Snp. 4.5 — Paramaṭṭhaka Sutta

Snp. 4.5

Paramaṭṭhaka Sutta

“Eight about the Greatest”

796. “Those holding on to their views as the ‘greatest,’ are the first to claim the views of others to be the ‘lowest,’ while asserting their own, as nothing less than ‘the very best.’ Because of this, they always find themselves caught in the mire of disputes, and never far from conflicts.

797. “Seeing some benefit he might have gained while developing himself, whether through a new way of understanding or a view, or something he might have heard, or from observing some training rule, or some kind of an experience, and by seizing at that, he goes on looking down at all others, for not sharing his experience or view.

798. “But to have the view of seeing others as ‘less than’ himself, simply because they are different from what he has seen, known, heard, experienced, or practiced as a training rule, is in itself being shackled and bound up by those very things he considers as ‘the greatest.’ Thus, the Bhikkhu should never rely or depend on what he considers familiar.

799. “So, the Bhikkhu must never look upon the world through the lens of his own notions of what constitutes the practice of training rules and rituals, thinking of them as a

gauge to what he thinks is ‘proper.’ In that way, he would neither place himself on an equal footing as others, nor compare and contrast himself with others, as being ‘inferior’ or ‘superior’ to them.

800. “Thus, he puts down what he himself had picked up, but this time, never to grab hold of them again. And by no longer taking sides with this group or that, nor relying on ideas, nor being attached to views, such a wise one stays free from becoming entangled in conflicts.

801. “Not hoping for either of the two extremes of living forever or no longer existing, whether in this life or any future life, there are no more positions or views left for him to grab. So, carefully consider what the Dhamma teaches, no longer having any views for you to roost over.

802. “Not having any more thoughts or even the slightest perception about things he has seen, heard, or experienced, the Brahmin is left without any views for him to grasp, nothing for him to call ‘my own.’ Therefore, how could anyone pin him down, by finding him blameworthy or at fault?

803. “Although firmly established in the Dhamma, the Brahmin does not treat it as some doctrine or dogma to be held on to; similarly, he no longer needs to be led by any training rules, whether to fit in or to impress others with. In this way, he lives without any anxiety or worry, for he is now truly untouchable, having gone far beyond to the farther shore, never to return back again.”

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