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SN 16.10PTS SN 2.2142 min read

The Nuns’ Quarters

Upassayasutta

When Kassapa is persuaded by Ānanda to go with him to teach the nuns, the nun Thullatissā compares him unfavorably to Ānanda, prompting Kassapa to issue a warning and make a bold claim of his spiritual mastery. This discourse appears to be set after the Buddha’s passing.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 16.10Linked Discourses 16.10
  • 0.21. Kassapavagga1. Kassapa

0.3UpassayasuttaThe Nuns’ Quarters

1.1PTS 2.215Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā mahākassapo sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time Venerable Mahākassapa was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.1.3Atha kho āyasmā ānando pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya yenāyasmā mahākassapo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ mahākassapaṁ etadavoca:Then Venerable Ānanda robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, went to Mahākassapa and said,1.4“āyāma, bhante kassapa, yena aññataro bhikkhunupassayo tenupasaṅkamissāmā”ti.“Come, Honorable Kassapa. Let’s go to one of the nuns’ quarters.”1

1.5“Gaccha tvaṁ, āvuso ānanda, bahukicco tvaṁ bahukaraṇīyo”ti.“You go, Reverend Ānanda. You’re the one with many duties and responsibilities.”2

1.6Dutiyampi kho āyasmā ānando āyasmantaṁ mahākassapaṁ etadavoca:And a second time …1.7“āyāma, bhante kassapa, yena aññataro bhikkhunupassayo tenupasaṅkamissāmā”ti.1.8“Gaccha tvaṁ, āvuso ānanda, bahukicco tvaṁ bahukaraṇīyo”ti.

1.9Tatiyampi kho āyasmā ānando āyasmantaṁ mahākassapaṁ etadavoca:And a third time, Ānanda said,1.10“āyāma, bhante kassapa, yena aññataro bhikkhunupassayo tenupasaṅkamissāmā”ti.“Come, Honorable Kassapa. Let’s go to one of the nuns’ quarters.”

2.1Atha kho āyasmā mahākassapo pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya āyasmatā ānandena pacchāsamaṇena yena aññataro bhikkhunupassayo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā paññatte āsane nisīdi.Then Venerable Mahākassapa robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, went with Venerable Ānanda as his second monk to one of the nuns’ quarters, where he sat down on the seat spread out.2.2Atha kho sambahulā bhikkhuniyo yenāyasmā mahākassapo tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ mahākassapaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu.And then several nuns went up to Mahākassapa, bowed, and sat down to one side.2.3Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho tā bhikkhuniyo āyasmā mahākassapo dhammiyā kathāya sandassesi samādapesi samuttejesi sampahaṁsesi.Mahākassapa educated, encouraged, fired up, and inspired those nuns with a Dhamma talk,2.4Atha kho āyasmā mahākassapo tā bhikkhuniyo dhammiyā kathāya sandassetvā samādapetvā samuttejetvā sampahaṁsetvā uṭṭhāyāsanā pakkāmi.after which he rose from his seat and left.

3.1PTS 2.216Atha kho thullatissā bhikkhunī anattamanā anattamanavācaṁ nicchāresi:But the nun Thullatissā was upset and blurted out,33.2“kiṁ pana ayyo mahākassapo, ayyassa ānandassa vedehamunino sammukhā dhammaṁ bhāsitabbaṁ maññati?“What is the venerable Mahākassapa thinking, that he’d teach Dhamma in front of the venerable Ānanda, the Videhan sage?43.3Seyyathāpi nāma sūcivāṇijako sūcikārassa santike sūciṁ vikketabbaṁ maññeyya;He’s like a needle peddler who thinks they can sell a needle to a needle maker!”3.4evameva ayyo mahākassapo ayyassa ānandassa vedehamunino sammukhā dhammaṁ bhāsitabbaṁ maññatī”ti.

4.1Assosi kho āyasmā mahākassapo thullatissāya bhikkhuniyā imaṁ vācaṁ bhāsamānāya.Mahākassapa heard Thullatissā say these words,4.2Atha kho āyasmā mahākassapo āyasmantaṁ ānandaṁ etadavoca:and he said to Ānanda,4.3“kiṁ nu kho, āvuso ānanda, ahaṁ sūcivāṇijako, tvaṁ sūcikāro;“Is that right, Reverend Ānanda? Am I the needle peddler and you the needle maker?4.4udāhu ahaṁ sūcikāro, tvaṁ sūcivāṇijako”ti?Or am I the needle maker and you the needle peddler?”

