing his legs, he said: "So that I might worship these
feet I have fulfilled the Perfections throughout an aeon and a hundred thousand
kalpas. My heart's wish has found fulfillment. From now on there will be no
more contact or meeting; severed now is that intimate connection. The City of
Nibbana, the unaging, undying, peaceful, blissful, heat-assuaging and secure,
which has been entered by many hundreds of thousands of Buddhas -- I too shall
enter it now.
"If any deed or word of mine did not please you, O Lord, may the Blessed
One forgive me! It is now time for me to go."
Now once before, the Buddha had answered this, when he said: "There is
nothing, be it in deeds or words, wherein I should have to reproach you, Sariputta.
For you are learned, Sariputta, of great wisdom, of broad and bright, quick,
keen and penetrative wisdom."[45]
So now he made answer in the same way: "I forgive you, Sariputta,"
he said. "But there was not a single word or deed of yours that was displeasing
to me. Do now, Sariputta, what you think timely."
From this we see that on those few occasions when the Master seemed to reproach
his Chief Disciple, it was not that he was displeased with him in any way, but
rather that he was pointing out another approach to a situation, another way
of viewing a problem.
Immediately after the master had given his permission and the Venerable Sariputta
had risen from paying homage at his feet, the Great Earth cried out, and with
a single huge tremor shook to its watery boundaries. It was as though the Great
Earth wished to say: "Though I bear these girdling mountain ranges with
Mount Meru, the encircling mountain walls (cakkavala) and the Himavant, I cannot
sustain on this day so vast an accumulation of virtue!" And mighty thunder
split the heavens, a vast cloud appeared and heavy rain poured down.
Then the Blessed One thought: "I shall now permit the Marshal of the Law
to depart." and he rose from the seat of the Law, went to his Perfumed
Cell and there stood on the Jewel Slab. Three times the Venerable Sariputta
circumambulated the cell, keeping it to his right, and paid reverence at four
places. And this thought was in his mind: "an aeon and a hundred thousand
kalpas ago it was, when I fell down at the feet of the Buddha Anomadassi and
made the aspiration to see you. This aspiration has been realized, and I have
seen you. At the first meeting it was my first sight of you; now it is my last,
and there will be none in the future." And with raised hands joined in
salutation he departed, going backwards until the Blessed One was out of sight.
And yet again the Great Earth, unable to bear it, trembled to its watery boundaries.
The Blessed One then addressed the bhikkhus who surrounded him. "Go, bhikkhus,"
he said. "Accompany your elder brother." At these words, all the four
assemblies of devotees at once went out of the Jeta Grove, leaving the Blessed
One there alone. The citizens of Savatthi also, having heard the news, went
out of the city in an unending stream carrying incense and flowers in their
hands; and with their hair wet (the sign of mourning), they followed the Elder
lamenting and weeping.
The Venerable Sariputta then admonished the crowd, saying: "This is a road
that none can avoid," and asked them to return. And to the monks who had
accompanied him, he said: "You may turn back now! Do not neglect the Master!"
Thus he made them go back, and with only his own group of disciples, he continued
on his way. Yet still some of the people followed him, lamenting. "Formerly
our Venerable went on journeys and returned. But this is a journey without return!"
To them the Elder said: "Be heedful, friends! Of such nature, indeed, are
all things that are formed and conditioned!" And he made them turn back.
During his journey the Venerable Sariputta spent one night wherever he stopped,
and thus for one week he favored many people with a last sight of him. Reaching
Nalaka village in the evening, he stopped near a banyan tree at the village
gate. It happened that at the time a nephew of the elder, Uparevata by name,
had gone outside the village and there he saw the Venerable Sariputta. He approached
the elder, saluted him, and remained standing.
The Elder asked him: "Is your grand-aunt at home?" "Yes, venerable
sir," he replied. "Then go and announce our coming," said the
Elder. "And if she asks why I have come, tell her that I shall stay in
the village for one day, and ask her to prepare my birth chamber and provide
lodgings for five hundred bhikkhus."
Uparevata went to his grand-aunt and said: "Grandaunt, my uncle has come."
"Where is he now?" she asked.
"At the village gate."
"Is he alone, or has someone else come with him?"
"He has come with five hundred bhikkhus."
And when she asked him, "Why has he come?" he gave her the message
the elder had entrusted to him. Then she thought: "Why does he ask me to
provide lodgings for so many? After becoming a monk in his youth, does he want
to be a layman again in his old age?" But she arranged the birth chamber
for the Elder and lodgings for the bhikkhus, had torches lit and then sent for
the Elder.
The Venerable Sariputta then, accompanied by the bhikkhus, went up to the terrace
of the house and entered his birth chamber. After seating himself, he asked
the bhikkhus to go to their quarters. They had hardly left, when a grave illness,
dysentery, fell upon the Elder, and he felt severe pains. When one pail was
brought in, another was carried out. The brahman lady thought: "The news
of my son is not good," and she stood leaning by the door of her own room.
And then it happened, the text tells us, that the Four Great Divine Kings asked
themselves: "Where may he now be dwelling, the Marshal of the Law?"
And they perceived that he was at Nalaka, in his birth chamber, lying on the
bed of his Final Passing Away. "Let us go for a last sight of him,"
they said.
When they reached the birth chamber, they saluted the Elder and remained standing.
"Who are you?" asked the Elder.
"We are the Great Divine Kings, venerable sir."
"Why have you come?"
"We want to attend on you during your illness."
"Let it be!" said the Venerable Sariputta. "There is an attendant
here. You may go."
When they had left, there came in the same manner Sakka the king of the gods,
and after him, Maha Brahma, and all of them the elder dismissed in the same
way.
The brahman lady, seeing the coming and going of these deities, asked herself:
"Who could they have been, who came and paid homage to my son, and then
left?" And she went to the door of the elder's room and asked the Venerable
Cunda for news about the Elder's condition. Cunda conveyed the inquiry to the
Elder, telling him: "The Great Upasika (lay devotee) has come."
The Venerable Sariputta asked her: "Why have you come at this unusual hour?"
"To see you, dear," she replied. "Tell me, who were those who
came first?"
"The Four Great Divine Kings, upasika."
"Are you, then, greater than they?" she asked.
"They are like temple attendants," said the Elder. "Ever since
our Master took rebirth they have stood guard over him with swords in hand."
"After they had left, who was it that came then, dear?"
"It was Sakka the king of the gods."
"Are you then, greater than the king of gods, dear?"
