The Kalama Sutta (AN 3.65): what the Buddha told the Kalamas about whom to believe, the ten things not to go by, and the test he gave them
The Kalama Sutta is one of the best-known discourses of the Buddha, and one of the most often misquoted. It is a short text in the Numbered Discourses (Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.65), also called the Kesamutti Sutta after the town where it was spoken. A community confused by rival teachers asks the Buddha whom they should believe. He does not ask them to believe him. He lists ten grounds that are not enough on their own to settle the question, then gives them a test they can check against their own experience. This guide explains who the Kālāmas were, the ten criteria, the test, the example of greed, hatred and delusion, the four assurances at the end, and what the sutta does and does not say. The full translation follows below.
Who were the Kalamas?
The people of the Kalama Sutta, the Kālāmas, were a clan living in Kesamutta, a small town in the kingdom of Kosala in northern India. The sutta tells us little more about them, except that many wandering teachers passed through. Ascetics and brahmins came one after another, and each group explained and praised only its own doctrine while attacking, belittling and sneering at the doctrines of others. When the Buddha arrived with a large company of monks, the Kālāmas went to see him, some bowing, some simply greeting him, some sitting in silence, and told him their problem: 'We are in doubt. Which of these respected teachers is telling the truth, and which is lying?'
The Buddha's first reply is often overlooked. He tells them their doubt is reasonable: it is right to doubt, because the doubt has arisen about something that really is uncertain. So the Kalama Sutta begins not with a demand for faith but with permission to question, which is why people who value free inquiry quote it so often. What follows, though, is more careful than the popular summaries suggest.
The ten criteria in the Kalama Sutta
The Buddha then names ten grounds on which people accept a teaching. In the Pali of the Kalama Sutta each one is introduced by mā, 'do not go by'. The words are compact, and translators render them in slightly different ways.
Etha tumhe, kālāmā,
mā anussavena, mā paramparāya,
mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena,
mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu,
mā ākāraparivitakkena,
mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā,
mā bhabbarūpatāya,
mā samaṇo no garūti.Come, Kālāmas: do not go by oral tradition, by lineage, by report, or by what is in the scriptures; not by logic, not by inference, not by reasoning about appearances, not by a view you have pondered and come to accept, not by the speaker's apparent ability, and not by the thought 'this ascetic is our teacher'.
AN 3.65
- Oral tradition (anussava): what has been passed on by word of mouth.
- Lineage (paramparā): what has been handed down from teacher to pupil, or from one generation to the next.
- Report (itikirā): 'people say it is so', hearsay and common opinion.
- Scripture (piṭakasampadā): because it agrees with the texts one holds sacred.
- Logic (takkahetu): because it can be argued for.
- Inference (nayahetu): because it can be deduced from something else.
- Reasoning about appearances (ākāraparivitakka): because it seems right when you think about how things look.
- A view you have pondered and accepted (diṭṭhinijjhānakkhanti): because it fits an opinion you already like.
- The speaker's apparent ability (bhabbarūpatā): because the person seems capable and convincing.
- Respect for a teacher (samaṇo no garu): because 'this ascetic is our teacher'.
Notice what the list does not say. It does not say that tradition, scripture or reasoning are worthless, or that teachers are always wrong. The point is that none of them, taken alone, is enough reason to accept a teaching as true and good. A tradition may be right, an argument may be right, a teacher may be right; each may also be wrong, and the Kālāmas had already heard confident, traditional, well-argued teachings that contradicted each other. The last of the ten criteria in the Kalama Sutta covers the Buddha too: he does not exempt his own teaching from the test.
The test: knowing for yourself
What should the Kālāmas go by instead? The answer the Kalama Sutta gives is a test with four parts. When you know for yourselves that certain things are unwholesome, blameworthy, criticised by the wise, and lead to harm and suffering when taken up and carried out, give them up. When you know for yourselves that certain things are wholesome, blameless, praised by the wise, and lead to welfare and happiness when taken up and carried out, take them up and live by them.
