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MN 124PTS MN 3.124Bākula3 min read

With Bakkula

Bākulasutta

Venerable Bakkula, regarded as the healthiest of the mendicants, explains to an old friend his strict and austere practice. The unusual form of this discourse suggests it was added to the canon some time after the Buddha’s death.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Majjhima Nikāya 124Middle Discourses 124

0.2BākulasuttaWith Bakkula

1.1PTS 3.125Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.11.2ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā bākulo rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.At one time Venerable Bakkula was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.

2.1Atha kho acelakassapo āyasmato bākulassa purāṇagihisahāyo yenāyasmā bākulo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmatā bākulena saddhiṁ sammodi.Then the naked ascetic Kassapa, an old friend of Bakkula in the lay life, approached him, and exchanged greetings with him.22.2Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho acelakassapo āyasmantaṁ bākulaṁ etadavoca:When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to Venerable Bakkula,3.1“Kīvaciraṁ pabbajitosi, āvuso bākulā”ti?“Reverend Bakkula, how long has it been since you went forth?”

3.2“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassā”ti.“It has been eighty years, reverend.”3

3.3“Imehi pana te, āvuso bākula, asītiyā vassehi katikkhattuṁ methuno dhammo paṭisevito”ti?“But in these eighty years, how many times have you had sex?”

3.4“Na kho maṁ, āvuso kassapa, evaṁ pucchitabbaṁ:“You shouldn’t ask me such a question.3.5‘imehi pana te, āvuso bākula, asītiyā vassehi katikkhattuṁ methuno dhammo paṭisevito’ti.3.6Evañca kho maṁ, āvuso kassapa, pucchitabbaṁ:Rather, you should ask me this:3.7‘imehi pana te, āvuso bākula, asītiyā vassehi katikkhattuṁ kāmasaññā uppannapubbā’”ti?‘But in these eighty years, how many times have sensual perceptions ever arisen in you?’”

3.8(…)“But in these eighty years, how many times have sensual perceptions ever arisen in you?”4

3.9“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi kāmasaññaṁ uppannapubbaṁ”.“In these eighty years, I don’t recall that any sensual perception has ever arisen in me.”

3.10“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti kāmasaññaṁ uppannapubbaṁ idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.This we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.5

4-5.1“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi byāpādasaññaṁ …pe…“In these eighty years, I don’t recall that any perception of ill will …4-5.2vihiṁsāsaññaṁ uppannapubbaṁ”.or cruelty has ever arisen in me.”

4-5.3“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti vihiṁsāsaññaṁ uppannapubbaṁ, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

6.1“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi kāmavitakkaṁ uppannapubbaṁ”.“In these eighty years, I don’t recall that any thought of sensuality …6.2“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti kāmavitakkaṁ uppannapubbaṁ, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.7-8.1“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi byāpādavitakkaṁ …pe…ill will …7-8.2vihiṁsāvitakkaṁ uppannapubbaṁ”.or cruelty has ever arisen in me.”

7-8.3“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti vihiṁsāvitakkaṁ uppannapubbaṁ, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

