Mahācundasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā mahācundo cetīsu viharati sayaṁjātiyaṁ. Tatra kho āyasmā mahācundo bhikkhū āmantesi: “āvuso bhikkhave”ti. “Āvuso”ti kho te bhikkhū āyasmato mahācundassa paccassosuṁ. Āyasmā mahācundo etadavoca:

So I have heard. At one time Venerable Mahācunda was staying in the land of the Cetis at Sahajāti. There he addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!” “Reverend,” they replied. Venerable Mahācunda said this:

“Idhāvuso, dhammayogā bhikkhū jhāyī bhikkhū apasādenti: ‘ime pana jhāyinomhā, jhāyinomhāti jhāyanti pajjhāyanti nijjhāyanti avajjhāyanti. Kimime jhāyanti, kintime jhāyanti, kathaṁ ime jhāyantī’ti? Tattha dhammayogā ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, jhāyī ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, na ca bahujanahitāya paṭipannā honti bahujanasukhāya bahuno janassa atthāya hitāya sukhāya devamanussānaṁ.

“Take a case where mendicants who practice discernment of principles rebuke mendicants who practice absorption: ‘They say, “We practice absorption meditation! We practice absorption meditation!” And they meditate and concentrate and contemplate and ruminate. Why do they practice absorption meditation? In what way do they practice absorption meditation? How do they practice absorption meditation?’ In this case the mendicants who practice discernment of principles are not inspired, and the mendicants who practice absorption are not inspired. And they’re not acting for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.

Idha panāvuso, jhāyī bhikkhū dhammayoge bhikkhū apasādenti: ‘ime pana dhammayogamhā, dhammayogamhāti uddhatā unnaḷā capalā mukharā vikiṇṇavācā muṭṭhassatī asampajānā asamāhitā vibbhantacittā pākatindriyā. Kimime dhammayogā, kintime dhammayogā, kathaṁ ime dhammayogā’ti? Tattha jhāyī ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, dhammayogā ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, na ca bahujanahitāya paṭipannā honti bahujanasukhāya bahuno janassa atthāya hitāya sukhāya devamanussānaṁ.

Now, take a case where mendicants who practice absorption meditation rebuke mendicants who practice discernment of principles: ‘They say, “We practice discernment of principles! We practice discernment of principles!” But they’re haughty, insolent, fickle, scurrilous, loose-tongued, unmindful, lacking situational awareness and immersion, with straying minds and undisciplined faculties. Why do they practice discernment of principles? In what way do they practice discernment of principles? How do they practice discernment of principles?’ In this case the mendicants who practice absorption are not inspired, and the mendicants who practice discernment of principles are not inspired. And they’re not acting for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.

Idha panāvuso, dhammayogā bhikkhū dhammayogānaññeva bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsanti, no jhāyīnaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsanti. Tattha dhammayogā ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, jhāyī ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, na ca bahujanahitāya paṭipannā honti bahujanasukhāya bahuno janassa atthāya hitāya sukhāya devamanussānaṁ.

Now, take a case where mendicants who practice discernment of principles praise only others like them, not mendicants who practice absorption. In this case the mendicants who practice discernment of principles are not inspired, and the mendicants who practice absorption are not inspired. And they’re not acting for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.

Idha panāvuso, jhāyī bhikkhū jhāyīnaññeva bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsanti, no dhammayogānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsanti. Tattha jhāyī ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, dhammayogā ca bhikkhū nappasīdanti, na ca bahujanahitāya paṭipannā honti bahujanasukhāya bahuno janassa atthāya hitāya sukhāya devamanussānaṁ.

And take a case where mendicants who practice absorption praise only others like them, not mendicants who practice discernment of principles. In this case the mendicants who practice absorption are not inspired, and the mendicants who practice discernment of principles are not inspired. And they’re not acting for the welfare and happiness of the people, for the people, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.

Tasmātihāvuso, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘dhammayogā samānā jhāyīnaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsissāmā’ti. Evañhi vo, āvuso, sikkhitabbaṁ. Taṁ kissa hetu? Acchariyā hete, āvuso, puggalā dullabhā lokasmiṁ, ye amataṁ dhātuṁ kāyena phusitvā viharanti.

So you should train like this: ‘As mendicants who practice discernment of principles, we will praise mendicants who practice absorption.’ That’s how you should train. Why is that? Because it’s rare to find such incredible individuals in the world who have direct meditative experience of the element free of death.

Tasmātihāvuso, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘jhāyī samānā dhammayogānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ vaṇṇaṁ bhāsissāmā’ti. Evañhi vo, āvuso, sikkhitabbaṁ. Taṁ kissa hetu? Acchariyā hete, āvuso, puggalā dullabhā lokasmiṁ ye gambhīraṁ atthapadaṁ paññāya ativijjha passantī”ti. Catutthaṁ.

So you should train like this: ‘As mendicants who practice absorption, we will praise mendicants who practice discernment of principles.’ That’s how you should train. Why is that? Because it’s incredibly rare to find individuals in the world who see the meaning of a deep saying with penetrating wisdom.”