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Numbered Discourses · AN 4.40

  • Numbered Discourses 4.40Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.40
  • 4. Situations4. Cakkavagga

With UdāyīUdāyīsutta

Then Udāyī the brahmin went up to the Buddha, … and asked him,Atha kho udāyī brāhmaṇo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā …pe… ekamantaṁ nisinno kho udāyī brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “Does the worthy Gotama praise sacrifice?”“bhavampi no gotamo yaññaṁ vaṇṇetī”ti?

“Brahmin, I don’t praise all sacrifices.“Na kho ahaṁ, brāhmaṇa, sabbaṁ yaññaṁ vaṇṇemi; Nor do I criticize all sacrifices.na panāhaṁ, brāhmaṇa, sabbaṁ yaññaṁ na vaṇṇemi. Take the kind of sacrifice where cattle, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and various kinds of creatures are slaughtered.Yathārūpe kho, brāhmaṇa, yaññe gāvo haññanti, ajeḷakā haññanti, kukkuṭasūkarā haññanti, vividhā pāṇā saṅghātaṁ āpajjanti; I don’t praise that kind of violent sacrifice.evarūpaṁ kho ahaṁ, brāhmaṇa, sārambhaṁ yaññaṁ na vaṇṇemi.

But take the kind of sacrifice where cattle, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, and various kinds of creatures are not slaughtered.Yathārūpe ca kho, brāhmaṇa, yaññe neva gāvo haññanti, na ajeḷakā haññanti, na kukkuṭasūkarā haññanti, na vividhā pāṇā saṅghātaṁ āpajjanti; I do praise that kind of non-violent sacrifice; for example, a regular gift as a propitious sacrifice.evarūpaṁ kho ahaṁ, brāhmaṇa, nirārambhaṁ yaññaṁ vaṇṇemi, yadidaṁ niccadānaṁ anukulayaññaṁ.

Well-prepared and non-violent,Abhisaṅkhataṁ nirārambhaṁ, a sacrifice that’s allowable and timely,yaññaṁ kālena kappiyaṁ; is attended byTādisaṁ upasaṁyanti, disciplined spiritual practitioners.saññatā brahmacārayo.

The Buddhas—who have cast off the veil from the world,Vivaṭacchadā ye loke, passing beyond time and rebirth—vītivattā kulaṁ gatiṁ; praise this sacrifice,Yaññametaṁ pasaṁsanti, as they are expert in sacrifice.buddhā yaññassa kovidā.

When you’ve prepared a suitable offering,Yaññe vā yadi vā saddhe, whether as sacrifice or for ancestors,habyaṁ katvā yathārahaṁ; sacrifice it with confident heart,Pasannacitto yajati, in the fertile field of spiritual practitioners.sukhette brahmacārisu.

When it’s well-gotten, well-offered, <j>and well-sacrificed,Suhutaṁ suyiṭṭhaṁ suppattaṁ, to those worthy of a religious donation,Dakkhiṇeyyesu yaṁ kataṁ; a sacrifice is truly abundant,Yañño ca vipulo hoti, and even the deities are pleased.Pasīdanti ca devatā.

When an intelligent, faithful person,Evaṁ yajitvā medhāvī, sacrifices like this, with a mind of letting go,saddho muttena cetasā; that astute one is rebornAbyābajjhaṁ sukhaṁ lokaṁ, in a happy, pleasing world.”paṇḍito upapajjatī”ti.

Similar passages elsewhere

Found by meaning, not by citation: the passages in other texts whose wording sits closest to a passage here.

  1. AN 4.39 With Ujjaya 0.75near 0.1Numbered Discourses 4.39 4. Situations With Ujjaya Then Ujjaya the brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said t…
  2. AN 3.60 With Saṅgārava 0.55near 0.1Numbered Discourses 3.60 6. Brahmins With Saṅgārava Then Saṅgārava the brahmin went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and sa…
  3. DN 5 With Kūṭadanta 0.52near 0.15. A Regular Gift as a Propitious Sacrifice. “But Worthy Gotama, apart from that sacrifice accomplished with three modes and sixteen accessories, is there any other sacrifice that has fewer obligations and undertakings,…
  4. AN 7.47 Fires (2nd) 0.52near 0.1Numbered Discourses 7.47 5. A Great Sacrifice Fires (2nd) Now at that time the brahmin Uggatasarīra had prepared a large sacrifice. Bulls, bullocks, heifers, goats and rams—five hundred of each—had been led to the post f…
  5. SN 35.101 It’s Not Yours (1st) 0.51near 7.1Giving it up will be for your welfare and happiness.”…