Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living in the Koliyan country where there was a town of the Koliyans named Haliddavasana.
Then Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, an ox-duty ascetic, and also Seniya, a naked dog-duty ascetic, went to the Blessed One. Puṇṇa, the ox-duty ascetic, paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down at one side, while Seniya, the naked dog-duty ascetic, exchanged greetings with the Blessed One, and when this courteous and amiable talk was finished, he too sat down at one side curled up like a dog. Puṇṇa, the ox-duty ascetic, said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, this Seniya is a naked dog-duty ascetic who does what is hard to do: he eats his food when it is thrown to the ground. He has long taken up and practised that dog-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that.”
A second time…And a third time Puṇṇa, the ox-duty ascetic, said to the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, this Seniya is a naked dog-duty ascetic who does what is hard to do: he eats his food when it is thrown to the ground. He has long taken up and practised that dog-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Well, Puṇṇa, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that,’ I shall therefore answer you.
“Here, Puṇṇa, someone develops the dog-duty fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the dog-habit fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the dog-mind fully and uninterruptedly; he develops dog-behaviour fully and uninterruptedly. Having done so, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of dogs. But if he has such a view as this: ‘By this virtue or observance or asceticism or holy life I shall become a great god or some lesser god,’ that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal realm. So, Puṇṇa, if his dog-duty succeeds, it will lead him to the company of dogs; if it fails, it will lead him to hell.”
When this was said, Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic cried out and burst into tears. Then the Blessed One told Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, the ox-duty ascetic: “Puṇṇa, I could not persuade you when I said: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let that be. Do not ask me that.’” Then Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic said: “Venerable sir, I am not crying because the Blessed One has said this about me, but because I have long taken up and practised this dog-duty. Venerable sir, this Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, is an ox-duty ascetic. He has long taken up and practised that ox-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that.”
A second time…And a third time Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic asked the Blessed One: “Venerable sir, this Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, is an ox-duty ascetic. He has long taken up and practised that ox-duty. What will be his destination? What will be his future course?”
“Well, Seniya, since I certainly cannot persuade you when I say: ‘Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that,’ I shall therefore answer you.
“Here, Seniya, someone develops the ox-duty fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the ox-habit fully and uninterruptedly; he develops the ox-mind fully and uninterruptedly; he develops ox-behaviour fully and uninterruptedly. Having done so, on the dissolution of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of oxen. But if he has such a view as this: ‘By this virtue or observance or asceticism or holy life I shall become a great god or some lesser god,’ that is wrong view in his case. Now there are two destinations for one with wrong view, I say: hell or the animal realm. So, Seniya, if his ox-duty succeeds, it will lead him to the company of oxen; if it fails, it will lead him to hell.”
When this was said, Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, the ox-duty ascetic cried out and burst into tears. Then the Blessed One told Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic: “Seniya, I could not persuade you when I said: ‘Enough, Seniya, let that be. Do not ask me that.’”
Then Puṇṇa the ox-duty ascetic said: “Venerable sir, I am not crying because the Blessed One has said this about me, but because I have long taken up and practised this ox-duty. Venerable sir, I have confidence in the Blessed One thus: ‘The Blessed One is capable of teaching me the Dhamma in such a way that I can abandon this ox-duty and that this Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic can abandon that dog-duty.’”
“Then, Puṇṇa, listen and attend closely to what I shall say.”—“Yes, venerable sir,” he replied. The Blessed One said this:
“Puṇṇa, there are four kinds of action proclaimed by me after realising them for myself with direct knowledge. What are the four? There is dark action with dark result; there is bright action with bright result; there is dark-and-bright action with dark-and-bright result; and there is action that is neither dark nor bright with neither-dark-nor-bright result, action that leads to the destruction of action.
“And what, Puṇṇa, is dark action with dark result? Here someone generates an afflictive bodily formation, an afflictive verbal formation, an afflictive mental formation. Having generated an afflictive bodily formation, an afflictive verbal formation, an afflictive mental formation, he reappears in an afflictive world. When he has reappeared in an afflictive world, afflictive contacts touch him. Being touched by afflictive contacts, he feels afflictive feelings, exclusively painful, as in the case of the beings in hell. Thus a being’s reappearance is due to a being: one reappears through the actions one has performed. When one has reappeared, contacts touch one. Thus I say beings are the heirs of their actions. This is called dark action with dark result.
“And what, Puṇṇa, is bright action with bright result? Here someone generates an unafflictive bodily formation, an unafflictive verbal formation, an unafflictive mental formation. Having generated an unafflictive bodily formation, an unafflictive verbal formation, an unafflictive mental formation, he reappears in an unafflictive world. When he has reappeared in an unafflictive world, unafflictive contacts touch him. Being touched by unafflictive contacts, he feels unafflictive feelings, exclusively pleasant, as in the case of the gods of Refulgent Glory. Thus a being’s reappearance is due to a being; one reappears through the actions one has performed. When one has reappeared, contacts touch one. Thus I say beings are the heirs of their actions. This is called bright action with bright result.
