Sutta Nipata Chapter 3: The Great Chapter
3:10 Kokāliya In Ee the name appears as Kokāliya, but Be and Ce of Sn, and all three editions of Pj II, have Kokālika. Norman (at GD 148) comments on ka/ya alternation in Pāli names.
3:10 Kokāliya
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then the bhikkhu Kokālika approached the Blessed One, [124] paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said: “Bhante, Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires; they have come under the control of evil desires.”
When this was said, the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokālika: “Do not say so, Kokālika! Do not say so, Kokālika! Be pleased with Sāriputta and Moggallāna, Kokālika. Sāriputta and Moggallāna are virtuous.”
A second time the bhikkhu Kokālika said to the Blessed One: “Bhante, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, still [I say] Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires; they have come under the control of evil desires.”
And a second time the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokālika: “Do not say so, Kokālika! . . . Sāriputta and Moggallāna are virtuous.”
A third time the bhikkhu Kokālika said to the Blessed One: “Bhante, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, still [I say] Sāriputta and Moggallāna have evil desires; they have come under the control of evil desires.”
And a third time the Blessed One said to the bhikkhu Kokālika: “Do not say so, Kokālika! . . . Sāriputta and Moggallāna are virtuous.”
Then the bhikkhu Kokālika rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, and departed, keeping him on his right.
Not long after the bhikkhu Kokālika left, his entire body became covered with boils the size of mustard seeds. Having been the size of mustard seeds, these then grew to the size of mung beans; then to the size of chickpeas; then to the size of jujube pits; [125] then to the size of jujube fruits; then to the size of an āmalaka fruit;The āmalaka (Sinhala, artalu), or myrobalan, is a medicinal fruit roughly the size of an olive. then to the size of unripe beḷuva fruits; then to the size of ripe beḷuva fruits.The beḷuva (Sinhala, belli) is a hard-shelled fruit that can grow to the size of a large orange. When they had grown to the size of ripe beḷuva fruits, they burst open and oozed pus and blood.
Then, because of that illness, the bhikkhu Kokālika died and, as a result of harboring animosity toward Sāriputta and Moggallāna, he was reborn in the Paduma hell.
Then, when the night had advanced, Brahmā Sahampati, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, stood to one side, and said to him:
“Bhante, the bhikkhu Kokālika has died and, as a result of harboring animosity toward Sāriputta and Moggallāna, he was reborn in the Paduma hell.” This is what Brahmā Sahampati said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One and, keeping him on his right, he disappeared right there.
Then, when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: “Bhikkhus, last night, when the night had advanced, Brahmā Sahampati approached me and said to me: ‘Bhante, the bhikkhu Kokālika has died and, as a result of harboring animosity toward Sāriputta and Moggallāna, he was reborn in the Paduma hell.’ Having said this, he paid homage to me and, keeping me on his right, he disappeared right there.”
When this was said, a certain bhikkhu [126] said to the Blessed One: “Bhante, how long is the life span in the Paduma hell?”
“The life span in the Paduma hell is long, bhikkhu. It is not easy to count it and say it is so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years.”
“Then is it possible to give a simile, Bhante?”
“It is possible, bhikkhu. Suppose there was a Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed. At the end of every hundred years a man would remove from it a single seed. That Kosalan cartload of twenty measures of sesamum seed might in this way be depleted and exhausted more quickly than a single Abbuda hell would go by.
Twenty Abbuda hells are the equivalent of one Nirabbuda hell; twenty Nirabbuda hells are the equivalent of one Ababa hell; twenty Ababa hells are the equivalent of one Ahaha hell; twenty Ahaha hells are the equivalent of one Aṭaṭa hell; twenty Aṭaṭa hells are the equivalent of one Kumuda hell; twenty Kumuda hells are the equivalent of one Sogandhika hell; twenty Sogandhika hells are the equivalent of one Uppalaka hell; twenty Uppalaka hells are the equivalent of one Puṇḍarīka hell; and twenty Puṇḍarīka hells are the equivalent of one Paduma hell.
Now, as a result of harboring animosity toward Sāriputta and Moggallāna, the bhikkhu Kokālika has been reborn in the Paduma hell.”
This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this: [127]
657“When a person has taken birth
an axe is born inside his mouth
with which the fool cuts himself
by uttering wrongful speech. (1)
658“One who praises a person deserving blame,
or blames a person deserving praise,
collects bad luck with his mouth,
by which he finds no happiness. (2)
659“Slight is this bad luck:
the loss of one’s wealth at dice,
[the loss] of all including oneself.
