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Udana
Culavagga / The Minor Chapter

Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Sutta

1. Bhaddiya (1) 2. Bhaddiya (2) 3. Attached to Sensual Pleasures (1) 4. Attached to Sensual Pleasures (2)
5. The Dwarf 6. The Ending of Craving 7. The Ending of Objectification 8. Kaccāna
9. The Well 10. King Udena

7 : 1	Bhaddiya (1) (Bhaddiya Sutta)
A dwarf becomes an arahant

UD 7:1

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. At that time Ven. Sāriputta was – with a variety of approaches – instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf with Dhamma-talk. As Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf was – with a variety of approaches – being instructed, urged, roused, & encouraged by Ven. Sāriputta with Dhamma-talk, his mind, through lack of clinging/sustenance, was released from the effluents.

The Blessed One saw that as Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf was – with a variety of approaches – being instructed, urged, roused, & encouraged by Ven. Sāriputta with Dhamma-talk, his mind, through lack of clinging/sustenance, was released from the effluents.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Above, below, everywhere released,
he doesn’t focus on “I am this.”[1]
Thus released, he crosses the flood
not crossed before,
for the sake of no further becoming.

1.See Ud 1:1, note 3.

7 : 2	Bhaddiya (2) (Bhaddiya Sutta)
Ven. Sāriputta doesn’t realize that his listener has already become an arahant

UD 7:2

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. At that time Ven. Sāriputta was – with a variety of approaches – instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf with Dhamma-talk to an even greater extent, as he thought that Bhaddiya was still just a learner.

The Blessed One saw that Ven. Sāriputta was – with a variety of approaches – instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf with Dhamma-talk to an even greater extent, as he thought that Bhaddiya was still just a learner.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

He has cut the cycle,
has gone away
to freedom from longing.
The dried-up stream
no longer flows.
The cycle, cut,
no longer turns.
This, just this,
is the end of stress.

7 : 3	Kāmesu Satta Sutta :: Attached to Sensual Pleasures (1)
Attachment to sensual pleasures keeps you from crossing over the flood

UD 7:3

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion, most of the people in Sāvatthī were excessively attached to sensual pleasures. They lived infatuated with, greedy for, addicted to, fastened to, absorbed in sensual pleasures. Then in the early morning, a large number of monks adjusted their under robes and–carrying their bowls & robes – went into Sāvatthī for alms. Having gone for alms in Sāvatthī, after the meal, returning from their alms round, they went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they said to the Blessed One, “Most of the people in Sāvatthī are excessively attached to sensual pleasures. They live infatuated with, greedy for, addicted to, fastened to, absorbed in sensual pleasures.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Attached to sensual pleasures, attached to sensual ties, seeing no blame in the fetter, never will those attached to the fetter, the tie, cross over the flood so great & wide.

7 : 4	Kāmesu Satta Sutta :: Attached to Sensual Pleasures (2)
Attachment to sensual pleasures keeps you trapped like a fish

UD 7:4

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion, most of the people in Sāvatthī were excessively attached to sensual pleasures. They lived infatuated with, greedy for, addicted to, fastened to, absorbed in sensual pleasures. Then early in the morning the Blessed One adjusted his under robe and – carrying his bowl & robes – went into Sāvatthī for alms. He saw that most of the people in Sāvatthī were excessively attached to sensual pleasures, that they live infatuated with, greedy for, addicted to, fastened to, absorbed in sensual pleasures.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Blinded by sensuality covered by the net, veiled with the veil of craving, bound by the Kinsman of the heedless,[1] like fish in the mouth of a trap,[2] they go to aging & death, like a milk-drinking calf to its mother.

1.Māra. There is an alliterative play here between the word “bound” (bandhā) and “by the Kinsman” (bandhunā).

2.This verse, up to this point, is identical with a verse attributed to Ven. Rāhula in Thag 4:8 (verse 297 in the PTS edition).

