The Buddha refused Māgaṇḍiya's offer of his daughter, rejecting worldly desires. He taught that true peace arises not from clinging to views, observances, or status, but from letting go of all attachments. Like a lotus unstained by water, the sage remains free, calm, and detached amidst the world.
Māgaṇḍiya sutta - With Māgaṇḍiya
[Blessed One]: "Having seen Taṇhā, Aratī, and Ragā [1], I did not have any desire for sexual intercourse; So why [should I desire] this, full of urine and excrement, I would not wish to touch her even with my foot."
[Māgaṇḍiya]: "If you do not desire such a jewel, a woman sought after by many kings; What kind of viewpoint, ethics and observances, lifestyle, and future rebirth do you assert?"
"For me there is no 'This I assert,' Magandiya," [the Blessed One said] "evaluating among teachings; Seeing, but not grasping to views, discerning, I saw inner peace."
"Whatever evaluations have been formulated," [Māgaṇḍiya said] "the sage unequivocally declared them as not to be grasped; If this meaning is understood as 'inner peace,' how, then, have the wise taught it?"
"Not by view, nor by learning, nor my knowledge, Māgaṇḍiya," [the Blessed One said] "nor even by ethics and observances does one speak of purity; Without view, without learning, without knowledge, without ethics and observances-not even by that [2]; Letting go of these, not grasping, the tranquil one, not depending on, does not yearn for existence."
"If indeed not by view, nor by learning, nor by knowledge," [Māgaṇḍiya said] "nor even by ethics and observances does one speak of purity; Nor without view, without learning, without knowledge, without ethics and observances-not even by that; Then I consider this Dhamma to be completely confused, for some rely on views to claim purity."
"Relying on what is seen, without inquiring further, Māgaṇḍiya," [the Blessed One said] you have become confused over things tightly grasped; But from this you have not gained even an inkling of understanding, therefore, you consider it to be completely confused.
One who thinks himself equal, superior, or inferior, would engage in disputes because of this; Not shaking among these three distinctions, he does not think of being equal or superior.
Why would that brahmin assert, 'It's true', or argue, 'It's false' with anyone? When for him there is no 'equal' or 'unequal', with whom would he engage in debate?
Having left home to roam without abode, in the village, the sage forms no intimate ties; Void of sense desires, without preferences, he would not engage in contentious talk with people.
When he wanders detached from things in the world, the nāga would not grasp or assert them; As a thorny-stemmed lotus, born in the water, is unstained by water or mud; So too, the sage, a proponent of peace, without greed, is unstained by sensual pleasures and the world.
He who has complete understanding is not dependent on a view or personal belief, he does not attain pride, for he is not identified with those things; He is not led by doing, nor by learning, he is not drawn to any abodes.
For one detached from perception, there are no ties, For one liberated by wisdom, there are no delusions; But those who cling to perception and view, wander the world entangled in conflicts."
[1] This is a reference to the three daughters of Māra, Taṇhā, Aratī, and Ragā, who came to seduce the Buddha by creating illusions of beauty and pleasure at the foot of the goatherd's banyan tree. The Buddha, however, remained unmoved by their charms and instead taught them the Dhamma. This event is described in SN 4.25.
[2] 'Nor without view, without learning, without knowledge, without ethics and observances - not even by that;' The mundane right view 'There is what is given and what is offered and what is sacrificed; there is fruit and result of good and bad actions; there is this world and the other world; there is mother and father; there are beings who are reborn spontaneously; there are in the world good and virtuous recluses and brahmins who have realized for themselves by direct knowledge and declare this world and the other world.' should be accepted. Learning (hearing) should be accepted: the voice of another, discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired utterances, quotations, birth stories, marvelous accounts, and answers to questions; knowledge should be accepted: the knowledge of the factors of awakening, the knowledge of the noble truths, the knowledge of the kamma as one's own, knowledge of meditative attainments and the direct knowings. Similarly ethics and observances should be accepted. While these should be accepted, the Buddha is saying that purity is not attained by only these means, that these are not sufficient for the attainment of purity.