Māgandiya Sutra: The Discourse to Māgandiya

On one occasion the Buddha was residing in a village named Kammāsadhamma in the Kuru country. A Brahmin called Bhāradvāja has prepared a grass-spread as resting-place for the Buddha in his fire-house. While the Blessed one had his dayrest in a nearby forest grove, the wanderer Māgandiya who visited Bhāradvāja learnt about Buddha’s visit and remarked that he would avoid Gauthama as he preaches to destroy births which he thought was detrimental to the existence of the world.

His claim was that the beings who travel on Samsara ends the continuation of their existence when they listen to Buddha’s teachings and follow his Dhamma. As these people are not born again, he accused the Buddha, calling him a Destroyer of Births. 

That evening the Buddha retired to the fire-house, where Bhāradvāja met him. The Buddha, knowing through his divine hearing what has happened earlier, asked Bhāradvāja about it, to his great surprise. They were interrupted by Māgandiya’s arrival.

The Buddha asked Māgandiya, “the sense faculties delight on their respective sense-objects, the eye on visible form, the ear on the sound, the nose on odours, the tongue on flavours, the body on tangibles and the mind on mind-objects. Tathagahatha was able to tame them all, having guarded, protected, and restrained them and therefore teaches the world the Dhamma for its restraint, was it with reference to this that you said: ‘The recluse Gotama is a destroyer of growth’?”

“It was with reference to this, Master Gotama that I said: ‘The recluse Gotama is a ‘destroyer of growth.’ As what you preach is not how it is recorded in our scriptures.”

“Māgandiya, the visible object is pleasurable and delightful hence people are attracted to it. Having listened to my teachings a person who is attached to the visible form comprehends its origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from it through insight and discards craving on visible form and sensual pleasures. He discards any bondage to the form and lives experiencing the inward stillness and tranquillity, what do you say about it?”

Māgandiya said he has nothing to say. His answer was the same when Buddha asked him the question in relation to other sense faculties, ear, nose, tongue, and body as well. The Blessed One stressed that he did not preach to destroy birth but taught the way one can restrain the senses by knowing its origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from it, to detach from sense faculties and achieve inward stillness.

“Māgandiya, formerly when I lived the home life, I enjoyed myself, provided and endowed with the five cords of sensual pleasure: with forms cognizable by the eye…with sounds cognizable by the ear…with odours cognizable by the nose…with flavours cognizable by the tongue…with tangibles cognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. I had three palaces, one for the rainy season, one for the winter, and one for the summer. I lived in the rains’ palace for the four months of the rainy season, enjoying myself with musicians, none of whom were men, and I did not go down to the lower palace.”

“On a later occasion, having understood as they actually are the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of sensual pleasures, I abandoned craving for sensual pleasures, I removed fever for sensual pleasures, and I abide without thirst, with a mind inwardly at peace. I see other beings who are not free from lust for sensual pleasures being devoured by craving for sensual pleasures, burning with fever for sensual pleasures, indulging in sensual pleasures, and I do not envy them, nor do I delight therein. Why is that? Because there is, Māgandiya, a delight apart from sensual pleasures, apart from unwholesome states, which surpasses even divine bliss. Since I take delight in that, I do not envy what is inferior, nor do I delight therein.” (https://suttacentral.net)

Think of a rich householder with great wealth who enjoys sensual pleasures (delighting in forms, sounds, odours, flavours and tangibles) but lives righteously guarding and restraining his thought, speech and action and after his death he is born in haven.” Māgandiya, do you think this person who now enjoys divine pleasures surrounded by a group of nymphs in the Nandana Grove, provided and endowed with the five cords of divine sensual pleasure, will be interested in worldly pleasures anymore? “

“No, Master Gotama, divine sensual pleasures are more excellent and sublime than human sensual pleasures.”

“A person who has subdued sensual pleasures and depravities enjoys and dwells in pure bliss and joy of detachment (niramisa piti) will never think of the mundane pleasures experienced in sensual worlds. I who have reached far beyond, the super mundane (lokottara), sees the misery of the worldly beings who are indulged in sensual pleasures and thus preaches them about their suffering, cause for that and the way out of that. “Do you still have concerns about that?”

“Yes, I still do, it is not how it is recorded in our scriptures”, said Māgandiya.

The Parable of the Leper

“Māgandiya, suppose that there was a leper covered with sores and infections, devoured by worms, scratching his wounds with his nails, cauterizing his body over a charcoal pit with glowing embers. His friends, companions, & relatives would take him to a doctor for treatment where he would be cured of his leprosy. Now Māgandiya, if this man who is fully cured sees another person with a wound seeking relief in scratching and cauterizing , would he still wish that he could do that again?”

“No Gautama, cauterizing and scratching is always painful but, earlier while suffering with the wounds he sought temporary relief through that.”

“Yes Māgandiya, his sense perception was distorted due to his wounds and it was pleasurable to him then as he was ignorant of the reality.”

The man when he had the wounds sought such temporary relief, but after being cured his perception became clear and he realised the danger in cauterizing and scratching of the skin, therefore he is not deceived by temporary relief anymore. Now even if two strong men attempt to drag him to the charcoal burner, with force, he will do whatever he can to escape from them. Earlier, he went to the charcoal burner on his own will and won’t do it now even when he is forced to do so. “Why is that Māgandiya, didn’t he feel the pain earlier “asked the Buddha.

Māgandiya replied, “The pain felt by the body from the charcoal heater is always the same, just that the man did not feel it due to the wound that covered his skin.”