7 : 5	Lakuṇṭha Sutta :: The Dwarf
Inner vs. outer beauty

UD 7:5

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf, following behind a large number of monks, was going to the Blessed One. From afar, the Blessed One saw Ven. Bhaddiya the Dwarf coming, following behind a large number of monks: ugly, unsightly, stunted, treated with condescension[1] by most of the monks. On seeing him, the Blessed One addressed the monks, “Monks, do you see that monk coming from afar, following behind a large number of monks: ugly, unsightly, stunted, treated with condescension by most of the monks?”

“Yes, lord.”

“That, monks, is a monk of great power, great might. The attainment already attained by that monk is not of a sort easily attained. And by means of it he has reached & remains in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself right in the here-&-now.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Faultless,
canopied in white,
the single-spoked chariot rolls along.
See him coming, untroubled:
one whose stream is cut,
free from bonds.[2]

1.The Commentary notes that misbehaving monks liked to stroke his hands and catch hold of his ears.

2.In SN 41:5, Citta the householder explains this verse as follows:

“Faultless stands for virtues.
“Canopied in white stands for release.
“Single-spoked stands for mindfulness.
“Rolls along stands for coming and going.
“Chariot stands for this body composed of the four elements….

“Passion is a trouble; aversion is a trouble; delusion is a trouble. These have been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended – their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be untroubled. “Him coming stands for the arahant.

“Stream stands for craving. That has been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended–its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be one whose stream is cut.

“Passion is a bond; aversion is a bond; delusion is a bond. These have been abandoned by a monk whose effluents have ended – their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. That’s why the monk whose effluents have ended is said to be free from bonds.”

SN 21:6 starts with the same prose passage as this udāna but ends with a different verse:

Swans, cranes, & peacocks,
elephants & spotted antelope
all fear the lion
(though) in body there’s no comparison.
In the same way, among human beings,
even if one is small
but endowed in discernment,
one is great for that –
not the fool endowed in physique.

See also: SN 21:5

7 : 6	Taṇhākhaya Sutta :: The Ending of Craving
Ven. Aññata Koṇḍañña meditates

UD 7:6

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion Ven. Aññāta Koṇḍañña[1] was sitting not far from the Blessed One, his legs crossed, his body held erect, reflecting on [his] release through the total ending of craving. The Blessed One saw Ven. Aññāta Koṇḍañña sitting not far away, his legs crossed, his body held erect, reflecting on [his] release through the total ending of craving.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

For someone with no root, no soil, no leaves
– how creepers?
Who’s fit to criticize him? –
the enlightened one freed
from bonds.
Even devas praise him.
Even by Brahmā he’s praised.

1.The Buddha’s first disciple. See SN 56:11.

7 : 7	Papañcakhaya Sutta :: The Ending of Objectification
The Buddha contemplates his own abandonning of the perceptions and categories of objectification (papañca).

UD 7:7

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that occasion the Blessed One was sitting, contemplating his own abandoning of the perceptions & categories of objectification.

Then the Blessed One, realizing his own abandoning of the perceptions & categories of objectification, on that occasion exclaimed:

One who
has no objectifications,[1]
no standing-place,[2]
who has gone beyond
the tether & cross-bar:
The world, even with its devas,
doesn’t look down on him –
he, going about without craving,
a sage.

1.Papañca: A mode of thought that begins with the assumption, “I am the thinker,” and develops its categories and perceptions – about self and world, about existence and non-existence – from there. For more on this topic, see the introduction to MN 18 and Skill in Questions, chapters 3 and 8.

2.On the teaching that the awakened person has no location, see The Paradox of Becoming, chapter 7.

7 : 8	Kaccāna (Kaccāna Sutta)
Ven. Mahā Kaccāyana meditates

UD 7:8

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time Ven. Mahā Kaccāna was sitting not far from the Blessed One, his legs crossed, his body held erect, having mindfulness immersed in the body well-established to the fore within. The Blessed One saw Ven. Mahā Kaccāna sitting not far away, his legs crossed, his body held erect, having mindfulness immersed in the body well-established to the fore within.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

If one were to have
mindfulness always
established, continually
immersed in the body,
(thinking,)
“It should not be,
it should not be mine;
it will not be,
it will not be mine”[1] –
there,
in that step-by-step dwelling,
one in no long time
would cross over
attachment.