"He is like a novice who carries a bhikkhu's belongings," answered
Sariputta. "When our Master returned from the heaven of the Thirty-three
(Tavatimsa), Sakka took his bowl and robe and descended to earth together with
him."
"And when Sakka had gone, who was it that came after him, filling the room
with his radiance?"
"Upasika, that was your own Lord and Master, the Great Brahma."
"Then are you greater, my son, even than my Lord, the Great Brahma?"
"Yes, Upasika. On the day when our Master was born, it is said that four
Great Brahmas received the Great Being in a golden net."
Upon hearing this, the brahman lady thought: "If my son's power is such
as this, what must be the majestic power of my son's Master and Lord?"
And while she was thinking this, suddenly the fivefold rapture arose in her,
suffusing her entire body.
The Elder thought: "Rapture and joy have arisen in my mother. Now is the
time to preach the Dhamma to her." And he said: "What was it you were
thinking about, upasika?"
"I was thinking," she replied, "if my son has such virtue, what
must be the virtue of his Master?"
The Venerable Sariputta answered: "At the moment of my Master's birth,
at his Great Renunciation (of worldly life), on his attaining Enlightenment
and at his first turning of the Dhamma Wheel -- on all these occasions the ten
thousand world-system quaked and shook. None is there who equals him in virtue,
in concentration, in wisdom, in deliverance, and in the knowledge and vision
of deliverance." And he then explained to her in detail the words of homage:
"Such indeed is that Blessed One..." (Iti pi so Bhagava...). And thus
he gave her an exposition of the Dhamma, basing it on the virtues of the Buddha.
When the Dhamma talk given by her beloved son had come to an end, the brahman
lady was firmly established in the Fruition of Stream-entry, and she said: "Oh,
my dear Upatissa, why did you act like that? Why, during all these years, did
you not bestow on me this ambrosia (the knowledge of the Deathless)?"
The Elder thought: "Now I have given my mother, the brahman lady Rupa-Sari,
the nursing-fee for bringing me up. This should suffice." and he dismissed
her with the words: "You may go now, upasika."
When she was gone, he asked: "What is the time now, Cunda?"
"Venerable sir, it is early dawn."
And the Elder said: "Let the community of bhikkhus assemble."
When the bhikkhus had assembled, he said to Cunda: "Lift me up to a sitting
position, Cunda." And Cunda did so.
Then the Elder spoke to the bhikkhus, saying: "For forty-four years I have
lived and traveled with you, my brethren. If any deed or word of mine was unpleasant
to you, forgive me, brethren."
And they replied: "Venerable sir, not the least displeasure has ever come
from you to us, who followed you inseparably like your shadow. But may you,
venerable sir, grant forgiveness to us!"
After that the Elder gathered his large robe around him, covered his face and
lay down on his right side. Then, just as the Master was to do at his Maha Parinibbana,
he entered into the nine successive attainments of meditation, in forward and
reverse order, and beginning again with the first absorption he led his meditation
up to the fourth absorption. And at the moment after he had entered it, just
as the crest of the rising sun appeared over the horizon, he utterly passed
away into the Nibbana-element which is without any remnant of clinging.
And it was the full-moon day of the month Kattika, which by the solar calendar
is between October and November.
The brahman lady in her room thought: "How is my son? he does not say anything."
She rose, and going into the Elder's room she massaged his legs. Then, seeing
that he had passed away, she fell at his feet, loudly lamenting; "O my
dear son! Before this, we did not know of your virtue. Because of that, we did
not gain the good fortune to have seated in this house, and to feed, many a
hundred bhikkhus! We did not gain the good fortune to have built many monasteries!"
And she lamented thus up to sunrise.
As soon as the sun was up, she sent for goldsmiths and had the treasure room
opened and had the pots full of gold weighed on a large scale. Then she gave
the gold to the goldsmiths with the order to prepare funeral ornaments. Columns
and arches were erected, and in the center of the village the upasika had a
pavilion of heart-wood built. In the middle of the pavilion a large, gabled
structure was raised, surrounded by a parapet wall of golden arches and columns.
Then they began the sacred ceremony, in which men and deities mingled.
After the great assembly of people had celebrated the sacred rites for a full
week, they made a pyre with many kinds of fragrant woods. They placed the body
of the Venerable Sariputta on the pyre and kindled the wood with bundles of
Usira roots. Throughout the night of the cremation the concourse listened to
sermons on the Dhamma. After that the flames of the pyre were extinguished by
the Elder Anuruddha with scented water. The Elder Cunda gathered together the
relics and placed them in a filter cloth.
Then the Elder Cunda thought: "I cannot tarry here any longer. I must tell
the Fully Enlightened One of the final passing away of my elder brother, the
Venerable Sariputta, the Marshal of the Law." So he took the filter cloth
with the relics, and the Venerable Sariputta's almsbowl and robes, and went
to Savatthi, spending only one night at each stage of the journey.
These are the events released in the Commentary to the Cunda Sutta of the Satipatthana
Samyutta, with additions from the parallel version in the Commentary to the
Maha-parinibbana Sutta. The narrative is taken up in the Cunda Sutta which follows.
Cunda Sutta [46]
Once the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi, in Anathapindika's park. At that
time the Venerable Sariputta was at Nalaka village in the Magadha country, and
was sick, suffering, gravely ill. The Novice Cunda[47] was his attendant.
And the Venerable Sariputta passed away finally through that very illness. Then
the Novice Cunda took the almsbowl and robes of the Venerable Sariputta and
went to Savatthi, to the Jeta Grove, Anathapindika's park. There he betook himself
to the Venerable Ananda and, having saluted him, seated himself at one side.
Thus seated, he spoke to the Venerable Ananda saying: "Venerable sir, the
Venerable Sariputta has had his final passing away. These are his bowl and robes."
"On this matter, Cunda, we ought to see the Blessed One. Let us go, friend
Cunda, and meet the Master. Having met him, we shall acquaint the Blessed One
with that fact."
"Yes, Venerable sir," said the Novice Cunda.
They went to see the Blessed One, and having arrived there and saluted the Master,
they seated themselves at one side. Then the Venerable Ananda addressed the
Blessed One:
"O Lord, the Novice Cunda has told me this: 'The Venerable Sariputta has
had his final passing away. These are his bowl and robes.' Then, O Lord, my
own body became weak as a creeper; everything around became dim and things were
no longer clear to me, when I heard about the final passing away of the Venerable
Sariputta."
"How is this, Ananda? When Sariputta had his final passing away, did he
take from you your portion of virtue, or your portion of concentration, or your
portion of the knowledge and vision of deliverance?"
