54(12)Dhammika
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling in Rajagaha on Mount Vulture Peak.
On that occasion the Venerable Dhammika was the resident monk in his native district,in all the seven monasteries in his native district.
Mp does not give information about him and he does not appear elsewhere in the Nikāyas.There the Venerable Dhammika insulted visiting bhikkhus,reviled them,harmed them,attacked them,and scolded them,
and then those visiting bhikkhus left.They did not settle down but vacated the monastery.
Then it occurred to the lay followers of the native district:
"We serve the Sangha of bhikkhus with robes,almsfood,lodgings,and medicines and provisions for the sick,
but the visiting bhikkhus leave.They do not settle down but vacate the monastery.
Why is that so?"
Then it occurred to them:
"This Venerable Dhammika insults visiting bhikkhus,reviles them,harms them,attacks them,and scolds them,
and then those visiting bhikkhus leave.They do not settle down but vacate the monastery.
Let's banish the Venerable Dhammika."
Then the lay followers went to the Venerable Dhammika
and said to him:
"Bhante,leave this monastery.
You've stayed here long enough."
The Venerable Dhammika then went from that monastery to another one,
where again he insulted visiting bhikkhus,reviled them,harmed them,attacked them,and scolded them.
And then those visiting bhikkhus left.They did not settle down [367]but vacated the monastery.
Then it occurred to the lay followers;
...[all as above]..
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and said to him:
"Bhante,leave this monastery.
You've stayed here long enough."
Then the Venerable Dhammika went from that monastery to still another one,
where again he insulted visiting bhikkhus....
...They did not settle down but vacated the monastery.
Then it occurred to the lay followers:
"We serve the Sangha of bhikkhus with robes,almsfood,lodgings,and medicines and provisions for the sick,
but the visiting bhikkhus leave.They donot settle down but vacate the monastery.
Why is that so?"
Then it occurred to the lay followers:
"This Venerable Dhammika insults visiting bhikkhus....They do not settle down [368]but vacate the monastery.
Let's banish the Venerable Dhammika from all the seven monasteries in the native district."
Then the lay followers of the native district went to theVenerable Dhammika
and said to him:
"Bhante,depart from all the seven monasteries in the native district."
The Venerable Dhammika then thought:
"I am banished by the lay followers from all seven monasteries here.
Where shall I go?"
It then occurred to him:
"Let me go to the Blessed One."
Then the Venerable Dhammika took his bowl and robe and left for Rajagaha.
Gradually he reached Rajagaha,and then went to Mount Vulture Peak,where he approached the Blessed
One,
paid homage to him,and sat down to one side.
The Blessed One then asked him:
"Where are you coming from,Brahmin Dhammika?"
Strangely,neither Mp nor Mp-t explains why the Buddha refers to Dhammika as brahmana.This may be the only place in the Nikayas where the Buddha refers to a bhikkhu as a brahmin followed by his personal name."Bhante,the lay followers of my native district have banished me from all seven monasteries there."
"Enough,Brahmin Dhammika!Now that you've come to me;why be concerned that you have been banished from those places?
In the past,Brahmin Dhammika,some seafaring merchants set out to sea in a ship,taking along a land-spotting bird.
When the ship had still not caught sight of land they released the bird.
It went to the east,the west,the north,the south,upward,and to the intermediate directions.
If it saw land anywhere,it went straight for it.
But if it didn't see land,it returned to the ship.
In the same way,when you have been banished from those places,you've come to me."[369]
"In the past,Brahmin Dhammika,King Koravya had a royal banyan tree named 'Well Grounded,'which had five branches,cast a cool shade,and gave delight.
Its canopy extended for twelve yojanas;its network of roots for five yojanas.
Its fruits were
as large as cooking pots
and as sweet
as pure honey.
The king and his harem made use of one section of the tree,the army used another section,the townfolk and countryfolk used still another,ascetics and brahnins used still another,and the beasts and birds used still another.
No one guarded the tree's fruits,yet no one took another's fruits.
