To Bhaddiya

At one time The Blessed One was living in the gabled hall in the great forest in Vesali. The Licchavi Bhaddiya approached The Blessed One, worshipped, sat on a side and said:

Venerable sir, I heard these words. The recluse Gotama is deceptive; he entices the disciples of other faiths. He knows the method to entice them Venerable sir those who say these words are they talking the fact rightfully or are they blaming The Blessed One without a reason?

Come Bhaddiya, do not go on filling your mind persistently with what you hear, do not go by tradition, do not guess, do not go on the grounds of authority, do not turn to logical thinking, do not follow the leader, do not go by the examination of reasons, do not stick to wrong views, don't go by this has to be so, don't go by the words of your teacher, the recluse. Bhaddiya, you, yourself should know- these thoughts are demerit, these thoughts are faulty, these thoughts are blamed by the wise, these thoughts undertaken and accomplished are not for welfare, they conduce to unpleasantness- Bhaddiya, then you should dispel them.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of greed to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is not for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, a greedy person with a mind obsessed with greed, destroys living things, takes the not given, goes to other's wives, tells lies, and arouses others to do the same does it conduce to unpleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of anger to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is not for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, an angry person with a mind obsessed with anger, destroys living things, takes the not given, goes to other's wives, tells lies, and arouses others to do the same does it conduce to unpleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of delusion to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is not for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, a deluded person with a mind obsessed with delusion, destroys living things, takes the not given, goes to other's wives, tells lies, and arouses others to do the same does it conduce to unpleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, are these thoughts meritorious or demeritorious? Demeritorious. Venerable sir. Are they faulty or non faulty? Faulty. Venerable sir. Are they blamed or praised by the wise? Venerable sir, they are blamed by the wise. Udertaken and accomplished do they conduce to evil and unpleasantness or what is it? Venerable sir, undertaken and accomplished they conduce to evil and unpleasantness, it occurs to us thus.

Bhaddiya, as you yourself say, do not follow the leader, do not go by the examination of reasons, do not stick to wrong views, don't go by this has to be so, don't go by the words of your teacher, the recluse. Bhaddiya, you, yourself should know- these thoughts are demerit, these thoughts are faulty, these thoughts are blamed by the wise, these thoughts undertaken and accomplished are not for welfare, they conduce to unpleasantness- Bhaddiya, then you should dispel them. If it was said, it was said on account of this.

Come Bhaddiya, do not go on filling your mind persistently with what you hear, do not go by tradition, do not guess, do not go on the grounds of authority, do not turn to logical thinking, do not follow the leader, do not go by the examination of reasons, do not stick to wrong views, don't go by this has to be so, don't go by the words of your teacher, the recluse. Bhaddiya, you, yourself should know- these thoughts are merit, these thoughts are not faulty, these thoughts are not blamed by the wise, these thoughts undertaken and accomplished are for welfare, they conduce to pleasantness- Bhaddiya, then you should grow them.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of non greed to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, a not greedy person with a mind not obsessed with greed, does not destroy living things, does not take the not given, does not go to other's wives, does not tell lies, and does not arouse others to do the same. Does this conduce to pleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of non anger to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, a not angry person with a mind not obsessed with anger, does not destroy living things, does not take the not given, does not go to other's wives, does not tell lies, and does not arouse others to do the same. Does this conduce to pleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, is the arising of non delusion to a person, for his welfare or not? Venerable sir, it is for his welfare.

Bhaddiya, a not deluded person with a mind not obsessed with delusion, does not destroy living things, does not take the not given, does not go to other's wives, does not tell lies, and does not arouse others to do the same. Does it conduce to pleasantness for a long time. Yes, venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, are these thoughts meritorious or demeritorious? Meritorious. Venerable sir. Are they faulty or non faulty? Not faulty. Venerable sir. Are they blamed or praised by the wise? Venerable sir, they are praised by the wise. Udertaken and accomplished do they conduce to welfare and pleasantness or what is it? Venerable sir, undertaken and accomplished they conduce to pleasantness, it occurs to us thus.

Bhaddiya, as you yourself say, do not follow the leader, do not go by the examination of reasons, do not stick to wrong views, don't go by this has to be so, don't go by the words of your teacher, the recluse. Bhaddiya, you, yourself should know- these thoughts are merit, these thoughts are not faulty, these thoughts are praised by the wise, these thoughts undertaken and accomplished are for the welfare, they conduce to pleasantness- Bhaddiya, then you should grow them. If it was said, it was said on account of this.

Bhaddiya, the Great Men in the world discipline their disciples thus: Come good man dispel greed and abide. When you do so, activities by body, words and mind born of greed do not arise to you. Dispel anger and abide. When you do so, activities by body, words and mind born of anger do not arise to you. Dispel delusion and abide. When you do so, activities by body, words and mind born of delusion do not arise to you. Dispel imperiousness and abide. When you do so, activities by body, words and mind born of imperiousness do not arise to you.

Then the Licchavi Bhaddiya said thus to The Blessed One:

Venerable sir, I understand ... re ... remember me as a lay disciple who has taken refuge from today until life lasts.

Yet, Bhaddiya I would not say: Come Bhaddiya, be my disciple, I will be your Teacher.

Not so venerable sir.

Bhaddiya, if I said so, a certain recluse or Brahmin would untruthfully blame me. The recluse Gotama is deceptive, knows enticements and entices the disciples of other faiths.

Venerable sir, the enticement is good, the deception is good. Good if my loved ones, and blood relations be enticed and deceived by this enticement. It will be for their welfare and pleasantness for a long time. Good if all warriors be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be for their welfare and happiness for a long time. Good if all Brahmins be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be for their welfare and happiness for a long time. Good if all ordinary folk be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be for their welfare and happiness for a long time.

Bhaddiya, that is so. If all warriors be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be the dispelling of demerit and amassing of merit, for their welfare and happiness for a long time. If all Brahmins be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be the dispelling of demerit and amassing of merit, for their welfare and happiness for a long time. If all ordinary folk be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be the dispelling of demerit and amassing of merit, for their welfare and happiness for a long time. If all in the world together with gods, Māra, Brahma and the community of recluses and Brahmins be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be the dispelling of their demerit and amassing of merit, for their welfare and happiness for a long time.

Bhaddiya, evem if all these rich householders be enticed and deceived by this enticement, it will be the dispelling of demerit and amassing of merit, for their welfare and happiness for a long time even if thought. How much good will it do to humanity.