Snp. 5.5 — Mettagūmāṇavapucchā Sutta

Snp. 5.5

Mettagūmāṇavapucchā Sutta

“Questions of the Brahmin Mettagū”

1049. Then, the brahmin Mettagū said:

“Please tell me this, O! Blessed One, for I believe you having attained to the Highest Wisdom, are the One, who can truly provide an answer to my question - “All the various forms of suffering that exist in the world, where do they all originate?’”

1050. And The Blessed One replied:

“I will answer your question Mettagū, from direct seeing, and as someone who knows by having experienced it myself, for your asking about the origination of suffering of me, is truly the right kind of question to be asked.

“Suffering at its very core originates, Mettagū, and manifests into its various forms that it does, because of having assets or acquisitions, which one accumulates throughout life.

1051. “Indeed, the foolish and dense person who keeps making and accruing assets without realizing their impact, continues to experience suffering again and again.

“But the wise ones who know better, do not continue making or accruing any more assets, seeing it as the very cause for rebirth and perpetual existences in the future, and for experiencing unending series of misery.”

1052. Then, the brahmin Mettagū said:

“O! Great Sage, I find my question and all our questions here fully answered, but I must ask you one more, please. How do the wise ones go beyond, by fully crossing over this flood of rebirth, aging, pain, anguish, and lament? Kindly, do explain this to me clearly, for You know this firsthand, having experienced it directly yourself!

1053. And The Blessed One said:

“Mettagū, I will explain to you a teaching which is not something, that has come down through oral tradition or hearsay, as the product of conditionality. I will instruct you on the Dhamma which is attainable and accessible right here, right now, directly, and in this very birth! It is those wise ones, who by living mindfully, come to directly know the Dhamma, and thus go beyond and fully cross over the flood of constantly attaching, seizing and grabbing in the world.”

1054. The brahmin Mettagū then said:

“I am filled with such joy and delight, being instructed by the Great Sage on this Noble Dhamma, through the application and understanding of which, the mindfully living practitioner would cut oneself free from and overcome all attachments to the world.”

1055. And The Blessed One replied by saying:

“Mettagū, whether above, below, around, or across, and everywhere in between, whatever you have come to know and experience, give up any tendencies you may have to savor or relish any of it! By releasing yourself from dwelling on them, you will also eradicate the very consciousness, which keeps dragging you through constant births and rebecomings.

1056. “By living in this way, the Bhikkhu remains constantly mindful, while diligently working on his mind, neither cherishing nor allowing himself to get lost in the details of whatever he experiences from moment to moment. Through the understanding he gains from giving up likes and dislikes and his attachment to them, right here and in this very birth, he also gives up the suffering brought on by birth, aging, pain, anguish, and lament.”

1057. Then, the brahmin Mettagū said:

“I delight in listening to the words uttered by the Great Sage! O! Gautama, You truly have given up all assets and acquisitions that lead to rebecoming! Surely, The Blessed One knows the Truth of this Dhamma directly, for He has released Himself from all misery and sorrow!

1058. “And certainly those whom you instruct, O! Wise One, clarifying the Dhamma for them, also become released from suffering and pain! And now that I have come here and listened to You, I bow at your feet, O! Mighty Nāga, as I seek to learn from you non-

stop, so that I too may be released from the misery and sorrow of rebecoming.”

1059. The Blessed One then said:

“Any true brahmin who is recognized as being wise, having gained the understanding of the Higher Knowledges, and who lives detached from sensuality; not desiring further rebirth into any state of becoming, can indeed be declared to have crossed the flood. Having gone beyond to the farther shore, he lives the rest of his days with the cool softness in his heart, lacking rigidity and conceit, with a presence that is so alive and fresh, while remaining considerate and kind.

1060. “And any man found here among us who, being wise, has gained the understanding of the Higher Knowledges, and lives free from craving, having unshackled himself from future existences; unconfused and released from misery, and therefore, without any longing or expectations left in his heart – it is such a person, whom I indeed declare, to be the one who has definitely crossed the flood, and gone beyond rebirth and aging.”

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