“And what, Puṇṇa, is dark-and-bright action with dark-and-bright result? Here someone generates a bodily formation that is both afflictive and unafflictive, a verbal formation that is both afflictive and unafflictive, a mental formation that is both afflictive and unafflictive. Having generated a bodily formation, a verbal formation, a mental formation that is both afflictive and unafflictive, he reappears in a world that is both afflictive and unafflictive. When he has reappeared in a world that is both afflictive and unafflictive, both afflictive and unafflictive contacts touch him. Being touched by both afflictive and unafflictive contacts, he feels both afflictive and unafflictive feelings, mingled pleasure and pain, as in the case of human beings and some gods and some beings in the lower worlds. Thus a being’s reappearance is due to a being: one reappears through the actions one has performed. When one has reappeared, contacts touch one. Thus I say beings are the heirs to their actions. This is called dark-and-bright action with dark-and-bright result.
“And what, Puṇṇa, is action that is neither dark nor bright with neither-dark-nor-bright result, action that leads to the destruction of action? Therein, the volition for abandoning the kind of action that is dark with dark result, and the volition for abandoning the kind of action that is bright with bright result, and the volition for abandoning the kind of action that is dark and bright with dark-and-bright result: this is called action that is neither dark nor bright with neither-dark-nor-bright result, action that leads to the destruction of action. These are the four kinds of action proclaimed by me after realising them for myself with direct knowledge.”
When this was said, Puṇṇa, son of the Koliyans, the ox-duty ascetic said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, venerable sir! Magnificent, venerable sir! The Blessed One has made the Dhamma clear in many ways…From today let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.”
But Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, venerable sir! Magnificent, venerable sir! The Blessed One has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to the Blessed One for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. I would receive the going forth under the Blessed One, I would receive the full admission.”
“Seniya, one who formerly belonged to another sect and desires the going forth and the full admission in this Dhamma and Discipline lives on probation for four months. At the end of four months, if the bhikkhus are satisfied with him, they give him the going forth and the full admission to the bhikkhus’ state. But I recognise individual differences in this matter.”
“Venerable sir, if those who formerly belonged to another sect and desire the going forth and the full admission in this Dhamma and Discipline live on probation for four months, and if at the end of the four months the bhikkhus being satisfied with them give them the going forth and the full admission to the bhikkhus’ state, then I will live on probation for four years. At the end of the four years if the bhikkhus are satisfied with me, let them give me the going forth and the full admission to the bhikkhus’ state.”
Then Seniya the naked dog-duty ascetic received the going forth under the Blessed One, and he received the full admission. And soon, not long after his full admission, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the venerable Seniya, by realising for himself with direct knowledge, here and now entered upon and abided in that supreme goal of the holy life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home life into homelessness. He directly knew: “Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.” And the venerable Seniya became one of the arahants.
Thus have I heard: at one time the Lord was staying among the Koḷiyans; the market town of the Koḷiyans was called Haliddavasana. Then Puṇṇa, a Koḷiyan who was a bovine ascetic, and Seniya who was an unclothed canine ascetic, approached the Lord; having approached, Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan who was the bovine ascetic, after greeting the Lord, sat down at a respectful distance. But Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic, having exchanged greetings with the Lord and conversed in a friendly and courteous way, sat down at a respectful distance doubling up like a dog. As he was sitting down at a respectful distance, Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, spoke thus to the Lord:
“Revered sir, this Seniya, an unclothed canine ascetic, is a doer of things hard to do, he eats lying on the ground, a canine practice which has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?” “Enough, Puṇṇa, let this be, do not ask me this.”
And a second time Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, spoke thus to the Lord: “Revered sir, this Seniya, an unclothed canine ascetic, is a doer of things hard to do, he eats lying on the ground, a canine practice which has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?” And a second time the Lord responded: “Enough, Puṇṇa, let this be, do not ask me this.”
And a third time Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, spoke thus to the Lord: “Revered sir, this Seniya, an unclothed canine ascetic, is a doer of things hard to do, he eats lying on the ground, a canine practice which has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?”
