1 : Devas, Brahmās, & Other Non-human Beings

§ 1.1 [The Buddha:] “Once, Kevaṭṭa, this train of thought arose in the awareness of a certain monk in this very Saṅgha of monks: ‘Where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder?’ Then he attained to such a state of concentration that the way leading to the devas appeared in his concentrated mind. So he went to the devas of the retinue of the Four Great Kings and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the devas of the retinue of the Four Great Kings said to the monk, ‘We also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there are the Four Great Kings who are higher and more sublime than we. They should know where the four great elements… cease without remainder.’

“So the monk went to the Four Great Kings and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the Four Great Kings said to the monk, ‘We also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there are the devas of the Thirty-three who are higher and more sublime than we. They should know.…’

“So the monk went to the devas of the Thirty-three and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the devas of the Thirty-three said to the monk, ‘We also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there is Sakka, the deva-king, who is higher and more sublime than we. He should know.…’

“So the monk went to Sakka, the deva-king, and, on arrival, asked him, ‘Friend, where do these four great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, Sakka, the deva-king, said to the monk, ‘I also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there are the Yāma devas [devas of the Hours] who are higher and more sublime than I. They should know.…’.…

“The Yāma devas said, ‘We also don’t know.… But there is the deva named Suyāma.… He should know.… ’ .…

“Suyāma said, ‘I also don’t know.… But there are the Tusita devas.… They should know.… ’.…

“The Tusita devas said, ‘We also don’t know.… But there is the deva named Santusita.… He should know.… ’.…

“Santusita said, ‘I also don’t know.… But there are the Nimmānaratī devas [devas who delight in creation].… They should know.… ’ .…

“The Nimmānaratī devas said, ‘We also don’t know.… But there is the deva named Sunimmita.… He should know.… ’ .…

“Sunimmita said, ‘I also don’t know.… But there are the Paranimmitavasavattī devas [devas who wield control over the creations of others].… They should know.… ’ .…

“The Paranimmitavasavattī devas said, ‘We also don’t know.… But there is the deva named Paranimmita Vasavatti.… He should know.… ’ .…

“So the monk went to the deva Vasavatti and, on arrival, asked him, ‘Friend, where do these four great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the deva Vasavatti said to the monk, ‘I also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there are the devas of Brahmā’s retinue who are higher and more sublime than I. They should know where the four great elements… cease without remainder’.…

“Then the monk attained to such a state of concentration that the way leading to the devas of Brahmā’s retinue appeared in his concentrated mind. So he went to the devas of Brahmā’s retinue and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the devas of Brahmā’s retinue said to the monk, ‘We also don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there is Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. He is higher and more sublime than we. He should know where the four great elements… cease without remainder.’

“‘But where, friends, is the Great Brahmā now?’

“‘Monk, we also don’t know where Brahmā is or in what way Brahmā is. But when signs appear, light shines forth, and a radiance appears, Brahmā will appear. For these are the portents of Brahmā’s appearance: Light shines forth and a radiance appears.’

“Then it was not long before Brahmā appeared.

“So the monk went to the Great Brahmā and, on arrival, said, ‘Friend, where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, the Great Brahmā said to the monk, ‘I, monk, am Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.’

A second time, the monk said to the Great Brahmā, ‘Friend, I didn’t ask you if you were Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. I asked you where these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder.’

“A second time, the Great Brahmā said to the monk, ‘I, monk, am Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.’

“A third time, the monk said to the Great Brahmā, ‘Friend, I didn’t ask you if you were Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Sovereign Lord, the Maker, Creator, Chief, Appointer and Ruler, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. I asked you where these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder.’

“Then the Great Brahmā, taking the monk by the arm and leading him off to one side, said to him, ‘These devas of the retinue of Brahmā believe, “There is nothing that the Great Brahmā does not know. There is nothing that the Great Brahmā does not see. There is nothing of which the Great Brahmā is unaware. There is nothing that the Great Brahmā has not realized.” That is why I did not say in their presence that I, too, don’t know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. So it’s your own wrongdoing, your own mistake, in that—bypassing the Blessed One—you searched outside for an answer to this question. Go right back to the Blessed One and, on arrival, ask him this question. However he answers you, that’s how you should remember it.’

“Then—just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm—the monk disappeared from the Brahmā world and immediately appeared in front of me. Having bowed down to me, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to me, ‘Venerable sir, where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, I said to him, ‘Once, monk, some sea-faring merchants, taking a shore-sighting bird, set out across the ocean in their ship. When they could not see the shore from their ship, they released the shore-sighting bird. It flew to the east; it flew to the south; it flew to the west; it flew to the north; it flew to straight up; it flew to the intermediate directions. If it saw the shore in any direction, it flew there and was gone. If it did not see the shore in any direction, it returned right back to the ship. In the same way, monk, having searched as far as the Brahmā world and not receiving an answer to this question, you have come right back to my presence.