9.1PTS 3.126“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi gahapaticīvaraṁ sāditā”.“In these eighty years, I don’t recall accepting a robe from a householder …69.2“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti gahapaticīvaraṁ sāditā, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.10.1“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi satthena cīvaraṁ chinditā”.cutting a robe with a knife …710.2“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti satthena cīvaraṁ chinditā …pe… dhārema”.11-15.1PTS 3.127“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi sūciyā cīvaraṁ sibbitā …pe…sewing a robe with a needle …11-15.2nābhijānāmi rajanena cīvaraṁ rajitā …dying a robe …11-15.3nābhijānāmi kathine cīvaraṁ sibbitā …sewing a robe during the robe-making ceremony …11-15.4nābhijānāmi sabrahmacārīnaṁ cīvarakamme vicāritā …wandering to look for robe material for my companions in the spiritual life when they are making robes …816-19.1nābhijānāmi nimantanaṁ sāditā …accepting an invitation …916-19.2nābhijānāmi evarūpaṁ cittaṁ uppannapubbaṁ:having such a thought:16-19.3‘aho vata maṁ koci nimanteyyā’ti …‘If only someone would invite me!’ …16-19.4nābhijānāmi antaraghare nisīditā …sitting down inside a house …1016-19.5nābhijānāmi antaraghare bhuñjitā …eating inside a house …20-25.1nābhijānāmi mātugāmassa anubyañjanaso nimittaṁ gahetā …getting caught up in the features by way of the details of a lady’s appearance …1120-25.2nābhijānāmi mātugāmassa dhammaṁ desitā antamaso catuppadampi gāthaṁ …teaching a lady, even so much as a four line verse …1220-25.3nābhijānāmi bhikkhunupassayaṁ upasaṅkamitā …going to the nuns’ quarters …1320-25.4nābhijānāmi bhikkhuniyā dhammaṁ desitā …teaching the nuns …1420-25.5nābhijānāmi sikkhamānāya dhammaṁ desitā …teaching the trainee nuns …20-25.6nābhijānāmi sāmaṇeriyā dhammaṁ desitā …teaching the novice nuns …26-29.1nābhijānāmi pabbājetā …giving the going forth …1526-29.2nābhijānāmi upasampādetā …giving the ordination …26-29.3nābhijānāmi nissayaṁ dātā …giving dependence …26-29.4nābhijānāmi sāmaṇeraṁ upaṭṭhāpetā …being attended by a novice …30-36.1nābhijānāmi jantāghare nhāyitā …bathing in the sauna …1630-36.2nābhijānāmi cuṇṇena nhāyitā …bathing with bath powder …1730-36.3nābhijānāmi sabrahmacārīgattaparikamme vicāritā …looking for a massage from my spiritual companions …1830-36.4nābhijānāmi ābādhaṁ uppannapubbaṁ, antamaso gaddūhanamattampi …being ill, even for as long as it takes to pull a cow’s udder …1930-36.5nābhijānāmi bhesajjaṁ upaharitā, antamaso haritakikhaṇḍampi …being presented with medicine, even as much as a bit of yellow myrobalan …2030-36.6nābhijānāmi apassenakaṁ apassayitā …leaning on a leaning-board …2130-36.7nābhijānāmi seyyaṁ kappetā”.preparing a cot …”22

30-36.8“Yampāyasmā …pe… dhārema”.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

37.1“Asīti me, āvuso, vassāni pabbajitassa nābhijānāmi gāmantasenāsane vassaṁ upagantā”.“In these eighty years, I don’t recall commencing the rainy season residence within a village.”

37.2“Yampāyasmā bākulo asītiyā vassehi nābhijānāti gāmantasenāsane vassaṁ upagantā, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

38.1“Sattāhameva kho ahaṁ, āvuso, saraṇo raṭṭhapiṇḍaṁ bhuñjiṁ;“Reverend, for seven days I ate the nation’s almsfood as a debtor.2338.2atha aṭṭhamiyaṁ aññā udapādi.Then on the eighth day I became enlightened.”

38.3Yampāyasmā bākulo sattāhameva saraṇo raṭṭhapiṇḍaṁ bhuñji; atha aṭṭhamiyaṁ aññā udapādi idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

39.1Labheyyāhaṁ, āvuso bākula, imasmiṁ dhammavinaye pabbajjaṁ, labheyyaṁ upasampadan”ti.“Reverend Bakkula, may I receive the going forth, the ordination in this teaching and training?”39.2Alattha kho acelakassapo imasmiṁ dhammavinaye pabbajjaṁ, alattha upasampadaṁ.And the naked ascetic Kassapa received the going forth, the ordination in this teaching and training.

39.3Acirūpasampanno panāyasmā kassapo eko vūpakaṭṭho appamatto ātāpī pahitatto viharanto nacirasseva—yassatthāya kulaputtā sammadeva agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajanti, tadanuttaraṁ—brahmacariyapariyosānaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja vihāsi.Not long after his ordination, Venerable Kassapa, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, keen, and resolute, soon realized the supreme culmination 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.

