{"collection":"Majjhima Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_mn37/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_mn37","id":"suttacentral_mn37","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/mn37/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Majjhima Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in the stilt longhouse of Mig\u0101ra\u2019s mother in the Eastern Monastery. And then Sakka, lord of gods, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him: \u201cSir, how do you briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans?\u201d \u201cLord of gods, take a mendicant who has heard: \u2018Nothing is worth insisting on.\u2019 When a mendicant has heard that nothing is worth insisting on, they directly know all things. Directly knowing all things, they completely understand all things. Completely understanding all things, when they experience any kind of feeling\u2014pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral\u2014 they meditate observing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and letting go in those feelings. Meditating in this way, they don\u2019t grasp at anything in the world. Not grasping, they\u2019re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished. They understand: \u2018Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.\u2019 That\u2019s how I briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans.\u201d Then Sakka, lord of gods, having approved and agreed with what the Buddha said, bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there. Now at that time Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na was sitting not far from the Buddha. He thought, \u201cDid that spirit comprehend what the Buddha said when he agreed with him, or not? Why don\u2019t I find out?\u201d And then Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na, as easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, vanished from the Eastern Monastery and reappeared among the gods of the thirty-three. Now at that time Sakka was amusing himself in the Single Lotus Park, supplied and provided with a heavenly orchestra. Seeing Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na coming off in the distance, he waved off the orchestra, approached Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na, and said, \u201cCome, my good fellow Moggall\u0101na! Welcome, my good fellow! It\u2019s been a long time since you took the opportunity to come here. Sit, my good Moggall\u0101na, here, a seat is ready.\u201d Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na sat down on the seat spread out, while Sakka took a low seat and sat to one side. Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na said to him, \u201cKosiya, how did the Buddha briefly explain freedom through the ending of craving? Please share this talk with me so that I can also get to hear it.\u201d \u201cMy good Moggall\u0101na, I have many duties, and much to do, not only for myself, but also for the gods of the thirty-three. Still, what is properly heard, learned, attended, and memorized does not vanish all of a sudden. Once upon a time, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans. In that battle the gods won and the titans lost. When I returned from that battle as a conqueror, I created the Palace of Victory. The Palace of Victory has a hundred towers. Each tower has seven hundred chambers. Each chamber has seven nymphs. Each nymph has seven maids. Would you like to see the lovely Palace of Victory?\u201d Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na consented with silence. Then, putting Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na in front, Sakka, lord of gods, and Vessava\u1e47a, the Great King, went to the Palace of Victory. When they saw Moggall\u0101na coming off in the distance, Sakka\u2019s maids, being discreet and prudent, each went to her own bedroom. They were just like a daughter-in-law who is discreet and prudent when they see their father-in-law. Then Sakka and Vessava\u1e47a encouraged Moggall\u0101na to wander and explore the palace, saying, \u201cSee, in the palace, my good Moggall\u0101na, this lovely thing! And that lovely thing!\u201d \u201cThat looks beautiful for the venerable Kosiya, as befits one who has made merit in the past. Humans, when they see something lovely, also say: \u2018It looks beautiful enough for the gods of the thirty-three!\u2019 That looks beautiful for the venerable Kosiya, as befits one who has made merit in the past.\u201d Then Moggall\u0101na thought, \u201cThis spirit lives much too negligently. Why don\u2019t I stir up a sense of urgency in him?\u201d Then Moggall\u0101na used his psychic power to make the Palace of Victory shake and rock and tremble with his big toe. Then Sakka, Vessava\u1e47a, and the gods of the thirty-three, their minds full of wonder and amazement, thought, \u201cOh lord, how incredible, how amazing! The ascetic has such power and might that he makes the god\u2019s home shake and rock and tremble with his big toe!\u201d Knowing that Sakka was shocked and awestruck, Moggall\u0101na said to him, \u201cKosiya, how did the Buddha briefly explain freedom through the ending of craving? Please share this talk with me so that I can also get to hear it.\u201d \u201cMy good fellow Moggall\u0101na, I approached the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him, \u2018Sir, how do you briefly define a mendicant who is freed with the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans?\u2019 When I had spoken the Buddha said to me: \u2018Lord of gods, it\u2019s when a mendicant has heard: \u201cNothing is worth insisting on.\u201d When a mendicant has heard that nothing is worth insisting on, they directly know all things. Directly knowing all things, they completely understand all things. Having completely understood all things, when they experience any kind of feeling\u2014pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral\u2014 they meditate observing impermanence, dispassion, cessation, and letting go in those feelings. Meditating in this way, they don\u2019t grasp at anything in the world. Not grasping, they\u2019re not anxious. Not being anxious, they personally become extinguished. They understand: \u201cRebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is nothing further for this place.\u201d That\u2019s how I briefly define a mendicant who is freed through the ending of craving, who has reached the ultimate end, the ultimate sanctuary from the yoke, the ultimate spiritual life, the ultimate goal, and is best among gods and humans.\u2019 That\u2019s how the Buddha briefly explained freedom through the ending of craving to me.\u201d Moggall\u0101na approved and agreed with what Sakka said. As easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from among the gods of the thirty-three and reappeared in the Eastern Monastery. Soon after Moggall\u0101na left, Sakka\u2019s maids said to him, \u201cGood fellow, was that the Blessed One, your Teacher?\u201d \u201cNo, it was not. That was my spiritual companion Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re fortunate, good fellow, so very fortunate, to have a spiritual companion of such power and might! We can\u2019t believe that\u2019s not the Blessed One, your Teacher!\u201d Then Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him, \u201cSir, do you recall briefly explaining freedom through the ending of craving to a certain well-known and illustrious spirit?\u201d \u201cI do, Moggall\u0101na.\u201d And the Buddha retold all that happened when Sakka came to visit him, adding: \u201cThat\u2019s how I recall briefly explaining freedom through the ending of craving to Sakka, lord of gods.\u201d That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na approved what the Buddha said.","title":"The Shorter Discourse on the Ending of Craving","tradition":"Majjhima Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":1245}