{"collection":"Digha Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_dn25/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_dn25","id":"suttacentral_dn25","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/dn25/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Digha Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"1. The Story of the Wanderer Nigrodha So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near R\u0101jagaha, on the Vulture\u2019s Peak Mountain. Now at that time the wanderer Nigrodha was residing in the lady Udumbarik\u0101\u2019s monastery for wanderers, together with a large assembly of three thousand wanderers. Then the householder Sandh\u0101na left R\u0101jagaha in the middle of the day to see the Buddha. Then it occurred to him, \u201cIt\u2019s the wrong time to see the Buddha, as he\u2019s in retreat. And it\u2019s the wrong time to see the esteemed mendicants, as they\u2019re in retreat. Why don\u2019t I visit the wanderer Nigrodha at the lady Udumbarik\u0101\u2019s monastery for wanderers?\u201d So he went to the monastery for the wanderers. Now at that time, Nigrodha was sitting together with a large assembly of wanderers making an uproar, a colossal racket. They engaged in all kinds of low talk, such as talk about kings, bandits, and chief ministers; talk about armies, threats, and wars; talk about food, drink, clothes, and beds; talk about garlands and fragrances; talk about family, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; talk about women and heroes; talk at the street market and the place for water pots; talk about the departed; motley talk; tales of land and sea; and talk about being reborn in this or that place. Nigrodha saw Sandh\u0101na coming off in the distance, and hushed his own assembly: \u201cBe quiet, good fellows, don\u2019t make a sound. The householder Sandh\u0101na, a disciple of the ascetic Gotama, is coming. He is included among the white-clothed lay disciples of the ascetic Gotama, who is residing near R\u0101jagaha. Such venerables like the quiet, are educated to be quiet, and praise the quiet. Hopefully if he sees that our assembly is quiet he\u2019ll see fit to approach.\u201d Then those wanderers fell silent. Then Sandh\u0101na went up to the wanderer Nigrodha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to Nigrodha, \u201cThe way the wanderers make an uproar as they sit together and talk about all kinds of low topics is one thing. It\u2019s quite different to the way the Buddha frequents remote lodgings in the wilderness and the forest that are quiet and still, far from the madding crowd, remote from human settlements, and fit for retreat.\u201d When Sandh\u0101na said this, Nigrodha said to him, \u201cSurely, householder, you should know better! With whom does the ascetic Gotama converse? With whom does he engage in discussion? With whom does he achieve lucidity of wisdom? Staying in empty huts has destroyed the ascetic Gotama\u2019s wisdom. Not frequenting assemblies, he is unable to hold a discussion. He just lurks on the periphery. He\u2019s just like a one-eyed cow, circling around and lurking on the periphery. Go on, householder! Were the ascetic Gotama to come to this assembly, I\u2019d sink him with just one question! I\u2019d tie him up like a hollow pot!\u201d With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, the Buddha heard this discussion between the householder Sandh\u0101na and the wanderer Nigrodha. Then the Buddha descended from Vulture\u2019s Peak Mountain and went to the peacocks\u2019 feeding ground on the bank of the Sum\u0101gadh\u0101, where he walked mindfully in the open air. Nigrodha saw him, and hushed his own assembly: \u201cBe quiet, good fellows, don\u2019t make a sound. Here, the ascetic Gotama is walking mindfully on the bank of the Sum\u0101gadh\u0101. The venerable likes quiet and praises quiet. Hopefully if he sees that our assembly is quiet he\u2019ll see fit to approach. If he comes, I\u2019ll ask him this question: \u2018Sir, what teaching do you use to guide your disciples, through which they claim solace in the fundamental goal of the spiritual life?\u2019\u201d Then those wanderers fell silent. 2. Mortification in Disgust of Sin Then the Buddha went up to the wanderer Nigrodha, who said to him, \u201cLet the Blessed One come, sir! Welcome to the Blessed One, sir! It\u2019s been a long time since you took the opportunity to come here. Please, sir, sit down, here, a seat is ready.\u201d The Buddha sat down on the seat spread out, while Nigrodha took a low seat and sat to one side. The Buddha said to him, \u201cNigrodha, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?\u201d Nigrodha said, \u201cWell, sir, I saw you walking mindfully and said: \u2018If the ascetic Gotama comes, I\u2019ll ask him this question: \u201cSir, what teaching do you use to guide your disciples, through which they claim solace in the fundamental goal of the spiritual life?\u201d\u2019 This is the conversation that was unfinished when the Buddha arrived.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s hard for you to understand this, Nigrodha, since you have a different view, creed, and belief, and another discipline and denomination. Please ask me a question about the higher disgust of sin in your own denomination: \u2018How are the conditions for the fervent mortification in disgust of sin completed, and how are they incomplete?\u2019\u201d When he said this, those wanderers made an uproar, \u201cOh lord, how incredible, how amazing! The ascetic Gotama has such power and might! For he sets aside his own doctrine and invites discussion on the doctrine of others!