Home | Dhamma | Teachings | Practice | Glossary | Tipiṭaka | Suttas

Majjhima Nikaya

# MN 126 Bhūmija Sutta (Discourse to Bhūmija) MN 126

Download TXT Download PDF Browse this collection Home

Candana Bhikkhu audio

## Listen on YouTube

- The Middle Length Discourses: Sutta 126 - Bhumija Sutta: Bhumija (Duration: 23:03)

## Text

    [page 1]
    MN 126

    Majjhima Nikāya
    The Middle Length Discourses

    Suññata Vagga
    The Section Starting with Emptiness

    Bhūmija Sutta
    “Discourse to Bhūmija”

    Translated by Bhikkhu Candana

    Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2025

    I have personally heard this.
    Once, The Blessed One was residing at the Squirrel’s Sanctuary Monastery in Rājagaha’s
    Bamboo Park, when one morning, the Venerable Bhūmija put on his robes and by taking his
    outer robe and alms bowl along with him, he went and approached Prince Jayasena’s home, to
    receive his meal.
    Then, on seeing the Venerable Bhūmija approach, Prince Jayasena went to greet the Venerable
    and began exchanging friendly greetings with him.
    Once inside, the Venerable Bhūmija sat on the seat that was prepared for him. Then, as the
    exchange of courtesies came to a close, Prince Jayasena went and sat to one side, after which he
    addressed the Venerable Bhūmija by saying:
    “Master Bhūmija, there happen to be certain recluses, religious practitioners, and
    brahmins, holding on to various beliefs, who go on practicing according to different teachings,
    each with its own diverse views and perspectives, such as:
    ‘Even if one commits to living the holy life, having already made a vow or determined to
    reach its highest fruits, still that is no guarantee that they will, in fact, be successful in doing so.’
    ‘While living the holy life, if one has not made a vow or determined to reach its highest
    fruits, still that is no guarantee that they will, in fact, be successful in attaining them.’
    ‘‘While living the holy life, whether one has made a vow and determined to reach its
    highest fruits, or not, really it makes no difference, because either of those are no guarantees
    that one will indeed attain the highest fruits of the holy life.’

    [page 2]
    ‘While living the holy life, neither the making of a vow or determining to attain its highest
    fruits, nor by not making any such vows or determinations, could serve as a guarantee that the
    person will, in fact, be successful in attaining the fruits of the holy life.’
    “Therefore, we are curious to know what Master Bhūmija’s own Teacher has to say about these
    proclamations just mentioned. What would be His response, Sir? How, would you say, He would
    explain or clarify these points of view?”
    Then, the Venerable Bhūmija replied by saying:
    “O Prince, I cannot say that I have ever heard of such viewpoints being discussed in the presence
    of The Blessed One in regard to living The Holy Life, nor of such ways of approaching it.
    “However, it may be possible that The Blessed One would explain and clarify such points of
    view in this manner:
    ‘Even if one commits to living The Holy Life but does so in a radically unwise and
    therefore erroneous and crooked way, then, it is impossible for such a person to attain its highest
    fruits.’
    ‘Similarly, if one goes on trying to live The Holy Life, without having vowed or
    determined to do so, but in a radically unwise and therefore erroneous and crooked way, then
    again, it is impossible for such a person to attain its highest fruits.’
    ‘Whether one is committed and indeed tries to live The Holy Life, or not, really makes no
    difference, at all, because so long as they approach it with a radically unwise and therefore
    erroneous and crooked understanding, then again, it will be impossible for such a person to
    attain its highest fruits.’
    ‘While living The Holy Life, neither through making a vow, by determining to attain its
    highest fruits, nor by not making any such vows or determinations, so long as their
    understanding is unwise and therefor erroneous and crooked, then again, it will be impossible
    for such a person to attain its highest fruits.’

    ‘However, if one approaches living The Holy Life with an approach that is radically
    wise, and therefore genuinely noble and correct in its motive, then, regardless of whether one
    has indeed made a vow to do so or not, makes no difference, for, they will attain its highest
    fruits.
    ‘Similarly, even if one has not made a vow to live The Holy Life, that makes no
    difference, for, so long as one possesses in his heart the approach that is radically wise, and
    therefore genuinely noble and correct in its motive, then, that person will attain its highest fruits.

    [page 3]
    ‘Similarly, whether one does make a vow or not to live the Holy Life, if their approach is
    radically wise, and therefore genuinely noble and correct in its motive, then, it is only a matter of
    time for that person to indeed attain its highest fruits.
    “And also, if one’s approach is radically wise, and therefore genuinely noble and correct
    in its motive, then, whether they neither make a vow to live the Holy Life or not, that person will
    be successful in attaining its highest fruits.’