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha:
ime dhammā akusalā, ime dhammā sāvajjā,
ime dhammā viññugarahitā,
ime dhammā samattā samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattantīti,
atha tumhe, kālāmā, pajaheyyātha.Kālāmas, when you know for yourselves: 'These things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy, these things are criticised by the wise, and these things, when taken up and carried out, lead to harm and suffering', then you should give them up.
AN 3.65
Three things about this test are easy to miss. First, its subject is not every question under the sun, such as how the world began, but which states of mind and ways of acting to give up and which to develop. Second, 'know for yourselves' (attanāva jāneyyātha) means knowing from your own observation of what these things do, not from what you happen to prefer. Third, the test is not purely private: one of its four questions is whether the wise criticise or praise the thing. The Kalama Sutta asks you to check your own experience against the judgment of sensible people, not to replace one with the other.
Greed, hatred and delusion: the test in action
Next the Kalama Sutta shows the test in use: the Buddha asks questions instead of giving answers. When greed arises in a person, is it for their welfare or their harm? 'For their harm, sir.' A person overcome by greed, whose mind it has taken over, kills living beings, takes what is not given, goes with another's partner, tells lies, and urges others to do the same. Does that lead to their lasting harm and suffering? 'Yes, sir.' He asks the same about hatred and about delusion, the three roots of unwholesome action. Then he asks whether these things are wholesome or unwholesome, blameworthy or blameless, criticised or praised by the wise, and the Kālāmas answer each question themselves.
The second half turns the questions around. Non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion arise for a person's welfare. Someone free of greed, hatred and delusion does not kill, steal, commit adultery or lie, and does not urge others to, and that leads to their lasting welfare and happiness. Up to this point the Kalama Sutta asks the Kālāmas to accept no doctrine about the next life. Everything can be checked in this life, by watching what greed, anger and confusion do to oneself and to others. The same questions underlie the Buddha's teaching on karma and the ten wholesome ways of action.
The four assurances
The sutta closes with a portrait of a person who has lived by this test. A noble disciple, free of covetousness and ill will, unconfused, clearly aware and mindful, fills the world in every direction with a mind of love, then of compassion, then of rejoicing, then of equanimity: the four divine abidings. With a mind free of hostility and ill will, unspoiled and pure, such a person has four assurances (assāsa) in this very life:
- If there is another world, and good and bad deeds bear fruit, then when the body breaks up after death I will be reborn in a good place, a heavenly world.
- If there is no other world, and good and bad deeds bear no fruit, then here and now I keep myself free of hostility and ill will, untroubled and happy.
- If bad comes to those who do bad, I wish no one harm; since I do nothing bad, how could suffering touch me?
- If bad does not come to those who do bad, then I see myself pure on both counts.
This closing argument of the Kalama Sutta is a practical one. Whether or not the Kālāmas can settle questions about rebirth, a life without greed, hatred and delusion is the better choice, because it comes out well on every possibility. The Buddha teaches rebirth and the fruit of deeds plainly in many other discourses, but here he meets his listeners where they are and gives them a reason to begin that does not depend on belief.
Kalama Sutta meaning: what it does and does not say
The Kalama Sutta is often quoted as if the Buddha had said 'believe nothing unless it agrees with your own reason and common sense'. That sentence is not in the text. A fair reading looks like this:
- It is not 'believe whatever you like'. A view you have thought over and come to like is itself one of the ten things not to go by, and the test asks what the wise praise, not only what you prefer.
- It does not reject scripture, tradition or teachers. It says they are not enough on their own, and it applies that rule to the Buddha as well.
- It is not about every question. Its subject is what to give up and what to develop: greed, hatred and delusion, and their opposites.
- It does not end in doubt. The Kālāmas finish by going for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, with a confidence that now rests on what they have seen for themselves.
- It does not deny a next life. The four assurances leave the question open for the listener while plainly allowing for it.
Using the Kalama Sutta today
The test in the Kalama Sutta is simple to use. When you meet a teaching, a method or a claim, including anything on this site, ask: does acting on this increase or reduce greed, ill will and confusion in me? Is it blameless? Would wise, decent people praise it? When I actually live by it, does it lead to harm and suffering, or to welfare and happiness? Meditation works in the same spirit. Vipassana does not ask you to believe that things are impermanent; it asks you to look until you see it for yourself.