“Similarly Māgandiya, due to ignorance of the reality in sense pleasures, beings develop distorted perceptions of permanence, pleasantness and self whereby they attach to the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. When one is detached and free from sensual pleasures he will not crave just like that person who would not be willing to scratch or cauterize the skin after the wound is cured.

The suffering the beings occur now, it was the same in the past, and will be so in the future, but our erroneous conceptions deceive us from the reality. The man experienced a scintilla of relief when he cauterized the wound; sensual pleasures are identical to that as there is a trace of pleasure. Only a Buddha sees this and reveal to the world.”

“Do you think that any person, whether a man, king or anyone who is indulged in pleasures will abandon those and seek relief?, no Māgandiya, not until one begins to observe arising ceasing of the five clinging aggregates and see with wisdom  the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the danger, and the escape from sensual pleasures. As long as one is attached to the eye, ear, nose, tongue & body, he will be attracted to visible form, sound, odour, taste and tangibles”

The Buddha then exulted as follows,

Arogya parama labha	“The greatest of all gains is health
nibbana paraman sukhan	Nibbāna is the greatest bliss,
ashtangikocha maggan	The eightfold path is the best of paths
kheman amatha gamini	For it leads safely to the Deathless.”

“This is so great and its rightly said acclaimed Māgandiya, as it is said exactly like that in our books.”

The Buddha asked, “How is it said in your books Māgandiya, can you explain?”

While running his fingers over his hands and the body Māgandiya replied, “as I hear from my teachers that stanza confirms that physical health is the supreme gain.”

“This solemn utterance was pronounced by the previous Arahaths (perfectly enlightened ones)” the Buddha Remarked; “but now it has come down to worldlings and misconstrued by different teachers through generations. They believe that Arogya Parama Labha (greatest of all gains is health)' means physical wellbeing is the supreme gain.”

The Parable of the Blind Man

“I will explain this to you with another parable, a blind person hears about cleanliness and purity in wearing white clothes. He goes to a tailor and asks him to make a white dress. The tailor tricks him by making a dress with dirty & oily cloth which the blind person wore with pride not being able to see what he is wearing. However much his friends tried to convince him that he was wearing a dirty dress he did not believe.”

The belief of the wrong interpretation is like the blind persons belief that he is wearing a white dress. Mere physical wellbeing does not receive attention of the Noble eye, but of the worldly beings. It’s not what the noble ones consider as being healthy.

“Master, Gauthama, I am so impressed please teach me your Dhamma”, pleaded Magandiya.

The Buddha explained, “There is a blind person and his relatives take him to a good eye doctor who examine him and prescribe treatments he should follow. If the blind person fails to follow the doctor's instructions he won’t be cured and it would only be a stress to the Doctor. Similarly Māgandiya, I am inconvenienced by your responses, even though I was trying to explain Dhamma to you all this time, you did not agree with me.”

Māgandiya looked helpless and begged again to Buddha to preach to him

“Māgandiya, friends and relatives of that blind person takes him to a good eye doctor; he follows the instructions this time and gains his eyesight. Now he realises that his dress is not white as he thought and would throw it away with disgust. Moreover, he will become so angry with the tailor who deceived him.”

Similarly by gaining the clear vision in Dhamma, one realises what good health means and that it is experienced only by attaining Nibbana.

Blindness is the ignorance or delusion. Gaining the eye sight is seeing the truth. The dirty dress is five clinging aggregates; consciousness is the tailor who deceives the blind man. Worldly beings are deceived until an enlightened person comes along to cure their blindness and show them the truth.

Worldly beings should understand how they create suffering by clinging onto five clinging aggregates. Until one sees the truth he or she won’t see five clinging aggregates. The Blessed one has preached that Five Clinging Aggregates are suffering or Dukkha, identifying them as diseases, tumours, and darts. Therefore he preached that by cessation of these one becomes truly healthy which he hailed as the supreme gain.

What gets discarded by following Buddhist teachings is the falseness or delusion & craving, not what Māgandiya believed as the Truth. His view was in accordance with the worldly belief of one extreme, that there is a person who goes from one life to another, the eternalist view. The other extreme is the belief that there is no life after death, the nihilist view. The Buddha rejected both these views and preached the Middle Path, the Noble Eightfold Path[1] or ashtangikocha maggan, as referred in the stanza above with the Right View as the forerunner.

“When one is blind he tries to fit everything to his frame of mind. Teachings of the Buddha are beyond worldly beliefs,” the Buddha concluded.

“I have confidence in Master Gotama thus: ‘Master Gotama is capable of teaching me the Dhamma in such a way that I might rise up from this seat cured of my blindness.’”

“Then Māgandiya, you should associate with true men. When you associate with true men, you will hear the true Dhamma. When you hear the true Dhamma, you will practise in accordance with the true Dhamma. When you practise in accordance with the true Dhamma, you will know and see for yourself thus: ‘These are diseases, tumours, and darts; but here these diseases, tumours, and darts cease without remainder. With the cessation of clinging (as me, mine & myself) comes cessation of being; with the cessation of being, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.’”

When this was said, the wanderer Māgandiya said: “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. I would receive the going forth under Master Gotama. I would receive the full admission.” (https://suttacentral.net)

Māgandiya who hated to see Buddha before, rejoiced in Buddha’s teaching and requested to join the order as he saw the truth through dhamma and developed faith on the Buddha.

Buddha advised that Māgandiya will have to become a novice first and undergo four months’ of probation period before he can be ordained as a monk to which he agreed exclaiming, “Master, the Blessed one, I am ready to be on probation even for four years.” Then not long after going into solitary retreat, Māgandiya attained Arhathood.

 An Extract of the Dhamma Discourse by Venerable Alawwe Anomadassi Thero

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[1] Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Livelihood, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration