4:13 The Great Array
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('â', Only this is trueâ: Do they all incur blame, or also earn praise there?" "[The praise:] Itâs such a small thing, not at all appeasing.1 I speak of two fruits of dispute; and seeing this, you shouldnât dispute— seeing the state where thereâs no dispute as secure. One who knows doesnât enter into any conventions born of the run-of-the mill at all. One whoâs uninvolved: When heâs forming no predilection for whatâs seen, for whatâs heard, why would he get involved?2 Those for whom habits are ultimate say that purityâs a matter of self-restraint. Undertaking a practice, they devote themselves to it: ),
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('â', Letâs train just in this, and then there would be purity.â Those who say they are skilled are [thus] led on to becoming. But if one of them falls from his habits or practice, he trembles, having failed in his actions. He hopes for, longs for, purity, like a caravan leader     lost far from home. But one whoâs abandoned habits & practices3 —all— things that are blamable, blameless,4 not hoping for ),
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('â', pureâ or ),
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('â', impure,â5 would live in kindness & peace, without taking up peace,6 detached. Dependent on taboos, austerities, or whatâs seen, heard, or sensed, they speak of purity through wandering further on through becoming & not-, their craving not gone for becoming & not-.7 For one who aspires has longings & trembling with regard to theorizings. But one who here has no passing away & arising: Why would he tremble? For what would he long?" "The teaching some say is ),
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('â', supreme,â is the very one others call ),
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('â', lowly.â Which statement is true when all of these claim to be skilled?" "They say their own teaching is perfect while the doctrine of others is lowly. Thus quarreling, they dispute, each saying his agreed-on opinion is true. If something, because of an opponentâs say-so, were lowly, then none among teachings would be superlative, for many say that anotherâs teachingâs inferior when firmly asserting their own. If their worship of their teaching were true, in line with the way they praise their own path, then all doctrines would be true— for purityâs theirs, according to each. The brahman has nothing led by another, when considering whatâs grasped among doctrines. Thus he has gone beyond disputes, for he doesnât regard as best the knowledge of a doctrine, any other doctrine.8 ),
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('â', I know. I see. Thatâs just how it is!â— Some believe purityâs in terms of view. But even if a person has seen, what good does it do him? Having slipped past, they speak of purity in connection with something or somebody     else. A person, in seeing, sees name-&-form. Having seen, heâll know only these things. No matter if heâs seen little, a lot, the skilled donât say purityâs in connection with that. A person entrenched in his teachings, preferring a theorized view, isnât easy to discipline. Whatever he depends on he describes it as lovely, says     that itâs purity, that there he saw truth. The brahman, evaluating, doesnât enter into a theory, doesnât follow views, isnât tied even to knowledge.9 And on knowing whateverâs conventional, commonplace, he remains equanimous: ),
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('â', Thatâs what others hold onto.â Having untied the knots here in the world, the sage here in the world10 doesnât follow a faction when disputes have arisen. At peace among those not at peace, heâs equanimous, doesnât hold on: ),
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('â', Thatâs what others hold onto.â Giving up old effluents, not forming new, neither pursuing desire, nor entrenched in his teachings, heâs totally released from viewpoints, enlightened. He doesnât adhere to the world, is without self-rebuke; is enemy-free11 with regard to all things seen, heard, or sensed. His burden laid down, the sage totally released is improper :: is theory-free hasnât stopped :: isnât impassioned isnât worth wanting :: doesnât desire,"12 the Blessed One said. vv. 895–914 Notes 1. Or: Not enough to appease (the defilements, says Nd I). 2. A Sanskrit version of this verse is quoted by Asaṃga in the Bodhisattvabhūmi (48.24). 3. Nd I: Abandoning habits & practices in the sense of no longer believing that purity is measured in terms of them, the view discussed in the preceding verse. See MN 79. 4. Nd I: "Blamable, blameless" = black and white kamma (see AN 4:232, 234, 237–238, quoted in The Wings to Awakening, section I/B. 5. Nd I: Having abandoned impure mental qualities, and having fully attained the goal, the arahant has no need to hope for anything at all. 6. "In kindness & peace, without taking up peace"—a pun on the word, santimanuggahaya. 7. The word bhavabhavesu—"through/for becoming & not-becoming"—functions here as a lamp. 8. "The knowledge of a doctrine, any other doctrine"—a pun on the word, dhammamaā±ā±am. Nd I favors the second interpretation, saying that the brahman does not see as best any doctrine aside from the Wings to Awakening: the establishings of mindfulness, the exertions, the bases of power, the faculties, the strengths, the factors for awakening, and the noble eightfold path. This reading seems unlikely, though, as these doctrines are not mentioned anywhere in this poem. The first reading is more in line with the Buddhaâs statement in Sn 4:9 that the highest state is not defined in terms of knowledge, and is well-illustrated in action in AN 10:93. 9. According to Nd I, this compound—ā±ṅṃa-bandhu—should be translated as "tied by means of knowledge," in that the arahant doesnât use the knowledge that comes with the mastery of concentration, the five mundane forms of psychic power (abhiā±ā±a), or any wrong knowledge to create the bonds of craving or views. However, the compound may also refer to the fact that the arahant isnât tied even to the knowledge that forms part of the path to arahantship (see MN 117). 10. "In the world" functions as a lamp here. 11. See Sn 4:4, note 9. 12. "Is improper :: is free from theories, hasnât stopped :: isnât impassioned, isnât worth wanting :: doesnât desire"—a series of puns—na kappiyo, nuparato, na patthiyo—each with a strongly positive and a strongly negative meaning, probably meant for their shock value. For a similar set of puns, see Dhp 97. See also: MN 24; AN 4:24 - --> - - - -