an.4.40 Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numbered Discourses)

Udāyī

Then the brahmin Udāyī approached the Blessed One … and said to him:

The prose portion is identical with that of 4:39.

When a sacrifice is timely and allowable,
well prepared and nonviolent,
the self-controlled followers of the spiritual life
attend such a sacrifice as this.

Those in the world who have removed the coverings,
transcenders of time and destination,
the Buddhas who are proficient in sacrifice,
praise this kind of sacrifice.

Having prepared an appropriate gift,
whether of the ordinary kind or in memory of the dead,
one makes the sacrifice with a confident mind
to a fertile field, to followers of the spiritual life.

When what has been properly obtained
is properly offered, properly sacrificed,
to those worthy of offerings,
the sacrifice is vast and the deities are pleased.

The wise person endowed with faith,
having sacrificed thus with a generous mind,
is reborn in a happy world,
in a realm without affliction.

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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With Udāyī

Then Udāyī the brahmin went up to the Buddha, … and asked him,
“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 animals are slaughtered.
I don’t praise that kind of violent sacrifice.


But take the kind of sacrifice where cattle, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and various kinds of animals are not slaughtered.
I do praise that kind of non-violent sacrifice; for example, a regular gift as an ongoing family sacrifice.


The kind of sacrifice that’s allowable and timely,
well prepared and non-violent,
is attended by
disciplined spiritual practitioners.
The Buddhas—who have drawn back the veil from the world,
transcending time and rebirth—
praise this sacrifice,
as they are expert in sacrifice.
When you’ve prepared a suitable offering,
whether as sacrifice or for ancestors,
sacrifice it with confident heart,
in the fertile field of spiritual practitioners.
When it’s well-gotten, well-offered, and well-sacrificed,
to those worthy of a religious donation,
a sacrifice is truly abundant,
and even the deities are pleased.
When an intelligent, faithful person,
sacrifices like this, with a mind of letting go,
that astute one is reborn
in a happy, pleasing world.”