“Although I, Puṇṇa, did not really countenance your (question) and said: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let this be, do not ask me this,’ nevertheless I will explain to you. Here, Puṇṇa, someone develops the canine practice completely and constantly, he develops the canine habits completely and constantly, he develops the canine mentality completely and constantly, he develops the canine behaviour completely and constantly. Having developed the canine practice completely and constantly, having developed the canine habits completely and constantly, having developed the canine mentality completely and constantly, having developed the canine behaviour completely and constantly, he, on the breaking up of the body after dying, arises in companionship with dogs. But if he should have a view like this: ‘I, through this habit or practice or austerity or chastity, will become a deva or a (lesser) deva’—that is a wrong view on his part. I, Puṇṇa, say that there is one of two bourns for one of wrong view: either Niraya Hell or animal birth. So it is, Puṇṇa, that the canine practice, on prospering, leads to companionship with dogs, on failing, to Niraya Hell.” When this had been said, Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic cried out and burst into tears.
Then the Lord spoke thus to Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic: “I did not countenance this (question) of yours, Puṇṇa, (so) I said: ‘Enough, Puṇṇa, let this be, do not ask me this.’” “I, revered sir, am not crying because the Lord speaks thus about me. It is, revered sir, because this canine practice has been carried out in full by me for a long time.
Revered sir, this Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan is a bovine ascetic, and the bovine practice has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?’ “Enough, Seniya, let this be, do not ask me this.”
And a second time Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic spoke thus to the Lord: “Revered sir, this Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan is a bovine ascetic, and the bovine practice has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?” And a second time the Lord responded: “Enough, Seniya, let this be, do not ask me this.”
And a third time Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic spoke thus to the Lord: “Revered sir, this Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan is a bovine ascetic, and the bovine practice has been carried out in full by him for a long time. What is his bourn, what his future state?”
“Although, Seniya, I did not really countenance your (question) and said: ‘Enough, Seniya, let this be, do not ask me this,’ nevertheless I will explain to you. Here, Seniya, someone develops the bovine practice completely and constantly, he develops the bovine habits completely and constantly, he develops the bovine mentality completely and constantly, he develops the bovine behaviour completely and constantly. Having developed the bovine practice completely and constantly, having developed the bovine habits completely and constantly, having developed the bovine mentality completely and constantly, having developed the bovine behaviour completely and constantly, he, on the breaking up of the body after dying, arises in companionship with cattle. But if he should have a view like this: ‘I, through this habit or practice or austerity or chastity, will become a deva or a (lesser) deva’, that is a wrong view on his part. I, Seniya, say that there is one of two bourns for one of wrong view: either Niraya Hell or animal birth. So it is, Seniya, that the bovine practice, on prospering, leads to companionship with cattle, on failing, to Niraya Hell.” When this had been said, Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, cried out and burst into tears.
Then the Lord spoke thus to Seniya, the unclothed canine ascetic: “I did not countenance this (question) of yours, Seniya, (so) I said: ‘Enough, Seniya, let this be, do not ask me this.’” “I, revered sir, am not crying because the Lord speaks thus about me. It is, revered sir, because this bovine practice has been carried out in full by me for a long time. Revered sir, I have trust in the Lord thus: The Lord is able so to teach dhamma that I might give up this bovine practice, and Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic might give up that canine practice.” “Well then, Puṇṇa, listen, pay careful attention, and I will speak.” “Yes, revered sir,” Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, answered the Lord in assent. The Lord spoke thus:
Four Kinds of Deeds
“Puṇṇa, these four (kinds of) deeds are made known by me, having realised them by my own super-knowledge. What four?
[1] Deeds that are Dark
There is, Puṇṇa, the deed that is dark, dark in result. There is, Puṇṇa, the deed that is bright, bright in result. There is, Puṇṇa, the deed that is dark and bright, dark and bright in result. There is, Puṇṇa, the deed that is not dark (and) not bright, neither dark nor bright in result, the deed that conduces to the destruction of deeds. And what, Puṇṇa, is the deed that is dark, dark in result? As to this, Puṇṇa, someone effects an activity of body that is harmful, he effects an activity of speech that is harmful, he effects an activity of mind that is harmful. He, having effected an activity of body that is harmful, having effected an activity of speech that is harmful, having effected an activity of mind that is harmful, arises in a world that is harmful. Because he has uprisen in a world that is harmful, harmful sensory impingements assail him. He, being assailed by harmful sensory impingements, experiences a harmful feeling, without exception painful, even as do creatures in Niraya Hell. In this way, Puṇṇa, there is the uprising of a being from what has come to be; he uprises according to what he does; when he has uprisen, sensory impingements assail him. So I speak thus, Puṇṇa: Creatures are heirs to deeds. This, Puṇṇa, is called the deed that is dark, dark in result.
