The Related Discourses

35. Views

40-42 (154). No Generosity

1. Thus I have heard:[1] One time, the Buddha was staying at Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park in Jeta’s Grove of Śrāvastī.

2. It was then that the Bhagavān addressed the monks, “Because of what’s existence, what’s cause, being bound by what, adherence to what, and viewing what as self do sentient beings make such views and such statements as this? ‘There’s no generosity, no coming together, no teaching, and no good or bad destinies that result from actions. There’s no present life or another life, no mother, no father, and no sentient beings. There are no arhats in the world who correctly arrive at the right destination, whether in the present life or another life, and who see the teaching and know they’ve fully realized it: “My births have been ended, the religious practice has been established, the task has been accomplished. I myself know that I won’t be subject to a later existence.”’[2]

3. The monks said to the Buddha, “The Bhagavān is the Dharma root, the Dharma eye, and the Dharma refuge …”

It’s explained in detail the same as the remainder of SĀ 35.7, and the next two sūtras are like SĀ 35.8-9 above but with this introduction.

Notes

1. Parallels for this sūtra include SN 24.5, DN 2, and DĀ 27. [back]
2. This closely matches the wrong view of Maskarin Gośālīputra in DĀ 27 and Ajita Keśakambala in DN 2. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 1 November 2023