Lohicco Sutta
Lohicco Sutta: Lohicca
translated from the Pali by
Maurice O'Connell Walshe
[The Pupils of the Brahman Lohicca abused the Ven. Kaccaana the Great (Mahaa-Kaccaana.) He addressed them in these verses:]
First in virtue were the men of old,
Brahmans who preserved the ancient ways,
In whom well guarded were the doors of the sense.
They were never overcome by wrath.
Meditating on the Law[1] their joy,
Brahmans who preserved the ancient ways.
These backsliders who but chant by rote,
Drunk with pride of birth they stagger on.
Full of violent rage, aggression prone,
They lose respect from weak and strong alike:
Their unguarded senses bring them loss,
Like a treasure hoard found in a dream.
Fasting, sleeping on the ground, and such,
Dawn ablutions, chanting Vedic texts,
Garb of skins, matted hair and filth,
Magic spells and rites and penances,
Trickery, deception, blows as well,
Ritual washing, rinsing of the mouth,
These are caste-marks[2] of the Brahman-folk,
Done and practiced for some trifling gain.
But a heart that's firm and concentrated,
Purified, of all defilements freed,
Kind and gentle to all living things
That's the path that gains the highest goal.
(Lohicca goes angrily to see the Ven. Kaccaana, who confirms what he has said. Then Lohicca asks:] "You said 'with sense-doors unguarded,' Venerable Kaccaana. In what way is one 'with sense-doors unguarded'?"
"In this case, Brahman, someone, seeing objects with the eye, is attracted to things that are pleasing, and repelled by things that are unpleasing. He dwells without mindfulness and his mind is restricted. He does not experience the emancipation of the heart through wisdom. And so those evil and unwholesome states do not cease without remainder. Hearing a sound..., smelling a scent..., tasting a flavor..., touching an object..., cognizing a mind-object..., he is attracted by things that are pleasing, and repelled by things that are unpleasing... And so those evil and unwholesome states do not cease without remainder. That is how one is 'with sense-doors unguarded.' Now in what way is one 'with sense-doors guarded?'
"In this case, Brahman, a monk, seeing objects with the eye, is not attracted to things that are pleasing and not repelled by things that are unpleasing. He dwells with mindfulness present, and his mind is unbounded. Thus he experiences the emancipation of the heart through wisdom and so those evil and unwholesome states that arise cease without remainder.
[Likewise for sounds, smells, flavors, tangibles and mind-objects.] "In this way one is 'with sense-doors guarded.'"
(Lohicca becomes a lay-follower.]
Notes
1. Not, of course, here the Buddha-Dhamma but the Vedic law.
2. Va.n.naa, lit. "colors." This is the word rendered "caste" in English (from Portuguese casta "breed, race").
