'I have seen fear in every mode of being

"Bhikkhus, on one occasion when I was living at Ukkattha in the Subhaga Grove at the root of a royal sala tree, there had arisen in the Brahma Baka a pernicious view (of his own perma-nence and absoluteness). I became aware in mind of the thought in the Brahma's mind, and ... I appeared in that world.

The Brahma Baka saw me coming, and he said: 'Come, good sir! Welcome, good sir! It is long, good sir, since you made an occasion to come here.

Now, good sir, this is permanent, this is everlasting, this is eternal, this is totality, this is not subject to passing away; for this neither is born nor ages nor dies nor passes away nor reappears, and beyond this there is no escape.'

"Then Mara the Evil One entered into a member of the Brahma's assembly, and he told me: 'Bhikkhu, bhikkhu, do not disbelieve him, do not disbelieve him; for this Brahma is the Great Brahma, Transcendent Being untranscended, Sure-sighted Wielder of Mastery, Lord Maker and Creator, Most High Providence, Master and Father of those that are and ever can be. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were monks and brahmans in the world who condemned earth through disgust with earth, who condemned water ... fire ... air ...beings ... gods ... Pajapati, Lord of the Race ... who condemned Brahma through disgust with Brahma; now on the dissolution of the body, when their breath was cut off, they became established in an inferior body. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were monks and brahmans in the world who lauded all these through love of them; now on the dissolution of the body, when their breath was cut off, they became established in a superior body.

So, bhikkhu, I tell you this: Be sure, good sir, to do only as Brahma says. Never overstep Brahma's word; for if you do that, bhikkhu, then you will be like a man who tries to deflect a beam of light with a stick when it comes upon him, or like a man who loses his hold of the earth with his hands and feet as he slips into a deep abyss. Be sure, good sir, to do only as Brahma says. Never overstep Brahma's word. Do you not see the Divine Assembly seated here, bhikkhu?' And Mara the Evil One thus called the Divine Assembly to witness.

"When this was said, I told Mara the Evil One: 'I know you, Evil One; do not fancy 'He does not know me.' You are Mara the Evil One, and Brahma and the Divine Assembly with all its members have all fallen into your hands, they have all fallen into your power. You, Evil One, think that I have fallen into your power too; but that is not so.'

"When this was said, Brahma Baka told me: 'Good sir, I say of the permanent that it is permanent, of the everlasting that it is ever-lasting, of the eternal that it is eternal, of totality that it is totality, of what is not subject to passing away that it is not subject to passing away, of what neither is born nor ages nor dies nor passes away nor reappears, that it neither is born nor ages nor dies nor passes away nor reappears, and of that beyond which there is no escape, that there is no escape beyond it.

Before your time, bhikkhu, there were monks and brahmans in the world whose asceticism lasted as long as your whole life. They knew, when there was an escape beyond, that there was an escape beyond, and, when there was no escape beyond, that there was no escape beyond. So, bhikkhu, I tell you this: Beyond this you will find no escape, and in trying to do so you will eventually reap weariness and disappointment. If you will believe in6 earth ... in water ... in fire ... in air ... in beings ... in gods ... in Pajapati ... If you will believe in Brahma you will be one to lie near me, to lie within my province, as you will be for me to work my will upon and punish.' "

'I know that too, Brahma. But I understand your reach and your sway thus: Brahma Baka's power, his might, his following, extend thus far and no further.' 'Now, good sir, how far do you understand my reach and my sway to extend?'

" 'As far as moon and sun do circulate Shining and lighting up the four directions, Over a thousand times as wide a world Your power can exert its influence.

And there you know the high and low as well,
And those governed by lust and free from lust,
The state of what is thus and otherwise,
And creatures' provenance and destination.

'Thus far do I understand your reach and sway to extend. Yet there are three other main bodies of Brahma gods which you neither know nor see, and which I know and see. There is the body called Abhassara (of Streaming Radiance) whence you passed away and reap-peared here. But with long dwelling here your memory of it has lapsed, and so you no more know or see it, but I know and see it.

Standing thus, as I do, not on the same level of direct knowledge as you, it is not less that I know, but more. And likewise with the still higher bodies of the Subhakinna (of Refulgent Glory) and the Vehap-phala (of Great Fruit).

'Now, Brahma, having had direct knowledge of earth as earth, and having had direct knowledge of what is not co-essential with the earthness of earth, I did not claim to be earth, did not claim to be in earth, I did not claim to be apart from earth, I did not claim earth to be mine, I made no affirmation about earth. Having had direct knowledge of water as water ... of fire ... air ... beings ... gods .... Pajapati ... Brahma ... the Abhassara ... the Subhakinna ... the Vehapphala ... the Transcendent Being (Abhibhu) ... Having had direct knowledge of all as all, and having had direct knowledge of what is not co-essential with the allness of all, I did not claim to be all, I did not claim to be in all, I did not claim to be apart from all, I did not claim all to be mine, I made no affirmation about all.

Standing thus, too, as I do, it is not less that I know, but more.'  'Good sir, if you claim to have access to what is not coessential with the allness of all, may you not be proved vain and empty!' "

'The consciousness that makes no showing
Nor has to do with finiteness,
Claiming no being apart from all:

that is not co-essential with the earthness of earth, with the waterness of water ... with the allness of all.' "

'Then, good sir, I will vanish from you.' " 'Then, Brahma, vanish from me if you can.' "Then Brahma Baka, thinking 'I will vanish from the monk Gotama; I will vanish from the monk Gotama,' was unable to do so.