1.This passage can also be translated as:

“It should not be,
it should not occur to me;
it will not be,
it will not occur to me.”

In AN 10:29, the Buddha recommends this view as conducive to developing dispassion for becoming. However, in MN 106 he warns that it can lead to the refined equanimity of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, which can become an object of clinging. Only if that subtle clinging is detected can all clinging be abandoned.

The Canon’s most extended discussion of this theme of meditation is in SN 22:55. See Appendix Two.

For more on this topic, see The Paradox of Becoming, chapter 5.

7 : 9	The Well (Udapāna Sutta)
Wanderers of other sects try to keep the Buddha from drinking the water in a well

UD 7:9

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was wandering among the Mallans, together with a large community of monks, and came to a brahman village of the Mallans named Thūna. The brahman householders of Thūna heard that “Gotama the Sakyan contemplative, gone forth from the Sakyan clan, is wandering among the Mallans together with a large community of monks, and has arrived at Thūna.” So they filled the well all the way to the brim with grass & chaff, [thinking], “Don’t let these shaven-headed contemplatives draw drinking water.”

Then the Blessed One, going down from the road, went to a certain tree, and on arrival sat down on a seat laid out. Seated, he said to Ven. Ānanda: “Please, Ānanda, fetch me some drinking water from that well.”

When this was said, Ven. Ānanda replied, “Just now, lord, the brahman householders of Thūna filled that well all the way to the brim with grass & chaff, [thinking], ‘Don’t let these shaven-headed contemplatives draw drinking water.’”

A second time, the Blessed One said to Ven. Ānanda: “Please, Ānanda, fetch me some drinking water from that well.”

A second time, Ven. Ānanda replied, “Just now, lord, the brahman householders of Thūna filled that well all the way to the brim with grass & chaff, [thinking], ‘Don’t let these shaven-headed contemplatives draw drinking water.’”

A third time, the Blessed One said to Ven. Ānanda: “Please, Ānanda, fetch me some drinking water from that well.”

Responding, “As you say, lord,” to the Blessed One, Ven. Ānanda – taking a bowl – went to the well. As he was approaching the well, it expelled all the grass & chaff from its mouth and stood filled to the brim–streaming, as it were – with pristine water, undisturbed & clear. The thought occurred to him, “How amazing! How astounding! – the great power & great might of the Tathāgata!–in that, while I was approaching the well, it expelled all the grass & chaff from its mouth and stood filled to the brim – streaming, as it were – with pristine water, undisturbed & clear.”

Taking drinking water in his bowl, he went to the Blessed One and on arrival said, “How amazing, lord! How astounding! – the great power & great might of the Tathāgata!–in that, while I was approaching the well, it expelled all the grass & chaff from its mouth and stood filled to the brim – streaming, as it were – with pristine water, undisturbed & clear. Drink the water, O Blessed One! Drink the water, O One-Well-Gone!”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

What need for a well
if there were waters always?
Having cut craving
by the root,
one would go about searching
for what?

7 : 10	King Udena (Udena Sutta)
Five hundred awakened women die in a fire

UD 7:10

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Kosambī at Ghosita’s monastery. And on that occasion the inner quarters of King Udena’s royal park had burned down, and 500 women, headed by Sāmāvatī, had died.

Then in the early morning, a large number of monks adjusted their under robes and – carrying their bowls & robes – went into Kosambī for alms. Having gone for alms in Kosambī, after the meal, returning from their alms round, they went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they said to the Blessed One, “Lord, the inner quarters of King Udena’s royal park have burned down, and 500 women, headed by Sāmāvatī, have died. What is the destination of those female lay followers? What is their future course?”

“Monks, among those female lay followers are stream-winners, once-returners, & non-returners. All of those female lay followers, monks, died not without [noble] fruit.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Bound round with delusion, the world
only appears to be competent.
Bound with acquisitions, foolish,
surrounded by darkness,
it seems eternal,
but for one who sees,
there is nothing.