The story of Belaṭṭhakaccāna

^Kd.6.26.1 Then the Lord, having stayed at Andhakavinda for as long as he found suiting, set out on tour for Rājagaha together with the large order of monks, with twelve hundred and fifty monks. Now at that time Belaṭṭha Kaccāna^[1] was going along the highroad from Rājagaha to Andhakavinda with five hundred wagons all filled with jars of sugar. Then the Lord saw Belaṭṭha Kaccāna from afar, and seeing him, he stepped aside from the road and sat down at the root of a certain tree.

^Kd.6.26.2 Then Belaṭṭha Kaccāna approached the Lord, having approached, having greeted the Lord, he stood at a respectful distance. As he was standing at a respectful distance, Belaṭṭha Kaccāna spoke thus to the Lord:

“I, Lord, want to give one jar of sugar to each monk.”

“Well then, do you, Kaccāna, bring just one jar of sugar.”

“Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, having answered the Lord in assent, bringing just one jar of sugar approached the Lord; having approached, he spoke thus to the Lord: “The jar of sugar is brought, Lord. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

“Well then, do you, Kaccāna, give the sugar to the monks.”

^{Kd.6.26.3 BD.4.306} “Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, having given the sugar to the monks, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Lord, the sugar is given to the monks, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

“Well then, Kaccāna, give the monks as much sugar as they want.”

“Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, having given the monks as much sugar as they wanted, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Lord, as much sugar as they wanted has been given to the monks, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

“Well then, do you, Kaccāna, serve the monks with sugar.”

“Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, served the monks with sugar. Some monks filled bowls and they filled water-strainers and bags.

^Kd.6.26.4 Then Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, having served the monks with sugar, spoke thus to the Lord: “Lord, the monks are served with sugar, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?” ^Vin.1.225

“Well then, do you, Kaccāna, give sugar to those who eat the remains of food.”^[2]

“Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, having given sugar to those who eat the remains of food, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Lord, sugar has been given to those who eat the remains of food, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

“Well then, Kaccāna, give those who eat the remains of food as much sugar as they want.”

^Kd.6.26.5 “Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, having answered the Lord in assent, having given those who eat the remains of food as much sugar as they wanted, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Lord, as much sugar as they wanted has been given to those who eat the remains of food, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

^BD.4.307 “Well then, Kaccāna, do you serve with sugar those who eat the remains of food.”

“Yes, Lord,” and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, served with sugar those who eat the remains of food. Some of those who eat the remains of food filled pots and pitchers and they filled baskets and (their) clothes.^[3]

^Kd.6.26.6 Then Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, having served with sugar those who eat the remains of food, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Lord, those who eat the remains of food have been served with sugar, and I have much sugar over. What line of conduct do I follow, Lord?”

“I do not see anyone,^[4] Kaccāna, in the world with its devas, Māras, and Brahmās, nor in the race of recluses and brahmins, devas and men who having made use of that sugar could digest it properly except a Truth-finder or a Truth-finder’s disciple.^[5] Well then, Kaccāna, throw away that sugar where there is but little green grass or drop it into water where there are no living creatures.”^[6]

“Yes, lord”, and Belaṭṭha Kaccāna having answered the Lord in assent, dropped that sugar into water where there were no living creatures.

^Kd.6.26.7 Then that sugar, thus placed in the water, sizzled and hissed and sent forth steam and smoke. As a ploughshare heated the live-long day if placed in water sizzles and hisses and sends forth steam and smoke, so did this sugar when placed in the water sizzle and hiss and send forth steam and smoke. Then Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, alarmed and with his hair standing on end, approached the Lord; having approached, having greeted the Lord, he sat down at a respectful distance.

^Kd.6.26.8 As Belaṭṭha Kaccāna was sitting down at a respectful distance, the Lord talked a progressive talk to him,^[7] that is to say, talk on giving, talk on moral habit, talk on heaven; he explained the peril, the vanity, the depravity of pleasures of the senses, the advantage in renouncing (them). When the ^BD.4.308 Lord knew that the mind of Belaṭṭha Kaccāna was ready, pliable, devoid of the hindrances, uplifted, pleased, then he explained to him that teaching on dhamma which the awakened ones have themselves discovered: ill, uprising, stopping, the Way. And as a clean cloth without black specks will easily take dye, even so ^Vin.1.226 as he was (sitting) on that very seat dhamma-vision, dustless, stainless, arose to Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, that “whatever is of the nature to uprise, all that is of the nature to stop”.

^Kd.6.26.9 Then Belaṭṭha Kaccāna, as one who had seen dhamma,^[8] attained dhamma, known dhamma, plunged into dhamma, who had crossed over doubt, put away uncertainty, who had attained without another’s help to full confidence in the teacher’s instruction, spoke thus to the Lord:

“Excellent, Lord! Excellent, Lord! Even, Lord, as one might set upright what had been upset … even so is dhamma explained by the Lord in many a figure. I myself, Lord, am going to the Lord for refuge, to dhamma and to the Order of monks. May the Lord accept me as a lay-follower going for refuge from this day forth for as long as life lasts.”

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^Kd.6.27.1 Then the Lord, walking on tour, in due course arrived at Rājagaha. The Lord stayed there at Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove at the squirrels’ feeding place. At that time there was abundant sugar in Rājagaha. Monks, thinking, “Sugar is allowed by the Lord only to one who is ill, not to one who is not ill”, being scrupulous, did not partake of sugar. They told this matter to the Lord. He said:

“I allow, monks, sugar for one who is ill, sugar-water for one who is not ill.”^[9]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Mentioned, I think, nowhere but here. Buddhaghosa has no note. The absence of a descriptive epithet is unusual. Dictionary of Pali Proper Names calls him “a sugar-dealer”, which seems likely.

[2]:

Mentioned above in Kd.6.24.1. It seems as if they had attached themselves to the company of monks, doing the journeys from Benares to Andhakavinda and from there to Rājagaha.

[3]:

ucchaṅga, lap or hip. Here probably meaning that they knotted the sugar into the cloths they were wearing. This is still a customary way of carrying packages in India. At MN.i.366 the word appears to have the same meaning as above.

[4]:

For following passage, cf. SN.i.168–9, Snp.p.15.

[5]:

For explanation of this “curious reply” see KS.i.211, n.3.

[6]:

Cf. Kd.4.1.3, where this sentence also occurs.

[7]:

From here to end of Kd.6.26.8 cf. above, e.g. Kd.1.7.5–Kd.1.7.6.

[8]:

For this passage see Kd.1.6.32, etc.

[9]:

Note that above, when the monks received a quantity of sugar from Belaṭṭha, the verb used was paribhuñjati, (to make use of). In the story of Kd.6.27.1, it is said that they did not partake of, (na bhuñjanti,) any sugar.