an.4.39 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Ujjaya

Then the brahmin Ujjaya approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One:

“Does Master Gotama praise sacrifice?”

“I do not praise all sacrifice, brahmin, nor do I withhold praise from all sacrifice. (1) I do not praise a violent sacrifice at which cattle, goats, rams, chickens, and pigs are slain, at which various creatures are led to slaughter. (2) For what reason? Because arahants and those who have entered the path to arahantship do not attend a violent sacrifice.

(3) “But I praise a non-violent sacrifice at which cattle, goats, rams, chickens, and pigs are not slain, where various creatures are not slaughtered, that is, a regular giving, a sacrifice offered by family custom. (4) For what reason? Because arahants and those who have entered the path to arahantship attend a nonviolent sacrifice.”

The horse sacrifice, human sacrifice,
sammāpāsa, vājapeyya, niraggaḷa:
these grand sacrifices, fraught with violence,
do not bring great fruit.

The great seers of right conduct
do not attend a sacrifice
where goats, rams, cattle,
and various creatures are slain.

But when they regularly offer by family custom
sacrifices free from violence,
no goats, sheep, and cattle
or various creatures are slain.

That is the sacrifice the great seers
of right conduct attend.
The wise person should offer this;
this sacrifice is very fruitful.

For one who makes such sacrifice
it is indeed better, never worse.
Such a sacrifice is truly vast
and the deities too are pleased.

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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With Ujjaya

Then Ujjaya the brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him.
When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha:
“Does Master Gotama praise sacrifice?”
“Brahmin, I don’t praise all sacrifices.
Nor do I criticize all sacrifices.
Take the kind of sacrifice where cattle, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and various kinds of creatures are slaughtered.
I criticize that kind of violent sacrifice.
Why is that?
Because neither perfected ones nor those who are on the path to perfection will attend such a violent sacrifice.
But take the kind of sacrifice where cattle, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and various kinds of creatures are not slaughtered.
I praise that kind of non-violent sacrifice; for example, a regular gift as an ongoing family sacrifice.
Why is that?
Because perfected ones and those who are on the path to perfection will attend such a non-violent sacrifice.
Horse sacrifice, human sacrifice,
the sacrifices of the ‘stick-casting’,
the ‘royal soma drinking’, and the ‘unbarred’—
these huge violent sacrifices yield no great fruit.
The great sages of good conduct
don’t attend sacrifices
where goats, sheep, and cattle,
and various creatures are killed.
But the great sages of good conduct
do attend non-violent sacrifices
of regular family tradition,
where goats, sheep, and cattle,
and various creatures aren’t killed.

An intelligent person should sacrifice like this,
for this sacrifice is very fruitful.
For a sponsor of sacrifices like this,
things get better, not worse.
Such a sacrifice is truly abundant,
and even the deities are pleased.”