"Not so, Lord. When the Venerable Sariputta had his final passing away
he did not take my portion of virtue... concentration... wisdom... deliverance,
or my portion of the knowledge and vision of deliverance. But O Lord, the Venerable
Sariputta has been to me a mentor, teacher, and instructor, one who rouses,
inspires and gladdens, untiring in preaching Dhamma, a helper of his fellow
monks. And we remember how vitalizing, enjoyable and helpful his Dhamma instruction
was."
"Have I not taught you aforetime, Ananda, that it is the nature of all
things near and dear to us that we must suffer separation from them, and be
severed from them? Of that which is born, come to being, put together, and so
is subject to dissolution, how should it be said that is should not depart?
That, indeed, is not possible. It is, Ananda, as though from a mighty hardwood
tree a large branch should break off, so has Sariputta now had his final passing
away from this great and sound community of bhikkhus. Indeed, Ananda, of that
which is born, come to being, put together, and so is subject to dissolution,
how should it be said that it should not depart? This, indeed, is not possible.
"Therefore, Ananda, be ye an island unto yourself, a refuge unto yourself,
seeking no external refuge; with the Teaching as your island, the Teaching your
refuge, seeking no other refuge."
The Commentary takes up the narrative thus:
The Master stretched forth his hand, and taking the filter with the relics,
placed it on his palm, and said to the monks:
"These, O monks, are the shell-colored relics of the bhikkhu who, not long
ago, asked for permission to have his final passing away. He who fulfilled the
Perfections for an incalculable aeon and a hundred thousand kalpas -- this was
that bhikkhu. He who obtained the seat next to me -- this was that bhikkhu.
He who, apart from me, had none to equal him in wisdom throughout the whole
ten-thousandfold universe -- this was that bhikkhu. Of great wisdom was this
bhikkhu, of broad wisdom, bright wisdom, quick wisdom, of penetrative wisdom
was this bhikkhu. Few wants had this bhikkhu; he was contented, bent on seclusion,
not fond of company, full of energy, an exhorter of his fellow monks, censuring
what is evil. He who went forth into homelessness, abandoning the great fortune
obtained through his merits in five hundred existences -- this was that bhikkhu.
He who, in my Dispensation, was patient like the earth -- this was that bhikkhu.
Harmless like a bull whose horns had been cut -- this was that bhikkhu. Of humble
mind like a Candala boy -- this was that bhikkhu.
"See here, O monks, the relics of him who was of great wisdom, of broad,
bright, quick, keen and penetrative wisdom; who had few wants and was contented,
bent on seclusion, not fond of company, energetic -- see here the relics of
him who was an exhorter of his fellow monks, who censured evil!"
Then the Buddha spoke the following verses in praise of his Great Disciple:
"To him who in five times a hundred lives
Went forth to homelessness, casting away
Pleasures the heart holds dear, from passion free,
With faculties controlled -- now homage pay
To Sariputta who has passed away!
To him who, strong in patience like the earth,
Over his own mind had absolute sway,
Who was compassionate, kind, serenely cool,
And firm as earth withal -- now homage pay
To Sariputta who has passed away!
Who, like an outcaste boy of humble mind,
Enters the town and slowly wends his way
From door to door with begging bowls in hand,
Such was this Sariputta -- now homage pay
To Sariputta who has passed away!
One who in town or jungle, hurting none,
Lived like a bull whose horns are cut away,
Such was this Sariputta, who had won
Mastery of himself -- now homage pay
To Sariputta who has passed away!"
* * *
When the Blessed One had thus lauded the virtues of the Venerable Sariputta,
he asked for a stupa to be built for the relics.
After that, he indicated to the Elder Ananda his wish to go to Rajagaha. Ananda
informed the monks, and the Blessed One, together with a large body of bhikkhus,
journeyed to Rajagaha. At the time he arrived there, the Venerable Maha Moggallana
had also had his final passing away. The Blessed One took his relics likewise,
and had a stupa raised for them.
Then he departed from Rajagaha, and going by stages towards the Ganges, he reached
Ukkacela. There he went to the bank of the Ganges, and seated with his following
of monks he preached the Ukkacela Sutta, on the Parinibbana of Sariputta and
Maha Moggallana.
Ukkacela Sutta[48]
Once the Blessed One was dwelling in the Vajji country, at Ukkacela on the bank
of the river Ganges, not long after Sariputta and Maha Moggallana had passed
away. And at that time the Blessed One was seated in the open, surrounded by
company of monks.
The Blessed One surveyed the silent gathering of monks, and then spoke to them,
saying:
"This assembly, O bhikkhus, appears indeed empty to me, now that Sariputta
and Maha Moggallana have passed away. Not empty, for me, is an assembly, nor
need I have concern for a place where Sariputta and Maha Moggallana dwell.
"Those who in the past have been Holy Ones. Fully enlightened Ones, those
Blessed Ones, too, had such excellent pairs of disciples as I had in Sariputta
and Maha Moggallana. Those who in the future will be Holy Ones, fully Enlightened
Ones, those Blessed Ones too will have such excellent pairs of disciples as
I had in Sariputta and Maha Moggallana.
"Marvelous it is, most wonderful it is, bhikkhus, concerning those disciples,
that they will act in accordance with the Master's Dispensation, will act in
according to his advice; that they will be dear to the four Assemblies, will
be loved, respected and honored by them. Marvelous it is, most wonderful it
is, bhikkhus, concerning the Perfect Ones, that when such a pair of disciples
has passed away there is no grief, no lamentation on the part of the Perfect
One.
For of that which is born, come to being, put together, and so is subject to
dissolution, how should it be said that it should not depart? That indeed, is
not possible."
"Therefore, bhikkhus, be ye an island unto yourselves, a refuge unto yourselves,
seeking no external refuge; with the Teaching as your island, the Teaching your
refuge, seeking no other refuge."
* * *
And with that profound and deeply moving exhortation, which echoes again and
again through the Buddha's Teaching up to the time of his own final passing
away, ends the story of the youth Upatissa who became the master's Chief Disciple,
the beloved "Marshal of the Law." The Venerable Sariputta died on
the full moon of the month Kattika, which begins in October and ends in November
of the solar calendar. The death of Maha Moggallana followed a half-month later,
on the Uposatha of the New Moon. Half a year later, according to tradition,
came the Parinibbana of the Buddha himself.