4.5“Khama, bhante kassapa, bālo mātugāmo”ti.“Forgive her, sir. The lady’s a fool.”5

4.6“Āgamehi tvaṁ, āvuso ānanda, mā te saṅgho uttari upaparikkhi.“Hold on, Reverend Ānanda! Don’t make the Saṅgha investigate you further!6

5.1Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, āvuso ānanda,What do you think, Reverend Ānanda?5.2api nu tvaṁ bhagavato sammukhā bhikkhusaṅghe upanīto:Was it you who the Buddha brought up before the Saṅgha of mendicants, saying:5.3‘ahaṁ, bhikkhave, yāvade ākaṅkhāmi vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharāmi.‘Mendicants, whenever I want, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, I enter and remain in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected.5.4Ānandopi, bhikkhave, yāvade ākaṅkhati vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharatī’”ti?And so does Ānanda’?”

5.5“No hetaṁ, bhante”.“No, sir.”

6.1“Ahaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavato sammukhā bhikkhusaṅghe upanīto:“I was the one the Buddha brought up before the Saṅgha of mendicants, saying:6.2‘ahaṁ, bhikkhave, yāvade ākaṅkhāmi vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi savitakkaṁ savicāraṁ vivekajaṁ pītisukhaṁ paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharāmi.‘Mendicants, whenever I want, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, I enter and remain in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected.6.3Kassapopi, bhikkhave, yāvade ākaṅkhati vivicceva kāmehi vivicca akusalehi dhammehi …pe… paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharatī’ti …pe….And so does Kassapa. …’

6.4(Navannaṁ anupubbavihārasamāpattīnaṁ pañcannañca abhiññānaṁ evaṁ vitthāro veditabbo.)(The nine progressive meditations and the five insights should be told in full.)7

7.1PTS 2.217Taṁ kiṁ maññasi, āvuso ānanda,What do you think, Reverend Ānanda?7.2api nu tvaṁ bhagavato sammukhā bhikkhusaṅghe upanīto:Was it you who the Buddha brought up before the Saṅgha of mendicants, saying:7.3‘ahaṁ, bhikkhave, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmi.‘I have realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And I live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.7.4Ānandopi, bhikkhave, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī’”ti?And so does Ānanda’?”

7.5“No hetaṁ, bhante”.“No, sir.”

8.1“Ahaṁ kho, āvuso, bhagavato sammukhā bhikkhusaṅghe upanīto:“I was the one the Buddha brought up before the Saṅgha of mendicants, saying:8.2‘ahaṁ, bhikkhave, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharāmi.‘I have realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And I live having realized it with my own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements.8.3Kassapopi, bhikkhave, āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharatī’ti.And so does Kassapa.’

9.1Sattaratanaṁ vā, āvuso, nāgaṁ aḍḍhaṭṭhamaratanaṁ vā tālapattikāya chādetabbaṁ maññeyya, yo me cha abhiññā chādetabbaṁ maññeyyā”ti.Reverend, you might as well think to hide a bull elephant that’s three or three and a half meters tall behind a palm leaf as to hide my six insights.”8

10.1Cavittha ca pana thullatissā bhikkhunī brahmacariyamhāti.But the nun Thullatissā fell from the spiritual life.

10.2Dasamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. I render bhante as “sir” when used alone, “honorable” when used with a name. Ānanda’s use here suggests this took place after the Buddha’s passing (DN 16:6.2.3), which is normally the case when the Buddha is not mentioned in the introduction. Accordingly, Kassapa refers to his junior, Ānanda, with “reverend” (āvuso).

    ↩ sn16.10:1.4

  2. A certain tension arose between the strict Mahākassapa and the more open Ānanda after the Buddha’s passing. At the First Council, Ānanda was repeatedly admonished by senior monks apparently siding with Kassapa (Kd 21:1.10.2).

    ↩ sn16.10:1.5

  3. Thullatissā is only found here.

    ↩ sn16.10:3.1

  4. Ānanda was from Sakya, not Videha, a problem that evidently vexed the commentators. The Pali commentaries explains vedeha as “learned”, or say his mother was from Videha. The Mahāvastu, on the other hand, says that after the Buddha went forth, Ānanda went to Videha and undertook a vow of silence (maunavrata, Mvu 83; Senart 3.176). The Mūlasarvastivāda Vinaya says rather that it was on Mount Videha that the Buddha entrusted Ānanda with the design for the robes (Mu Kd 7; GBM 6.814). None of these are cogent. The point is that Thullatissā was such an idiot, she didn’t even know where Ānanda came from.

    In this discourse, with its full range of different honorifics, Thullatissā uses ayya (“the venerable”) for Kassapa. Usually the masculine form is āyasmā (“Venerable”) from the same root.

    ↩ sn16.10:3.2

  5. For “lady” (mātugāma), see note on SN 37.1:1.1.

    ↩ sn16.10:4.5

  6. Apparently he is referring to the admonition of Ānanda at the First Council.

    ↩ sn16.10:4.6

  7. This note referring to the previous Sutta is in the Pali text.

    ↩ sn16.10:6.4

  8. Text has sattaratana, seven “cubits”, i.e. the length from elbow to fingertips, or about 45 cm.

    ↩ sn16.10:9.1