SN 7.2

CDB i 255

Akkoso Sutta: Abuse

translated from the Pali by

Maurice O'Connell Walshe

Alternate translations: Buddharakkhita | Thanissaro

The Pali title of this sutta is based on the PTS (Feer) edition.

... Now Akkosaka [1] of the Bhaaradvaaja Brahmans heard [ of this. ] [2] Angry and displeased, he went to see the Blessed One, overwhelming him with abuse and reproaches. At these words the Blessed One said: "What do you think, brahman? Do you receive visits from friends and colleagues, blood-relations and others?"

"Yes, good Gotama, sometimes such people come."

"What do you think? Do you serve them with solid food, soft food and savories?"

"Yes, good Gotama, sometimes."

"But supposing, brahman, they do not accept what you offer, whose is it?"

"If they do not accept, good Gotama, then it belongs to us."

"So it is here, brahman. The abuse, the scolding, the reviling you hurl at us who do not abuse or scold or revile, we do not accept from you. It all belongs to you, brahman, it all belongs to you! If a man replies to abuse with abuse, to scolding with scolding, to reviling with reviling, brahman, that is like you joining your guests for dinner. But we are not joining you for dinner. It is all yours, brahman, it is all yours!"

"The king and his court believe that Gotama the recluse is an Arahant. And yet the good Gotama can get angry!" [3]

[The Blessed One said in verse:]

How could anger rise in him who's free, Wrathless, all his passions tamed, at peace, Freed by highest insight, by himself, So abiding, perfectly serene? If a man's abused and answers back, Of the two he shows himself the worse. He who does not answer back in kind, Celebrates a double victory. From his action both sides benefit, He himself and his reviler too: Understanding that man's angry mood, He can help him clear it and find peace. [4] He's the healer of them both, because He and the other benefit thereby. People think a man like that's a fool, For they cannot understand the Truth.

[ Akkosaka responds exactly as in SN 7.1 ]

And another Venerable Bhaaradvaaja became an Arahant.

Notes

1 .: Really a nickname: "The Reviler."
2 .: [Transcriber's note: Elided text refers to an incident in which a clansman of Akkosaka becomes a monk under the Buddha. See SN 7.1 .]
3 .: A perfect example of projection on Akkosaka's part!
4 .: Upasammati , "he (the other) becomes calm," i.e., as a result of the first ones understanding. Here, as elsewhere, we see the Buddha's profound understanding of psychological processes. Cf. Dhp 4 .

You may copy, reformat, reprint, republish, and redistribute this work in any medium whatsoever, provided that: (1) you only make such copies, etc. available free of charge and, in the case of reprinting, only in quantities of no more than 50 copies; (2) you clearly indicate that any derivatives of this work (including translations) are derived from this source document; and (3) you include the full text of this license in any copies or derivatives of this work. Otherwise, all rights reserved. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. From Samyutta Nikaya: An Anthology (WH 318-321) , by M. O'C. Walshe (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1985). Transcribed from the print edition in 2007 by a volunteer, under the auspices of the Access to Insight Dhamma Transcription Project and by arrangement with the Buddhist Publication Society. Minor revisions were made in accordance with the ATI style sheet. Pali diacritics are represented using the Velthuis convention. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 November 2013.

How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Akkoso Sutta: Abuse" (SN 7.2), translated from the Pali by Maurice O'Connell Walshe. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition) , 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn07/sn07.002.wlsh.html .