Could such an auspicious combination of three great personages, so fruitful
in blessings to gods and men, have been brought about purely by chance? We find
the answer to that question in the Milinda-pañha[49] where Nagasena says:
"In many hundred thousands of births, too, sire, the Elder Sariputta was
the Bodhisatta's father, grandfather, uncle, brother, son, nephew or friend."[50]
So the weary round of becoming, which linked them together in time, came at
last to its end; time which is but the succession of fleeting events became
for them the Timeless, and round of birth and death gave place to the Deathless.
And in their final lives they kindled a glory that has illumined the world.
Long may it continue to do so.
Part IV
Discourses of Sariputta
The suttas attributed to the Venerable Sariputta cover a wide range of subjects
connected with the Holy Life, from simple morality up to abstruse points of
doctrine and meditational practice. A list of them, together with a brief description
of the subject matter of each, is given below. their arrangement in the Sutta
Pitaka does not give any indication of the chronological order in which they
were delivered. Some few, however, contain references to particular events which
make it possible to assign to them a period in the Buddha's ministry. One such
is the Anathapindika Sutta, preached just before the great lay disciple's death.
Majjhima Nikaya
No. 3 Heirs of Dhamma (Dhammadayada Sutta)
After the Buddha had discoursed on "heirs of Dhamma" and "heirs
of worldliness" and had retired into his cell, the Venerable Sariputta
addresses the monks on how they should conduct themselves, and how not, when
the Master goes into seclusion. They likewise should cultivate seclusion, should
reject what they are told to give up, and should be modest and lovers of solitude.
He concludes by speaking on the evil of the sixteen defilements of mind[51]
and says that the Middle Way by which they can be eradicated is the Noble Eightfold
Path.
No. 5: Guiltfree (Anangana Sutta)
On four types of persons: those who are guilty of an offence and know it, and
those who are guilty and unaware of it; those who are guiltless and know it,
and those who are guiltless and unaware of it. The first of each pair is said
to be the better one of the two, and the reason is explained. This discourse
shows the importance of self-examination for moral and spiritual progress.
No. 9: Right Understanding (Samma-ditthi Sutta)
Summary on p. 42
No. 28: The Greater Discourse on the Elephant Footprint Simile (Maha-hatthipadopama
Sutta)
Summary on p. 40
No 43: The Greater Discourse on Explanations (Maha-vedalla Sutta)
The Elder answers a number of questions put by the Venerable Maha Kotthita,
who was foremost in analytical knowledge. Sariputta matches the excellence of
the questions with the clarity and profundity of his answers. The questions
and answers extend from analytical examination of terms, through the position
of wisdom and right understanding to subtle aspects of meditation.
No. 69: Discourse to Gulissani (Gulissani Sutta)
On the conduct and Dhamma-practice to be followed by a forest-dwelling monk.
Questioned by the Venerable Maha-Moggallana, the Elder confirms that the same
duties apply also to monks living in the vicinity of towns and villages.
No. 97: Discourse to Dhanañjani (Dhanañjani Sutta)
The Venerable Sariputta explains to the brahman Dhanañjani that the multifarious
duties of a layman are no excuse for wrong moral conduct, nor do they exempt
one from painful consequences of such conduct in a future existence.
Later, when Dhanañjani was on his deathbed he requested the Elder to
visit him, and the Venerable Sariputta spoke to him, on the way to Brahma through
the Brahma-viharas. The Buddha mildly reproached the elder for not having led
Dhanañjani to a higher understanding. (See p. 59)
No. 114: To Be Practiced and Not To Be Practiced (Sevitabbasevitabba Sutta)
The Venerable Sariputta elaborates upon brief indications given by the Buddha
on what should be practiced, cultivated or used, and what should not. This is
shown with regard to threefold action in deed, word and thought; in relation
to mental attitudes and views, the six sense objects and the monk's requisites.
No. 143: Discourse to Anathapindika (Anathapindikovada sutta)
The Venerable Sariputta is called to Anathapindika's deathbed and admonishes
him to free his mind from any attachment whatsoever, beginning with the six
sense organs: "Thus should you train yourself, householder: 'I shall not
cling to the eye, and my consciousness will not attach itself to the eye.' Thus,
householder, should you train yourself." This is repeated in full for each
of the other five sense organs, the six sense objects, the sixfold consciousness,
sixfold contact, sixfold feeling born of contact; the six elements, the five
aggregates, the four incorporeal jhanas, and concludes with detachment from
this world and all other worlds; detachment from all things seen, heard, sensed
and thought; from all that is encountered, sought and pursued in mind.
In short, detachment should be practiced as to the entire range of experience,
beginning with what for a dying person will be his immediate concern; his sense
faculties and their function.
This call for detachment drawing ever wider circles and repeating the same mighty
chord of thought, must have had a deeply penetrating impact and a calming, liberating,
even cheering influence on the dying devotee's mind. This was what Sariputta,
the skilled teacher, obviously intended. And in fact his words had that impact
because our text says that Anathapindika was moved to tears by the loftiness
of the discourse, one in profundity unlike any he had ever heard before. Anathapindika
passed away soon after, and was reborn as a deity in Tusita Heaven.
Digha Nikaya
No. 28: Faith-Inspiring Discourse (Sampasadaniya Sutta)
An eloquent eulogy of the Buddha by Sariputta, spoken in the Buddha's presence
and proclaiming the peerless qualities (anuttariya) of his Teaching. It is an
expression and at the same time a justification of Sariputta's deep confidence
in the Buddha. It may be regarded as complementary to Sariputta's "Lion's
Roar" which forms the first section of the discourse and is repeated in
the Maha-parinibbana Sutta.[52]
No. 33: Doctrinal Recitation (Sangiti Sutta) and
No. 34: Tenfold Series Discourse (Dasuttara Sutta)
See pp. 44f.
Anguttara Nikaya
Roman figures denote the number of the book (nipata) and Arabic figures the
number of the sutta. The division of the suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya is only
numerical.
II, 37 (Samacitta-Sutta):
On the Stream-winner, the Once-returner and the non-returner, and on what determines
the places of the rebirths they have still before them. See p. 43.
III, 21:
On another classification of Noble Persons (ariya puggala): the Body-witness
(kayasakkhi), the one attained to Right Understanding (ditthippatto) and the
one Liberated through Faith (saddha-vimutto).
IV, 79:
Sariputta asks the Buddha why the enterprises of some people fail, those of
others succeed, and those of others even surpass their expectations. The Buddha
replies that one of the reasons is generosity, or lack of it, shown to ascetics,
priests and monks.
IV, 156:
On four qualities indicative of loss or maintenance of wholesome states of mind.
