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- Anguttara Nikaya III.65
- Kalama Sutta
- To the Kalamas
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One, on a wandering tour among the Kosalans with a large community of monks, arrived at Kesaputta,
a town of the Kalamas. The Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it said,
"Gotama the contemplative -- the son of the Sakyans, having gone forth from the
Sakyan clan -- has arrived at Kesaputta. And of that Master Gotama this fine reputation
has spread: 'He is indeed a Blessed One, worthy, & rightly self-awakened, consummate
in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, a knower of the cosmos, an unexcelled trainer of
those persons ready to be tamed, teacher of human & divine beings, awakened, blessed.
He has made known -- having realized it through direct knowledge -- this world with its
devas, maras, & brahmas, its generations with their contemplatives & priests,
their rulers & common people; has explained the Dhamma admirable in the beginning,
admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; has expounded the holy life both in its
particulars & in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure. It is good to see
such a worthy one.'"
So the Kalamas of Kesaputta went to the Blessed One. On arrival, some of them bowed
down to him and sat to one side. Some of them exchanged courteous greetings with him and,
after an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, sat to one side. Some of them
sat to one side having saluted him with their hands palm-to-palm over their hearts. Some
of them sat to one side having announced their name & clan. Some of them sat to one
side in silence.
As they sat there, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said to the Blessed One, "Lord, there
are some priests & contemplatives who come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify
their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them,
show contempt for them, & disparage them. And then other priests & contemplatives
come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the
doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, &
disparage them. They leave us absolutely uncertain & in doubt: Which of these
venerable priests & contemplatives are speaking the truth, and which ones are
lying?"
"Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are in doubt. When there are
reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by
legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies,
by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This
contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for yourselves that, 'These qualities are
unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise;
these qualities, when undertaken & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering' --
then you should abandon them.
"What do you think, Kalamas? When greed arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed, kills
living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells lies, and
induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When aversion arises in a person, does it arise
for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this aversive person, overcome by aversion, his mind possessed by aversion,
kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells
lies, and induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm &
suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"Now, what do you think, Kalamas? When delusion arises in a person, does it arise
for welfare or for harm?"
"For harm, lord."
"And this deluded person, overcome by delusion, his mind possessed by delusion,
kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes after another person's wife, tells
lies, and induces others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm &
suffering."
"Yes, lord."
"So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?"
"Unskillful, lord."
"Blameworthy or blameless?"
"Blameworthy, lord."
"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?"
"Criticized by the wise, lord."
"When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or
not?"
"When undertaken & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering. That is
how it appears to us."
"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by
scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through
pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our
teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are unskillful;
these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these
qualities, when undertaken & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering" --
then you should abandon them.' Thus was it said. And in reference to this was it said.
"Now, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by
logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by
probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.' When you know for
yourselves that, 'These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these
qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when undertaken & carried out,
lead to welfare & to happiness' -- then you should enter & remain in them.
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of greed arises in a person, does it arise
for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed by greed,
doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's wife, tell
lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare &
happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of aversion arises in a person, does it
arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this unaversive person, not overcome by aversion, his mind not possessed by
aversion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's
wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare
& happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"What do you think, Kalamas? When lack of delusion arises in a person, does it
arise for welfare or for harm?"
"For welfare, lord."
"And this undeluded person, not overcome by delusion, his mind not possessed by
delusion, doesn't kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person's
wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare
& happiness."
"Yes, lord."
"So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?"
"Skillful, lord."
"Blameworthy or blameless?"
"Blameless, lord."
"Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?"
"Praised by the wise, lord."
"When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to welfare & to happiness, or
not?"
"When undertaken & carried out, they lead to welfare & to happiness. That
is how it appears to us."
"So, as I said, Kalamas: 'Don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by
scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through
pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our
teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are skillful;
these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities,
when undertaken & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness" -- then you
should enter & remain in them.' Thus was it said. And in reference to this was it
said.
"Now, Kalamas, one who is a noble disciple -- thus devoid
of greed, devoid of ill will, undeluded, alert, & resolute -- keeps pervading the
first direction [the east] -- as well as the second direction, the third, & the fourth
-- with an awareness imbued with good will. Thus he keeps pervading above, below, &
all around, everywhere & in every respect the all-encompassing cosmos with an
awareness imbued with good will: abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free from hostility,
free from ill will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction -- as well as the second direction, the
third, & the fourth -- with an awareness imbued with compassion. Thus he keeps
pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the
all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with compassion: abundant, expansive,
immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction -- as well as the second direction, the
third, & the fourth -- with an awareness imbued with appreciation. Thus he keeps
pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the
all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with appreciation: abundant, expansive,
immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.
"He keeps pervading the first direction -- as well as the second direction, the
third, & the fourth -- with an awareness imbued with equanimity. Thus he keeps
pervading above, below, & all around, everywhere & in every respect the
all-encompassing cosmos with an awareness imbued with equanimity: abundant, expansive,
immeasurable, free from hostility, free from ill will.
"Now, Kalamas, one who is a noble disciple -- his mind thus
free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure -- acquires four assurances
in the here-&-now:
"'If there is a world after death, if there is the fruit of actions rightly &
wrongly done, then this is the basis by which, with the break-up of the body, after death,
I will reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world.' This is the first assurance he
acquires.
"'But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of actions rightly
& wrongly done, then here in the present life I look after myself with ease -- free
from hostility, free from ill will, free from trouble.' This is the second assurance he
acquires.
"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil for anyone. Having
done no evil action, from where will suffering touch me?' This is the third assurance he
acquires.
"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume myself pure in both
respects.' This is the fourth assurance he acquires.
"One who is a noble disciple -- his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill
will, undefiled, & pure -- acquires these four assurances in the here-&-now."
"So it is, Blessed One. So it is, O One Well-gone. One who is a noble disciple --
his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill will, undefiled, & pure -- acquires
four assurances in the here-&-now:
"'If there is a world after death, if there is the fruit of actions rightly &
wrongly done, then this is the basis by which, with the break-up of the body, after death,
I will reappear in a good destination, the heavenly world.' This is the first assurance he
acquires.
"'But if there is no world after death, if there is no fruit of actions rightly
& wrongly done, then here in the present life I look after myself with ease -- free
from hostility, free from ill will, free from trouble.' This is the second assurance he
acquires.
"'If evil is done through acting, still I have willed no evil for anyone. Having
done no evil action, from where will suffering touch me?' This is the third assurance he
acquires.
"'But if no evil is done through acting, then I can assume myself pure in both
ways.' This is the fourth assurance he acquires.
"One who is a noble disciple -- his mind thus free from hostility, free from ill
will, undefiled, & pure -- acquires these four assurances in the here-&-now.
"Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! Just as if he were to place
upright what had been overturned, were to reveal what was hidden, were to show the way to
one who was lost, or were to hold up a lamp in the dark so that those with eyes could see
forms, in the same way the Blessed One has -- through many lines of reasoning -- made the
Dhamma clear. We go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, and to the Sangha of
monks. May the Blessed One remember us as lay followers who have gone to him for refuge,
from this day forward, for life."
See also: "A Look at the Kalama Sutta,"
by Bhikkhu Bodhi.