The Numerical Discourses 3.65
At Kesamutta
Thus have I heard—
at one time the Bhagavā, while walking on tour among the Kosalans together with a large Saṅgha of bhikkhus, arrived at Kesamutta, a town of the Kālāmas.
The Kālāmas of Kesamutta heard:
“The ascetic Gotama, dear sirs, the son of the Sakyans, gone forth from a Sakyan family, has arrived at Kesamutta.
And of that master Gotama such a good report has arisen:
‘Thus he is the Bhagavā …
it is good, indeed, to see such arahants.’”
Then the Kālāmas of Kesamutta approached the Bhagavā; having approached, some paid homage to the Bhagavā and sat down to one side, some exchanged greetings with the Bhagavā, and after concluding courteous and memorable conversation, sat down to one side, some raised their joined palms toward the Bhagavā and sat down to one side, some announced their name and clan and sat down to one side, and some remained silent and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, those Kālāmas of Kesamutta said this to the Bhagavā:
“There are, bhante, some ascetics and brahmins who come to Kesamutta.
They illuminate and make shine only their own doctrine, but they disparage, denigrate, belittle, and tear down the doctrines of others.
And there are also, bhante, some other ascetics and brahmins who come to Kesamutta.
They too illuminate and make shine only their own doctrine, but they disparage, denigrate, belittle, and tear down the doctrines of others.
For us, bhante, there is indeed doubt and uncertainty about them:
‘Which of these venerable ascetics and brahmins speaks truth, and which falsehood?’”
“It is enough for you to doubt, Kālāmas; it is enough for you to be uncertain.
Your uncertainty has arisen in a matter that is indeed doubtful.
Come, Kālāmas, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage, do not go by hearsay, do not go by the transmission of collections, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inference, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance after pondering a view, do not go by seeming competence, and do not go by thinking, ‘The ascetic is our teacher.’
When you, Kālāmas, know for yourselves:
‘These dhammas are unwholesome, these dhammas are blameworthy, these dhammas are censured by the wise, these dhammas, when undertaken and adopted, lead to harm and dukkha,’ then you, Kālāmas, should abandon them.
What do you think, Kālāmas?
When greed arises within a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For harm, bhante.”
“Now, Kālāmas, this greedy person, overcome by greed, with citta possessed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes to another’s wife, speaks falsely, and encourages another to do the same, which is for his harm and dukkha for a long time.”
“So it is, bhante.”
“What do you think, Kālāmas?
When hatred arises within a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For harm, bhante.”
“Now, Kālāmas, this hateful person, overcome by hatred, with citta possessed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes to another’s wife, speaks falsely, and encourages another to do the same, which is for his harm and dukkha for a long time.”
“So it is, bhante.”
“What do you think, Kālāmas?
When delusion arises within a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For harm, bhante.”
“Now, Kālāmas, this deluded person, overcome by delusion, with citta possessed, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes to another’s wife, speaks falsely, and encourages another to do the same, which is for his harm and dukkha for a long time.”
“So it is, bhante.”
“What do you think, Kālāmas: are these dhammas wholesome or unwholesome?”
“Unwholesome, bhante.”
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
“Blameworthy, bhante.”
“Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?”
“Censured by the wise, bhante.”
“When undertaken and adopted, do they lead to harm and dukkha, or not?
How do you see this?”
“When undertaken and adopted, bhante, they lead to harm and dukkha.
So we see this.”
“Thus, Kālāmas, as to what we said:
‘Come, Kālāmas.
Do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage, do not go by hearsay, do not go by the transmission of collections, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inference, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance after pondering a view, do not go by seeming competence, and do not go by thinking, “The ascetic is our teacher.”
When you, Kālāmas, know for yourselves:
“These dhammas are unwholesome, these dhammas are blameworthy, these dhammas are censured by the wise, these dhammas, when undertaken and adopted, lead to harm and dukkha,” then you, Kālāmas, should abandon them,’
what was said was said in reference to this.
Come, Kālāmas, do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage, do not go by hearsay, do not go by the transmission of collections, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inference, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance after pondering a view, do not go by seeming competence, and do not go by thinking, ‘The ascetic is our teacher.’
When you, Kālāmas, know for yourselves:
‘These dhammas are wholesome, these dhammas are blameless, these dhammas are praised by the wise, these dhammas, when undertaken and adopted, lead to welfare and sukha,’ then you, Kālāmas, should enter upon and dwell in them.
What do you think, Kālāmas?