Here it is said that if one finds in oneself four qualities one can know for
certain that one has lost wholesome qualities, and that this is what has been
called deterioration by the Blessed One. These four are: excessive greed, excessive
hate, excessive delusion, and lack of knowledge and wisdom concerning the diverse
profound subjects (relating to wisdom).
If on the other hand, one finds in oneself four other qualities, one can know
for certain that one has not lost one's wholesome qualities, and that this is
what has been called progress by the Blessed One. These four other qualities
are: attenuated greed, attenuated hate, attenuated delusion, and the possession
of knowledge and wisdom concerning the diverse profound subjects (relating to
wisdom).
IV, 167f:
The four types of progress on the Path. See p. 23.
IV, 171:
Sariputta elaborates a brief statement made by the Buddha on the four forms
of personalized existence (attabhava) and puts an additional question. The Buddha's
reply to it was later elaborated by Sariputta in the Samacitta Sutta (see above).
IV, 172:
Sariputta states that he attained to the fourfold analytical knowledge (patisambhida-ñana)
two weeks after his ordination (i.e., at his attainment of Arahatship). He appeals
to the Buddha for confirmation. See p. 38.
IV, 173:
Discussion with Maha Kotthita on the limits of the explainable. The Venerable
Sariputta says: "As far, brother, as the six bases of sense-impression
(phassayatana) reach, so far reaches the (explainable) world of diffuseness
(papañca); and as far as the world of diffuseness reaches, so far reach
the six bases of sense-impression. Through the entire fading away and cessation
of the six bases of sense impression, the world of diffuseness ceases and is
stilled."
IV, 175:
On the need of both knowledge and right conduct (vijjacarana) for the ending
of suffering.
IV, 179:
On the reasons for obtaining, and not obtaining, Nibbana in the present life.
V, 1 5:
Five reasons why people ask questions: through stupidity and foolishness; with
evil intentions and through covetousness; with a desire to know; out of contempt;
with the thought: "If he answers my question correctly, it is good; if
not, then I shall give the correct answer.
V, 167:
On how to censure fellow-monks.
VI, 14-15:
Causes of a monk's good or bad dying.
VI, 41:
Sariputta explains that a monk with supernormal powers may, if he so wishes,
regard a tree trunk merely as being solid, or as a liquid, fiery (calorific)
or airy (vibratory), or as being either pure or impure (beautiful or ugly),
because all these elements are to be found in the tree.
VII, 66:
On respect and reverence, Sariputta says that these are helpful in overcoming
what is unwholesome and developing what is wholesome: that is respect and reverence
towards the Master, the Teaching, the Community of Monks, the training, meditation,
heedfulness (appamada) and towards the spirit of kindliness and courtesy (patisanthara).
Each of these factors is said to be a condition of the one following it.
IX, 6:
On the two things needful to know about people, robes, almsfood, lodging, villages,
towns and countries: that is, whether one should associate with them, use them,
or live in them, or whether one should not.
IX, 11:
A second "Lion's Roar" of Sariputta, uttered in the Master's presence
on the occasion of a monk's false accusation; with nine similes proclaiming
his freedom from anger, detachment from the body, and his inability to hurt
others. See p. 63.
IX, 13:
A discussion with the Venerable Maha Kotthita about the purpose of living the
Holy Life.
IX, 14:
The Venerable Sariputta questions the Venerable Samiddhi about the essentials
of the Dhamma and approves of his answers.
IX, 26:
This text illustrates the Venerable Sariputta's scrupulous fairness even towards
antagonists. He corrects a statement attributed to Devaddata which was probably
wrongly formulated by one of Devadatta's followers who reported it to Sariputta.
Later, Sariputta speaks to that monk on the fully developed and steadfast mind,
which is not shaken by even the most attractive sense impressions.
IX, 34:
On Nibbana, which is described as happiness beyond feelings.
X, 7:
Sariputta describes his meditation, during which he had only the single perception
that "Nibbana is the ceasing of existence." See p. 37.
X, 65:
To be reborn is misery; not to be reborn is happiness.
X, 66:
To have delight in the Buddha's Teaching and Discipline is happiness; not to
have delight in them is misery.
X, 67-68:
Causes of progress and decline in the cultivation of what is salutary.
X, 90:
On the ten powers of a canker-free Arahant that entitle him to proclaim his
attainment.
Samyutta Nikaya
Nidana Samyutta
24:
Sariputta rejects the alternatives that suffering is produced either by oneself
or by another, and explains the conditioned arising of suffering through the
(sixfold sense-) contact (phassa).
25:
The same is stated with regard to both happiness and suffering (sukha-dukkha).
31:
On the conditioned arising of existence from nutriment.
32:
Kalara Sutta. Questioned by the Buddha, Sariputta says that the knowledge inducing
him to declare his attainment of Arahantship was that he knew: the cause of
birth being extinct, the result (i.e., future birth) becomes extinct. Hence
he was able to say, in the words of the stock formula declaring Arahatship:
"Extinct is birth..." (khina jati). He then replies to further questions
of the Buddha about the cause and origin of birth, becoming and the other terms
of dependent origination, leading up to feeling, the contemplation of which
had served the Venerable Sariputta as the starting-point for his attainment
of Arahatship. He says that, as he sees impermanence and suffering in all three
kinds of feeling, there is in him no arising of any hedonic gratification (nandi).
Khandha Samyutta
1:
Sariputta explains in detail the Buddha's saying: "Even if the body is
ill, the mind should not be ill."
2:
Monks going to distant border districts are instructed by Sariputta on how to
answer questions posed to them by non-Buddhists. He tells them that the removal
of desire for the five aggregates is the core of the Teaching.
122-123:
On the importance of reflecting on the five aggregates. If one who possesses
virtue (or, in Text 123, learning) contemplates the five aggregates as impermanent,
bound up with suffering and void of self, he may be able to attain to Stream-entry.
if a Stream-winner, Once-returner or Non-returner thus contemplates, he may
be able to win to the next higher stage. An arahat should also contemplate the
five aggregates thus, as it will conduce to his happiness here and now, as well
as to mindfulness and clear comprehension.
126:
On ignorance and knowledge.
Sariputta Samyutta
1-9:
In these nine texts Sariputta speaks of his having developed all nine meditative
attainments, i.e., from the first jhana up to the cessation of perception and
feeling; and states that in doing so he was always free of any self-affirmation.
See p. 37.