It is much worse bad luck
to harbor hate against the holy ones.Yo sugatesu manaṃ padosaye. Sugata, literally “well gone,” is used most often as a unique epithet of the Buddha. In that context I render it “the fortunate one.” Here, however, it is applied to all who have “gone well” along the eightfold path and realized “the good state,” nibbāna (3)
660.“For a hundred thousand nirabbudas
and thirty-six more, and five abbudas,
the slanderer of noble ones goes to hell,
having set evil speech and mind against them.The parallels, SN6:10 and AN10:89, end here. (4)
661“The speaker of slander goes to hell,
so too one who, having acted, says: ‘I didn’t do it.’
Having passed away, both are the same,
men of base actions in the next world. (5)
662“When one defames an innocent man,
a pure person without blemish,
the evil falls back on the fool himself
like fine dust thrown against the wind.”In adding closing quotation marks, I follow Pj II, which ascribes the next series of verses to Moggallāna or (according to some) Mahābrahmā. (6)
663“One intent upon the quality of greed
reviles others by means of speech; [128]
faithless, mean, stingy, miserly,
he is intent upon divisive speech. (7)
664“Foul-mouthed, liar, ignoble one,
abortionist, evil one, wrongdoer,
base person, unlucky man, low born:
do not speak much here, you who are bound for hell. (8)
665“You scatter dust to your harm,
when you, evildoer, malign the good.
Having done many bad deeds,
you will go to the abyss for a long time. (9)
666“For no one’s kamma is ever lost;
since it returns, its owner obtains it.
In the other world the dullard,
the evildoer, sees suffering in himself. (10)
667“He arrives at the place of impalement,
which has iron hooks, sharp blades, and iron stakes. [129]
Then there is the food, which is like a ball
of hot iron, as is appropriate. (11)
668“When speaking, [the wardens of hell]
do not speak sweetly.In this verse and those that follow, I assign in brackets the subjects of the action based on the ascriptions in Pj II.
They do not hasten; they do not offer shelter.
Those [hell beings] lie on coals spread out;
they enter a blazing mass of fire. (12)
669“And capturing them in a net,
there [the wardens] strike them with iron hammers;
[the hell beings] come upon blinding gloom,
which is extended like a mist. (13)
670“Then they enter the Copper Cauldron,
which is a blazing mass of fire;
they are boiled in them for a long time,
rising and sinking in the masses of fire. (14)
671“Then the evildoer is cooked there
in [copper] mixed with pus and blood. [130]
Whatever region he resorts to,
he is afflictedI read with Be and Ce kilissati, as against Ee kilijjati, which Pj II recognizes as an alternative. This is a gloss on the unusual term ārajayārajayā. DOP explains the word as from the imperative of ārajayati, causative of ārañjati, “pierces, scores, marks.” on making contact there. (15)
672“There the evildoer is cooked
in water that is the abode of worms.
There is not even a shore to which to go,
for the pots all around are all alike. (16)
673“Then they enter the Wood of Sword Leaves,
which is so sharp that their bodies are cut to pieces.
Having grabbed the tongue with a hook,
repeatedly slashing it, [the wardens] strike it. (17)
674“Then they approach the impassable Vetaraṇī,
with its sharp blades, with razor blades.
The dullards fall into it —
those evildoers who have done evil deeds. (18) [131]
675“While they are weeping there,
brown and spotted dogs devour them,I follow Pj II, which explains that “brown [and] spotted” in pāda b should be connected with “dogs” in pāda c rather than with “ravens” in pāda b (sāmā sabalā ti etaṃ parato soṇā ti iminā yojetabbaṃ).
as do flocks of ravens and very greedy jackals,Here Ce and Ee have paṭigijjhā; so too the Thai edition. Be has paṭigiddhā. Paṭigiddhā ti suṭṭhu sañjātagedhā hutvā, mahāgijjhā ti eke. All three editions of Pj II read paṭigiddhā in the lemma, but Ce and Ee and the Thai edition of Sn all have paṭigijjhā. “Large vultures” may be explained by the fact that Pāli gijjha means “vulture.” Since Pj II does not cite an alternative reading in Sn, I assume its author and those he cites had paṭigiddhā in their source.
while hawks and crows stab at them. (19)
676“Difficult is this life here,
which the evildoer sees.