39.4“Khīṇā jāti, vusitaṁ brahmacariyaṁ, kataṁ karaṇīyaṁ, nāparaṁ itthattāyā”ti abbhaññāsi.He understood: “Rebirth is ended; the spiritual journey has been completed; what had to be done has been done; there is nothing further for this place.”39.5Aññataro kho panāyasmā kassapo arahataṁ ahosi.And Venerable Kassapa became one of the perfected.

40.1Atha kho āyasmā bākulo aparena samayena avāpuraṇaṁ ādāya vihārena vihāraṁ upasaṅkamitvā evamāha:Then some time later Venerable Bakkula, taking a latchkey, went from dwelling to dwelling, saying,2440.2“abhikkamathāyasmanto, abhikkamathāyasmanto. Ajja me parinibbānaṁ bhavissatī”ti.“Come forth, venerables, come forth! Today will be my full extinguishment.”

40.3“Yampāyasmā bākulo avāpuraṇaṁ ādāya vihārena vihāraṁ upasaṅkamitvā evamāha: ‘abhikkamathāyasmanto, abhikkamathāyasmanto; ajja me parinibbānaṁ bhavissatī’ti, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhārema”.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

41.1PTS 3.128Āyasmā bākulo majjhe bhikkhusaṅghassa nisinnakova parinibbāyi.And Venerable Bakkula became fully extinguished while seated right in the middle of the Saṅgha.

41.2“Yampāyasmā bākulo majjhe bhikkhusaṅghassa nisinnakova parinibbāyi, idampi mayaṁ āyasmato bākulassa acchariyaṁ abbhutadhammaṁ dhāremā”ti.This too we remember as an incredible and amazing quality of Venerable Bakkula.

41.3Bākulasuttaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ catutthaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. Bakkula is depicted as an exponent of austerity who goes significantly beyond the norm in the early texts. According to the commentary, this sutta was added by the Elders at the Second Council, a century after the Buddha’s passing. This late date is supported by multiple textual indications, such as the lack of mention of where the Buddha is staying and the advanced age of Bakkula. Bakkula apparently represents an ideal among a certain wing of the Saṅgha at that time. His verses in the Theragāthā, however, are simple and free from this severity (Thag 3.3).

    ↩ mn124:1.1

  2. The phrase purāṇagihisahāya (“old friend from the lay life”) appears only here and at SN 41.9:1.1. There it is also said of a naked ascetic (acela) called Kassapa, which cannot be a coincidence. In that case he, as the former friend of the householder Citta, is the one interrogated. The events of the present discourse happened many decades after the Buddha’s death, so it seems likely Kassapa was introduced as a conventional foil for Bakkula. Several such individuals named Kassapa are found in Pali, and their stories are conflated (DN 8, SN 12.17, SN 41.9).

    ↩ mn124:2.1

  3. One may “go forth” at fifteen or “when old enough to scare crows” (Kd 1:51.1.14), so he is probably over ninety here.

    ↩ mn124:3.2

  4. This repetition is found in the PTS and BJT editions, but missing from MS and King of Siam editions.

    ↩ mn124:3.8

  5. According to the commentary, these responses were added by the Elders, representing praise of Bakkula’s austerities by the successful rigorist party at the Second Council. This is supported by several considerations. First, the commentators would rather claim something is early, so when they say it was added later it likely comes from a genuine tradition. Second, the refrains are in plural. Third, the refrains, and the statements of Bakkula that they answer, lack the close -ti indicating a direct quote. Fourthly, they continue after the conversation with Kassapa has concluded. The refrains are also found in the Chinese parallel. This shows how comparing different versions of a sutta can take us back only to the point where the texts diverge, which was some time after the Second Council. Thus a shared feature might have been added a century or more after the Buddha.

    ↩ mn124:3.10

  6. From a discussion of mental purity, Bakkula proceeds to list a series of details of conduct, which are not morally reprehensible, but which illustrate his extreme commitment to austerity.

    Accepting a robe from a householder implies enjoying the spoils of wealthy donors. Austere monks wore robes made of cast-off rags. Compare the story of Ānanda at MN 52:16.2 = AN 11.16:11.2, or at Kd 21:1.13.1, where he explained that after accepting quality robes, they were shared and reused.