[2] Deeds that are Bright
And what, Puṇṇa, is the deed that is bright, bright in result? As to this, Puṇṇa, someone effects an activity of body that is harmless, effects an activity of speech that is harmless, effects an activity of mind that is harmless. He, having effected an activity of body that is harmless, having effected an activity of speech that is harmless, having effected an activity of mind that is harmless, arises in a world that is harmless. Because he has uprisen in a world that is harmless, harmless sensory impingements assail him. He, being assailed by harmless sensory impingements, experiences a harmless feeling, without exception pleasant, even as do the Ever-Radiant devas. In this way, Puṇṇa, there is the uprising of a being from what has come to be; he uprises according to what he does; when he has uprisen, sensory impingements assail him. So I speak thus, Puṇṇa: Creatures are heirs to deeds. This, Puṇṇa, is called the deed that is bright, bright in result.
[3] Deeds that are Dark and Bright
And what, Puṇṇa, is the deed that is dark and bright, dark and bright in result? As to this, Puṇṇa, someone effects an activity of body that is harmful and harmless, effects an activity of speech that is harmful and harmless, effects an activity of mind that is harmful and harmless. He, having effected an activity of body that is harmful and harmless, having effected an activity of speech that is harmful and harmless, having effected an activity of mind that is harmful and harmless, arises in a world that is harmful and harmless. Because he has uprisen in a world that is harmful and harmless, harmful and harmless sensory impingements assail him. He, being assailed by harmful and harmless sensory impingements, experiences a feeling that is harmful and harmless, partially pleasant and painful, even as do men and some devas and some in the sorrowful state. In this way, Puṇṇa, there is the uprising of a being from what has come to be; he uprises according to what he does; when he has uprisen, sensory impingements assail him. So I speak thus, Puṇṇa: Creatures are heirs to deeds. This, Puṇṇa, is called the deed that is dark and bright, dark and bright in result.
[4] Deeds that are neither Dark nor Bright
And what, Puṇṇa, is the deed that is not dark (and) not bright, neither dark nor bright in result, the deed that conduces to the destruction of deeds? Where, Puṇṇa, there is the will to get rid of that deed that is dark, dark in result, and the will to get rid of that deed that is bright, bright in result, and the will to get rid of that deed that is dark and bright, dark and bright in result, this, Puṇṇa, is called the deed that is not dark (and) not bright, neither dark nor bright in result, the deed that conduces to the destruction of deeds.
These, Puṇṇa, are the four (kinds of) deeds made known by me, having realised them by my own super-knowledge.”
When this had been said, Puṇṇa, the Koḷiyan, the bovine ascetic, spoke thus to the Lord: “It is excellent, revered sir, it is excellent, revered sir. It is as if, revered sir one might set upright what had been upset, or might disclose what was covered, or show the way to one who had gone astray, or bring an oil-lamp into the darkness so that those with vision might see material shapes, even so in many a figure has Dhamma been made clear by the Lord. I, revered sir, am going to the Lord for refuge and the Dhamma and to the Order of monks. May the Lord accept me as a lay-disciple going for refuge from this day forth for as long as life lasts.”
But Seniya the unclothed canine ascetic spoke thus to the Lord: “It is excellent, revered sir, it is excellent, revered sir. It is as if, revered sir, one might set upright what had been upset, or might disclose what was covered, or show the way to one who had gone astray, or bring an oil-lamp into the darkness so that those with vision might see material shapes, even so in many a figure has Dhamma been made clear by the Lord. Thus I, revered sir, am going to the Lord for refuge and to Dhamma and to the Order of monks. Revered sir, may I receive the going forth in the Lord's presence, may I receive ordination?”
“Seniya, if a former member of another sect wishes for the going forth in this Dhamma and discipline, wishes for ordination, he undertakes probation for four months; at the end of the four months the monks, if they so decide, may let him go forth, may ordain him into the status of a monk; but even here differences among individuals are known to me.” “If, revered sir, former members of other sects, wishing for the going forth in this Dhamma and discipline, wishing for ordination, undertake probation for four months, and if at the end of the four months the monks, if they so decide, let them go forth, ordain them into the status of a monk, then will I undertake probation for four years; at the end of the four years the monks, if they so decide, may let me go forth, may ordain me into the status of a monk.”
But Seniya, the unclothed canine ascetic, received the going forth in the Lord's presence, he received ordination. Soon after he was ordained the venerable Seniya, dwelling alone, aloof, diligent, ardent, self-resolute, in no long time having realised here-now by his own super-knowledge that matchless culmination of the Brahma-faring for the sake of which young men of family rightly go forth from home into homelessness, entering on it, abided in it. And he knew: ‘Destroyed is birth, brought to a close the Brahma-faring, done is what was to be done, there is no more of being such or so.’ So was the venerable Seniya one of the perfected ones.
Discourse on the Canine Ascetic: The Seventh
- Translator: I.B. Horner