\u201d Then Nigrodha, having quieted those wanderers, said to the Buddha, \u201cSir, we teach fervent mortification in disgust of sin, regarding it as essential and sticking to it. How are the conditions for the fervent mortification in disgust of sin completed, and how are they incomplete?\u201d \u201cNigrodha, it\u2019s when a mortifier goes naked, ignoring conventions. They lick their hands, and don\u2019t come or wait when called. They don\u2019t consent to food brought to them, or food prepared on their behalf, or an invitation for a meal. They don\u2019t receive anything from a pot or bowl; or from someone who keeps sheep, or who has a weapon or a shovel in their home; or where a couple is eating; or where there is a woman who is pregnant, breast-feeding, or who lives with a man; or where there\u2019s a hound waiting or flies buzzing. They accept no fish or meat or beer or wine, and drink no fermented gruel. They go to just one house for alms, taking just one mouthful, or two houses and two mouthfuls, up to seven houses and seven mouthfuls. They feed on one saucer a day, two saucers a day, up to seven saucers a day. They eat once a day, once every second day, up to once a week, and so on, even up to once a fortnight. They live committed to the practice of eating food at set intervals. They eat herbs, millet, wild rice, poor rice, water lettuce, rice bran, scum from boiling rice, sesame flour, grass, or cow dung. They survive on forest roots and fruits, or eating fallen fruit. They wear robes of sunn hemp, mixed hemp, corpse-wrapping cloth, rags, lodh tree bark, antelope hide (whole or in strips), kusa grass, bark, wood-chips, human hair, horse-tail hair, or owls\u2019 wings. They tear out their hair and beard, committed to this practice. They constantly stand, turning down seats. They squat, committed to the endeavor of squatting. They lie on a mat of thorns, making a mat of thorns their bed. They make their bed on a plank, or the bare ground. They lie only on one side. They wear dust and dirt. They stay in the open air. They sleep wherever they lay their mat. They eat unnatural things, committed to the practice of eating unnatural foods. They don\u2019t drink, committed to the practice of not drinking liquids. They\u2019re devoted to ritual bathing three times a day, including at dusk. What do you think, Nigrodha? If this is so, is the fervent mortification in disgust of sin complete, or incomplete?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, if that is so the fervent mortification in disgust of sin is complete, not incomplete.\u201d \u201cBut even such a completed mortification has many defects, I say.\u201d 2.1. Defects \u201cBut how does the Buddha say that even such a completed mortification has many defects?\u201d \u201cFirstly, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They\u2019re happy with that, as they\u2019ve got all they wished for. This is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They glorify themselves and put others down on account of that. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They become indulgent and infatuated and fall into negligence on account of that. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They generate possessions, honor, and popularity through that mortification. They\u2019re happy with that, as they\u2019ve got all they wished for. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They generate possessions, honor, and popularity through that mortification. They glorify themselves and put others down on account of that. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They generate possessions, honor, and popularity through that mortification. They become indulgent and infatuated and fall into negligence on account of that. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier becomes fussy about food, saying, \u2018This is acceptable to me, this is not acceptable to me.\u2019 What is not acceptable they give up in expectation. But what is acceptable they eat tied, infatuated, attached, blind to the drawbacks, and not understanding the escape. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification out of longing for possessions, honor, and popularity, thinking, \u2018Kings, royal ministers, aristocrats, brahmins, householders, and sectarians will honor me!\u2019 This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier rebukes a certain ascetic or brahmin, \u2018What is it with this one living in abundance, devouring everything\u2014 plants propagated from roots, trunks, cuttings, or joints; and those from regular seeds as the fifth. According to this ascetic\u2019s doctrine, the crown of the tooth is forked lightning!\u2019 This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier sees a certain ascetic or brahmin being honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families. They think, \u2018This one, who lives in abundance, is honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families. But I, a fervent mortifier who lives rough, am not honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families.\u2019 Thus they give rise to jealousy and stinginess regarding families. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier sits meditation only when people can see them. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier sneaks about among families, thinking, \u2018This is part of my mortification; this is part of my mortification.\u2019 This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier sometimes behaves in an underhand manner. When asked whether something is acceptable to them, they say it is, even though it isn\u2019t. Or they say it isn\u2019t, even though it is. Thus they tell a deliberate lie. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier disagrees with the way that the Realized One or their disciple teaches Dhamma, even when they make a valid point. This too is a defect in that mortifier. Furthermore, a mortifier is irritable and acrimonious \u2026 offensive and contemptuous \u2026 jealous and stingy \u2026 devious and deceitful \u2026 obstinate and arrogant \u2026 they have corrupt wishes, falling under the sway of corrupt wishes \u2026 they have wrong view, being attached to an extremist view \u2026 they\u2019re attached to their own views, holding them tight, and refusing to let go. This too is a defect in that mortifier. What do you think, Nigrodha? Are such mortifications defective or not?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, they\u2019re defective. It\u2019s possible that a mortifier might have all of these defects, let alone one or other of them.\u201d 2.2. On Reaching the Shoots \u201cFirstly, Nigrodha, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. But they\u2019re not happy with that, as they still haven\u2019t got all they wished for. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They don\u2019t glorify themselves or put others down on account of that. So they\u2019re pure on that point. They don\u2019t become indulgent \u2026 Furthermore, a mortifier undertakes a practice of mortification. They generate possessions, honor, and popularity through that mortification. They\u2019re not happy with that, as they still haven\u2019t got all they wished for \u2026 They don\u2019t glorify themselves and put others down on account of possessions, honor, and popularity \u2026 They don\u2019t become indulgent because of it \u2026 So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier doesn\u2019t become fussy about food, saying, \u2018This is acceptable to me, this is not acceptable to me.\u2019 What is not acceptable they give up without concern. But what is acceptable they eat without being tied, infatuated, attached, seeing the drawbacks, and understanding the escape. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier doesn\u2019t undertake a practice of mortification out of longing for possessions, honor, and popularity \u2026 \u2018Kings, royal ministers, aristocrats, brahmins, householders, and sectarians will honor me!\u2019 So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier doesn\u2019t rebuke a certain ascetic or brahmin, \u2018What is it with this one living in abundance, devouring everything\u2014 plants propagated from roots, trunks, cuttings, or joints; and those from regular seeds as the fifth. According to this ascetic\u2019s doctrine, the crown of the tooth is like forked lightning!\u2019 So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier sees a certain ascetic or brahmin being honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families. It never occurs to them, \u2018This one, who lives in abundance, is honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families. But I, a fervent mortifier who lives rough, am not honored, respected, esteemed, and venerated among good families.\u2019 Thus they don\u2019t give rise to jealousy and stinginess regarding families. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier doesn\u2019t sit meditation only when people can see them. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier doesn\u2019t sneak about among families, thinking, \u2018This is part of my mortification; this is part of my mortification.\u2019 So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier never behaves in an underhand manner. When asked whether something is acceptable to them, they say it isn\u2019t when it isn\u2019t. Or they say it is when it is. Thus they don\u2019t tell a deliberate lie. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier agrees with the way that the Realized One or their disciple teaches Dhamma when they make a valid point. So they\u2019re pure on that point. Furthermore, a mortifier is not irritable and acrimonious \u2026 offensive and contemptuous \u2026 jealous and stingy \u2026 devious and deceitful \u2026 obstinate and arrogant \u2026 they don\u2019t have corrupt wishes \u2026 and wrong view \u2026 they\u2019re not attached to their own views, holding them tight, and refusing to let go. So they\u2019re pure on that point. What do you think, Nigrodha? If this is so, is the fervent mortification in disgust of sin purified or not?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, it is purified. It has reached the peak and the pith.\u201d \u201cNo, Nigrodha, at this point the fervent mortification in disgust of sin has not yet reached the peak and the pith. Rather, it has only reached the shoots.\u201d 2.3. On Reaching the Bark \u201cBut at what point, sir, does the fervent mortification in disgust of sin reach the peak and the pith? Please help me reach the peak and the pith!\u201d \u201cNigrodha, take a mortifier who is restrained in the fourfold constraint. And how is a mortifier restrained in the fourfold constraint? It\u2019s when a mortifier doesn\u2019t kill living creatures, doesn\u2019t get others to kill, and doesn\u2019t approve of killing. They don\u2019t steal, get others to steal, or approve of stealing. They don\u2019t lie, get others to lie, or approve of lying. They don\u2019t expect rewards from their practice, they don\u2019t lead others to expect rewards, and they don\u2019t approve of expecting rewards. That\u2019s how a mortifier is restrained in the fourfold constraint. When a mortifier is restrained in the fourfold constraint, that is their mortification. They step forward, not falling back. They frequent a secluded lodging\u2014a wilderness, the root of a tree, a hill, a ravine, a mountain cave, a charnel ground, a forest, the open air, a heap of straw. After the meal, they return from almsround, sit down cross-legged, set their body straight, and