True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 28.10PTS SN 3.2381 min read

With Sucimukhī

Sucimukhīsutta

Sāriputta encountered a female wanderer named Sucimukhī, who asks him a series of enigmatic questions regarding what direction he faces when eating. Sāriputta denies all of them, explaining that they are various kinds of wrong livelihood.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 28.10Linked Discourses 28.10
  • 0.21. Sāriputtavagga1. With Sāriputta

0.3SucimukhīsuttaWith Sucimukhī

1.1Ekaṁ samayaṁ āyasmā sāriputto rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.1.2Atha kho āyasmā sāriputto pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya rājagahe piṇḍāya pāvisi.Then he robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Rājagaha for alms.1.3Rājagahe sapadānaṁ piṇḍāya caritvā taṁ piṇḍapātaṁ aññataraṁ kuṭṭamūlaṁ nissāya paribhuñjati.After wandering indiscriminately for almsfood in Rājagaha, he ate his almsfood by a wall.

1.4Atha kho sucimukhī paribbājikā yenāyasmā sāriputto tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā āyasmantaṁ sāriputtaṁ etadavoca:Then the wanderer Sucimukhī went up to Venerable Sāriputta and said to him:1

2.1PTS 3.239“Kiṁ nu kho, samaṇa, adhomukho bhuñjasī”ti?“Ascetic, do you eat facing downwards?”2

2.2“Na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, adhomukho bhuñjāmī”ti.“No, sister.”

2.3“Tena hi, samaṇa, ubbhamukho bhuñjasī”ti?“Well then, do you eat facing upwards?”

2.4“Na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, ubbhamukho bhuñjāmī”ti.“No, sister.”

2.5“Tena hi, samaṇa, disāmukho bhuñjasī”ti?“Well then, do you eat facing the cardinal directions?”

2.6“Na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, disāmukho bhuñjāmī”ti.“No, sister.”

2.7“Tena hi, samaṇa, vidisāmukho bhuñjasī”ti?“Well then, do you eat facing the intermediate directions?”

2.8“Na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, vidisāmukho bhuñjāmī”ti.“No, sister.”

3.1“‘Kiṁ nu, samaṇa, adhomukho bhuñjasī’ti iti puṭṭho samāno ‘na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, adhomukho bhuñjāmī’ti vadesi.“When asked if you eat facing all these directions, you answer ‘no, sister’.3.2‘Tena hi, samaṇa, ubbhamukho bhuñjasī’ti iti puṭṭho samāno ‘na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, ubbhamukho bhuñjāmī’ti vadesi.3.3‘Tena hi, samaṇa, disāmukho bhuñjasī’ti iti puṭṭho samāno ‘na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, disāmukho bhuñjāmī’ti vadesi.3.4‘Tena hi, samaṇa, vidisāmukho bhuñjasī’ti iti puṭṭho samāno ‘na khvāhaṁ, bhagini, vidisāmukho bhuñjāmī’ti vadesi.4.1Kathañcarahi, samaṇa, bhuñjasī”ti?How then do you eat, ascetic?”

4.2“Ye hi keci, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā vatthuvijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappenti, ime vuccanti, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā ‘adhomukhā bhuñjantī’ti.“Sister, those ascetics and brahmins who earn a living by geomancy—a low lore, a wrong livelihood—are said to eat facing downwards.3

4.3Ye hi keci, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā nakkhattavijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappenti, ime vuccanti, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā ‘ubbhamukhā bhuñjantī’ti.Those ascetics and brahmins who earn a living by astrology—a low lore, a wrong livelihood—are said to eat facing upwards.4

4.4Ye hi keci, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā dūteyyapahiṇagamanānuyogāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappenti, ime vuccanti, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā ‘disāmukhā bhuñjantī’ti.Those ascetics and brahmins who earn a living by running errands and messages—a wrong livelihood—are said to eat facing the cardinal directions.5

4.5Ye hi keci, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā aṅgavijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappenti, ime vuccanti, bhagini, samaṇabrāhmaṇā ‘vidisāmukhā bhuñjantī’ti.Those ascetics and brahmins who earn a living by limb-reading—a low lore, a wrong livelihood—are said to eat facing the intermediate directions.6

5.1So khvāhaṁ, bhagini, na vatthuvijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappemi, na nakkhattavijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappemi, na dūteyyapahiṇagamanānuyogāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappemi, na aṅgavijjātiracchānavijjāya micchājīvena jīvikaṁ kappemi.I don’t earn a living by any of these means.5.2Dhammena bhikkhaṁ pariyesāmi;I seek alms in a principled manner,5.3dhammena bhikkhaṁ pariyesitvā bhuñjāmī”ti.and I eat it in a principled manner.”