“‘This question should not be asked in this way: Where do these four great elements—the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind property—cease without remainder? Instead, the question should be asked like this:

“‘Where do water, earth, fire, & wind

have no footing?

Where are long & short,

coarse & fine,

fair & foul,

name & form

brought to a stop without trace?

“‘And the answer to that is:

“‘Consciousness without surface,

without end,

luminous all around:

Here water, earth, fire, & wind

have no footing.

Here long & short,

coarse & fine,

fair & foul,

here name & form

are all brought to a stop without trace.

With the cessation of (the aggregate of) consciousness

each is here brought to a stop.’”

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Kevaṭṭa the householder delighted in the Blessed One’s words. — DN 11

§ 1.2 I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha at Tapodā monastery. Then Ven. Samiddhi, as night was ending, got up & went to the Tapodā Hot Springs to bathe his limbs. Having bathed his limbs and gotten out of the springs, he stood wearing only his lower robe, letting his limbs dry.

Then a certain devatā, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entire Tapodā Hot Springs, went to Ven. Samiddhi. On arrival, while standing in the air, she addressed him with this verse:

“Without having enjoyed

(sensual pleasures),

you go for alms, monk.

You don’t go for alms

after having enjoyed.

Having enjoyed, monk,

then go for alms.

Don’t let time pass you by.”1

Ven. Samiddhi:

“I don’t know my time.

My time

is hidden.

It can’t be seen.

That’s why, not having enjoyed,

I go for alms:

Don’t let my time pass me by.”

Then the devatā, coming down to earth, said to Ven. Samiddhi, “You have gone forth while young, monk—black-haired, endowed with the blessings of youth in the first stage of life—without having played with sensuality. Enjoy human sensuality, monk. Don’t drop what is visible here & now in pursuit of what’s subject to time.”

“My friend, I’m not dropping what’s visible here & now in pursuit of what’s subject to time. I’m dropping what’s subject to time in pursuit of what’s visible here & now. For the Blessed One has said that sensuality is subject to time, of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks; whereas this Dhamma is well taught by the Blessed One, visible here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be experienced by the observant for themselves.”1

“But, monk, in what way has the Blessed One said that sensuality is subject to time, of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks? And how is this Dhamma visible here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be experienced by the observant for themselves?”

“I’m new, my friend, not long gone forth, only recently come to this Dhamma & discipline. I can’t explain it in detail. But the Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened, is staying here near Rājagaha at Tapodā monastery. Having gone to him, ask him this matter. As he explains it, that’s how you should remember it.”

“Monk, it’s not easy for us to go to the Blessed One, as he is surrounded by other devas of great influence. But if you go to the Blessed One and ask him this matter, I will come along to hear the Dhamma.”

Responding to the devatā, “As you say, my friend,” Ven. Samiddhi went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there [he told the Blessed One his entire conversation with the devatā]. “Now, venerable sir, if that devatā was telling the truth, she is not far from here.”

When this was said, the devatā said to Ven. Samiddhi, “Ask, monk! Ask! I’ve gotten through.”

Then the Blessed One recited this verse to the devatā:

“Perceiving in terms of signs, beings

take a stand on signs.

Not fully comprehending signs, they

come into the bonds

of death.

But fully comprehending signs, one

doesn’t suppose

a signifier.

Yet nothing exists for him

by which one would say,

‘To him no thought occurs.’

If you know this, yakkha, then say so.”

“I don’t understand, venerable sir, the detailed meaning of the Blessed One’s brief statement. It would be good if the Blessed One would speak in such a way that I would understand the detailed meaning of the Blessed One’s brief statement.”

The Buddha:

“Whoever supposes

‘equal,’

‘superior,’ or

‘inferior,’

by that he’d dispute.

Whereas to one unaffected by these three,

‘equal’

‘superior’

do not occur.

If you know this, yakkha, then say so.”

The Buddha:

“Having

shed classifications,

gone beyond conceit,

he has here

cut

through craving

for name

& form:

This one—

his bonds cut through,

free

from trouble,

from longing—

though they search, they can’t find him,

human beings & devas,

here & beyond,

in heaven

or any abode.

If you know this, yakkha, then say so.”

“Venerable sir, here’s how I understand the detailed meaning of the Blessed One’s brief statement:

In all the world,

every world,

you should do no evil

with speech,

body,

or mind.

