With Udāyī

Then Udāyī the brahmin went up to the Buddha, … and asked him, “Does the worthy 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 creatures 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 creatures are not slaughtered. I do praise that kind of non-violent sacrifice; for example, a regular gift as a propitious sacrifice. Well-prepared and non-violent, a sacrifice that’s allowable and timely, is attended by disciplined spiritual practitioners. The Buddhas—<j>who have cast off the world’s veil, passing beyond 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, <j>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.”