10:
Once, at Rajagaha, after the almsround the Venerable Sariputta was taking food
his food near a wall. A female ascetic called Sucimukhi (Bright-face) approached
him and asked whether when eating he turned to one or other of the directions,
as done by some non-Buddhists ascetics. Sariputta denied it for every one of
the directions, explaining them in his own way as being several means of livelihood
that are wrong for ascetics, such as geomancy, astrology, going on errands,
etc. He said that he did not turn to any of those wrong directions, but sought
his almsfood in the right manner; and what he had thus obtained righteously,
that he would eat. Sucimukhi was deeply impressed, and thereafter went from
street to street and place to place loudly proclaiming: "The Sakya ascetics
take their food righteously! They take their food blamelessly! Please give almsfood
to the Sakya ascetics!"[53]
Salayatana Samyutta
232:
Not the senses and their objects, but the desire for them is the fetter that
binds to existence.
Jambukhadaka Samyutta
Sariputta replies to questions put by his nephew, Jambukhadaka, who was a Paribbajaka,
i.e., a non-Buddhist ascetic.
1-2:
He defines Nibbana and Arahatship as the elimination of greed, hatred and delusion.
3-16:
He replies to questions about those who proclaim truth: about the purpose of
the Holy Life; about those who have found true solace. He explains feeling,
ignorance, the taints, personality, etc. and speaks on what is difficult in
the Buddha's Doctrine and Discipline.
Indriya Samyutta
44:
Questioned by the Buddha, Sariputta says that not out of faith in him, but from
his own experience, he knows that the five spiritual faculties (confidence,
etc.) lead to the Deathless.
48-50:
On the five spiritual faculties. (These texts are translated in Wheel No. 65/66,
The Way of Wisdom, pp. 47f, 49f)
Sotapatti Samyutta
55:
On the four conditioning factors of Stream-entry (sotapattiyanga).
Part V
Sariputta in the Jatakas
As might be expected, the Venerable Sariputta makes frequent appearances in
the Jatakas, the stories of the Buddha's previous lives. In these, the Bodhisatta
and Sariputta assume various roles; in some existences we find Sariputta as
the teacher and the Bodhisatta as pupil, as for example in the Susima (163),
Cula Nandiya (223), Silavimamsa (305), Karandiya (356) and Maha Dhammapala (447)
Jatakas. In the last-mentioned Jataka, however, the Bodhisatta, as pupil, gives
his teacher, Sariputta, a valuable lesson: not to give the Five Precepts indiscriminately
to those who have no desire to accept them nor the intention to observe them.
In several births Sariputta appears as a human being and the Bodhisatta an animal.
Some examples are the Cula Nandiya Jataka (223), the Romaka Jataka (277) --
where Sariputta, as a wise ascetic, instructs a partridge, the Bodhisatta --
the Bhojajaniya Jataka (23) and the Dummedha Jataka (122).
In other stories the roles are reversed, as in the Jarudapana (256) and Kundakakucchi
Sindhava (254) Jatakas (for the latter, see below), where Sariputta is an animal
and the Bodhisatta human. Sometimes, as in the Kurungamiga Jataka (206), both
are animals.
The following are summaries of Jatakas in which the Venerable Sariputta's previous
personalities appear.
Lakkhana Jataka (11):
As the wise one of two brother stags, each leader of a herd, Sariputta brings
his herd safely back to the hills from a dangerous track, while his foolish
brother (Devadatta) loses his whole herd.
Bhojajaniya Jataka (23):
The Bodhisatta is a superb warsteed, while Sariputta is a knight entrusted with
the task of capturing seven hostile kings. He succeeds, thanks to the endurance
and sacrificing spirit of the steed.
Visavanta Jataka (69):
Sariputta is a snake which refuses to suck back its poison from a man bitten
by it, preferring death. This Jataka was told when Sariputta, the Great Disciple,
gave up the eating of meal cakes, which he enjoyed, and never went back on his
resolution.
Parosahassa Jataka (99):
Sariputta, as pupil of a hermit teacher, is able to understand short, enigmatic
sayings. A comment on his penetrative mind.
Dummedha Jataka (122):
Sariputta, as a king of Benares, is able to appreciate excellence when he sees
it. The Bodhisatta is a superb white elephant. Devadatta, as king of Magadha,
had owned that elephant but lost it through jealousy.
Rajovada Jataka (151):
Sariputta and Maha Moggallana are both charioteers of powerful kings. Meeting
one another on a narrow road, each expects the other to give way, and they decide
the issue by proclaiming the virtues of their respective monarchs. Sariputta,
whose king is the Bodhisatta, wins the contest by showing that his master's
virtue is superior: he is not only good to those who are good, he is good to
the bad as well.
Alinacitta Jataka (156):
Sariputta, as an elephant, shows the virtue of gratitude.
Kurungamiga Jataka (206):
Sariputta as a woodpecker and Maha Moggallana as a tortoise save the life of
the Bodhisatta, who is an antelope, from a hunter (Devadatta). Later, the woodpecker
saves the imprisoned tortoise.
Cula Nandiya Jataka (223):
As a wise brahman teacher, Sariputta advises his pupil, Devadatta, not to be
harsh, cruel and violent, but his exhortation is in vain.
Kundakakucchi Sindhava Jataka (254):
Sariputta, as a wondrous horse owned by the Bodhisatta, a horse-dealer, benefits
an impoverished old woman who had owned the horse previously.
Jarudapana Jataka (256):
Sariputta, as a Naga king, helps the Bodhisatta, a merchant, to transport some
treasure which the latter found.
Vyaggha Jataka (272):
In a former life as a Yakkha, the monk Kokalika could not live together with
Sariputta and Maha Moggallana, nor could he live without them.
Romaka Jataka (277):
Sariputta, as a wise ascetic, instructs a partridge, the Bodhisatta.
Abbhantara (281) and Supatta (292) Jatakas:
Incidents of Sariputta's last life. Rahula, whose mother is a bhikkhuni, requests
the Venerable Sariputta to get sugared mango juice as a medicine for her flatulence,
which he does. In (292), for another illness of hers, the Venerable Sariputta
procures rice cooked with ghee and flavored with red fish (rohita-maccha).
Sayha Jataka (310):
Ananda, as a king sends his courtier, Sayha (Sariputta) to a friend of his youth
(the Bodhisatta) who had become an ascetic, asking him in vain to return and
be the court brahman.
Khantivadi Jataka (313):
When the Bodhisatta was a wise ascetic, the Preacher of Patience (Khantivadi),
and was tortured by King Kalabu (Devadatta), Sariputta was that king's commander-in-chief
of the army. Sariputta bandaged the Bodhisatta's wounds.