The sutta in translation
So I have heard. At one time the Blessed One was wandering in the Kosalan country with a large community of monks when he arrived at Kesamutta, a town of the Kālāmas. The Kālāmas of Kesamutta heard: “Sirs, it seems the ascetic Gotama, a Sakyan who went forth from a Sakyan family, has arrived at Kesamutta. A fine report about the good Gotama has spread far and wide: ‘That Blessed One is … (and so on) … It is good to see arahants such as this.’”
Pali
Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā kosalesu cārikaṁ caramāno mahatā bhikkhusaṅghena saddhiṁ yena kesamuttaṁ nāma kālāmānaṁ nigamo tadavasari.
Assosuṁ kho kesamuttiyā kālāmā:
“samaṇo khalu, bho, gotamo sakyaputto sakyakulā pabbajito kesamuttaṁ anuppatto.
Taṁ kho pana bhavantaṁ gotamaṁ evaṁ kalyāṇo kittisaddo abbhuggato:
‘itipi so bhagavā …pe…
sādhu kho pana tathārūpānaṁ arahataṁ dassanaṁ hotī’”ti.
Then the Kālāmas of Kesamutta went to the Blessed One. Some of them bowed to him and sat down to one side. Some exchanged greetings with him and, when the friendly and polite talk was over, sat down to one side. Some raised their joined palms toward the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Some announced their name and clan and sat down to one side. Some kept silent and sat down to one side. Seated to one side, the Kālāmas of Kesamutta said to the Blessed One:
Pali
Atha kho kesamuttiyā kālāmā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā appekacce bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu, appekacce bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodiṁsu, sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu, appekacce yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu, appekacce nāmagottaṁ sāvetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu, appekacce tuṇhībhūtā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te kesamuttiyā kālāmā bhagavantaṁ etadavocuṁ:
“Sir, there are some ascetics and brahmins who come to Kesamutta. They explain and promote only their own doctrine, while they insult, run down, sneer at and pick apart the doctrines of others. Then, sir, other ascetics and brahmins come to Kesamutta, and they too explain and promote only their own doctrine, while they insult, run down, sneer at and pick apart the doctrines of others. So, sir, we are left unsure and in doubt: which of these good ascetics and brahmins is telling the truth, and which is lying?” “It is only natural that you doubt, Kālāmas, natural that you are unsure. Your uncertainty has arisen over a matter that really is open to doubt.
Pali
“Santi, bhante, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā kesamuttaṁ āgacchanti.
Te sakaṁyeva vādaṁ dīpenti jotenti, parappavādaṁ pana khuṁsenti vambhenti paribhavanti omakkhiṁ karonti.
Aparepi, bhante, eke samaṇabrāhmaṇā kesamuttaṁ āgacchanti.
Tepi sakaṁyeva vādaṁ dīpenti jotenti, parappavādaṁ pana khuṁsenti vambhenti paribhavanti omakkhiṁ karonti.
Tesaṁ no, bhante, amhākaṁ hoteva kaṅkhā hoti vicikicchā:
‘ko su nāma imesaṁ bhavataṁ samaṇabrāhmaṇānaṁ saccaṁ āha, ko musā’”ti?
“Alañhi vo, kālāmā, kaṅkhituṁ alaṁ vicikicchituṁ.
Kaṅkhanīyeva pana vo ṭhāne vicikicchā uppannā.
Come, Kālāmas. Do not accept a thing just because it has been passed on by word of mouth, nor because it has come down through the generations, nor because people say it is so, nor because it agrees with the scriptures, nor because logic arrives at it, nor because it can be inferred, nor because it fits how things appear, nor because it matches a view you have pondered and come to like, nor because the speaker seems capable, nor because you think, ‘This ascetic is the teacher we revere.’ When you know for yourselves, Kālāmas, ‘These things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy, these things are criticized by the wise; these things, when taken up and carried through, lead to harm and suffering,’ then you should give them up.
Pali
Etha tumhe, kālāmā, mā anussavena, mā paramparāya, mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena, mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu, mā ākāraparivitakkena, mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā, mā bhabbarūpatāya, mā samaṇo no garūti.