"Then,Brahmin Dhammika,a certain man ate as much as he wanted of the tree's fruits,broke off a branch,and left.
It occurred to the deity who lived in the tree:
'It's astounding and amazing
how evil this man is!He ate as much as he wanted of the tree's fruits,broke off a branch,and left!Let me see to it that in the future the royal banyan tree does not yield fruit.
Then in the future the royal banyan tree did not yield fruit.
There upon[370]King Koravya approached Sakka the ruler of the devas
and said to him:
'Listen,respected sir,you should know that the royal banyan tree does not yield fruit.'
Then Sakka the ruler of the devas performed a feat of psychicpotency such that a violent rain storm came and twisted
Reading with Ce and Be pavattesi,as against Ee patesi,"felled," also cited as a variant in Ce and Be.Mp glosses pavattesi with parivattesi. and uprooted the royal banyan tree."Then,Brahmin Dhammika,the deity that lived in the tree stood to one side,sad and miserable,weeping with a tearful face.
Sakka approached this deity
and said:
Why,deity,do you stand to one side,sad and miserable,weeping with a tearful face?'-
'It is,sir,because a violent rain storm came and twisted and uprooted my dwelling.'-
'But,deity,were you following the duty of a tree when the violent rain storm came and twisted and uprooted your dwelling?'-
'But how,sir,does a tree follow the duty of a tree?'-
'Here,deity,those who need roots take its roots;those who need bark take its bark;those who need leaves take its leaves;those who need flowers take its flowers;and those who need fruit take its fruit.
Yet because of this the deity does not become displeased or discontent.
That's how a tree follows the duty of a tree.'-
'Sir,I wasn't following the duty of a tree when the violent rainstorm came and twisted and uprooted my dwelling.'-
If,deity,you would follow the duty of a tree,your dwelling might return to its former state.'-
'I will,sir,follow [371]the duty of a tree.Let my dwelling be as before.'
"Then,Brahmin Dhammika,Sakka the ruler of the devas performed such a feat of psychic potency that a violent rainstorm came and turned upright the royal banyan tree and its roots were covered with bark.
So too,Brahmin Dhammika,were you following the duty of an ascetic when the lay followers of the native district banished you from all seven monasteries?"
"But how,Bhante,does an ascetic follow the duty of an ascetic?"
"Here,Brahmin Dhammika;an ascetic does not insult one who insultshim,does not scold one who scolds him,and does not argue with one who argues withhim.
That is how an ascetic follows the duty of an ascetic."
"Bhante,I wasn't following the duty of an ascetic when the lay followers banished me from all seven monasteries."
(1)"In the past,Brahmin Dhammika,there was a teacher named Sunetta,the founder of a spiritual sect,one without lust for sensual pleasures.
The teacher Sunetta had many hundreds of disciples.
He taught a Dhamma to his disciples for companionship with the brahmā world.
Brahmalokasahavyataya.An odd expression,which also occurs at DN19.59,Ⅱ250,20.Sv IⅡ670,13-14 says:"'He taught the path to disciples for companionship with the brahma world':that is,he explained the path to fellowship with Brahmā in the brahmā world?(savakānanica brahmalokasahabyataya maggam desesi ti brahmaloke brahmunā sahabhavaya magganmt kathesi).When he was teaching such a Dhamma,those who did not place confidence in him were,with the breakup of the body,after death,reborn in the plane of misery,in a bad destination,in the lower world,in hell;
but those who placed confidence in him were reborn in a good destination,in a heavenly world.
(2)"In the past,there was a teacher named Mūgapakkha...
(3)...a teacher named Aranemi...(4)...a teacher named Kuddalaka...(5)...a teacher named Hatthipala...(6)...[372]a teacher named Jotipāla,the founder of a spiritual sect,one without lust for sensual pleasures.
...
...
When he was teaching such a Dhamma,those who did not place confidence in him were,with the breakup of the body,after death,reborn in theplane of misery,in a bad destination,in the lower world,in hell;
but those who placed confidence in him were reborn in a good destination,in a heavenly world.