Mamsa Jataka (315):
Sariputta was a hunter and the Bodhisatta a merchant's son. Addressing the hunter
as ""friend", and winning him over with kind words, the Bodhisatta
persuaded him to give up his cruel profession.
Vannoroha Jataka (361):
In their last lives, when the Great Disciples Sariputta and Maha Moggallana
were living in solitude, a beggar who attended on them and ate the remnants
of their food, tried to set them at variance but failed. Each of them just smiled
at the calumnies and told to go away. The Jataka relates that the same had happened
in an earlier life when the beggar was a jackal and Sariputta and Maha Moggallana
were a lion and a tiger.
Kotisimbali Jataka (412):
Sariputta, as a king of the Garudas (supanna-raja) saves a tree which was the
home of a tree spirit, the Bodhisatta.
Kanha Dipayana Jataka (444):
Sariputta is the ascetic Ani-Mandaviya. Impaled by the king on a false accusation,
he bears the torture patiently and without resentment, knowing it to be the
result of past evil kamma. The Bodhisatta is his brother-ascetic, Kanha Dipayana,
who in an Act of Truth confesses that all throughout he has lived the ascetic
life unwillingly, except for the first week.
Maha Paduma Jataka (472):
Sariputta, as a hill spirit, saves the life of the Bodhisatta, who is Prince
Maha Paduma.
Appendix
A Note on the Relics of Sariputta
and Maha Moggallana
On Sanchi Hill in Bhopal are the remains of ten stupas which are among the oldest
buildings still standing in India. By their architectural features and sculpture
they have always been recognised as belonging to the high noon of Buddhist art,
the characters in which their numerous inscriptions are written placing them
at about the period of Asoka; that is, some time around the middle of the third
century B.C. Some are in good preservation, while others have been reduced in
the course of centuries to mere mounds of earth and stone.
It was in one of these, the now famous Third Stupa, that Sir Alexander Cunningham
discovered the sacred Body Relics of the Buddha's Chief Disciples, Sariputta
and Maha Moggallana, in 1851. At about the same time, more relics of the two
great Arahats were found in a stupa at Satadhara, about six miles distant from
Sanchi.
On sinking a shaft in the center of the stupa on Sanchi Hill, Cunningham came
upon a large stone slab, upwards of five feet in length, lying in a direction
from north to south. Beneath the slab were found two boxes of grey sandstone,
each with a brief inscription in Brahmi characters on the lid. The box to the
south was inscribed "Sariputtasa" "(Relics) of Sariputta,"
while that to the north bore the legend "Maha-Mogalanasa." "(Relics)
of Maha Moggallana."
The southernmost box contained a large flat casket of white steatite, rather
more than six inches broad and three inches in height. The surface was hard
and polished and the box, which had been turned on a lathe, was a beautiful
piece of workmanship. Around this casket were some fragments of sandalwood believed
to have been from the funeral pyre, while inside it, besides the Relic, various
precious stones were found. This casket contained a single bone relic of the
Venerable Sariputta, not quite one inch in length.
The stone box to the north enclosed another steatite casket, similar to that
of Sariputta but slightly smaller and with a softer surface. Inside it were
two bone relics of the Venerable Maha Moggallana, the larger of them being something
less than half an inch in length.
Each of the two steatite caskets had a single ink letter inscribed on the inner
surface of the lid: "Sa" for Sariputta on the southern and "Ma"
for Maha Moggallana on that to the north. In Cunningham's words, "Sariputta
and Maha Moggallana were the principal followers of the Buddha, and were usually
styled his right and left hand disciples. Their ashes thus preserved after death
the same positions to the right and left of Buddha which they had themselves
occupied in life."[54] This is explained by the fact that the Buddha customarily
sat facing east.
In the stupa at Satadhara, one of a group which Cunningham noted was called
locally "Buddha Bhita" or "Buddha Monuments," he discovered
two caskets of pale mottled steatite. These were inscribed, like those at Sanchi,
"Sariputtasa" and "Maha Mogallanasa" respectively. This
stupa showed signs of having been violated by robbers, but the bone relics had
been left undistrubed. Cunningham, who is a very capable archaeologist, has
left a detailed account of everything his excavations brought to light in these
and other stupas, and it is thanks to him that the authenticity of the relics
is established beyond all doubt.
The relics from both stupas were removed to England and placed in the Victoria
and Albert Museum, but some discrepancies between Cunningham's description of
the caskets and the actual boxes in which the relics were deposited gives reason
to believe that he, or someone else, transferred the relics from Sanchi to the
caskets discovered at Satadhara, and what became of the Sanchi steatite caskets
is not known for certain.
The Sacred Relics were preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum until 1939,
when the Maha Bodhi Society approached the British government with a request
that they be returned to India. The request was at once granted, but owing to
the outbreak of the second World War in that year, the actual transfer was delayed
for reasons of safety until Feb 24th, 1947. On that date they were handed over
to the representatives of the Maha Bodhi Society at the Victoria and Albert
Museum, and so began their journey back to the land of their origin.
Before being restored to India, however, the relics were taken to Sri Lanka,
where they were received with great honor and amid general rejoicing. For two
and a half months in 1947, they were displayed for public worship at the Colombo
Museum, where it has been estimated that well over two million people paid homage
to them. It is said that not only Buddhists but Hindus, Christians and Muslims
joined in paying reverence to them.[55]
The next stage of their journey to the new Vihara that was being erected for
their re-enshrinement at Sanchi, was Calcutta. There the relics were displayed
for public homage at the Dharmarajika Vihara, headquarters of the Maha Bodhi
Society of India. The same scenes of religious devotion were enacted there.
Every day for two weeks an unbroken stream of people filed past the shrine where
the relics were exposed, from morning until late evening. Most of the devotees
were Hindus, but there was also a large number of Muslims among them, and the
reverence shown by all was a deeply impressive sight. Many had come from distant
parts to pay their respects to the remains of these great sons of India.
Next came a request from Burma that the relics should be taken for exposition
here. This was readily granted. The reception given to them in that country
revived all the pomp and religious fervor of ancient times. In order that everyone
in Burma should be given an opportunity of worshipping them, the relics were
conducted on a riverine tour along the Irrawaddy from Mandalay to Rangoon. The
steamer that conveyed them was escorted by boats decorated in traditional Burmese
style, and at every town along the river the relics were taken ashore in procession
for worship at the chief pagoda. At the same time religious meetings were held,
drawing vast crowds of people from the adjacent villages to hear sermons and
the recitation of suttas, which usually continued all through the night.
