14.6 The Story about the Brahmin Aggidatta
Aggidattabrāhmaṇavatthu

“Many people shaken by fear,” [30.63] this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana, sitting on a pile of sand; and it was with reference to Aggidatta, Brahmin chaplain of the King of Kosala.

It appears that Aggidatta was the Brahmin chaplain of Mahā Kosala. When Mahā Kosala died, his son, King Pasenadi Kosala, out of respect for Aggidatta, since he had been his father’s Brahmin chaplain, reappointed him to the same post. Whenever Aggidatta came to wait upon the king, the king would go forth to meet him and would provide him with a seat of equal dignity with himself and say to him: “Teacher, pray sit here.” After a time, however, Aggidatta thought to himself: “This king pays me very great deference, but it is impossible to remain in the good graces of kings for good and all. Life in a king’s household is very pleasant for one who is of equal age with the king. But I am an old man and therefore had best go forth.” Accordingly Aggidatta asked permission of the king to go forth, caused a drum to be beaten throughout the city, spent all of his wealth by way of alms in the course of a week, and {3.242} went forth amongst the sectarians. Ten thousand men followed his example and also went forth.

With them Aggidatta took up his residence on the frontier of the country of the Aṅgas and Magadhas and the country of the Kurus. Having so done, he addressed them as follows: “Friends, in case any one of you should be troubled with sensual thoughts and so on, let each one of you so troubled fill a jar with sand from the river and empty the sand in this place.” – “Very well,” they said, promising to do so. So whenever they were troubled with sensual thoughts and so on, they did as he had commanded them to do. In the course of time there arose a great heap of sand, and Ahicchatta king of the Nāgas took possession of it. The dwellers in Aṅga and Magadha and the dwellers in the kingdom of the Kurus, month by month, brought rich offerings in honor of them and presented gifts to them.

Now Aggidatta admonished them as follows: “So surely as you seek refuge in a mountain, so surely as you seek refuge in a forest, so surely as you [30.64] seek refuge in a grove, so surely as you seek refuge in a tree, even so surely will you obtain release from all suffering.” With this admonition did Aggidatta admonish his disciples.

At this time the Bodhisatta, after going forth on the Great Renunciation, and after attaining Complete Awakening, took up his residence at Jetavana near Sāvatthī. Surveying the world at dawn he perceived that the Brahmin Aggidatta, together with his disciples, had entered the net of his knowledge. So he considered within himself: “Do all these living beings possess the supporting conditions for Arahatship?” Perceiving that they possessed the supporting conditions, he said in the evening to Elder Mahā Moggallāna: “Moggallāna, do you observe that the Brahmin Aggidatta is urging upon the multitude a course of action other than the right one? Go and admonish them.” – “Venerable Sir, they are very numerous, and if I go alone, I fear that they will prove to be untractable; {3.243} but if you also go, they will be tractable.” – “Moggallāna, I will also go, but you go ahead.”

As the elder proceeded, he thought to himself: “They are both powerful and numerous. If I say a word to them when they are all gathered together, they will all rise against me in troops.” Therefore by his own supernatural power he caused great drops of rain to fall. When those great drops of rain fell, they arose, one after another, and each entered his own hut of leaves and grass.

The elder went and stood at the door of Aggidatta’s leaf-hut and called out: “Aggidatta!” When Aggidatta heard the sound of the elder’s voice, he thought to himself: “There is no one in this world who is able to address me by name; who can it be that thus addresses me by name?” And in the stubbornness of pride, he replied: “Who is that?” – “It is I, Brahmin.” – “What have you to say?” – “Show me a place here where I can spend this one night.” – “There is no place for you to stay here; here is but a single hut of leaves and grass.” – “Aggidatta, men go to the abode of men, cattle to the abode of cattle, and those gone forth to those gone forth; do not so; give me a lodging.” – “Are you one gone forth?” – “Yes, I am one gone forth.” – “If you are one gone forth, where is your pole and vessels? What monastic utensils have you?” – “I have utensils, but since it is inconvenient to carry them about from place to place, I procure them within and then go my way.” – “So you intend to procure them within and then go your way!” said Aggidatta angrily to the elder. The elder said to him: “Go away, Aggidatta, do not be angry; show me a place where I can spend the [30.65] night.” – “There is no lodging here.” – “Well, who is it that lives on that pile of sand?” – “A certain Nāga king.” – “Give the pile of sand to me.” – “I cannot give you the pile of sand; that would be a grievous affront to him.” {3.244} – “Never mind, give it to me.” – “Very well; you alone seem to know.”

The elder started towards the pile of sand. When the Nāga king saw him approaching, he thought to himself: “Yonder ascetic approaches here. Doubtless he does not know that I am here. I will spit smoke at him and kill him.” The elder thought to himself: “This Nāga king doubtless thinks: ‘I alone am able to spit smoke; others are not able to do this.’” So the elder spit smoke himself. Puffs of smoke arose from the bodies of both and ascended to the world of Brahma. The puffs of smoke gave the elder no trouble at all, but troubled the Nāga king sorely. The Nāga king, unable to stand the blasts of smoke, burst into flames. The elder applied himself to meditation on the element of fire and entered into a state of absorption. Thereupon he burst into flames which ascended to the world of Brahma. His whole body looked as if it had been set on fire with torches. The company of seers looked on and thought to themselves: “The Nāga king is burning the ascetic; the good ascetic has indeed lost his life by not listening to our words.” When the elder had overmastered the Nāga king and made him quit his misdoing, he seated himself on the pile of sand. Thereupon the Nāga king surrounded the pile of sand with good things to eat, and creating a hood as large as the interior of a peak-house, held it over the elder’s head.

Early in the morning the company of seers thought to themselves: “We will find out whether the ascetic is dead or not.” So they went to where the elder was, and when they saw him sitting on the pile of sand, they did reverence to him and praised him and said: “Ascetic, you must have been greatly plagued by the Nāga king.” – “Do you not see him standing there with his hood raised over my head?” Then said the sages: “What a wonderful thing the ascetic did {3.245} in conquering so powerful a Nāga king!” And they stood in a circle about the elder.

At that moment the Teacher drew near. The elder, seeing the Teacher, arose and saluted him. Said the seers to the elder: “Is this man greater than you?” The elder replied: “This is the Fortunate One, the Teacher; I am only his disciple.” The Teacher seated himself on the summit of the pile of sand. The company of seers said to each other: “If such is the supernatural power of a mere disciple, what must [30.66] the supernatural power of this man be like?” And extending their clasped hands in an attitude of reverential salutation, they bestowed praise on the Teacher.

The Teacher addressed Aggidatta and said: “Aggidatta, in giving admonition to your disciples and supporters, how do you admonish them?” Aggidatta replied: “I admonish them thus: ‘Seek refuge in this mountain, seek refuge in this forest, or grove, or tree. For he who seeks refuge in these obtains release from all suffering.’”

The Teacher said: “No indeed, Aggidatta, he who seeks refuge in these does not obtain release from suffering. But he who seeks refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha, he obtains release from the whole round of suffering.” So saying, he pronounced the following verses:

188. Bahuṁ ve saraṇaṁ yanti pabbatāni vanāni ca
ārāmarukkhacetyāni, manussā bhayatajjitā.

Many people shaken by fear
go for refuge to woods, mountains,
and to tree shrines in pleasure parks.

189. Netaṁ kho saraṇaṁ khemaṁ, netaṁ saraṇam-uttamaṁ,
netaṁ saraṇam-āgamma sabbadukkhā pamuccati.

That is not a secure refuge,
that is not the refuge supreme,
that is not the refuge that will
liberate from all suffering.

190. Yo ca Buddhañ-ca Dhammañ-ca Saṅghañ-ca saraṇaṁ gato,
cattāri ariyasaccāni sammappaññāya passati:

Whoever has gone for refuge
to the Buddha, to the Dhamma
and to the Saṅgha, who sees with
right wisdom the four noble truths:

191. Dukkhaṁ dukkhasamuppādaṁ dukkhassa ca atikkamaṁ,
ariyañ-caṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ dukkhūpasamagāminaṁ.

Suffering, arising, and the
overcoming of suffering,
the eightfold noble path leading
to the stilling of suffering. {3.246}

192. Etaṁ kho saraṇaṁ khemaṁ, etaṁ saraṇam-uttamaṁ,
etaṁ saraṇam-āgamma sabbadukkhā pamuccati.

That is the one secure refuge,
that is the one refuge supreme,
that is the one refuge that will
liberate from all suffering. {3.247}

At the end of the teaching all those sages attained Arahatship, together with the analytic knowledges. Thereupon they worshipped the Teacher and asked to go forth. The Teacher stretched out his hand from under his robe and said: “Come, bhikkhus! Live the spiritual life.” That very instant they were furnished with the eight requisites and became as it were elders of sixty years’ standing.

Now this was the day when all the dwellers in Aṅga and in Magadha and in the country of the Kurus were accustomed to come with rich offerings. When, therefore, they approached with their offerings, and saw that all those seers had gone forth, they thought to themselves: “Is our Brahmin Aggidatta greater, or is the ascetic Gotama greater?” And because the Teacher had but just arrived, they concluded: “Aggidatta is greater.”

The Teacher surveyed their thoughts and said: “Aggidatta, destroy the doubt that exists in the minds of your disciples.” Aggidatta replied: “That is the very thing I desire most to do.” So by supernatural power he rose seven times in [30.67] the air, and descending to the ground again and again, he worshipped the Teacher and said: “Venerable Sir, the Fortunate One is my Teacher and I am his disciple.” Thus did Aggidatta speak, declaring himself the disciple of the Fortunate One.

last updated: August 2024