    “Now, O Prince, as mentioned earlier, I have not heard these particular responses from The
    Blessed One Himself, nor do I know if He has indeed made these statements which I just stated
    to you. Yet, given your original question, I infer that these would be plausible replies The
    Blessed One might in fact provide to listeners, if and when such questions are asked of Him.”
    Then, Prince Jayasena replied by saying:
    “If this is how Master Bhūmija’s own Teacher would respond, while addressing and clarifying
    those points which I inquired of you, then clearly, He has indeed left all those so-called religious
    practitioners and brahmins in the dust of His trail! For, surely, Master Bhūmija’s Teacher stands
    high and above in His depth of understanding, when compared to such fools in their deluded
    thinking.”
    Then, Prince Jayasena began serving the Venerable Bhūmija, with his own hands, by filling up
    his alms bowl with sumptuous food.
    Later, after leaving Prince Jayasena’s home, once the meal offering had finished, the Venerable
    Bhūmija went and approached The Blessed One, as he offered his respects by paying homage to
    The Teacher. Then, he went and sat to one side, as he began addressing The Blessed One while
    recounting what had taken place earlier, and in particular, the conversation between himself and
    Prince Jayasena.

    Once he had done so, the Venerable Bhūmija asked the following question to The Teacher:
    “Blessed Lord, I hope and trust that in answering in such a manner while providing those
    answers to the householder’s questions, I did not misspeak nor misrepresent The Blessed One in
    any way, shape, or form, by speaking what might have been false and baseless.
    “Therefore, Bhante, did I speak statements that were accurate and true in relation to The
    Dhamma?
    “Because, Bhante, my wish is that in explaining and providing a clarifying response to Prince
    Jayasena, my replies were according to and in line with The Dhamma, and not statements that go
    against The Dhamma, hence they would not place either myself or the statements I made in a
    position that is open to being refuted or criticized.”

    [page 4]
    And The Blessed One replied by saying to the Venerable Bhūmija:
    “Truly, Bhūmija, in providing your answers, you did not misspeak nor misrepresent The
    Tathāgata in any way, shape, or form, nor you spoke what might have been false and baseless.
    Therefore, the words you spoke by providing your answer and explanation are surely in line with
    what I teach, hence what you said is certainly in line with The Dhamma, and not against The
    Dhamma. And as such, there are no grounds here for either you or your statements to be refuted
    or criticized, at all.
    “For, truly, Bhūmija, there are many recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who
    live and practice, regardless of the fact that they did make a vow or determination to live the
    Holy Life; yet so long as they are driven and motivated by wrong view, wrong intentions, wrong
    communication, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong
    concentration, they will keep failing in attaining its highest fruits.
    “Similarly, if one tries to live and practice The Holy Life, regardless of the fact that they did not
    make a vow or determination to do so, if they are still driven and motivated by wrong view,
    wrong intentions, wrong communication, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong
    mindfulness, and wrong concentration, then they will keep failing in attaining its highest fruits.
    “Also, whether one has made a vow and is determined to live The Holy Life, or not, really makes
    no difference at all, because, so long as they are still driven and motivated by wrong view, wrong
    intentions, wrong communication, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong
    mindfulness, and wrong concentration, they will keep failing in attaining its highest fruits.
    “And, when trying to live The Holy Life, regardless if one has neither made a vow by
    determining to attain its highest fruits, nor has not made any such vows or determinations, so
    long as they are driven and motivated by wrong views, wrong intentions, wrong communication,
    wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and wrong concentration,
    they will keep failing in attaining its highest fruits.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, their approach to living and practicing The Holy Life is radically
    unwise, for they are possessed and led by their erroneous and crooked understanding, which
    makes it impossible for them to attain any fruits, let alone the highest fruits, of The Holy Life.
    A1. “Here, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some sesame oil, and so he
    decides to go looking for it, but during his search to obtain some sesame oil, he collects a
    bucketful of sand, and after drizzling it with water, he starts squeezing those grains of sand
    together by applying pressure on them, in the hopes of extracting some sesame oil.
    “However, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in extracting even a single drop of sesame oil from pressing and grinding
    those sand grains together, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his goal.

