“Disvāna taṇhaṁ aratiṁ ragañca [1],
Nāhosi chando api methunasmiṁ;
Kimevidaṁ muttakarīsapuṇṇaṁ,
Pādāpi naṁ samphusituṁ na icche”.
“Having seen |Taṇhā, Aratī, and Ragā::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.|,
I did not have any desire for sexual intercourse;
So why [should I desire] this, full of urine and feces,
I would not wish to touch her even with my foot.”
“Etādisañce ratanaṁ na icchasi,
Nāriṁ narindehi bahūhi patthitaṁ;
Diṭṭhigataṁ sīlavataṁ nu jīvitaṁ,
Bhavūpapattiñca vadesi kīdisaṁ”.
[|Māgaṇḍiya::name of a wandering ascetic, lit. son of a usurer [māgaṇḍiya]|]: “If you do not desire such a jewel,
a woman sought after by many kings;
What kind of |view::theory, doctrine [diṭṭhigata]|, |ethics, observances::precepts and practices, rites and rituals [sīlavata]|, lifestyle,
|existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]| and |rebirth::re-arising, reappearance [upapatti]| do you assert?”
“Idaṁ vadāmīti na tassa hoti,
(māgaṇḍiyāti bhagavā)
Dhammesu niccheyya samuggahītaṁ;
Passañca diṭṭhīsu anuggahāya,
Ajjhattasantiṁ pacinaṁ adassaṁ”.
“It does not occur to me, ‘I assert this,’
(Māgaṇḍiya,” said the Blessed One)
“|having evaluated::discriminating, distinguishing the difference [niccheyya]| among the teachings;
Seeing but |not grasping to::not embracing, not taking up, not attaching to [anuggahāya]| views,
|discerning::distinguishing, recognizing; lit. picking [pacinanta]|, I |saw::realized [adassi]| |inner peace::inner calm, tranquility in oneself [ajjhattasanti]|.”
“Vinicchayā yāni pakappitāni,
(iti māgaṇḍiyo)
Te ve munī brūsi anuggahāya;
Ajjhattasantīti yametamatthaṁ,
Kathaṁ nu dhīrehi paveditaṁ taṁ”.
“Whatever evaluations have been |formulated::(of an idea or opinion) imagined, fabricated, fashioned, designed, devised, concocted [pakappita]|,”
(said Māgaṇḍiya)
“indeed, sage, you speak without grasping to them;
Concerning this matter called ‘inner peace,’
how is it |proclaimed::explained, made known [pavedita]| by the wise?”
“Na diṭṭhiyā na sutiyā na ñāṇena,
(māgaṇḍiyāti bhagavā)
Sīlabbatenāpi na suddhimāha;
Adiṭṭhiyā assutiyā añāṇā,
Asīlatā abbatā nopi tena [2];
Ete ca nissajja anuggahāya,
Santo anissāya bhavaṁ na jappe”.
“Not by |view::belief, an opinion, a concept, a theory [diṭṭhi]|, not by learning, not by knowledge,
(Māgaṇḍiya,” said the Blessed One)
“nor by |rules and observances::precepts and practices, ethics and observances, rites and rituals [sīlabbata]| does he claim |purity::purification, holiness; epithet of Nibbāna [suddhi]|;
By lack of view, by lack of learning,
by lack of knowledge, |by lack of rules and observances—not by that either::‘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 directly 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.|;
Letting go of these, not grasping,
the |tranquil::peaceful, calm [santa]| one, |not depending on::being independent, not leaning on [anissāya]|, does not yearn for |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]|.”
“No ce kira diṭṭhiyā na sutiyā na ñāṇena,
(iti māgaṇḍiyo)
Sīlabbatenāpi na suddhimāha;
Adiṭṭhiyā assutiyā añāṇā,
Asīlatā abbatā nopi tena;
Maññāmahaṁ momuhameva dhammaṁ,
Diṭṭhiyā eke paccenti suddhiṁ”.
“If not by view, not by learning, not by knowledge,”
(said Māgaṇḍiya)
“nor by rules and observances does he claim purity;
By lack of view, by lack of learning,
by lack of knowledge, by lack of rules and observances—not by that either;
Then I think this Dhamma is |completely confused::totally deluded [momuha]|,
for some find purity by means of view.”
“Diṭṭhañca nissāya anupucchamāno,
(māgaṇḍiyāti bhagavā)
Samuggahītesu pamohamāgā;
Ito ca nāddakkhi aṇumpi saññaṁ,
Tasmā tuvaṁ momuhato dahāsi.
“|Questioning::asking, enquiring [anupucchamāna]| while relying on what is seen,
(Māgaṇḍiya,” said the Blessed One)
“you |are confused::have become baffled [pamohamāgā]| over things tightly |grasped::embraced [samuggahīta]|;
Due to this you haven’t seen even |a trace of wisdom::even an inkling of perception [aṇu + sañña]|,
hence you, being completely confused, see it thus.
Samo visesī uda vā nihīno,
Yo maññati so vivadetha tena;
Tīsu vidhāsu avikampamāno,
Samo visesīti na tassa hoti.
One who thinks himself equal, superior, or inferior,
might engage in disputes because of this;
|Not shaking::without apprehension [avikampamāna]| among these three distinctions,
he does not think of being equal or superior.
Saccanti so brāhmaṇo kiṁ vadeyya,
Musāti vā so vivadetha kena;
Yasmiṁ samaṁ visamaṁ vāpi natthi,
Sa kena vādaṁ paṭisaṁyujeyya.
Why would that brahmin assert, ‘It’s true’,
or with whom would he dispute, ‘It’s false’?
When for him there is no ‘equal’ or ‘unequal’,
with whom would he engage in |debate::argument, dispute [vāda]|?
Okaṁ pahāya aniketasārī,
Gāme akubbaṁ muni santhavāni;
Kāmehi ritto apurakkharāno,
Kathaṁ na viggayha janena kayirā.
Having left home to |roam without abode::wandering homeless [aniketasārī]|,
in the village, the sage forms no intimate ties;
Void of sense desires, without preferences,
he would not engage in contentious talk with people.
Yehi vivitto vicareyya loke,
Na tāni uggayha vadeyya nāgo;
Jalambujaṁ kaṇḍakavārijaṁ yathā,
Jalena paṅkena canūpalittaṁ;
Evaṁ munī santivādo agiddho,
Kāme ca loke ca anūpalitto.
When he wanders |detached::secluded [vivitta]| from things in the world,
the |nāga::noble person, epithet of an Arahant [nāga]| would not grasp and assert them;
As a thorny-stemmed lotus, born in the water,
is |unstained::untainted, unblemished [anūpalitta]| by water and mud;
So too, the sage, a proponent of peace, without greed,
is unstained by sensual pleasures and the world.
Na vedagū diṭṭhiyāyako na mutiyā,
Sa mānameti na hi tammayo so;
Na kammunā nopi sutena neyyo,
Anūpanīto sa nivesanesu.
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::by action [kammunā]|, nor by learning,
he is not drawn to any abodes.
Saññāvirattassa na santi ganthā,
Paññāvimuttassa na santi mohā;
Saññañca diṭṭhiñca ye aggahesuṁ,
Te ghaṭṭayantā vicaranti loke”ti.
For one |detached from perception::indifferent to concepts [saññāviratta]|, there are no |ties::knots [ganthā]|,
For one liberated by wisdom, there are no |delusions::illusions, hallucinations, misperceptions, distorted views; that which fuel not knowing of things as they have come to be [mohā]|;
But those who cling to perceptions and views,
wander in the world entangled in conflicts.”