I said: 'Then, Brahma, I will vanish from you.' 'Then, good sir, vanish from me if you can.' "I made a determination of supernormal power thus: 'Just to the extent of Brahma and the Assembly, let them hear the sound of my voice without seeing me,' and after I had vanished, I uttered this stanza:

"'I have seen fear in every mode of being
Including being seeking for non-being;
There is no mode of being I affirm,
No relish whatsoever whereto I cling.'

"Then Brahma and the Assembly and all its members wondered and marvelled at that, and they said: 'It is wonderful, sirs, it is mar-vellous! This monk Gotama who went forth from a Sakyan clan has such great power and might as we have never before seen in any other monk or brahman! Sirs, though living in a generation that delights in being, loves being, finds gladness in being, he has extirpated being together with its root!'

"Then Mara the Evil One entered into a member of the Assem-bly, and he said: 'Good sir, if that is what you know, if that is what you have discovered, do not lead your lay disciples to it or those gone forth, do not teach them your Dhamma or create in them a yearning for it. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were monks and brahmans in the world claiming to be accomplished and fully enlightened, and they did that; but on the dissolution of the body when their breath was cut off, they became established in an inferior body. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were also such monks and brahmans in the world, and they did not do that; and on the dissolution of the body, when their breath was cut off, they became established in a superior body. So, bhikkhu, I tell you this: Be sure, good sir, to abide inactive; devote yourself to a pleasant abiding here and now. This is better left undeclared, good sir, and so inform no one else of it at all.'

"When this was said, I replied: 'I know you, Evil One. It is not out of compassion or desire for my welfare that you speak thus. You are thinking that those to whom I teach this Dhamma will go beyond your reach. Those monks and brahmans of yours who claimed to be accomplished and fully enlightened were not really so; but I am, as I claim to be, accomplished and fully enlightened. A Perfect One is such whether he teaches his Dhamma to disciples or not, whether he leads his disciples to it or not. Why is that? Because such taints as defile, as renew being, as bring anxiety, as ripen in suffering, as produce future birth, ageing and death, are in him cut off at the root, made like palm tree stumps, done away with, so that they are no more subject to future arising, just as a palm tree is inca-pable of further growth when its crown is cut off.' So, since Mara had nothing more to say, and on account of Brahma's invitation (to me to vanish), this discourse may be termed 'On the Invitation of a Brahma." M. 49

 The emphasis is all on the notion of being ("to be or not to be"). The allotment of utterances and the readings are taken from the Burmese ed., which is more reliable here than any other and has napahosim instead of nahosi. All the clauses from that with "earth" down to "all" should be read (e.g.) thus: sabbam kho aham brahme sabbato abhinndya ydvatd sabbassa sabbattena ananubhutam, tad abhinndya sabbam ndpahosim, sabbasmim ndpahosim, sabbato ndpahosim, sabbam me ti ndpahosim, sabbam ndbhivadim ("Having had direct knowledge of all as all ...."). In both this sutta and D. 11 the line, Vinndnam anidassanam anantam sabbatopabham ("The consciousness that makes no showing ...") is spoken by the Buddha (this page and also p. 150). The line has puzzled many. 

The Majjhima Commentary allows much greater latitude than the Dlgha Com-mentary and puts forward a derivation from the root bhu (to be) for pabham (or paham). Following this hint, though not quite on the lines suggested by the Corny., we could take sabbatopabham to be made up of sabbato and a contracted form of the present participle of pahoti (= pabhavati), i.e. paham (= pabham). This ties up with the preceding sabbato abhinndya ... sabbam ndpahosim; however, the sense then requires a suppressed negative, i.e sabbat-opaham = sabbato apaham ("claiming no being apart from all"). The letters h and bh are easily mistaken for each other in Sinhalese. In D. 11, in which the same line occurs, the Buddha is probably quoting from this discourse. We have here material for the nucleus of an interesting ontological study.

Nanamoli Thera

*

In the line Viññānam anidassanam anantam sabbatopaham, ('Non-indicative consciousness, limitless, wholly non-originating.') the compound sabbatopaham (in Majjhima v,9 <M.i,329>, sabbatopabham) is probably sabbato + apaham (or apabham) from apahoti, a + pahoti (or apabhavati [apabhoti]). (Note that in the Majjhima passage preceding this line there is a Burmese v.l., nāpahosi for nāhosi.)

*
I recently received from Mr. Samaratunga your carefully prepared comments on my Notes on Dhamma. I read them with great interest and sent a reply to Mr. Samaratunga. I now hear from him that he has sent it on to you, so no doubt it will reach you in due course. Unfortunately, I find that I have made a slip that needs correcting. In my discussion of viññānam anidassanam anantam sabbatopaham, I said (as I remember) that 'the arahat's consciousness neither indicates nor originates a "self" or "subject".' This should be: 'neither indicates a "self" or a "subject" nor originates from a "self" or "subject"'. Actually, the meaning of anidassanamand sabbato-apaham is the same: it is simply that, since there is no more Ahan ti vā Maman ti vā Asmi ti vā with the arahat, consciousness is no longer 'mine'. And anantam may be taken in the same sense—for the arahat consciousness is no longer limited by being 'my' consciousness (a determination is always a limiting, being a negation; and consciousness is now, in this respect, asankhata or non-determined). In the Asankhata Samyutta (iv,359-73) you will see that asankhata, anidassana, and nibbāna are all synonyms, and are all defined as rāgakkhaya dosakkhaya mohakkhaya, which, in the Itivuttaka (v,5: 38) is said to be saupādisesā nibbānadhātu.

Edward Conze's translation as 'invisible infinite consciousness which shines everywhere' is quite wild (no doubt he has taken it without considering the Pali at all), and one is tempted to ask how consciousness can be 'invisible' if it 'shines everywhere'. But what, precisely, it is that Mahāyānists understand by nibbāna is very difficult to make out.

Nanavira Thera