bring mindfulness to the present. Giving up covetousness for the world, they meditate with a heart rid of covetousness, cleansing the mind of covetousness. Giving up ill will and malevolence, they meditate with a mind rid of ill will, full of sympathy for all living beings, cleansing the mind of ill will. Giving up dullness and drowsiness, they meditate with a mind rid of dullness and drowsiness, perceiving light, mindful and aware, cleansing the mind of dullness and drowsiness. Giving up restlessness and remorse, they meditate without restlessness, their mind settled internally, cleansing the mind of restlessness and remorse. Giving up doubt, they meditate having gone beyond doubt, not undecided about skillful qualities, cleansing the mind of doubt. They give up these five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom. Then they meditate spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of love to the whole world\u2014abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. They meditate spreading a heart full of compassion \u2026 They meditate spreading a heart full of rejoicing \u2026 They meditate spreading a heart full of equanimity to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of equanimity to the whole world\u2014abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. What do you think, Nigrodha? If this is so, is the fervent mortification in disgust of sin purified or not?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, it is purified. It has reached the peak and the pith.\u201d \u201cNo, Nigrodha, at this point the fervent mortification in disgust of sin has not yet reached the peak and the pith. Rather, it has only reached the bark.\u201d 2.4. On Reaching the Softwood \u201cBut at what point, sir, does the fervent mortification in disgust of sin reach the peak and the pith? Please help me reach the peak and the pith!\u201d \u201cNigrodha, take a mortifier who is restrained in the fourfold constraint. They give up these five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom. Then they meditate spreading a heart full of love \u2026 compassion \u2026 rejoicing \u2026 equanimity. They recollect many kinds of past lives, that is, one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. They remember: \u2018There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.\u2019 And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details. What do you think, Nigrodha? If this is so, is the fervent mortification in disgust of sin purified or not?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, it is purified. It has reached the peak and the pith.\u201d \u201cNo, Nigrodha, at this point the fervent mortification in disgust of sin has not yet reached the peak and the pith. Rather, it has only reached the softwood.\u201d 3. On Reaching the Heartwood \u201cBut at what point, sir, does the fervent mortification in disgust of sin reach the peak and the pith? Please help me reach the peak and the pith!\u201d \u201cNigrodha, take a mortifier who is restrained in the fourfold constraint. They give up these five hindrances, corruptions of the heart that weaken wisdom. Then they meditate spreading a heart full of love \u2026 equanimity \u2026 They recollect many kinds of past lives, with features and details. With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn\u2014inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds: \u2018These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body broke up, after death, they were reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.\u2019 And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn\u2014inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds. What do you think, Nigrodha? If this is so, is the fervent mortification in disgust of sin purified or not?\u201d \u201cClearly, sir, it is purified. It has reached the peak and the pith.\u201d \u201cNigrodha, at this point the fervent mortification in disgust of sin has reached the peak and the pith. Nigrodha, remember you said this to me: \u2018Sir, what teaching do you use to guide your disciples, through which they claim solace in the fundamental goal of the spiritual life?\u2019 Well, there is something better and finer than this. That\u2019s what I use to guide my disciples, through which they claim solace in the fundamental goal of the spiritual life.\u201d When he said this, those wanderers made an uproar, \u201cIn that case, we\u2019re lost, and so is our denomination! We don\u2019t know anything better or finer than that!\u201d 4. Nigrodha Feels Depressed Then the householder Sandh\u0101na realized, \u201cObviously, now these wanderers want to listen to what the Buddha says. They\u2019re actively listening and trying to understand!\u201d So he said to the wanderer Nigrodha, \u201cHonorable Nigrodha, remember you said this to me: \u2018Surely, householder, you should know better! With whom does the ascetic Gotama converse? With whom does he engage in discussion? With whom does he achieve lucidity of wisdom? Staying in empty huts has destroyed the ascetic Gotama\u2019s wisdom. Not frequenting assemblies, he is unable to hold a discussion. He just lurks on the periphery. He\u2019s just like a one-eyed cow, circling around and lurking on the periphery. Please, householder, let the ascetic Gotama come to this assembly. I\u2019ll sink him with just one question! I\u2019ll roll him over and wrap him up like a hollow pot!\u2019 Now the Blessed One, perfected and fully awakened, has arrived here. Why don\u2019t you send him out of the assembly to the periphery like a one-eyed cow? Why don\u2019t you sink him with just one question? Why don\u2019t you roll him over and wrap him up like a hollow pot?