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha:
‘ime dhammā akusalā, ime dhammā sāvajjā, ime dhammā viññugarahitā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattantī’ti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, pajaheyyātha.
What do you think, Kālāmas? When greed arises within a person, does it arise for their welfare or for their harm?”
Pali
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā,
lobho purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati hitāya vā ahitāya vā”ti?
“For their harm, sir.”
Pali
“Ahitāya, bhante”.
“Kālāmas, a greedy person, overcome by greed, their mind in its grip, kills living beings, takes what is not given, commits adultery, tells lies, and urges others to do the same; and that leads to their harm and suffering for a long time, does it not?”
Pali
“Luddho panāyaṁ, kālāmā, purisapuggalo lobhena abhibhūto pariyādinnacitto pāṇampi hanati, adinnampi ādiyati, paradārampi gacchati, musāpi bhaṇati, parampi tathattāya samādapeti, yaṁ sa hoti dīgharattaṁ ahitāya dukkhāyā”ti.
“Yes, sir.”
Pali
“Evaṁ, bhante”.
“What do you think, Kālāmas? When hatred arises within a person, does it arise for their welfare or for their harm?”
Pali
“Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā,
doso purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati hitāya vā ahitāya vā”ti?
“For their harm, sir.”
Pali
“Ahitāya, bhante”.
“Kālāmas, a hateful person, overcome by hatred, their mind in its grip, kills living beings, takes what is not given, commits adultery, tells lies, and urges others to do the same; and that leads to their harm and suffering for a long time, does it not?”
Pali
“Duṭṭho panāyaṁ, kālāmā, purisapuggalo dosena abhibhūto pariyādinnacitto pāṇampi hanati, adinnampi ādiyati, paradārampi gacchati, musāpi bhaṇati, parampi tathattāya samādapeti, yaṁ sa hoti dīgharattaṁ ahitāya dukkhāyā”ti.
“Yes, sir.”
Pali
“Evaṁ, bhante”.
“What do you think, Kālāmas? When delusion arises within a person, does it arise for their welfare or for their harm?”
Pali
“Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā,
moho purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati hitāya vā ahitāya vā”ti?
“For their harm, sir.”
Pali
“Ahitāya, bhante”.
“Kālāmas, a deluded person, overcome by delusion, their mind in its grip, kills living beings, takes what is not given, commits adultery, tells lies, and urges others to do the same; and that leads to their harm and suffering for a long time, does it not?”
Pali
“Mūḷho panāyaṁ, kālāmā, purisapuggalo mohena abhibhūto pariyādinnacitto pāṇampi hanati, adinnampi ādiyati, paradārampi gacchati, musāpi bhaṇati, parampi tathattāya samādapeti, yaṁ sa hoti dīgharattaṁ ahitāya dukkhāyā”ti.
“Yes, sir.”
Pali
“Evaṁ, bhante”.
“What do you think, Kālāmas? Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?”
Pali
“Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā, ime dhammā kusalā vā akusalā vā”ti?
“Unwholesome, sir.”
Pali
“Akusalā, bhante”.
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
Pali
“Sāvajjā vā anavajjā vā”ti?
“Blameworthy, sir.”
Pali
“Sāvajjā, bhante”.
“Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?”
Pali
“Viññugarahitā vā viññuppasatthā vā”ti?
“Criticized by the wise, sir.”
Pali
“Viññugarahitā, bhante”.
“When taken up and carried through, do they lead to harm and suffering, or not? Or how do you see it?”
Pali
“Samattā samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattanti, no vā?
Kathaṁ vā ettha hotī”ti?
“When taken up and carried through, sir, they lead to harm and suffering. That is how we see it.”
Pali
“Samattā, bhante, samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattantīti.
Evaṁ no ettha hotī”ti.
