The Sangarava Sutta

The Buddha’s Teaching to the Brahmin Sangarava

Then the brahmin Sangarava went to see the Fortunate One; on his arrival, after exchanging greetings and courtesies, he sat next to the Fortunate One and spoke: “Master Gotama, this is what I think. We brahmins perform sacrifices; that is what we do, and we also get others to perform sacrifices. Now anyone who performs a sacrifice or gets others to perform a sacrifice has performed a practice of merit — the practice of a sacrifice benefits countless beings. But when I see someone leaving his family, going forth from the home life into homelessness, working to tame his single self, to bring his single self into tune, to awaken his single self, to achieve his own Unbinding—when I see that, I see a practice that is of limited merit, a practice that benefits only the one gone forth.”

“Brahmin, I hear what you’ve said. Now let me ask you a question, and you may answer as you see fit.

“Consider the case where a Tathagata appears in the world, a worthy one, rightly-self-awakened, skillful in his understanding and conduct, who has taken the right path and figured out how the world works, an unexcelled trainer of those seek training, teacher of humans and gods, awakened, truly fortunate. He says: ‘Here! This is the path, this is the practice that I have. Now, having reached the farther shore of the holy life, having directly known it and experienced it myself, I make it known to you. Come! You, too, practice in such a way that you too will reach the farther shore of the holy life, that you will know it directly and experience it for yourself.’ So the Teacher spreads the Dhamma, and others practice and spread it themselves, in just this way. And there are countless hundreds of them, thousands, hundreds of thousands of them. This being the case, is this practice of merit — this practice of going forth — one that benefits countless beings, or only one being?”

“Well, if that’s the case, Master Gotama, then this practice of merit — this practice of going forth — is indeed a practice that benefits countless beings.”

When the brahmin Sangarava gave that answer, Ven. Ananda then asked him, “Of these two practices, brahmin, which one seems to you to be the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?”

The brahmin Sangarava answered Ven. Ananda, “Just as I honor and praise both Master Gotama & Master Ananda, so I honor and praise both practices.”

Ven. Ananda then said, “I didn’t ask you whom you honor and whom you praise. I ask you again, ‘Of these two practices, brahmin, which one seems to you to be the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?’”

For the second time, the brahmin Sangarava gave the same answer, “Just as I honor and praise both Master Gotama & Master Ananda, so I honor and praise both practices.”

Again, Venerable Ananda told him, “I didn’t ask you whom you honor and whom you praise.” And for a third time,he asked, “Of these two practices, brahmin, which one seems to you to be the less complicated, the less violent, the more fruitful, & the more rewarding?”

And for a third time, the brahmin Sangarava answered, “Just as I honor and praise both Master Gotama & Master Ananda, so I honor and praise both practices.”

Listening to this exchange, the Fortunate One thought, “Three times the brahmin Sangarava was asked a legitimate question, and three times he gave the same evasive answer. Perhaps I need to find out what’s going on here.”

“Tell me,” the Fortunate One said to the brahmin Sangarava, “when the brahmins were gathered in their assembly hall this morning, what were they talking about?”

“Master Gotama, when the brahmins gathered this morning, they were discussing this proposition: ‘In earlier days, there were fewer bhikkhus, but more of them were endowed with extraordinary powers and had miraculous psychic abilities. Now, there are many more bhikkhus, but few of them display extraordinary powers or use their psychic abilities to perform miracles. That’s what they were discussing.”

“Brahmin,” said the Fortunate One, “there are these three kinds of miraculous power. There is the miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, and the miracle of instruction

“And what is the miracle of psychic power? This is the case where someone displays miraculous powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He walks through walls, ramparts & mountains as if they were so much empty space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water as if it were dry land. Sitting cross-legged he rises into the air like a bird. With his hand he touches even the sun & moon; his bodily influence extends even to the Brahma worlds. This is called the miracle of psychic power.

