Snp. 3.10 — Kokāliya Sutta

Snp. 3.10

Kokāliya Sutta

“To the Bhikkhu Kokāliya”

I have personally heard this.

At one time, when The Blessed One was staying in Sāvatthi, at the monastery offered by Anāthapiṇḍika in Jeta’s Park, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya approached The Blessed One, and after paying homage to Him, sat to one side, and said:

“Bhante, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires in their hearts! Their hearts are under the influence of evil and bad thoughts.”

When this was said, The Blessed One replied:

“Do not say that Kokāliya! Kokāliya, do not speak like that! Have faith in your heart for Sāriputta and Moggallāna! They are well-behaved, kind, and amiable Bhikkhus!”

For a second time, however, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya said to The Blessed One:

“Even though I have faith in my heart towards The Blessed One, who inspires confidence and trust in me, I believe

Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires in their hearts! Their hearts are under the influence of evil and bad thoughts.”

And for the second time, The Blessed One responded:

“Do not say that Kokāliya! Kokāliya, do not speak like that! Have faith in your heart for Sāriputta and Moggallāna! They are well-behaved, kind, and amiable Bhikkhus!”

Again, for the third time, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya said:

“Even though I have faith in my heart towards The Blessed One, who inspires confidence and trust in me, I believe Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires in their hearts! Their hearts are under the influence of evil and bad thoughts.”

And for the third time, The Blessed One said:

“Do not say that Kokāliya! Kokāliya, do not speak like that! Have faith in your heart for Sāriputta and Moggallāna! They are well-behaved, kind, and amiable Bhikkhus!”

Once this was said, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya got up from his seat, and after paying homage to The Blessed One, he circumambulated Him and went away.

But soon after, Kokāliya’s entire body broke out into boils the size of mustard seeds. The boils then quickly became the size of green mung beans and kept on increasing and growing into the size of chickpeas, then into the size of jujube seeds, then the size of myrobalan fruits, later into the

size of unripe wood apples, and soon after, into the size of ripened wood apples, until they finally burst open, with pus and blood oozing out from them.

As a result of having these symptoms, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya died, and was immediately reborn into the Paduma hell realm, as a result of carrying such bitter hatred and ill-will in his heart, towards the Venerables Sāriputta and Moggallāna.

Then, when the night was far advanced, Brahmā Sahampati approached The Blessed One, while illuminating the entire Jeta’s Park with his most splendid beauty and radiance, as he bowed and paid homage to The Blessed One, and then stood to one side and said:

“Bhante, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya has died and is now reborn in the Paduma hell, as a result of carrying such bitter hatred and ill-will in his heart, towards the Venerables Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”

Having uttered these words, the Brahmā Sahampati again paid his respect as he worshipped The Blessed One, and after circumambulating Him, suddenly vanished from there.

Then, in the morning, The Blessed One addressed the Bhikkhus, by saying:

“Bhikkhus, last night when the night was far advanced, Brahmā Sahampati approached me, while illuminating the entire Jeta’s Park with his most splendid beauty and radiance, as he bowed and paid homage to me, then stood to one side and said:

“Bhante, the Bhikkhu Kokāliya has died and is now reborn in the Paduma hell, as a result of carrying such bitter hatred and ill-will in his heart, towards the Venerables Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”

Having uttered these words, the Brahmā Sahampati again paid his respects and, after worshipping and circumambulating Me, he then vanished.

Then, a certain Bhikkhu asked The Blessed One:

“Bhante, how long is the life span in the Paduma hell?”

And The Blessed One said:

“Bhikkhu, the life span in the Paduma hell is very long. In fact, it is not easy to measure the lifespan there in terms of how many years, or how many hundreds of years, or how many thousands or hundreds of thousands of years.”

The Bhikkhu then asked further:

“In that case, Bhante, is it possible to give a simile or make a comparison?”

And The Blessed One said:

“Yes Bhikkhu, it is possible.

“Imagine a man who has a cartload of sesame seeds, which is twenty times the size of the Kosalan measure. Now, imagine that once every hundred years a man comes and takes away a single sesame seed out of that cartload of

sesame seeds. Consider now the fact, that those sesame seeds would run out faster than the lifespan is to be spent in the Abbudā hell.

It takes twenty such Abbudā hell lifespans to make up a single Nirabbuda hell lifespan, and it takes twenty such Nirabbuda hell lifespans to make up one Ababa hell lifespan. It takes twenty such Ababa hell lifespans to make up one Ahaha hell lifespan, and it takes twenty Ahaha hell lifespans to make up one Aṭaṭa hell lifespan. It takes twenty Aṭaṭa hell lifespans to make up one Kumuda hell lifespan, and it would take twenty Kumuda hell lifespans, to make up one Sogandhika hell lifespan. It takes twenty Sogandhika hell lifespans to make up a single Uppalaka hell lifespan, and it would take twenty Uppalaka hell lifespans to make up a single Puṇḍarīkā hell lifespan, and twenty Puṇḍarīkā hell lifespans, to make up a single Paduma hell lifespan.

“Therefore, Bhikkhu, it is in such a hell realm that the Bhikkhu Kokāliya is now reborn into, as a result of carrying such bitter hatred and ill-will in his heart, towards the Venerables Sāriputta and Moggallāna.”

Then, The Holy Well-Gone Teacher continued on instructing the Bhikkhus, as He uttered these verses:

657. “When a human being is born, he finds out there is a loose axe placed neatly in his mouth, one which he uses to cut and harm himself and others, as he keeps on carelessly speaking like a fool.