“So, Kālāmas, when we said: ‘Come, Kālāmas. Do not accept a thing just because it has been passed on by word of mouth, nor because it has come down through the generations, nor because people say it is so, nor because it agrees with the scriptures, nor because logic arrives at it, nor because it can be inferred, nor because it fits how things appear, nor because it matches a view you have pondered and come to like, nor because the speaker seems capable, nor because you think, “This ascetic is the teacher we revere.” When you know for yourselves, Kālāmas, “These things are unwholesome, these things are blameworthy, these things are criticized by the wise; these things, when taken up and carried through, lead to harm and suffering,” then you should give them up,’ that is what we said, and this is the reason we said it.
Pali
“Iti kho, kālāmā, yaṁ taṁ avocumhā:
‘etha tumhe, kālāmā.
Mā anussavena, mā paramparāya, mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena, mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu, mā ākāraparivitakkena, mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā, mā bhabbarūpatāya, mā samaṇo no garūti.
Yadā tumhe kālāmā attanāva jāneyyātha:
“ime dhammā akusalā, ime dhammā sāvajjā, ime dhammā viññugarahitā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā ahitāya dukkhāya saṁvattantīti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, pajaheyyāthā”’ti,
iti yaṁ taṁ vuttaṁ, idametaṁ paṭicca vuttaṁ.
Come, Kālāmas. Do not accept a thing just because it has been passed on by word of mouth, nor because it has come down through the generations, nor because people say it is so, nor because it agrees with the scriptures, nor because logic arrives at it, nor because it can be inferred, nor because it fits how things appear, nor because it matches a view you have pondered and come to like, nor because the speaker seems capable, nor because you think, ‘This ascetic is the teacher we revere.’ When you know for yourselves, Kālāmas, ‘These things are wholesome, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise; these things, when taken up and carried through, lead to welfare and happiness,’ then you should take them up and live by them.
Pali
Etha tumhe, kālāmā, mā anussavena, mā paramparāya, mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena, mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu, mā ākāraparivitakkena, mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā, mā bhabbarūpatāya, mā samaṇo no garūti.
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha:
‘ime dhammā kusalā, ime dhammā anavajjā, ime dhammā viññuppasatthā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṁvattantī’ti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, upasampajja vihareyyātha.
What do you think, Kālāmas? When non-greed arises within a person, does it arise for their welfare or for their harm?”
Pali
Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā,
alobho purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati hitāya vā ahitāya vā”ti?
“For their welfare, sir.”
Pali
“Hitāya, bhante”.
“Kālāmas, a person free of greed, not overcome by greed, their mind not in its grip, does not kill living beings, does not take what is not given, does not commit adultery, does not tell lies, and does not urge others to do so; and that leads to their welfare and happiness for a long time, does it not?”
Pali
“Aluddho panāyaṁ, kālāmā, purisapuggalo lobhena anabhibhūto apariyādinnacitto neva pāṇaṁ hanati, na adinnaṁ ādiyati, na paradāraṁ gacchati, na musā bhaṇati, na parampi tathattāya samādapeti, yaṁ sa hoti dīgharattaṁ hitāya sukhāyā”ti.
“Yes, sir.”
Pali
“Evaṁ, bhante”.
“What do you think, Kālāmas? When non-hatred arises within a person … (and so on) … When non-delusion arises within a person … (and so on) … and that leads to their welfare and happiness for a long time, does it not?”
Pali
“Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā,
adoso purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati …pe…
amoho purisassa ajjhattaṁ uppajjamāno uppajjati …pe…
hitāya sukhāyā”ti.
“Yes, sir.”
Pali
“Evaṁ, bhante”.
“What do you think, Kālāmas? Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?”
Pali
“Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, kālāmā, ime dhammā kusalā vā akusalā vā”ti?
“Wholesome, sir.”
Pali
“Kusalā, bhante”.
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
Pali
“Sāvajjā vā anavajjā vā”ti?
“Blameless, sir.”
Pali
“Anavajjā, bhante”.
“Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?”
Pali
“Viññugarahitā vā viññuppasatthā vā”ti?
“Praised by the wise, sir.”
Pali
“Viññuppasatthā, bhante”.
“When taken up and carried through, do they lead to welfare and happiness, or not? Or how do you see it?”
Pali
“Samattā samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṁvattanti no vā?