When non-greed arises within a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For welfare, bhante.”
“Now, Kālāmas, this non-greedy person, not overcome by greed, with citta not possessed, does not kill living beings, does not take what is not given, does not go to another’s wife, does not speak falsely, and does not encourage another to do the same, which is for his welfare and sukha for a long time.”
“So it is, bhante.”
“What do you think, Kālāmas?
When non-hatred arises within a person, does it arise …
When non-delusion arises within a person, does it arise …
for welfare and sukha?”
“So it is, bhante.”
“What do you think, Kālāmas: are these dhammas wholesome or unwholesome?”
“Wholesome, bhante.”
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
“Blameless, bhante.”
“Censured by the wise or praised by the wise?”
“Praised by the wise, bhante.”
“When undertaken and adopted, do they lead to welfare and sukha, or not?
How do you see this?”
“When undertaken and adopted, bhante, they lead to welfare and sukha.
So we see this.”
“Thus, Kālāmas, as to what we said:
‘Come, Kālāmas.
Do not go by oral tradition, do not go by lineage, do not go by hearsay, do not go by the transmission of collections, do not go by logical reasoning, do not go by inference, do not go by reflection on appearances, do not go by acceptance after pondering a view, do not go by seeming competence, and do not go by thinking, “The ascetic is our teacher.”
When you, Kālāmas, know for yourselves—
these dhammas are wholesome, these dhammas are blameless, these dhammas are praised by the wise, these dhammas, when undertaken and adopted, lead to welfare and sukha, then you, Kālāmas, should enter upon and dwell in them,’
what was said was said in reference to this.
That noble disciple, Kālāmas, being thus without covetousness, without ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending [sampajāno], and mindful, dwells pervading one direction with citta accompanied by mettā, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; thus above, below, across, everywhere, and in every way, he dwells pervading the entire world with citta accompanied by mettā, vast, exalted, measureless, without enmity, without ill will.
With citta accompanied by karuṇā …
with citta accompanied by muditā …
he dwells pervading one direction with citta accompanied by upekkhā, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; thus above, below, across, everywhere, and in every way, he dwells pervading the entire world with citta accompanied by upekkhā, vast, exalted, measureless, without enmity, without ill will.
That noble disciple, Kālāmas, with citta thus free from enmity, with citta thus free from ill will, with citta thus undefiled, with citta thus purified.
For him, in this very life, four assurances are attained.
‘If there is a world beyond, and there is fruit and result of good and bad kammas, then with the breakup of the body, after death, I will be reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world,’ this is the first assurance attained by him.
‘But if there is no world beyond, and there is no fruit and result of good and bad kammas, then in this very life I keep myself free from enmity, free from ill will, free from trouble, and happy,’ this is the second assurance attained by him.
‘But if evil is done by one who acts, I do not intend evil toward anyone.
Since I do not do evil kamma, from where will dukkha touch me?’ this is the third assurance attained by him.
‘But if evil is not done by one who acts, then in both respects I see myself as purified,’ this is the fourth assurance attained by him.
That noble disciple, Kālāmas, with citta thus free from enmity, with citta thus free from ill will, with citta thus undefiled, with citta thus purified.
For him, in this very life, these four assurances are attained.”
“So it is, Bhagavā, so it is, Fortunate One.
That noble disciple, bhante, with citta thus free from enmity, with citta thus free from ill will, with citta thus undefiled, with citta thus purified.
For him, in this very life, four assurances are attained.
‘If there is a world beyond, and there is fruit and result of good and bad kammas, then with the breakup of the body, after death, I will be reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world,’ this is the first assurance attained by him.
‘But if there is no world beyond, and there is no fruit and result of good and bad kammas, then in this very life I keep myself free from enmity, free from ill will, free from trouble, and happy,’ this is the second assurance attained by him.
‘But if evil is done by one who acts, I do not intend evil toward anyone; since I do not do evil kamma, from where will dukkha touch me?’ this is the third assurance attained by him.
‘But if evil is not done by one who acts, then in both respects I see myself as purified,’ this is the fourth assurance attained by him.
That noble disciple, bhante, with citta thus free from enmity, with citta thus free from ill will, with citta thus undefiled, with citta thus purified.
For him, in this very life, these four assurances are attained.
Excellent, bhante …
We, bhante, go for refuge to the Bhagavā, to the dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of bhikkhus.
Let the Bhagavā remember us as lay followers who have gone for refuge from today for life.”
The fifth.