Having abandoned sensuality

—mindful, alert—

don’t consort

with suffering & stress,

with what doesn’t pertain

to the goal.” — SN 1:20

Note

1. This discourse also contains some word play on the words “time” (kāla) and “subject to time” (kālika). “Time” can mean not only time in the general sense, but also one’s time of death (a person who has died is said to have “done his/her time”). These two meanings of the word underlie the first exchange between Ven. Samiddhi and the devatā. “Subject to time” can mean “obtainable only after a certain time” or “good only for a certain length of time”: These meanings underlie their second exchange. There is also word play on the phrase, “visible here & now.” The devatā, assuming that Ven. Samiddhi is denying himself human sensuality for the sake of a reward after death (see §2.3), uses this phrase to describe human sensuality. Ven. Samiddhi, who has tasted the deathless, uses the same phrase to describe his actual goal: unbinding. The devatā’s inability to understand the meaning of Ven. Samiddhi’s words shows clearly that, in spite of her fortunate birth, she still has a great deal to learn.

§ 1.3 I have heard that on one occasion a certain monk was staying among the Kosalans in a forest grove. Now at that time, after his meal, returning from his almsround, he went down to a lotus pond and sniffed a red lotus.

Then the devatā inhabiting the forest grove, feeling sympathy for the monk, desiring his benefit, desiring to bring him to his senses, approached him and addressed him with this verse:

“You sniff this water-born flower

that hasn’t been given to you.

This, dear sir, is a factor of stealing.

You are a thief of a scent.”

The monk:

“I don’t take, don’t damage.

I sniff at the lotus

from far away.

So why do you call me

a thief of a scent?

One who

digs up the stalks,

damages flowers,

one of such ruthless behavior:

Why don’t you say it of him?”

The devatā:

“A person ruthless & grasping,

smeared like a nursing diaper:

To him

I have nothing to say.

It’s you

to whom I should speak.

To a person unblemished,

constantly searching for purity,

a hair-tip’s worth of evil

seems as large

as a cloud.”

The monk:

“Yes, yakkha, you understand me

and show me sympathy.

Warn me again, yakkha,

whenever again

you see something like this.”

The devatā:

“I don’t depend on you

for my living

nor am I

your hired hand.

You, monk,

you yourself should know

how to go to the good destination.”

The monk, chastened by the devatā, came to his senses. — SN 9:14

§ 1.4 I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha at the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary. And on that occasion Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Mahā Moggallāna were staying in Pigeon Cave. Then, on a moonlit night, Ven. Sāriputta—his head newly shaven—was sitting in the open air, having attained a certain level of concentration.

And on that occasion two yakkhas who were companions were flying from north to south on some business or other. They saw Ven. Sāriputta—his head newly shaven—sitting in the open air. Seeing him, the first yakkha said to the second, “I’m inspired to give this contemplative a blow on the head.”

When this was said, the second yakkha said to the first, “Enough of that, my good friend. Don’t lay a hand on the contemplative. He’s an outstanding contemplative, of great power & great might.”

A second time, the first yakkha said to the second, “I’m inspired to give this contemplative a blow on the head.”

A second time, the second yakkha said to the first, “Enough of that, my good friend. Don’t lay a hand on the contemplative. He’s an outstanding contemplative, of great power & great might.”

A third time, the first yakkha said to the second, “I’m inspired to give this contemplative a blow on the head.”

A third time, the second yakkha said to the first, “Enough of that, my good friend. Don’t lay a hand on the contemplative. He’s an outstanding contemplative, of great power & great might.”

Then the first yakkha, ignoring the second yakkha, gave Ven. Sāriputta a blow on the head. And with that blow he might have knocked over an elephant seven or eight cubits tall, or split a great rocky crag. But right there the yakkha—yelling, “I’m burning!”—fell into the Great Hell.

Now, Ven. Moggallāna—with his divine eye, pure and surpassing the human—saw the yakkha give Ven. Sāriputta a blow on the head. Seeing this, he went to Ven. Sāriputta and, on arrival, said to him, “I hope you are well, friend Sāriputta. I hope you are comfortable. I hope you are feeling no pain.”

“I am well, friend Moggallāna. I am comfortable. But I do have a slight headache.”

“How amazing, friend Sāriputta! How astounding! How great your power & might! Just now a yakkha gave you a blow on the head. So great was that blow that he might have knocked over an elephant seven or eight cubits tall, or split a great rocky crag. But all you say is this: ‘I am well, friend Moggallāna. I am comfortable. But I do have a slight headache’!”

“How amazing, friend Moggallāna! How astounding! How great your power & might! Where you saw a yakkha just now, I didn’t even see a dust devil!” — Ud 4:4

§ 1.5 Now on that occasion a certain monk went to the charnel ground and took hold of discarded cloth on a body not yet decomposed. But the ghost (peta) of the dead one was (still) dwelling in that body. Then it said to the monk, “Venerable sir, don’t take hold of my cloak.” The monk, disregarding it, went off (with the cloak). Then the body, rising up, followed right behind the monk. Then the monk, entering his dwelling, closed the door. Then the body fell down right there. — Pr 2