Kathaṁ vā ettha hotī”ti?
“When taken up and carried through, sir, they lead to welfare and happiness. That is how we see it.”
Pali
“Samattā, bhante, samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṁvattanti.
Evaṁ no ettha hotī”ti.
“So, Kālāmas, when we said: ‘Come, Kālāmas. Do not accept a thing just because it has been passed on by word of mouth, nor because it has come down through the generations, nor because people say it is so, nor because it agrees with the scriptures, nor because logic arrives at it, nor because it can be inferred, nor because it fits how things appear, nor because it matches a view you have pondered and come to like, nor because the speaker seems capable, nor because you think, “This ascetic is the teacher we revere.” When you know for yourselves, Kālāmas, “These things are wholesome, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise; these things, when taken up and carried through, lead to welfare and happiness,” then you should take them up and live by them,’ that is what we said, and this is the reason we said it.
Pali
“Iti kho, kālāmā, yaṁ taṁ avocumhā:
‘etha tumhe, kālāmā.
Mā anussavena, mā paramparāya, mā itikirāya, mā piṭakasampadānena, mā takkahetu, mā nayahetu, mā ākāraparivitakkena, mā diṭṭhinijjhānakkhantiyā, mā bhabbarūpatāya, mā samaṇo no garūti.
Yadā tumhe, kālāmā, attanāva jāneyyātha—
ime dhammā kusalā, ime dhammā anavajjā, ime dhammā viññuppasatthā, ime dhammā samattā samādinnā hitāya sukhāya saṁvattantīti, atha tumhe, kālāmā, upasampajja vihareyyāthā’ti,
iti yaṁ taṁ vuttaṁ idametaṁ paṭicca vuttaṁ.
Kālāmas, that noble disciple, rid of covetousness, rid of ill will, not confused, clearly knowing and mindful, lives pervading one direction with a mind filled with loving-kindness, and likewise the second, the third and the fourth. In the same way above, below and across, everywhere and in every way, they live pervading the whole world with a mind filled with loving-kindness, wide, grown great, beyond measure, without enmity, without ill will. With a mind filled with compassion … (and so on) … With a mind filled with gladness … (and so on) … They live pervading one direction with a mind filled with equanimity, and likewise the second, the third and the fourth. In the same way above, below and across, everywhere and in every way, they live pervading the whole world with a mind filled with equanimity, wide, grown great, beyond measure, without enmity, without ill will.
Pali
Sa kho so, kālāmā, ariyasāvako evaṁ vigatābhijjho vigatabyāpādo asammūḷho sampajāno patissato mettāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ, tathā tatiyaṁ, tathā catutthaṁ, iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ mettāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjhena pharitvā viharati.
Karuṇāsahagatena cetasā …pe…
muditāsahagatena cetasā …pe…
upekkhāsahagatena cetasā ekaṁ disaṁ pharitvā viharati, tathā dutiyaṁ, tathā tatiyaṁ, tathā catutthaṁ, iti uddhamadho tiriyaṁ sabbadhi sabbattatāya sabbāvantaṁ lokaṁ upekkhāsahagatena cetasā vipulena mahaggatena appamāṇena averena abyāpajjhena pharitvā viharati.
Kālāmas, when that noble disciple’s mind is in this way free of enmity, free of ill will, unstained and pure, they have found four reassurances in this very life. ‘If there is a world beyond, and if good and bad deeds bear fruit and result, then when my body breaks up after death I will be reborn in a happy destination, a world of heaven.’ This is the first reassurance they have found.
Pali
Sa kho so, kālāmā, ariyasāvako evaṁ averacitto evaṁ abyāpajjhacitto evaṁ asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto evaṁ visuddhacitto.
Tassa diṭṭheva dhamme cattāro assāsā adhigatā honti.
‘Sace kho pana atthi paro loko, atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, athāhaṁ kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapajjissāmī’ti, ayamassa paṭhamo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If there is no world beyond, and good and bad deeds bear no fruit or result, then right here in this life I keep myself free of enmity and ill will, untroubled and happy.’ This is the second reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana natthi paro loko, natthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, athāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme averaṁ abyāpajjhaṁ anīghaṁ sukhiṁ attānaṁ pariharāmī’ti, ayamassa dutiyo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If evil befalls the one who does it, well, I wish evil on no one. And since I do no evil deeds, how could suffering touch me?’ This is the third reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana karoto karīyati pāpaṁ, na kho panāhaṁ kassaci pāpaṁ cetemi.