Therefore, in the remainder of one’s life here,
a person should be dutiful and not be heedless.” (20)
677.Pj II 477,13–14 says: “These last two verses are not in the text-reading explicated in the Great Commentary” (avasāne gāthādvayameva pana mahā-aṭṭhakathāyaṃ vinicchitapāṭhe natthi). Hence I do not enclose them in quotation marks but treat them as a later addition. The wise have counted those loads of sesamum seeds
to which [the life span] in the Paduma hell is compared:
they come to five koṭis of nahutas,
plus another twelve hundred koṭis. (21)
678As painful as the hells are said to be here,
for just so long one must dwell there;
therefore one should always guard speech and mind
toward those who are pure, virtuous, full of good qualities. (22)
Kokālikasutta
Evaṁ me sutaṁ. Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "pāpicchā, bhante, sāriputtamoggallānā, pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā"ti.
Evaṁ vutte, bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "mā hevaṁ, kokālika, mā hevaṁ, kokālika. Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ. Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā"ti.
Dutiyampi kho … pe …
tatiyampi kho kokāliko bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kiñcāpi me, bhante, bhagavā saddhāyiko paccayiko, atha kho pāpicchāva sāriputtamoggallānā, pāpikānaṁ icchānaṁ vasaṁ gatā"ti.
Tatiyampi kho bhagavā kokālikaṁ bhikkhuṁ etadavoca: "mā hevaṁ, kokālika, mā hevaṁ, kokālika. Pasādehi, kokālika, sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ. Pesalā sāriputtamoggallānā"ti.
Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu uṭṭhāyāsanā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā pakkāmi.
Acirappakkantassa ca kokālikassa bhikkhuno sāsapamattīhi piḷakāhi sabbo kāyo phuṭo ahosi; sāsapamattiyo hutvā muggamattiyo ahesuṁ; muggamattiyo hutvā kaḷāyamattiyo ahesuṁ; kaḷāyamattiyo hutvā kolaṭṭhimattiyo ahesuṁ; kolaṭṭhimattiyo hutvā kolamattiyo ahesuṁ; kolamattiyo hutvā āmalakamattiyo ahesuṁ; āmalakamattiyo hutvā beḷuvasalāṭukamattiyo ahesuṁ; beḷuvasalāṭukamattiyo hutvā billamattiyo ahesuṁ; billamattiyo hutvā pabhijjiṁsu; pubbañca lohitañca pagghariṁsu. Atha kho kokāliko bhikkhu tenevābādhena kālamakāsi.
Kālaṅkato ca kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapajji sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā.
Atha kho brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho brahmā sahampati bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
"kokāliko, bhante, bhikkhu kālaṅkato; kālaṅkato ca, bhante, kokāliko bhikkhu padumaṁ nirayaṁ upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā"ti. Idamavoca brahmā sahampati; idaṁ vatvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyi.
Atha kho bhagavā tassā rattiyā accayena bhikkhū āmantesi: "imaṁ, bhikkhave, rattiṁ brahmā sahampati abhikkantāya rattiyā … pe … idamavoca, bhikkhave, brahmā sahampati, idaṁ vatvā maṁ padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyī"ti.
Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: "kīvadīghaṁ nu kho, bhante, padume niraye āyuppamāṇan"ti?
"Dīghaṁ kho, bhikkhu, padume niraye āyuppamāṇaṁ; taṁ na sukaraṁ saṅkhātuṁ ettakāni vassāni iti vā ettakāni vassasatāni iti vā ettakāni vassasahassāni iti vā ettakāni vassasatasahassāni iti vā"ti.
"Sakkā pana, bhante, upamā kātun"ti?
"Sakkā, bhikkhū"ti bhagavā avoca: "Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho; tato puriso vassasatassa vassasatassa accayena ekamekaṁ tilaṁ uddhareyya. Khippataraṁ kho so bhikkhu vīsatikhāriko kosalako tilavāho iminā upakkamena parikkhayaṁ pariyādānaṁ gaccheyya, na tveva eko abbudo nirayo.
Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati abbudā nirayā evameko nirabbudo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati nirabbudā nirayā evameko ababo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ababā nirayā evameko aṭaṭo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati aṭaṭā nirayā evameko ahaho nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati ahahā nirayā evameko kumudo nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati kumudā nirayā evameko sogandhiko nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati sogandhikā nirayā evameko uppalako nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati uppalakā nirayā evameko puṇḍarīko nirayo. Seyyathāpi, bhikkhu, vīsati puṇḍarīkā nirayā evameko padumo nirayo.
Padumaṁ kho pana bhikkhu nirayaṁ kokāliko bhikkhu upapanno sāriputtamoggallānesu cittaṁ āghātetvā"ti.
