11
Quarrels and Disputes
Kalahavivāda Sutta

862
Questioner

Where do quarrels,
Disputes, lamentation and sorrow come from,
Together with selfishness,
Pride, arrogance and malicious speech?
From where do they come?
Please tell me.

Kutopahūtā kalahā vivādā paridevasokā sahamaccharā ca
Mānātimānā sahapesuṇā ca kutopahūtā te tadiṅgha brūhi

863
The Buddha

From what is loved
Come quarrels, disputes, lamentation and sorrow,
Together with selfishness, pride, arrogance and malicious speech.
Quarrels and disputes are linked to selfishness;
From disputes comes malicious speech.

Piyappahūtā kalahā vivādā paridevasokā sahamaccharā ca
Mānātimānā sahapesuṇā ca maccherayuttā kalahā vivādā
Vivādajātesu ca pesuṇāni

864
Questioner

What is the source of love and greed in the world?
And what is the source of expectation and hope that a man has for the next life?

Piyā su lokasmiṃ kutonidānā ye cāpi lobhā vicaranti loke
Āsā ca niṭṭhā ca kutonidānā ye samparāyāya narassa honti

865
The Buddha

Longing
Is the source of love and greed in the world,
And also the source of expectation and hope that a man has for the next life.

Chandānidānāni piyāni loke ye cāpi lobhā vicaranti loke
Āsā ca niṭṭhā ca itonidānā ye samparāyāya narassa honti

866
Questioner

What is the source of longing?
And from where do fixed opinions come from, anger, lies, perplexity,
And other such things spoken of by the Ascetic?

Chando nu lokasmiṃ kutonidāno vinicchayā cāpi kutopahūtā
Kodho mosavajjañca kathaṃkathā ca ye vāpi dhammā samaṇena vuttā

867-868
The Buddha

Longing arises in the world
Dependent on what is called the ‘pleasing-displeasing duality’.
Anger, lies, perplexity and other such things
Also arise when this duality exists.

A person develops fixed opinions
From watching the apparent annihilation and existence of material phenomena.

One who is perplexed
Should train in the path of knowledge,
For it is in having known
That the Ascetic has spoken of all these things.

Sātaṃ asātanti yamāhu loke tamūpanissāya pahoti chando
Rūpesu disvā vibhavaṃ bhavañca vinicchayaṃ kubbati jantuloke
Kodho mosavajjañca kathaṃkathā ca etepi dhammā dvayameva sante
Kathaṃkathī ñāṇapathāya sikkhe ñatvā pavuttā samaṇena dhammā

869
Questioner

What is the source of pleasure and pain?
When what is not do they not exist?
And apparent annihilation and existence (whatever one means by that)
Tell me, too, what is their source?

Sātaṃ asātañca kutonidānā kismiṃ asante na bhavanti hete
Vibhavaṃ bhavañcāpi yametamatthaṃ etaṃ me pabrūhi yatonidānaṃ

870
The Buddha

Sense contact is the source of pleasure and pain.
When there is no sense contact pleasure and pain do not exist.
And apparent annihilation and existence (whatever one means by that)
Sense contact too is their source.

Phassanidānaṃ sātaṃ asātaṃ phasse asante na bhavanti hete
Vibhavaṃ bhavañcāpi yametamatthaṃ etaṃ te pabrūmi itonidānaṃ

871
Questioner

What is the source of sense contact?
And where does grasping arise from?
When what is not, is there then no possessiveness?
When what is annihilated, do sense contacts stop contacting?

Phasso nu lokasmi kutonidāno pariggahā cāpi kutopahūtā
Kismiṃ asante na mamattamatthi kismiṃ vibhūte na phusanti phassā

872
The Buddha

Sense contact is dependent on the body-mind complex.
Desire is the source of grasping.
When desire is not, there is no possessiveness.
When the material elements are annihilated, sense contacts stop contacting.⁽¹⁾

Nāmañca rūpañca paṭicca phasso icchānidānāni pariggahāni
Icchāyasantyā na mamattamatthi rūpe vibhūte na phusanti phassā

873
Questioner

For one arriving at what, are the material elements annihilated?
And also pleasure and pain.
Tell me this.
My heart is set on knowing how they are annihilated.