Subsequently, at the request of the respective governments, the relics were
taken for exposition to Nepal and Ladakh.
After they were returned to India the Burmese government asked that a portion
of the Sacred Relics should be given to Burma. The Maha Bodhi Society of India
agreed to this, and the then Prime Minister of Burma went in person to Calcutta
to receive them. They were ceremonially transferred to him on the 20th October
1950. The portion allotted to Burma was afterwards enshrined in the Kaba Aye
Zedi (World Peace Pagoda), built on the site of the Sixth Great Buddhist Council,
close to Rangoon. The elaborate ceremonies connected with the crowning of the
pagoda and the installation of the relics lasted from the 5th to 11th of March,
1952.
Another portion was given to Sri Lanka to be enshrined in a new stupa built
by the Maha Bodhi Society of Sri Lanka to receive them. At the time of writing
they are housed in the temple of the Maha Bodhi Society, Colombo, awaiting the
completion of the building.
On the 30th November, 1952, the remaining relics were duly enshrined at Sanchi
on completion of the new Chetiyagiri Vihara built to receive them. There they
remain, objects of the deepest veneration to pilgrims from every Buddhist country,
and a lasting reminder of the lives of those in whom the Buddha's Teaching bore
its finest fruit.
Notes
1. According to the Cunda Sutta (Satipatthana Samyutta) and its Commentary,
the name of his birthplace was Nalaka, or Nalagama, which may be an alternative
name. It was probably quite close to the more famous Nalanda. Sariputta's father
was a brhamin named Vaganta. (Comy. to Dhammapada, v. 75).
2. "Ye dhamma hetuppabhava tesam hetum tathagato aha, tesanea yo nirodho
evamvadi mahasamano 'ti." This gatha was later to become one of the best-known
and most widely-disseminated stanzas of Buddhism, standing for all time as a
reminder of Sariputta's first contact with the Dhamma and also as a worthy memorial
to Assaji, his great Arahat teacher. Spoken at a time when the principle of
causality was not accorded the prominence it enjoys today in philosophical thought,
its impact on the minds of the early Buddhists must have been revolutionary.
3. That is, monks, nuns, and male and female lay followers.
4. Carita-vasena. This refers to the types of character (carita) as explained
in The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga, Ch. III).
5. This is a reference to the Discourse in the Anguttara Nikaya, Sevens, No.
58 (P.T.S. IV.85).
6. Dighanakha Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya No. 74.
7. The fact of his attainment to analytical knowledge, which has here been added
to the commentarial text, was mentioned by the Venerable Sariputta himself in
Anguttara Nikaya, Fours, No. 172.
8. The Venerable Sariputta refers to his way of attaining Arahatship in verses
995-96 in the Theragatha.
9. Sutta Nipata, vv. 316ff. (Also called "Dhamma Sutta.")
10. Jataka No. 156.
11. Culavagga, Sanghabhedaka-khandaka, Sanghabhedaka-katha.
12. Culavagga, Sanghabhedaka-khandaka, Sanghabhedaka-katha.
13. Culavagga, Kammakkhandaka, Pabbajaniyakamma; Parajika Pali, Sanghadisesa-kanda,
Kuladusaka-sikkhapada.
14. Devaputta-Samy., Susima Sutta.
15. See p. 80.
16. Conceit (mana) and restlessness (uddhacca) are two of the three fetters
(samyojana) which are destroyed only at the stage of Arahatship. Worry (or scruples:
kukkucca), however, is removed already at the stage of Non-returner (anagami).
17. Is not subject to the vagaries of the mind.
18. Magga Samyutta, No. 2.
19. Khanda Samyutta, No. 2.
20. Tittita Jataka (No. 37).
21. Vinaya (Cula-Vagga, Senasana-khandhaka).
22. Theragatha v. 81 and Commentary.
23. Majjh. 143.
24. Udana VII, 1.
25. Samyutta Nikaya, vol. III: Khandha vagga.
26. Ang., Tens, No. 7.
27. The Buddhas, although they are able to divine such matters themselves, ask
questions for the instruction and illumination of others.
29. See Right Understanding, Discourse and Commentary, translated by Soma Thera
(Lake House Bookshop, Colombo).
30. Anguttara Nikaya (PTS), Vol I, 63 (Twos, No. IV, 5).
31. The Commentary to the Theragatha, by Bhadantacariya Dhammapala, quotes from
the Niddesa and attributes it to Sariputta (Dhammasenapati).
32. See "Buddhist Education in Pali and Sanskrit Schools," by E.J.
Thomas in Buddhistic Studies, ed. by B.C. Law (Calcutta, 1931), pp. 223ff.
33. A. II, 160; see p. 15.
34. Translated in Mindfulness of Breathing by Ñanamoli Thera, Kandy,
Buddhist Publication Society, 1964).
35. Majjh. No. 111.
36. Majjh. No. 5.
37. A slightly different version of this is found in the Commentary to the Theragatha
where it deals with Sariputta's verses.
38. Parajika Pali, Introductory chapter.
39. Majjh. No. 67.
40. A "lion's roar" (siha-nada) is a weighty and emphatic utterance,
made with assurance.
41. Dhammapada, v. 95.
42. See Maha-parinibbana Sutta, Ch. II (Last Days of the Buddha, Wheel No. 67/69,
p. 26). It was during his stay at Beluva that the Master fell gravely ill.
43. In the Himalayas.
44. Sariputta himslef and his younger brothers and sisters.
45. Vangisa Samy., No. 7.
46. Satipatthana Samyutta, No. 23.
47. Cunda Samanuddesa. Comy: "He was the Venerable Sariputta's younger
brother. Before he received Higher Ordination the bhikkhus use to call him 'Novice
Cunda,' and even when he was an elder he was still so addressed." (See.
p. 54.)
48. Satipatthana Samyutta, No. 24.
49. This is according to the Commentary to the Ukkacela Sutta.
50. Milinda's Questions by I.B. Horner, Vol. I, p. 295. See also the chapter
"Sariputta in the Jatakas" (Part V of this book).
51. See "The Simile of the Cloth" (M. 7) in Wheel No. 61/62, p. 12.
52. See Wheel No. 67/69, pp. 9f.
53. Sariputta's method of teaching in this discourse invites comparison with
the Buddha's in the Sigalovada Sutta (Digha Nikaya, 31).
54. Bhilsa Topes, p. 300.
55. The Cynosure of Sanchi, p. 28.
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