Idamavoca bhagavā. Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:
657"Purisassa hi jātassa,
kuṭhārī jāyate mukhe;
Yāya chindati attānaṁ,
bālo dubbhāsitaṁ bhaṇaṁ.
658
Yo nindiyaṁ pasaṁsati,
Taṁ vā nindati yo pasaṁsiyo;
Vicināti mukhena so kaliṁ,
Kalinā tena sukhaṁ na vindati.
659
Appamatto ayaṁ kali,
Yo akkhesu dhanaparājayo;
Sabbassāpi sahāpi attanā,
Ayameva mahattaro kali;
Yo sugatesu manaṁ padosaye.
660
Sataṁ sahassānaṁ nirabbudānaṁ,
Chattiṁsati pañca ca abbudāni;
Yamariyagarahī nirayaṁ upeti,
Vācaṁ manañca paṇidhāya pāpakaṁ.
661
Abhūtavādī nirayaṁ upeti,
Yo vāpi katvā na karomicāha;
Ubhopi te pecca samā bhavanti,
Nihīnakammā manujā parattha.
662
Yo appaduṭṭhassa narassa dussati,
Suddhassa posassa anaṅgaṇassa;
Tameva bālaṁ pacceti pāpaṁ,
Sukhumo rajo paṭivātaṁva khitto.
663
Yo lobhaguṇe anuyutto,
So vacasā paribhāsati aññe;
Asaddho kadariyo avadaññū,
Macchari pesuṇiyaṁ anuyutto.
664
Mukhadugga vibhūta anariya,
Bhūnahu pāpaka dukkaṭakāri;
Purisanta kalī avajāta,
Mā bahubhāṇidha nerayikosi.
665
Rajamākirasī ahitāya,
Sante garahasi kibbisakārī;
Bahūni duccaritāni caritvā,
Gacchasi kho papataṁ cirarattaṁ.
666
Na hi nassati kassaci kammaṁ,
Eti hataṁ labhateva suvāmi;
Dukkhaṁ mando paraloke,
Attani passati kibbisakārī.
667
Ayosaṅkusamāhataṭṭhānaṁ,
Tiṇhadhāramayasūlamupeti;
Atha tattaayoguḷasannibhaṁ,
Bhojanamatthi tathā patirūpaṁ.
668
Na hi vaggu vadanti vadantā,
Nābhijavanti na tāṇamupenti;
Aṅgāre santhate sayanti,
Ginisampajjalitaṁ pavisanti.
669
Jālena ca onahiyāna,
Tattha hananti ayomayakuṭebhi;
Andhaṁva timisamāyanti,
Taṁ vitatañhi yathā mahikāyo.
670
Atha lohamayaṁ pana kumbhiṁ,
Ginisampajjalitaṁ pavisanti;
Paccanti hi tāsu cirarattaṁ,
Agginisamāsu samuppilavāte.
671
Atha pubbalohitamisse,
Tattha kiṁ paccati kibbisakārī;
Yaṁ yaṁ disakaṁ adhiseti,
Tattha kilissati samphusamāno.
672
Puḷavāvasathe salilasmiṁ,
Tattha kiṁ paccati kibbisakārī;
Gantuṁ na hi tīramapatthi,
Sabbasamā hi samantakapallā.
673
Asipattavanaṁ pana tiṇhaṁ,
Taṁ pavisanti samucchidagattā;
Jivhaṁ balisena gahetvā,
Ārajayārajayā vihananti.
674
Atha vetaraṇiṁ pana duggaṁ,
Tiṇhadhārakhuradhāramupenti;
Tattha mandā papatanti,
Pāpakarā pāpāni karitvā.
675
Khādanti hi tattha rudante,
Sāmā sabalā kākolagaṇā ca;
Soṇā siṅgālā paṭigiddhā,
Kulalā vāyasā ca vitudanti.
676
Kicchā vatayaṁ idha vutti,
Yaṁ jano phusati kibbisakārī;
Tasmā idha jīvitasese,
Kiccakaro siyā naro na cappamajje.
677
Te gaṇitā vidūhi tilavāhā,
Ye padume niraye upanītā;
Nahutāni hi koṭiyo pañca bhavanti,
Dvādasa koṭisatāni punaññā.
678
Yāva dukhā nirayā idha vuttā,
Tatthapi tāva ciraṁ vasitabbaṁ;
Tasmā sucipesalasādhuguṇesu,
Vācaṁ manaṁ satataṁ parirakkhe"ti.
Kokālikasuttaṁ dasamaṁ.