\u201d When he said this, Nigrodha sat silent, dismayed, shoulders drooping, downcast, depressed, with nothing to say. Knowing this, the Buddha said to him, \u201cIs it really true, Nigrodha\u2014are those your words?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s true, sir, those are my words. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of me.\u201d \u201cWhat do you think, Nigrodha? Have you heard that wanderers of the past who were elderly and senior, the tutors of tutors, said that when the perfected ones, the fully awakened Buddhas of the past came together, they made an uproar, a colossal racket as they sat and talked about all kinds of low topics, like you do in your denomination these days? Or did they say that the Buddhas frequented remote lodgings in the wilderness and the forest that are quiet and still, far from the madding crowd, remote from human settlements, and fit for retreat, like I do these days?\u201d \u201cI have heard that wanderers of the past who were elderly and senior, said that when the perfected ones, the fully awakened Buddhas of the past came together, they didn\u2019t make an uproar, like I do in my denomination these days. They said that the Buddhas of the past frequented remote lodgings in the wilderness, like the Buddha does these days.\u201d \u201cNigrodha, you are a sensible and mature man. Did it not occur to you: \u2018The Blessed One is awakened, tamed, serene, crossed over, and quenched. And he teaches Dhamma for awakening, taming, serenity, crossing over, and extinguishment\u2019?\u201d 5. The Culmination of the Spiritual Path Nigrodha said, \u201cI made a mistake, sir. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of me to speak in that way. Please, sir, accept my mistake for what it is, so I will restrain myself in future.\u201d \u201cIndeed, Nigrodha, you made a mistake. It was foolish, stupid, and unskillful of you to speak in that way. But since you have recognized your mistake for what it is, and have dealt with it properly, I accept it. For it is growth in the training of the Noble One to recognize a mistake for what it is, deal with it properly, and commit to restraint in the future. Nigrodha, this is what I say: Let a sensible person come\u2014neither devious nor deceitful, a person of integrity. I teach and instruct them. By practicing as instructed they will realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life, in seven years. They will live having achieved with their own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness. Let alone seven years. Let a sensible person come\u2014neither devious nor deceitful, a person of integrity. I teach and instruct them. By practicing as instructed they will realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life, in six years \u2026 five years \u2026 four years \u2026 three years \u2026 two years \u2026 one year \u2026 seven months \u2026 six months \u2026 five months \u2026 four months \u2026 three months \u2026 two months \u2026 one month \u2026 a fortnight. Let alone a fortnight. Let a sensible person come\u2014neither devious nor deceitful, a person of integrity. I teach and instruct them. By practicing as instructed they will realize the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life, in seven days. 6. The Wanderers Feel Depressed Nigrodha, you might think, \u2018The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants pupils.\u2019 But you should not see it like this. Let your tutor remain your tutor. You might think, \u2018The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to give up our recitation.\u2019 But you should not see it like this. Let your recitation remain as it is. You might think, \u2018The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to give up our livelihood.\u2019 But you should not see it like this. Let your livelihood remain as it is. You might think, \u2018The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to start doing things that are unskillful and considered unskillful in our denomination.\u2019 But you should not see it like this. Let those things that are unskillful and considered unskillful in your denomination remain as they are. You might think, \u2018The ascetic Gotama speaks like this because he wants us to stop doing things that are skillful and considered skillful in our denomination.\u2019 But you should not see it like this. Let those things that are skillful and considered skillful in your denomination remain as they are. I do not speak for any of these reasons. Nigrodha, there are things that are unskillful, corrupting, leading to future lives, hurtful, resulting in suffering and future rebirth, old age, and death. I teach Dhamma so that those things may be given up. When you practice accordingly, corrupting qualities will be given up in you and cleansing qualities will grow. You\u2019ll enter and remain in the fullness and abundance of wisdom, having realized it with your own insight in this very life.\u201d When this was said, those wanderers sat silent, dismayed, shoulders drooping, downcast, depressed, with nothing to say, as if their minds were possessed by M\u0101ra. Then it occurred to the Buddha, \u201cAll these silly people have been touched by the Wicked One! For not even a single one thinks, \u2018Come, let us lead the spiritual life under the ascetic Gotama for the sake of enlightenment\u2014for what do seven days matter?\u2019\u201d Then the Buddha, having roared his lion\u2019s roar in the lady Udumbarik\u0101\u2019s monastery for wanderers, rose into the air and landed on Vulture\u2019s Peak. Meanwhile, the householder Sandh\u0101na went right back to R\u0101jagaha.","title":"The Lion\u2019s Roar at the Monastery of Lady Udumbarik\u0101","tradition":"Digha Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":4875}