Akarontaṁ kho pana maṁ pāpakammaṁ kuto dukkhaṁ phusissatī’ti, ayamassa tatiyo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If evil does not befall the one who does it, then I see myself as pure on both counts.’ This is the fourth reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana karoto na karīyati pāpaṁ, athāhaṁ ubhayeneva visuddhaṁ attānaṁ samanupassāmī’ti, ayamassa catuttho assāso adhigato hoti.
Kālāmas, when that noble disciple’s mind is in this way free of enmity, free of ill will, unstained and pure, they have found these four reassurances in this very life.”
Pali
Sa kho so, kālāmā, ariyasāvako evaṁ averacitto evaṁ abyāpajjhacitto evaṁ asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto evaṁ visuddhacitto.
Tassa diṭṭheva dhamme ime cattāro assāsā adhigatā hontī”ti.
“So it is, Blessed One! So it is, Sugata! Sir, when that noble disciple’s mind is in this way free of enmity, free of ill will, unstained and pure, they have found four reassurances in this very life. ‘If there is a world beyond, and if good and bad deeds bear fruit and result, then when my body breaks up after death I will be reborn in a happy destination, a world of heaven.’ This is the first reassurance they have found.
Pali
“Evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ, sugata.
Sa kho so, bhante, ariyasāvako evaṁ averacitto evaṁ abyāpajjhacitto evaṁ asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto evaṁ visuddhacitto.
Tassa diṭṭheva dhamme cattāro assāsā adhigatā honti.
‘Sace kho pana atthi paro loko, atthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, athāhaṁ kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapajjissāmī’ti, ayamassa paṭhamo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If there is no world beyond, and good and bad deeds bear no fruit or result, then right here in this life I keep myself free of enmity and ill will, untroubled and happy.’ This is the second reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana natthi paro loko, natthi sukatadukkaṭānaṁ kammānaṁ phalaṁ vipāko, athāhaṁ diṭṭheva dhamme averaṁ abyāpajjhaṁ anīghaṁ sukhiṁ attānaṁ pariharāmī’ti, ayamassa dutiyo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If evil befalls the one who does it, well, I wish evil on no one. And since I do no evil deeds, how could suffering touch me?’ This is the third reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana karoto karīyati pāpaṁ, na kho panāhaṁ kassaci pāpaṁ cetemi, akarontaṁ kho pana maṁ pāpakammaṁ kuto dukkhaṁ phusissatī’ti, ayamassa tatiyo assāso adhigato hoti.
‘If evil does not befall the one who does it, then I see myself as pure on both counts.’ This is the fourth reassurance they have found.
Pali
‘Sace kho pana karoto na karīyati pāpaṁ, athāhaṁ ubhayeneva visuddhaṁ attānaṁ samanupassāmī’ti, ayamassa catuttho assāso adhigato hoti.
Sir, when that noble disciple’s mind is in this way free of enmity, free of ill will, unstained and pure, they have found these four reassurances in this very life.
Pali
Sa kho so, bhante, ariyasāvako evaṁ averacitto evaṁ abyāpajjhacitto evaṁ asaṅkiliṭṭhacitto evaṁ visuddhacitto.
Tassa diṭṭheva dhamme ime cattāro assāsā adhigatā honti.
Excellent, sir! … (and so on) … We go for refuge to the Blessed One, to the Dhamma and to the Saṅgha of monks. Sir, may the Blessed One remember us as lay followers who have gone for refuge from this day on, for as long as we live.”
Pali
Abhikkantaṁ, bhante …pe…
ete mayaṁ, bhante, bhagavantaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāma dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca.
Upāsake no, bhante, bhagavā dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupete saraṇaṁ gate”ti.
Machine translation from: AN 3.65 With the Kālāmas of Kesamutta
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