SN 45-56 The Group of Connected Discourses on the Path – Mahāvaggasaṁyutta > SN 47 Linked Discourses on Mindfulness Meditation – Satipaṭṭhānasaṁyutta > SN 47.15 With Bāhiya

Linked Discourses 47.15 – Saṁyutta Nikāya 47.15

2. At Nālandā – 2. Nālandavagga

SN 47.15 With Bāhiya – Bāhiyasutta

At Sāvatthī.

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

Then Venerable Bāhiya went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

Atha kho āyasmā bāhiyo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā bāhiyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

“Sir, may the Buddha please teach me Dhamma in brief. When I’ve heard it, I’ll live alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute.”

“sādhu me, bhante, bhagavā saṅkhittena dhammaṁ desetu, yamahaṁ bhagavato dhammaṁ sutvā eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto vihareyyan”ti.

“Well then, Bāhiya, you should purify the starting point of skillful qualities.

“Tasmātiha tvaṁ, bāhiya, ādimeva visodhehi kusalesu dhammesu.

What is the starting point of skillful qualities?

Ko cādi kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ?

Well purified ethics and correct view.

Sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ, diṭṭhi ca ujukā.

When your ethics are well purified and your view is correct, you should develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, depending on and grounded on ethics.

Yato ca kho te, bāhiya, sīlañca suvisuddhaṁ bhavissati, diṭṭhi ca ujukā, tato tvaṁ, bāhiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya cattāro satipaṭṭhāne bhāveyyāsi.

What four?

Katame cattāro?

Meditate observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.

Idha tvaṁ, bāhiya, kāye kāyānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ;

Meditate observing an aspect of feelings …

vedanāsu …pe…

mind …

citte …pe…

principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.

dhammesu dhammānupassī viharāhi ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ.

When you develop these four kinds of mindfulness meditation, depending on and grounded on ethics, you can expect growth, not decline, in skillful qualities, whether by day or by night.”

Yato kho tvaṁ, bāhiya, sīlaṁ nissāya sīle patiṭṭhāya ime cattāro satipaṭṭhāne evaṁ bhāvessasi, tato tuyhaṁ, bāhiya, yā ratti vā divaso vā āgamissati, vuddhiyeva pāṭikaṅkhā kusalesu dhammesu, no parihānī”ti.

And then Venerable Bāhiya approved and agreed with what the Buddha said. He got up from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before leaving.

Atha kho āyasmā bāhiyo bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinanditvā anumoditvā uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi.

Then Bāhiya, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme end of the spiritual path in this very life. He lived having achieved with his own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.

Atha kho āyasmā bāhiyo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva—yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ—brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.

He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is no return to any state of existence.”

“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi.

And Venerable Bāhiya became one of the perfected.

Aññataro ca panāyasmā bāhiyo arahataṁ ahosīti.