Kathaṃsametassa vibhoti rūpaṃ sukhaṃ dukhañcāpi kathaṃ vibhoti
Etaṃ me pabrūhi yathā vibhoti taṃ jāniyāmāti me mano ahu

874
The Buddha

For one who is unaware of the notion ‘I am’,⁽²⁾
Without any disorder in awareness of such a notion;
And not without awareness,
And not with awareness destroyed:
For one arriving at this, the material elements are annihilated.⁽³⁾
For the notion ‘I am’ is indeed the source of mental obsession.

Na saññasaññī na visaññasaññī nopi asaññī na vibhūtasaññī.
Evaṃsametassa vibhoti rūpaṃ saññānidānā hi papañcasaṅkhā

875
Questioner

You have explained what we asked.
We ask one more thing. Please say!
Do the wise say that just this much is the summit,
That purity of spirit is to be found in this world?
Or do they say that it is found somewhere other than this?

Yaṃ taṃ apucchimha akittayī no aññaṃ taṃ pucchāma tadiṅgha brūhi
Ettāvataggaṃ nu vadanti heke yakkhassa suddhiṃ idha paṇḍitāse
Udāhu aññampi vadanti etto

876
The Buddha

Some of the wise say that just this much is the summit,
That purity of spirit is found here in this world.
But some so-called experts say that it is only at the final passing away of the khandhas.

Ettāvataggampi vadanti heke yakkhassa suddhiṃ idha paṇḍitāse
Tesaṃ paneke samayaṃ vadanti anupādisese kusalā vadānā

877

The investigating sage knows that these so-called experts are tethered
And he knows what they are tethered to.
Knowing, liberated, he does not dispute.
The wise man does not return to any form of existence.

Ete ca ñatvā upanissitāti ñatvā munī nissaye so vimaṃsī
Ñatvā vimutto na vivādameti bhavābhavāya na sameti dhīro ti

Notes for Readers:

• Note (1) When the material elements are annihilated: arahantship, the end of re-birth into material elements.
• Note (2) Removing the presumption of a ‘me’ is Nibbana here and now (anattasaññi asmimānasamugghātaṃ pāpuṇāti diṭṭheva dhamme nibbānaṃ’ti) (Ud.37).
• Note (3) For one arriving at this, the material elements are annihilated: at D.1.223 the Buddha says one should not ask where the material elements cease without remainder (aparisesā nirujjhanti), but should ask where they find no footing (na gādhati). The answer is that it is where viññāṇaṃ anidassanaṃ anantaṃ sabbato pahaṃ, or in other words, viññāṇassa nirodhena. This is arahantship.

Notes on Translation:

• Verse 864) ‘hope’: PED calls niṭṭhā ‘aim’. This would give “aim that a man has for the next life”. I call this ‘hope’. Norman calls it ‘fulfillment [of hope]’ which does not fit the context.
• Verse 867) ‘duality’: I add the word ‘duality’ in verse 867 because in verse 868 pleasing-displeasing are called dvayameva.
• Verse 867) ‘apparent’: v.870 says that sense contact is the source of the annihilation and existence of material phenomena. Because this annihilation and existence depends on sense contact, it seems better to call it ‘apparent’ annihilation and existence, rather than simply ‘annihilation and existence’. Another reason for calling them 'apparent annihilation' and 'apparent existence' is that the Buddha veered away from two extreme views: the view “All exists” (sabbamatthī'ti) and the view “All does not exist” (sabbaṃ natthī'ti) (S.2.17). Therefore it seems more appropriate to talk in terms of apparent existence and non-existence, rather than wrongly speak of actual existence and non-existence.
• Verse 874) the notion ‘I am’: see translation notes in Appendix 7.
• Verse 875) idha: means ‘in this world’ at v.801 also.