6.1PTS 3.240Atha kho sucimukhī paribbājikā rājagahe rathiyāya rathiyaṁ, siṅghāṭakena siṅghāṭakaṁ upasaṅkamitvā evamārocesi:Then Sucimukhī the wanderer went around Rājagaha from street to street and from square to square, and announced:6.2“dhammikaṁ samaṇā sakyaputtiyā āhāraṁ āhārenti;“The ascetics who follow the Sakyan eat food in a principled manner!6.3anavajjaṁ samaṇā sakyaputtiyā āhāraṁ āhārenti.The ascetics who follow the Sakyan eat food blamelessly!6.4Detha samaṇānaṁ sakyaputtiyānaṁ piṇḍan”ti.Give almsfood to the ascetics who follow the Sakyan!”

6.5Dasamaṁ.

6.6Sāriputtavaggo paṭhamo.

7.0Tassuddānaṁ

7.1Vivekajaṁ avitakkaṁ,7.2pīti upekkhā catutthakaṁ;7.3Ākāsañceva viññāṇaṁ,7.4ākiñcaṁ nevasaññinā;7.5Nirodho navamo vutto,7.6dasamaṁ sūcimukhī cāti.

7.7Sāriputtasaṁyuttaṁ samattaṁ.The Linked Discourses on Sāriputta are complete.

Translator’s notes

  1. We don’t meet Sucimukhī elsewhere. Her name appears to mean “fair-face”, but it may be a misspelling of sūcimukhī, “needle-mouth”, used elsewhere of mosquitoes or similar creatures (MN 130:20.3, Atharva Veda 11.10.3). Bold women were a feature of the ascetic communities, as shown by Bhaddā of the Curly Hair (Thig 5.9) or Gārgī Vācaknavī (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.6.1). Perhaps Sucimukhī was known for poking people with annoying questions.

    ↩ sn28.10:1.4

  2. To “eat” (bhuñjati) is is both to “enjoy” and to “nourish”. Her question is deliberately obscure, a test for the supposedly wise Sāriputta, but from the context it’s clear she is asking about right livelihood. The brahmins made sure that they worshiped the god the right way, so as to ensure the bounty of spiritual blessings, monetary fees, and food.

    At Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 10.5.5 we find a similar challenge and response. When a certain Kuśri Vājaśravasa built a fire altar, he was quizzed by Suśruvas Kauṣya whether he built it with Agni’s face forward (east), backward (west), downward (south) or upwards (north). Suśruvas faults all these methods; for example, in some cases it is like giving food to someone facing the wrong way. Kuśri responds that he has built it in all these ways, for which he supplies symbolic rationales. Sucimukhī may be echoing this very dialogue, or at least, engaging in a similar manner of questioning.

    ↩ sn28.10:2.1

  3. Where Kuśri responds with obscure allusions to symbolic connections of the ritual, Sāriputta answers the riddle in a way that is simultaneously literal and meaningful. He doesn’t try to out-riddle the riddler, but identifies the ethical responsibility of taking almsfood.

    For “geomancy” (vatthuvijjā) see DN 1:1.21.2. Varāhamihira details it at Bṛhatsaṁhitā 52, where it involves a detailed architectural plan so a building accords with the divinities and auguries of the place.

    ↩ sn28.10:4.2

  4. The technical term “astrology” (nakkhattavijjā) is only found here, but it is described at DN 1:1.24.2. Indian astrology is a vast and complex field, intertwined with the origins of mathematics.

    ↩ sn28.10:4.3

  5. Described at DN 1:1.19.1. Acting as a go-between for lay business was tempting due to the mendicants’ wandering lifestyle. However, it exposes them to risk if the message is not delivered or if it is bad news.

    ↩ sn28.10:4.4

  6. Bṛhatsaṁhitā 50 details the lore of angavidyā, “limb-reading”. This involves a close study of a person’s physical features and behaviors.

    ↩ sn28.10:4.5