    This sutta can be seen as representing one of the disputing factions at the Second Council (Kd 22). The Saṅgha was divided between “rigorists” who advocated a more austere monastic life, and “laxists” who wanted to take a more relaxed attitude to discipline. The Second Council decided ten points of Vinaya in the rigorists’ favor, the most important of which was whether monastics could use money. Bakkula represents a rigorist position so extreme that if it were followed generally it would undermine the very existence of the Saṅgha. His severity, which even exceeds that of Mahākassapa, is implicitly contrasted with the gentle and accommodating spirit of Ānanda.

    ↩ mn124:9.1

  7. The following items echo the Buddha’s concern at MN 122:2.8, where many monastics, including Ānanda, had gathered for making robes.

    Note that most of these items are missing from the Chinese parallel at MA 34.

    ↩ mn124:10.1

  8. This case is discussed in Bu Pc 46. It is normally forbidden to visit other families on the way to a meal invitation, but a special exemption is granted for the times of giving and making robes.

    ↩ mn124:11-15.4

  9. Bakkula would eat only food collected on alms-round, refusing to eat a meal by invitation in a lay person’s home.

    ↩ mn124:16-19.1

  10. This is allowed, but might sometimes get a monastic unwillingly involved in lay affairs (Bu Pc 43).

    ↩ mn124:16-19.4

  11. This refers to the practice of sense restraint (MN 27:15.1).

    For the grammar, see note on SN 35.235:1.4.

    ↩ mn124:20-25.1

  12. Bu Pc 7 forbids teaching up to five or six lines to someone of the opposite sex, unless there is a chaperone present.

    ↩ mn124:20-25.2

  13. This is stricter than Bu Pc 23, which forbids going to the nuns’s quarters for the purpose of giving the fortnightly instruction, with several exceptions noted.

    ↩ mn124:20-25.3

  14. At MN 146:3.3, the Buddha encourages Nandaka to teach the nuns; indeed the Vinaya says that a monk should agree to teach the nuns (Kd 20:9.5.3), and in addition should go to the assistance of nuns (Kd 3:6.12.1). Compare Bu Pc 24, which forbids teaching nuns for the sake of material profits.

    ↩ mn124:20-25.4

  15. Presumably Bakkula wished to avoid the responsibility of taking on students. If this practice was universally adopted, the Saṅgha could not survive.

    ↩ mn124:26-29.1

  16. Allowed for health at Kd 15:14.1.1.

    ↩ mn124:30-36.1

  17. “Bath powder” (cuṇṇa) was in regular use (Kd 1:25.12.4), but was sometimes considered sensual (Kd 20:27.4.1).

    ↩ mn124:30-36.2

  18. Massaging was done for health and by respect (Kd 12:1.1.27), but was often problematic, as it could be sexually arousing (Bu Ss 1:5.8.17) or even dangerous (Bu Pj 3:5.16.2). At one point the Buddha forbade massages for monks (Kd 15:1.4.1) and nuns (Bi Pc 90), although he allowed monks a “broad-handed” massage (Kd 15:1.5.6).

    ↩ mn124:30-36.3

  19. Bakkula was said to be the foremost monk in good health (AN 1.226:1.1), an accolade that must have been added after his passing away. In later texts, he is often remembered for this (Tha Ap 398, Mil 5.5.3; Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra 8.2.3.3, Divyāvadāna 253.020). It would seem he mentions it here because many of the other items are allowed for the sake of health. It may happen that something such as a massage, which has a genuine health purpose, can become an indulgence.

    ↩ mn124:30-36.4

  20. Allowed as medicine at Kd 6:6.1.4.

    ↩ mn124:30-36.5

  21. Allowed at Kd 16:20.2.15. This was a wooden plank that was leaned against the wall as a simple backrest.

    ↩ mn124:30-36.6

  22. A simple bed was allowed (Bu Pc 16), but Bakkula slept on the ground.

    ↩ mn124:30-36.7

  23. Said by Mahākassapa at SN 16.11:13.2. See MN 26:20.21 and note.

    ↩ mn124:38.1

  24. The “latchkey” (avāpuraṇa) was a universal key inserted into outside doors to lift the bolt within (SN 22.90:1.2, AN 9.11:2.1). He took it to access the inner dwellings in the monastery to make his announcement.

    ↩ mn124:40.1