    [page 5]
    “Similarly, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in extracting even a single drop of sesame oil from pressing and grinding
    those sand grains together, regardless of not having made a vow or determination to attain his
    goal.
    “Also, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single drop of oil from pressing and grinding those sand grains
    together, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single drop of oil from pressing and grinding those sand grains
    together, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his goal nor not having
    made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically unwise, for he is possessed and led by his
    erroneous and crooked understanding, which makes it impossible for him to extract a single drop
    of sesame oil, in that manner.
    And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life or not, so long as they are driven and motivated by wrong views, wrong intentions,
    wrong communication, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and
    wrong concentration, they will continue to fail in ever attaining the highest fruits of The Holy
    Life.
    A2. “Also, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some milk, so he decides to
    go looking for it, but during his search to obtain some milk, he grabs hold of the horns of a cow
    that has recently given birth, and starts twisting and squeezing them, in the hopes of extracting
    milk from those horns.
    “However, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in extracting even a single drop of milk from squeezing and twisting the
    cow’s horns, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Similarly, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in extracting even a single drop of milk from squeezing and twisting the
    cow’s horns, regardless of not having made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Also, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single drop of milk from squeezing and twisting the cow’s
    horns, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single drop of milk from squeezing and twisting the cow’s

    [page 6]
    horns, regardless of neither having made a vow or determination to attain his goal, nor not
    having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically unwise, for he is possessed and led by his
    erroneous and crooked understanding, which makes it impossible for him to extract a single drop
    of milk from the cow, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not; so long as they are driven and motivated by wrong views, wrong intentions,
    wrong communication, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and
    wrong concentration, they will continue to fail in ever attaining the highest fruits of The Holy
    Life.
    A3. “Furthermore, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some freshly made
    butter, and thus, he decides to make some, so he pours some water into a container and starts
    churning it non-stop with a stick, in the hopes of making fresh butter for himself.
    “However, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in making a single dollop of freshly made butter, regardless of having
    made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Similarly, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he still will fail in extracting even a single dollop of freshly made butter, regardless of
    not having made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Also, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single dollop of freshly made butter, regardless of having made
    a vow or determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    still will fail in extracting even a single dollop of freshly made butter, regardless of neither
    having made a vow or determination to attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically unwise, for he is possessed and led by his
    erroneous and crooked understanding, which makes it impossible for him to make a single dollop
    of fresh butter, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not; so long as they are driven and motivated by wrong views, wrong intentions,
    wrong communication, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and

    [page 7]
    wrong concentration, they will continue to fail in ever attaining the highest fruits of The Holy
    Life.
    A4. “Furthermore, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of fire, so he decides to
    go looking for it, but on his quest to obtain fire, he grabs a fire stick used for starting a fire, yet
    he rubs it against a damp piece of wood, that is still green and wet from having been drenched in
    water, while rubbing the two together, with a fervently resolute consistency.
    “However, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he will fail in starting even a spark, let alone a fire, regardless of having made a vow or
    determination to attain his goal.
    “Similarly, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile
    efforts, he will fail in starting even a spark, let alone a fire, regardless of not having made a vow
    or determination to attain his goal.
    “Also, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    will fail in starting even a spark, let alone a fire, regardless of having made a vow or
    determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, despite his best efforts and no matter how exhausted he becomes from his futile efforts, he
    will fail in starting even a spark, let alone a fire, regardless of neither having made a vow or
    determination to attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically unwise, for he is possessed and led by his
    erroneous and crooked understanding, which makes it impossible for him to make even a spark,
    let alone a fire, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not; so long as they are driven and motivated by wrong views, wrong intentions,
    wrong communication, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness, and
    wrong concentration, they will continue to fail in ever attaining the highest fruits of The Holy
    Life.

    B. “On the other hand, Bhūmija, there are many other recluses, religious practitioners,
    and brahmins who live and practice, whereby regardless if they did make a vow or determination
    to live the Holy Life, so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain the highest fruits of The Holy Life.
    “Similarly, if one lives and practices The Holy Life, regardless if they did not make a vow or
    determination to do so, as long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,

    [page 8]
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    “Also, whether one has made a vow and is determined to live The Holy Life, or not, really makes
    no difference at all, because so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right
    intentions, Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right
    mindfulness, and Right concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    “And, when trying to live The Holy Life, regardless if one has neither made a vow by
    determining to attain its highest fruits, nor has not made any such vows or determinations, so
    long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions, Right communication,
    Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right concentration, they
    certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, their approach to living and practicing The Holy Life is radically wise,
    for they are possessed and led by an understanding that is genuinely noble and correct in its
    motive, which surely makes it possible for them to attain fruits, but especially the highest fruits
    of The Holy Life.
    B1. “Here, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some sesame oil, and so he
    decides to go looking for it, but during his search to obtain some sesame oil, he collects a
    bucketful of sesame seeds, and after drizzling it with water, he starts squeezing those sesame
    seeds together by applying pressure on them, in the hopes of extracting some sesame oil.
    “Thus, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he does succeed in
    extracting sesame oil by pressing and grinding those sesame seeds together, regardless of having
    made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Similarly, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he does succeed in
    extracting sesame oil by pressing and grinding those sesame seeds together, regardless of not
    having made a vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Also, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he does succeed in extracting
    sesame oil by pressing and grinding those sesame seeds together, regardless of having made a
    vow or determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he does succeed in extracting
    sesame oil by pressing and grinding those sesame seeds together, regardless of neither having
    made a vow or determination to attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically wise, for he is possessed and led by an
    understanding that is genuinely noble and correct in its motive, which makes it possible for him
    to extract sesame oil, in that manner.