“And what is the miracle of telepathy? There is the case where someone reads another’s thoughts in a vision. He says, “This is what you’re thinking, here is where your attention is focussed, this is your state of mind.” And whatever is seen, that’s exactly how it is, and not otherwise.

“Or one may read another’s thoughts by hearing voices—voices of human beings, voices of spirits, voices of gods—and having heard, tell that other person, “This is what you’re thinking, here is where your attention is focussed, this is your state of mind.” And whatever is heard, that’s exactly how it is, and not otherwise.

“Or one may read another’s thoughts by receiving thoughts that the other person directs to him, or by concentrating his awareness of the other’s total being so completely that he knows what that being must be thinking in any given situation. And no matter how he reads those thoughts, what he reads is exactly how it is, and not otherwise.”

“That, brahmin, is the miracle of telepathy.

“And what is the miracle of instruction? This is the case where one person teaches another: ‘Direct your thinking this way, don’t direct it that way. Understand how things unfold in this way, not in that way. Let go of all of this; enter and remain in that.’ This is called the miracle of instruction.

“And these are the three miracles.

“Now, brahmin, of these three miracles, which one seems to you to be the highest & most sublime?”

“Master Gotama, of these three miracles, the miracle of psychic power where a person walks through walls, walks on water, extends his influence even as far as the Brahma worlds: that miracle is experienced only by him who performs it; it belongs only to him who performs it. It strikes me that it’s likely to be an illusion.

“As for the miracle where one person reads another’s thoughts, either through visions, hearing voices, receiving thoughts aimed his way, or being supersensitive to another’s aura. No matter how accurate that thought reading appears to be, that miracle is experienced only by the one who performs it; it belongs only to the one who performs it. It strikes me that it’s likely to be an illusion.

“As for the miracle where one person teaches another: ‘Direct your thinking this way, don’t direct it that way. Understand how things unfold in this way, not in that way. Let go of all of this; enter and remain in that.’ This is the miracle that, of the three, seems to me to be the highest & most sublime.

“It is amazing, Master Gotama, it is astounding how well this has been told by Master Gotama. We see that Master Gotama is himself endowed with all three miraculous abilities. Master Gotama wields psychic powers—walking through walls, being now here, now there; diving through earth as if it were water, walking on water as if it were land; extending his physical influence even as far as the Brahma worlds. Moreover, having attained a concentration empty of willfulness & preference, and encompassing another’s awareness with his own, Master Gotama discerns, ‘Given this person’s habitual reactions, he will think in this or that way about this and that.’ And finally, Master Gotama gives instruction in this way: ‘Direct your thinking this way, don’t direct it that way. Understand how things unfold in this way, not in that way. Let go of all of this; enter and remain in that.’”

“You must know, brahmin, that your presuming to know the extent of my abilities is improper, but nevertheless I will respond. Yes, it may be that I have command of many psychic powers, that I can do all that you said, and extend my physical influence even as far as the Brahma worlds. I have attained a level of concentration empty of willfulness and preference, so I can encompass another’s awareness with my own, and so doing, see, ‘Given that person’s habitual reactions, he will think in this or that way about this and that.’ And I teach, showing others how to direct their thinking in such a way, and not in another; Understand how things unfold in this way, not in that way; let go of all of this; enter and remain in that.”

“Aside from Master Gotama, is there another bhikkhu who is endowed with these three miracles?”

“Brahmin, there are not only one hundred other bhikkhus, not only two or three or four or five hundred bhikkhus; the bhikkhus capable of these three miracles are many more than that.”

“And where, Master Gotama, are all those bhikkhus?”

“They are here, brahmin, in this very sangha of bhikkhus.”

Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were setting right what had been overthrown, revealing what had been hidden, pointing out the path for one who had been lost, holding a lamp high in the darkness so all can see what lies ahead, so Master Gotama, through patient reasoning, has made the Dhamma lucidly clear. I go to Master Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the sangha of bhikkhus. May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life.”

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