"What do you think,Brahmin Dhammika?These six teachers were founders of spiritual sects,men without lust for sensual pleasures who had retinues of many hundreds of disciples.If,with a mind of hatred,one had insulted and reviled them and their communities of disciples,wouldn't one have generated much demerit?"
"Yes,Bhante."
"If,with a mind of hatred,one had insulted and reviled these six teachers together with their communities of disciples,one would have generated much demerit.
But if,with a mind of hatred,one reviles and insults a single person accomplished in view,
Ditthisampannam.A person who is at least a stream-enterer.one generates even more demerit.
For what reason?
I say,Brahmin Dhammika,there is no injuryBrahmali called my attention to an entry in DOP(p.744)for a noun khanti²,meaning"hurt,injury,"presumably derived from the verb khaṇati,"hurts,injures,impairs."This word is not the Pāli equivalent of Skt kṣanti(DOP khanti),"patience"or"acceptance."Mp glosses khanti here as"diggingup one's own virtues" (attano guṇakhaṇanam),but DOP points out that the commentar- ies tend to conflate khanati',"injures,"with khaṇati²,"digs up." The Skt equivalent of khanti²maybe kṣhati,from kṣaṇoti,"hurts, injures,wounds";see SED sv kshan.
against outsiders Ito bahiddhā.That is,those outside the Buddhist community.like that against [your]fellow monks.
Therefore,Brahmin Dhammika,you should train yourself thus:
'We will not let hatred arise in our minds toward our fellow monks.
Ce na no āmasabrahmacarisu,Be na no samasabrahmacarisu,Ee nano sabrahmacarisu.DOP sv āma³has"in or of the same house;belonging to the same house"and cites amasabrahmacari(n)as meaning"a fellow religious student belonging to the same house or community."However,it gives this passage as the sole reference,and the term does not seem to occur elsewhere in the Nikayas.Mp(Ce)accepts the unusual reading and says:Na noamasabrahmacarisu ti ettha amajano [Be:samajano]nama sakajanovuccati.Tasmā na no sakesu samanabrahmacārisu cittani padutthanibhavissanti.ti ayamettha attho("Toward our fellow monks of the same house:Here,it is one's own people that are called 'people of the same house.'Therefore the meaning here is:'There should be no thoughts of hatred toward one's own fellow monks.'").The passage recurs at7:73,but with the unaugmented sabrahmacarisu.I suspect that the augmented forms found in the Ce and Be versions of this sutta are the product of an ancient transmission error that was accepted as authentic by the cominentator.I therefore treat the text as reading simply sabrahmacarisu.
Thus,Brahmin Dhammika,should you train yourself."[373]
Sunetta,Mügapakkha,the brahmin Aranemi,
Kuddālaka,and Hatthipala,the brahmin youth,were teachers.
And Jotipala [known as]Govinda the chaplain of seven [kings]:
these were harmless ones in the past,six teachers possessed of fame.
Unspoiled,liberated by compassion,
these men had transcended the fetter of sensuality.
Having expunged sensual lust,they were reborn in the brahma world.
Their disciples too
numbering many hundreds
were unspoiled,liberated in compassion,
men who had transcended the fetter of sensuality.
Having expunged sensual lust,they were reborn in the brahmā world.
That man who,with thoughts of hatred,reviles these outside seers devoid of lust
[whose minds]were concentrated,
generates abundant demerit.
But the man who,with thoughts of hatred,reviles a disciple of the Buddha,
a bhikkhu accomplished in view,
generates even more demerit.
One should not attack a holy person
one who has abandoned viewpoints.
This one is called the seventh person
of the Sangha of noble ones,
one not devoid of lust for sensual pleasures,
whose five faculties are weak:
faith,mindfulness,energy,
serenity,and insight.
If one attacks such a bhikkhu;one first harms oneself;
then,having harmed oneself,one afterward harms the other.
When one protects oneself,
the other person is also protected.
Therefore one should protect oneself;the wise person is always unhurt.[374]