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SN 42.3PTS SN 4.3082 min read

A Warrior

Yodhājīvasutta

Yodhājı̄va the professional warrior asks the Buddha whether the belief that warriors have a good rebirth is correct. The Buddha tries to dissuade him, but ultimately reveals that by following the way of violence they head to a bad rebirth. Yodhājı̄va is distressed and takes refuge.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 42.3Linked Discourses 42.3
  • 0.21. Gāmaṇivagga1. Chiefs

0.3YodhājīvasuttaA Warrior

1.1Atha kho yodhājīvo gāmaṇi yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho yodhājīvo gāmaṇi bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then Dustin the warrior chief went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:1

1.2“sutaṁ metaṁ, bhante, pubbakānaṁ ācariyapācariyānaṁ yodhājīvānaṁ bhāsamānānaṁ:“Sir, I have heard that the warriors of the past who were tutors of tutors said:1.3‘yo so yodhājīvo saṅgāme ussahati vāyamati, tamenaṁ ussahantaṁ vāyamantaṁ pare hananti pariyāpādenti, so kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā parajitānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī’ti.‘Suppose a warrior, while striving and struggling in battle, is killed and finished off by his foes. When his body breaks up, after death, he’s reborn in the company of the gods of the fallen.’1.4Idha bhagavā kimāhā”ti?What does the Buddha say about this?”

1.5“Alaṁ, gāmaṇi, tiṭṭhatetaṁ; mā maṁ etaṁ pucchī”ti.“Enough, chief, let it be. Don’t ask me that.”

1.6Dutiyampi kho …pe…For a second time …

1.7tatiyampi kho yodhājīvo gāmaṇi bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:And for a third time Dustin the warrior chief said to the Buddha:

1.8“sutaṁ metaṁ, bhante, pubbakānaṁ ācariyapācariyānaṁ yodhājīvānaṁ bhāsamānānaṁ:“Sir, I have heard that the warriors of the past who were tutors of tutors said:1.9‘yo so yodhājīvo saṅgāme ussahati vāyamati, tamenaṁ ussahantaṁ vāyamantaṁ pare hananti pariyāpādenti, so kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā parajitānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī’ti.‘Suppose a warrior, while striving and struggling in battle, is killed and finished off by his foes. When his body breaks up, after death, he’s reborn in the company of the gods of the fallen.’1.10Idha bhagavā kimāhā”ti?What does the Buddha say about this?”

2.1PTS 4.309“Addhā kho tyāhaṁ, gāmaṇi, na labhāmi:“Clearly, chief, I’m not getting through to you when I say:2.2‘alaṁ, gāmaṇi, tiṭṭhatetaṁ; mā maṁ etaṁ pucchī’ti.‘Enough, chief, let it be. Don’t ask me that.’2.3Api ca tyāhaṁ byākarissāmi.Nevertheless, I will answer you.

2.4Yo so, gāmaṇi, yodhājīvo saṅgāme ussahati vāyamati, tassa taṁ cittaṁ pubbe gahitaṁ dukkaṭaṁ duppaṇihitaṁ:When a warrior strives and struggles in battle, their mind is already low, degraded, and misdirected as they think:2.5‘ime sattā haññantu vā bajjhantu vā ucchijjantu vā vinassantu vā mā vā ahesuṁ iti vā’ti.‘May these sentient beings be killed, slaughtered, slain, destroyed, or annihilated!’2.6Tamenaṁ ussahantaṁ vāyamantaṁ pare hananti pariyāpādenti;His foes kill him and finish him off, and2.7so kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā parajito nāma nirayo tattha upapajjatīti.when his body breaks up, after death, he’s reborn in the hell called ‘The Fallen’.2

2.8Sace kho panassa evaṁ diṭṭhi hoti:But if you have such a view:2.9‘yo so yodhājīvo saṅgāme ussahati vāyamati tamenaṁ ussahantaṁ vāyamantaṁ pare hananti pariyāpādenti, so kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā parajitānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī’ti, sāssa hoti micchādiṭṭhi.‘Suppose a warrior, while striving and struggling in battle, is killed and finished off by his foes. When his body breaks up, after death, he’s reborn in the company of the gods of the fallen.’ This is your wrong view.2.10Micchādiṭṭhikassa kho panāhaṁ, gāmaṇi, purisapuggalassa dvinnaṁ gatīnaṁ aññataraṁ gatiṁ vadāmi—An individual with wrong view is reborn in one of two places, I say:2.11nirayaṁ vā tiracchānayoniṁ vā”ti.hell or the animal realm.”

3.1Evaṁ vutte, yodhājīvo gāmaṇi parodi, assūni pavattesi.When he said this, Dustin the warrior chief cried and burst out in tears.

3.2“Etaṁ kho tyāhaṁ, gāmaṇi, nālatthaṁ:“This is what I didn’t get through to you when I said:3.3‘alaṁ, gāmaṇi, tiṭṭhatetaṁ; mā maṁ etaṁ pucchī’”ti.‘Enough, chief, let it be. Don’t ask me that.’”

3.4“Nāhaṁ, bhante, etaṁ rodāmi yaṁ maṁ bhagavā evamāha;“Sir, I’m not crying because of what the Buddha said.3.5api cāhaṁ, bhante, pubbakehi ācariyapācariyehi yodhājīvehi dīgharattaṁ nikato vañcito paluddho:But sir, for a long time I’ve been cheated, tricked, and deceived by the warriors of the past who were tutors of tutors, who said:3.6‘yo so yodhājīvo saṅgāme ussahati vāyamati, tamenaṁ ussahantaṁ vāyamantaṁ pare hananti pariyāpādenti, so kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā parajitānaṁ devānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī’”ti.‘Suppose a warrior, while striving and struggling in battle, is killed and finished off by his foes. When his body breaks up, after death, he’s reborn in the company of the gods of the fallen.’

3.7“Abhikkantaṁ, bhante …pe…Excellent, sir! Excellent! …3.8ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

3.9Tatiyaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. A “warrior” (yodhājīva) is a professional soldier. I have taken the liberty of using the name “Dustin” in honor of Dustin Cheah, my sponsor while making this translation in Qi Mei, Taiwan. Dustin (literally “Thor’s stone”) has the connotation of “valiant fighter”.

    Together with the following discourses, these make up three of the four branches of the military: foot soldiers, elephant marshals, and cavalry. Sanskrit dictionaries acknowledge grāmaṇī as a military officer as well as a village headman.

    ↩ sn42.3:1.1

  2. Another instance of kamma at death influencing rebirth is found at MN 97:38.7, where Dhanañjāni the corrupt tax collector has a deathbed conversion and goes to heaven. In Theravada circles today, it is commonly held that one’s mental state at death determines one’s rebirth. These examples show that this is true only in exceptional cases where one is actively making strong good or bad kamma at the time of death.

    ↩ sn42.3:2.7