3:5 Māgha
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha on Vulture Peak Mountain. Then the young brahman Māgha went to the Blessed One 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 the Blessed One, “Master Gotama, I am generous, a master of giving, magnanimous, responsive to requests. I search for wealth righteously. Having searched for wealth righteously, then—with wealth righteously gained, righteously acquired—I give to one, I give to two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred, and to more. Thus giving, thus sacrificing, do I produce much merit?”
“Certainly, young man, thus giving, thus sacrificing, you produce much merit. Anyone who is generous, a master of giving, magnanimous, responsive to requests, who searches for wealth righteously and, having searched for wealth righteously, then—with wealth righteously gained, righteously acquired—gives to one, to two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred, and to more, produces much merit.”
Then the young brahman Māgha addressed the Blessed One in verse:
“I ask the magnanimous Gotama,
wearing ochre robes, wandering without home:
When a householder responsive to requests,
a master of giving,
makes a sacrifice in hopes of merit,
looking for merit,
giving food & drink to others here,
how is the offering purified
for the one making the sacrifice?”
The Buddha:
“When a householder responsive to requests,
a master of giving,
makes a sacrifice in hopes of merit,
looking for merit,
giving food & drink to others here:
Such a person achieves his aim
in terms of the recipient.”
Māgha:
“When a householder responsive to requests,
a master of giving,
makes a sacrifice in hopes of merit,
looking for merit,
giving food & drink to others here:
Point out to me the recipient.”
The Buddha:
“Those who, unadhering,1
wander in the world, having nothing,
fully accomplished, their minds restrained:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering,
to them a brahman aiming at merit
should sacrifice.
Those who have cut all fetters & bonds,
tamed, released, with
no afflictions,
no desires:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering,
to them a brahman aiming at merit
should sacrifice.
Those released from all fetters & bonds,
tamed, released, with
no afflictions,
no desires:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Having abandoned
passion, aversion, & delusion,
their holy life fulfilled,
their effluents ended:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Those in whom no deceptiveness dwells,
no conceit,
their holy life fulfilled,
their effluents ended:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Those devoid of greed,
unpossessive, undesiring,
their holy life fulfilled,
their effluents ended:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Those who aren’t prey to cravings,
who wander without possessiveness,
having crossed over the flood:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Those who, having abandoned sensuality,
wander without home,
their minds well-restrained,
straight as a shuttle:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Those devoid of passion,
their faculties well-centered,
released like the moon
from the grasp of an eclipse:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Having calmed themselves,
those devoid of passion, unprovoked,
who have no (future) destinations,
having abandoned them here:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
Having abandoned birth & death
without trace,
they have escaped all perplexity:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
They who, with themselves as refuge,
wander in the world,
having nothing, everywhere released:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
They who know here, as it really is—
‘This is the last birth,
there is no further becoming’:
To them, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering.
An attainer-of-knowledge,2
delighting in jhāna, mindful,
attained to self-awakening,
the refuge of many:
To him, at the right time,
you should bestow an offering,
to him a brahman aiming at merit
should sacrifice.”
Māgha:
“Yes, my question was not in vain.
You, Blessed One, have pointed out the recipient.
You know this here, as it really is,
because this Dhamma has been experienced by you.
When a householder responsive to requests,
a master of giving,
makes a sacrifice in hopes of merit,
looking for merit,
giving food & drink to others here:
Point out to me, Blessed One,
the consummation of the sacrifice.”
The Buddha:
“Sacrifice, and while sacrificing, Māgha,
said the Blessed One,
make your mind clear everywhere.
For one sacrificing, the sacrifice is the object,
the support.3
Taking a stand there, he abandons faults.4
He—devoid of passion, subduing aversion,
developing a mind of goodwill
immeasurable,
day & night, continually heedful—
should pervade all the directions
immeasurably.”
Māgha:
“Who is purified? Released? Bound?
By means of what mind does one go
to the Brahmā world?
Say this, sage, when asked
by me who doesn’t know.
As the Blessed One is my witness,
I have seen Brahmā today,
for you are equal to Brahmā for us—it’s true!
How, shining one, does one reappear
in the Brahmā world?”
When this was said, the young brahman Māgha said to the Blessed One: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! 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 Gotama—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 Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life.”
vv. 487–509
Notes
1. Reading alaggā with the Thai edition. The Burmese and PTS editions read asattā, “without attachment.”
2. In this verse, the Buddha is referring to himself.
3. Support/object = ārammaṇaṁ.
4. Dosa. There is apparently a play on words in this verse, with dosa meaning “fault” here, and “aversion” in the next line.
5. According to SnA, the threefold consummation of the sacrifice refers to the three qualities of the donor mentioned in AN 6:37: “The donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, his/her mind is bright & clear; and after giving, is gratified.” However, because these qualities are not mentioned in this sutta, this explanation is unlikely. It’s more likely that the Buddha here is referring to the three points he made just above: that the donor should make his/her mind clear; should abandon the faults of passion and aversion; and should develop immeasurable thoughts of goodwill. For more on the development of immeasurable goodwill and its benefits, see MN 97, AN 4:125–126, AN 10:196, and AN 11:16.
See also: SN 3:24; SN 20:4; AN 5:53; AN 6:37; AN 8:54; AN 9:20; Iti 22; Iti 27; Iti 100