658. “Thus, as one goes on praising those blameworthy ones who truly deserve to be criticized, while blaming those

praiseworthy ones, who deserve to be honored and cherished, one only ends up bringing to oneself terrible consequences, due to the evil spewing out from one’s own lips. And as a result of such evil committed, that person will not find happiness, but only suffering.

659. “Even if one were to gamble away money, losing all one’s wealth and possessions, along with one’s life, that still would not be as terrible of a consequence as the one that results from having resentment and hatred towards the Noble Ones, whose heart is pure.

660. “Accusing and slandering the Noble Ones only leads one to be reborn into and spend a hundred thousand and thirty-six years within the Nirabbuda hells, as well as five more years in the Abbudā hells, all because of having deliberately thought and spoken with bad intentions against the truly Holy Ones, whose heart is pure.

661. “Speaking what is untrue leads one straight to hell, as does lying about or denying what one has actually said, while claiming: ‘Well, I never said that!’ Both of these low-born individuals are, after all, cut from the same cloth, as they are also equal in the destination they will be headed to immediately after death; all because of their cruel and merciless actions, done against others.

662. “Offending the blameless, the ones who are undefiled in their hearts, being pure and unblemished, only leads the fool to face the evil they themselves produced, just like throwing fine sand, against the incoming wind.

663. “A person addicted to greed does not hold back from attacking, badmouthing, and making fun of others; they are faithless, stingy, inconsiderate, and ungrateful, driven selfishly to backbiting.

664. “Slandering and foul-mouthed, you speak falsely, lacking even the tiniest of noble traits, condoning abortion, and the destruction of lives, you who are doers of unspeakable actions, you are the lowest of humans, low- born and wicked; you work in the dark here, while still alive, but soon, you will be deposited in hell, as soon as you breathe your last.

665. “Stirring up the minds and hearts of others, you cause much confusion while bringing more harm to yourself, you evildoer, injuring those who are pure and appeased. Because of your evil practices, you will certainly fall into the very pit of hell and remain there for an incalculably long time.

666. “No action intentionally committed could ever disappear, for it will come to you, sooner or later, as its original author will surely receive it, along with its momentum. In this way, that foolish evildoer finds himself in unspeakable misery, when he opens his eyes in the next world.

667. “Fallen into hell with no waiting period, one is shocked to realize himself being impaled upon iron spikes, feeling the unimaginable pain from their sharp and jagged edges going through his body, where release from pain through death is craved every millisecond, but never attained. And when feeling hungry, one soon finds ‘food that is suitable for the

place’- burning, red-hot iron balls, being shoved down his throat, as he swallows them one after another, going right through him, and out from the other end.

668. “Meanwhile, the brutal faces he encounters will have no kindness or compassion to offer him, for there is absolutely no hope for pleasant company or of sweet words to hear in that realm of torture; nor a shelter or safety to quickly escape to; instead, he is tossed onto a bed of hot burning coals and stretched on their burning embers, as he finds himself plunging in the fiery blaze.

669. “Being dragged out and away from the fiery blaze, next they are ruthlessly nailed down with iron hammers, and soon find themselves surrounded by the abyss of blinding darkness that is hell, spreading all around them like the great earth.

670. “Then, they are pushed into large copper cauldrons, blazing with fire and boiling with molten metal. There they are cooked, roasted, and boiled alive for a very long time, with no hope for escape, despite pushing and shoving themselves upwards to jump out, as they desperately try to find a way out, but to no avail.

671. “Then, in all that burning and screaming chaos, the evil doer continues cooking in a foul-smelling broth made from pus and blood. With no respite to be found, wherever he turns, he is touched by the very same painful experiences that he had wished upon his own enemies or brought upon them, himself.

672. “There, the evil doer continues to be cooked and boiled alive, in that maggot-filled and worm-infested putrid water, from where no refuge or safety could ever be found; no shore to swim or escape to, for one is surrounded on all sides by such countless and enormous, blazing copper cauldrons, as far as the eyes could see.

673. “Once their time expires there, they are then shoved into Asipatta: the Forest of Sharp Swords, where, as they run through it or try to climb them to escape the horror, the razor-sharp leaves of the trees tear open their bodies, cutting and dismembering them into countless pieces. Suddenly, they are seized again and pulled down from the trees, where sharp hooks are used to grab them by their tongue, and then tossed from side-to-side, while continuously being stabbed.

674. “Next, they go into the impassable Vetaraṇi Hell, where they encounter more sharp and jagged blades that cut through their soft bodies, bodies which cannot die. There, the imbecile evildoers continue to fall, with no hope of ever getting out, as a result of their evil actions.

675. “And amid all the wailing and crying, they are chewed upon and devoured by vicious spotted dogs; meanwhile powerful birds of prey, vultures, and crows attack them from above, tearing into their flesh, as they fight over the living bodies of the wicked evildoers.

676. “Therefore, having to endure such an inescapable life that evildoers must face is beyond difficult! That is why for the rest of one’s life, the evildoer must strive diligently, and never be negligent nor heedless in doing the right thing;

doing his duty without fail, while engaging in wholesome actions, that are the opposite of evil.

677. “With the cartload of sesame seeds having been counted by the wise, the measurement of the lifespan to be spent in the Paduma Hell, they have found to be innumerable indeed, plus another twelve hundred times ten million years!

678. “Despite the unspeakable pain and suffering to be faced in hell, as explained here, one has to experience them for an incredibly long time, during their incalculably lengthy stay in the hells. Therefore, the ones who are pure of heart, amiable, and with virtuous behavior, must strive constantly to guard and protect the words they speak, and the thoughts they engage in thinking, in their mind.”

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