{"collection":"Majjhima Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_mn144/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_mn144","id":"suttacentral_mn144","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/mn144/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Majjhima Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near R\u0101jagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels\u2019 feeding ground. Now at that time the venerables S\u0101riputta, Mah\u0101cunda, and Channa were staying on the Vulture\u2019s Peak Mountain. Now at that time Venerable Channa was sick, suffering, gravely ill. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable S\u0101riputta came out of retreat, went to Venerable Mah\u0101cunda and said to him, \u201cCome, Reverend Cunda, let\u2019s go to see Venerable Channa and ask about his illness.\u201d \u201cYes, reverend,\u201d replied Mah\u0101cunda. And then S\u0101riputta and Mah\u0101cunda went to see Channa and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, they sat down to one side. Then S\u0101riputta said to Channa, \u201cI hope you\u2019re keeping well, Reverend Channa, I hope you\u2019re all right. I hope your pain is fading, not growing; that its fading is evident, not its growing.\u201d \u201cReverend S\u0101riputta, I\u2019m not keeping well, I\u2019m not getting by. My pain is terrible and growing, not fading; its growing is evident, not its fading. The winds piercing my head are so severe, it feels like a strong man drilling into my head with a sharp point. The pain in my head is so severe, it feels like a strong man tightening a strong leather strap around my head. The winds slicing my belly are so severe, like a deft butcher or their apprentice were slicing open a cow\u2019s belly with a sharp meat cleaver. The burning in my body is so severe, it feels like two strong men grabbing a weaker man by the arms to burn and scorch him on a pit of glowing coals. I\u2019m not keeping well, I\u2019m not getting by. My pain is terrible and growing, not fading; its growing is evident, not its fading. Reverend S\u0101riputta, I shall commit suicide. I don\u2019t wish to live.\u201d \u201cPlease don\u2019t commit suicide! Venerable Channa, keep going! We want you to keep going. If you don\u2019t have any suitable food, we\u2019ll find it for you. If you don\u2019t have suitable medicine, we\u2019ll find it for you. If you don\u2019t have a capable carer, we\u2019ll find one for you. Please don\u2019t commit suicide! Venerable Channa, keep going! We want you to keep going.\u201d \u201cReverend S\u0101riputta, it\u2019s not that I don\u2019t have suitable food, or suitable medicine, or a capable carer. Moreover, for a long time now I have served the Teacher with love, not without love. For it is proper for a disciple to serve the Teacher with love, not without love. You should remember this: \u2018The mendicant Channa will commit suicide blamelessly.\u2019\u201d \u201cI\u2019d like to ask Venerable Channa about a certain point, if you\u2019d take the time to answer.\u201d \u201cAsk, Reverend S\u0101riputta. When I\u2019ve heard it I\u2019ll know.\u201d \u201cReverend Channa, do you regard the eye, eye consciousness, and things knowable by eye consciousness in this way: \u2018This is mine, I am this, this is my self\u2019? Do you regard the ear \u2026 nose \u2026 tongue \u2026 body \u2026 mind, mind consciousness, and things knowable by mind consciousness in this way: \u2018This is mine, I am this, this is my self\u2019?\u201d \u201cReverend S\u0101riputta, I regard the eye, eye consciousness, and things knowable by eye consciousness in this way: \u2018This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self.\u2019 I regard the ear \u2026 nose \u2026 tongue \u2026 body \u2026 mind, mind consciousness, and things knowable by mind consciousness in this way: \u2018This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self\u2019.\u201d \u201cReverend Channa, what have you seen, what have you directly known in these things that you regard them in this way: \u2018This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self\u2019?\u201d \u201cReverend S\u0101riputta, after seeing cessation, after directly knowing cessation in these things I regard them in this way: \u2018This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self\u2019.\u201d When he said this, Venerable Mah\u0101cunda said to Venerable Channa: \u201cSo, Reverend Channa, you should regularly apply your mind to this instruction of the Buddha: \u2018For the dependent there is quivering. For the independent there\u2019s no quivering. When there\u2019s no quivering, there is tranquility. When there is tranquility, there\u2019s no inclination. When there\u2019s no inclination, there\u2019s no coming and going. When there\u2019s no coming and going, there\u2019s no passing away and reappearing. When there\u2019s no passing away and reappearing, there\u2019s no this life or the next or between the two. Just this is the end of suffering.\u2019\u201d And when the venerables S\u0101riputta and Mah\u0101cunda had given Venerable Channa this advice they rose from their seats and left. Not long after those venerables had left, Venerable Channa committed suicide. Then S\u0101riputta went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him, \u201cSir, Venerable Channa has committed suicide. Where has he been reborn in his next life?\u201d \u201cS\u0101riputta, didn\u2019t the mendicant Channa declare his blamelessness to you personally?\u201d \u201cSir, there is a Vajjian village named Pubbajira. There Channa had families who were friendly, intimate, and hospitable.\u201d \u201cThe mendicant Channa did indeed have such families. But, S\u0101riputta, this is not enough for me to call someone \u2018blameworthy\u2019. When someone lays down this body and takes up another body, I call them \u2018blameworthy\u2019. But the mendicant Channa did no such thing. You should remember this: \u2018The mendicant Channa committed suicide blamelessly.\u2019\u201d That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, Venerable S\u0101riputta approved what the Buddha said.","title":"Advice to Channa","tradition":"Majjhima Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":906}