    [page 9]
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not, so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    B2. “Also, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some milk, so he decides to
    go looking for it, and so during his search to obtain some milk, he approaches a cow that has
    recently given birth, and starts to gently pull and squeeze her udder, in the hopes of extracting
    milk.
    “Thus, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting milk by gently pulling and squeezing the cow’s udder, regardless of having made a
    vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Similarly, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting milk by gently pulling and squeezing the cow’s udder, regardless of not having made a
    vow or determination to attain his goal.
    “Also, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting milk by gently pulling and squeezing the cow’s udder, regardless of having made a
    vow or determination to attain his goal, or not.
    “And, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting milk by gently pulling and squeezing the cow’s udder, regardless of neither having
    made a vow or determination to attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically wise, for he is possessed and led by an
    understanding that is genuinely noble and correct in its motive, which makes it possible for him
    to extract milk from the cow, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not, so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    B3. “Furthermore, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of some freshly made
    butter, and thus, he decides to make some, so he pours some milk curd into a container and starts
    churning it non-stop with a stick, in the hopes of making fresh butter for himself.
    “Thus, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting some freshly made butter, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain
    his goal.

    [page 10]
    “Similarly, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting some freshly made butter, regardless of not having made a vow or determination to
    attain his goal.
    “Also, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting some freshly made butter, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain
    his goal, or not.
    “And, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    extracting some freshly made butter, regardless of neither having made a vow or determination
    to attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically wise, for he is possessed and led by an
    understanding that is genuinely noble and correct in its motive, which makes it possible for him
    to extract some fresh butter, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with those recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not, so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    B4. “Furthermore, Bhūmija, imagine there was a person in need of fire, and thus, he
    decides to go looking for it. While on his quest to obtain fire, he grabs a fire stick used for
    starting a fire, and rubs it against a dry and flammable piece of wood, that has not seen the rain
    for ages, as he begins rubbing the two together, with a fervently resolute consistency.
    “Thus, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    starting and building a fire for himself, regardless of having made a vow or determination to
    attain his goal.
    “Similarly, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in
    starting and building a fire for himself, regardless of not having made a vow or determination to
    attain his goal.
    “Also, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in starting
    and building a fire for himself, regardless of having made a vow or determination to attain his
    goal, or not.
    “And, by applying himself correctly and through his strong efforts, he surely succeeds in starting
    and building a fire for himself, regardless of neither having made a vow or determination to
    attain his goal, nor not having made such a vow.
    “And what is the reason for this?

    [page 11]
    “It is because, Bhūmija, his approach is radically wise, for he is possessed and led by an
    understanding that is genuinely noble and correct in its motive, which makes it possible for him
    to start and build a fire, in that manner.
    “And so it is, Bhūmija, with such recluses, religious practitioners, and brahmins who live and
    practice The Holy Life, regardless if they have indeed vowed and are determined to live The
    Holy Life, or not, so long as they are driven and motivated by Right View, Right intentions,
    Right communication, Right actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right
    concentration, they certainly will attain its highest fruits.
    “Therefore, Bhūmija, had you been able to offer these four similes to Prince Jayasena
    yourself, he would have not only gained confidence in The Tathāgata, as he did, but also in you,
    Bhūmija!”
    “Indeed, Blessed Lord! But, how could it have been possible for me to offer these four excellent
    similes to Prince Jayasena myself, since they were just now uttered, and for the first time, by The
    Blessed One, who spoke these words that were neither spoken before, nor passed on from some
    other source; words that were truly inspired in the spur of the moment, which we all enjoyed
    listening to and have now learned here, from The Blessed One’s own lips!”
    This is what the Blessed One said.
    And the Venerable Bhūmija was satisfied in the words spoken to him by The Blessed One
    Himself, as he listened with delight.

    Sādhu
    Sādhu
    Sādhu

    Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2025

Contact: admin@opensourceeverything.net