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The Cula-Malunkyovada
Sutra
or Poisoned
Arrow Sutra
Once
upon a time the Buddha and a number of his disciples and followers
were staying at a monastery, and the venerable Malunkyaputta was with
him, training very diligently. As he was sitting in meditation the
following thoughts came to him :
The
Buddha has left quite a few important questions unanswered :
“Is
the Universe eternal, or is it not ?”
“is
the Universe infinite or finite? “
“Are
soul and body the same thing, or are they different ? “
“After
death does one exist, or does one not exist, or does one exist and
does not exist at the same time, or does one neither exists nor does
not exist ?”
I
really do not approve that he does not take a clear position on these
questions, and I'm going to ask him about these matters !
If
he actually takes a clear position on these, then I will keep
training under him. But if he does not take a clear position, then,
I'm out of there !
So
that evening, Malunkyaputta came out of his retreat. He went to the
Buddha, bowed to him, sat beside him, and he asked : “Lord, as I
was sitting in Meditation, that is what came to me :
I
am not happy with the fact that you do not take position about a
number of questions. So if you give me a clear answer about the
question of the eternity of the Universe, or about existence or
non-existence after death, then I will keep training under you. But
if you don't, I'll quit and leave.
Lord,
if You know whether the Universe is eternal or not, then tell me. But
if you don't know, be straightforward about it and admit 'I don't
know, I don't see'...
If
you don't know whether there is a life after death or not, then be
straightforward about it and tell me 'I don't know, I don't see.'”
The
Buddha answered :
"Malunkyaputta,
did I ever tell you, 'Come, and train with me, and I will tell you
whether the Universe is or is not eternal or finite, and also whether
there is life or not, or both, or neither, after death ?
"No,
lord."
"And
did you ever say to me, 'Lord, I'll train under you and in return you
will tell me whether the Universe is or is not eternal or finite, and
also whether after death there is existence, or not, or both, or
neither ?
"No,
lord."
"Well
if that is the case, what possesses you moron to think you are
entitled to demand anything from anyone ?
"Malunkyaputta,
if anyone were to say, 'I won't train under the Buddha until he tells
me that the Universe is eternal, or not... or that after death there
is a life – or not;” this person would die before the Buddha
would answer those questions.
Imagine
that a man is wounded by a poisoned arrow and a surgeon is called to
extract the arrow. And imagine that this man does not want the arrow
removed until he knows everything about the man and the weapon that
wounded him : the caste his aggressor belongs to, his given &
clan names, his size, the color of his skin, his home town; whether
he used a long bow or crossbow, the exact material of the bowstring,
the nature of the arrow's shaft and feathers, the exact shape of the
arrow head, and the way it is mounted... Well then ! This man would
just die before he'd learn anything about these matters !
"In
the same way, if anyone were to say, 'I won't train under the Buddha
as long as he does not tell me whether the Universe is eternal or
not, and if after death one's soul goes on or not, ' this man would
die before the Buddha would answer these questions !
"Malunkyaputta,
You don't have to know whether the universe is eternal or not in
order to practice. No matter the answer to this question, there are
still birth, aging and death, there are sorrow, lamentation, pain,
despair & distress, and my teaching is about ending them.
And
it is also true for the other questions : Whether the Universe is
finite or not, whether soul and body are the same or different,
whether there is existence or not, or both, or neither after death.
No matter the answers to these questions, there is birth, aging and
death, there is sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, & distress
and my teaching is about ending them.
"So,
Malunkyaputta, keep in mind which questions I left unanswered, and
which ones I answered. I did not say anything about the infinity or
the eternity of the Universe, I did not say whether Soul and Body are
or are not the same, and I did not say anything about a continuation
of existence or lack of it, or both, or neither, after death.
And
the reason I did not say anything about these things is that it would
not help. Knowing about these things would not free you. And this is
why I did not say anything about this.
And
what is it that I teach ? I teach about suffering, about the cause of
suffering, about the cessation of suffering, and about the path that
leads to this cessation of suffering. And the reason I teach about
this is that these teachings are fundamental to achieve our goal and
realize our practice. These teachings and practice will free you.
"So,
Malunkyaputta, remember which things I did not speak about, and which
things I did.
Malunkyaputta
was delighted and went back to his cushion.
Comments
:
Beside
the parabola of the poisoned arrow, which does not need any comment,
as it is very eloquent, I see 2 important points made by the Buddha
in this sutra.
When
the Buddha asks : "Malunkyaputta, did I ever tell you, 'Come,
and train with me, and I will tell you whether the Universe is or is
not eternal or finite, and also whether there is life or not, or
both, or neither, after death ? “ He is basically asking him if he
ever asked him to become his student.
When
he later asks him : "And did you ever say to me, 'Lord, I'll
train under you and in return you will tell me whether the Universe
is or is not eternal or finite, and also whether after death there is
existence, or not, or both, or neither ? “, He is basically asking
him if Malunkyaputta ever asked him to become his teacher.
To
both questions, the answer is “No Lord”.
So
basically, Malunkyaputta is under no obligation to be Buddha's
student, and Buddha is under no obligation to be his teacher.
And
this is important. Practically, back to our 21st century, this means
that when you do your best to teach Zen or Martial Arts, or anything
else, put you r heart in it, give of your time and energy for this,
students should have the decency to follow your directions without
questioning you too much. And if they don't, I suggest you remind
them that you are under no obligation to teach them, and that they
are under no obligation to stay.
Said
in a different way : “The door is open. “
I
did not say that, the Buddha did !
