Ud 6:4 Sectarians (1) (Tittha Sutta)
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('â', The Dhamma is like this, itâs not like that. The Dhammaâs not like that, itâs like this.â" "Monks, the wanderers of other sects are blind & eyeless. They donât know what is beneficial and what is harmful. They donât know what is the Dhamma and what is non-Dhamma. Not knowing what is beneficial and what is harmful, not knowing what is Dhamma and what is non-Dhamma, they keep on arguing, quarreling, & disputing, wounding one another with weapons of the mouth, saying, ),
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('â', The Dhamma is like this, itâs not like that. The Dhammaâs not like that, itâs like this.â "Once, monks, in this same Sṅvatthī, there was a certain king, and the king said to a certain man, ),
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('â', Come, my good man. Gather together all the people in Sṅvatthī who have been blind from birth.â" "Responding, ),
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('â', As you say, your majesty,â to the king, the man–having rounded up all the people in Sṅvatthī who had been blind from birth–went to the king and on arrival said, ),
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('â', Your majesty, the people in Sṅvatthī who have been blind from birth have been gathered together.â "),
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('â', Very well then, I say, show the blind people an elephant.â "Responding, ),
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('â', As you say, your majesty,â to the king, the man showed the blind people an elephant. To some of the blind people he showed the elephantâs head, saying, ),
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('â', This, blind people, is what an elephant is like.â To some of them he showed the elephantâs ear, saying, ),
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('â', This, blind people, is what an elephant is like.â To some of them he showed the elephantâs tusk⦠the elephantâs trunk⦠the elephantâs body⦠the elephantâs foot⦠the elephantâs hindquarters⦠the elephantâs tail⦠the tuft at the end of the elephantâs tail, saying, ),
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('â', This, blind people, is what an elephant is like.â "Then, having shown the blind people the elephant, the man went to the king and on arrival said, ),
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('â', Your majesty, the blind people have seen the elephant. May your majesty do what you think it is now time to do.â "Then the king went to the blind people and on arrival asked them, ),
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('â', Blind people, have you seen the elephant?â "),
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('â', Yes, your majesty. We have seen the elephant.â "),
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('â', Now tell me, blind people, what the elephant is like.â "The blind people who had been shown the elephantâs head said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a jar.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs ear said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a winnowing basket.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs tusk said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a plowshare.â1 "Those who had been shown the elephantâs trunk said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like the pole of a plow.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs body said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a granary.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs foot said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a post.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs hindquarters said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a mortar.â "Those who had been shown the elephantâs tail said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a pestle.â "Those who had been shown the tuft at the end of the elephantâs tail said, ),
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('â', The elephant, your majesty, is just like a broom.â "Saying, ),
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('â', The elephant is like this, itâs not like that. The elephantâs not like that, itâs like this,â they struck one another with their fists. That gratified the king. "In the same way, monks, the wanderers of other sects are blind & eyeless. They donât know what is beneficial and what is harmful. They donât know what is the Dhamma and what is non-Dhamma. Not knowing what is beneficial and what is harmful, not knowing what is Dhamma and what is non-Dhamma, they keep on arguing, quarreling, & disputing, wounding one another with weapons of the mouth, saying, ),
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('â', The Dhamma is like this, itâs not like that. The Dhammaâs not like that, itâs like this.â" Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed: With regard to these things theyâre attached– some contemplatives & brahmans. They quarrel & fight– people seeing one side. Note 1. Reading phṅlo with the Thai and Sri Lankan editions. According to the PTS dictionary, this word can also mean "iron rod." The Burmese edition reads, khīlo, "post" or "stake." The Thai edition also includes another variant reading: sallo, "arrow." - --> - - - -