To Ārāmadaṇḍa
Ārāmadaṇḍa Sutta (AN 2:36)
On one occasion Ven. Mahā Kaccāna was staying at Varaṇā on the shore of Kaddama (Muddy) Lake. Then Ārāmadaṇḍa the brahman went to Ven. Mahā Kaccāna and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to Ven. Mahā Kaccāna, “What is the cause, Master Kaccāna, what is the reason, why noble warriors dispute with noble warriors, brahmans dispute with brahmans, and householders dispute with householders?”
“Brahman, it’s with relishing, possession, greed, bondage, & entrenchment in passion for sensuality as a cause that noble warriors dispute with noble warriors, brahmans dispute with brahmans, and householders dispute with householders.”
“And what is the cause, Master Kaccāna, what is the reason, why contemplatives dispute with contemplatives?”
“Brahman, it’s with relishing, possession, greed, bondage, & entrenchment in passion for views as a cause that contemplatives dispute with contemplatives.”
“And is there anyone in the world, Master Kaccāna, who has overcome both this relishing… entrenchment in passion for sensuality, and… this relishing… entrenchment in passion for views?”
“There is, brahman, someone in the world who has overcome both this relishing… entrenchment in passion for sensuality, and… this relishing… entrenchment in passion for views.”
“And who in the world, Master Kaccāna, has overcome both this relishing… entrenchment in passion for sensuality, and… this relishing… entrenchment in passion for views?”
“There is, brahman, in the eastern countryside, a city named Sāvatthī. There the Blessed One—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One—is now dwelling. That Blessed One has overcome this relishing… entrenchment in passion for sensuality, and… this relishing… entrenchment in passion for views.”
When this was said, Ārāmadaṇḍa the brahman—getting up from his seat, arranging his robe over one shoulder, lowering his right knee to the ground, and raising his hands palm-to-palm over the heart—exclaimed three times: “Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One! Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One! Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One! For that Blessed One is one who has overcome both this relishing, possession, greed, bondage, & entrenchment in passion for sensuality, and this relishing, possession, greed, bondage, & entrenchment in passion for views!
“Magnificent, Master Kaccāna! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Kaccāna—through many lines of reasoning—made the Dhamma clear. I go to Master Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the Saṅgha of monks. May Master Kaccāna remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life.”
