Dhamma Principles › The Shorter Discourse at Assapura: A Recluse Is Not Made by Clothing
The Shorter Discourse at Assapura: A Recluse Is Not Made by Clothing
Practice

The Shorter Discourse at Assapura: A Recluse Is Not Made by Clothing

Samaṇasāmīcipaṭipadā

Wearing the outer robe, going naked or wearing matted hair does not make anyone a recluse. If dressing that way removed defilements, relatives would dress children that way from birth. One who practises in the way proper to a recluse abandons twelve defilements, and the mind becomes cool like a clear pond where anyone can quench their thirst.

7 points

In the Cūḷa-Assapura Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya, the Buddha is staying at Assapura, a town of the Aṅgas. He tells the monks that people know them as recluses and they acknowledge being recluses, so they should train to practise the way proper to recluses. Then their designation and claim will be true, the requisites others give them will bear great fruit, and their going forth will not be barren.

He explains that a monk who has not abandoned covetousness, ill will, anger, resentment, contempt, domineering, envy, stinginess, fraud, deceit, evil wishes and wrong view is not practising the way proper to a recluse. He calls these the stains, faults and dregs of a recluse, and says that merely wearing the outer robe, going naked, wearing matted hair or keeping other outward observances does not make anyone a recluse.

One who abandons these defilements sees himself purified, and gladness, rapture, tranquillity, happiness and concentration arise. He pervades every direction with loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity. Whatever clan such a person comes from, the Buddha calls him one who practises the way proper to a recluse, and one who realises liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom he calls a recluse through the destruction of the taints.

This discourse pairs with the Mahā-Assapura Sutta, which sets out step by step the qualities that make a recluse, beginning with shame and fear of wrongdoing. The Cūḷa-Assapura Sutta focuses on the defilements to be abandoned and on the difference between outward form and inner change.

  1. 1

    Making your title true Samaññā ca saccā bhavissati paṭiññā ca bhūtā

    When people call us recluses and we accept that we are, we must practise in a way that fits the name, so that the designation and the claim are true, the requisites others give bear great fruit, and our going forth is fruitful rather than barren.

    Applying it in daily life

    Every role we accept, such as parent, teacher, doctor or Buddhist, carries the same question: have I made that title true yet?

  2. 2

    Twelve stains of a recluse Samaṇamalā samaṇadosā samaṇakasaṭā

    Covetousness, ill will, anger, resentment, contempt, domineering, envy, stinginess, fraud, deceit, evil wishes and wrong view: the Buddha calls these the stains, faults and dregs of a recluse, which lead to rebirth in states of deprivation. One who has not abandoned them is not yet practising the way proper to a recluse.

    Applying it in daily life

    Pick the one that arises in you most often, such as envy when a friend succeeds, and watch it with particular attention for a whole week.

  3. 3

    A double-edged weapon, wrapped up Āvudhajātaṃ ubhatodhāraṃ pītanisitaṃ

    The Buddha compares the going forth of someone who has not abandoned these defilements to a weapon called mataja, double-edged, tempered and sharpened, then wrapped and put away. The image shows that the outward form of a renunciant wrapped around it does not remove the sharp thing inside.

    Applying it in daily life

    Outward politeness that hides resentment can still cut someone on a careless day. Deal with the cause in the mind, not just with wrapping it nicely.

  4. 4

    Clothing and outward observances don't make a recluse Na saṅghāṭikassa saṅghāṭidhāraṇamattena sāmaññaṃ vadāmi

    The Buddha says he does not call anyone a recluse merely for wearing the outer robe, going naked, being covered in dust, bathing ritually, living at the foot of a tree, living in the open, eating at fixed intervals, reciting mantras or wearing matted hair. If wearing the outer robe removed these defilements, friends and relatives would have a child wear it from birth. But he sees people who wear the outer robe and still have these defilements, so he does not say this.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before judging anyone, yourself included, by clothing, position or visible strictness, look at whether anger, stinginess and envy are actually decreasing.

  5. 5

    Seeing oneself purified, the mind brightens and settles Pāmojjaṃ jāyati

    One who has abandoned these defilements sees himself purified of these unwholesome states. Gladness arises; when glad, rapture arises; when the mind is rapturous, the body becomes tranquil; when tranquil, one feels happiness; and when happy, the mind becomes concentrated.

    Applying it in daily life

    Calm doesn't come only from forcing the mind to be still. Notice how much easier meditation is on days when you have done nothing to feel guilty about.

  6. 6

    Pervading every direction with the divine abidings Mettāsahagatena cetasā

    With a concentrated mind, one pervades the first direction with a mind full of loving-kindness, likewise the second, third and fourth, above, below and across, the whole world, with a mind abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will. One does the same with compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before sleeping, bring to mind the people at home, the people at work, strangers and people you dislike, and wish each group in turn to be free from enmity and danger.

  7. 7

    A clear pond where anyone can quench their thirst Pokkharaṇī acchodakā sātodakā sītodakā

    Like a lotus pond with clear, sweet, cool, clean water and good banks, where anyone overcome by heat and thirst, from whichever direction they come, can quench their thirst: someone who goes forth from a noble, brahmin, merchant or labourer clan, or any clan at all, and develops loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity gains inner peace in the same way. One who realises the destruction of the taints the Buddha calls a recluse through the destruction of the taints.

    Applying it in daily life

    The Dhamma doesn't choose by background. Whatever family you come from and however much schooling you have had, coolness of heart is within reach. Don't use your background as an excuse to say you can't practise.

Try it in daily life

Every era has its uniforms of goodness. In the Buddha's time it was the outer robe, going naked or matted hair. Today it might be white clothes, photos from a meditation retreat, or Dhamma vocabulary in conversation. None of these is wrong, but none of them does the work of abandoning anger or envy for us.

The discourse doesn't reject the outer robe or observances; Buddhist monks themselves wear the outer robe. The point is that outward signs cannot stand in for abandoning defilements. What decides the matter is what is inside.

The list of twelve defilements makes a good self-check. Each evening, go through it and see which arose today, without harsh self-blame. Simply seeing them clearly is the first step towards letting them go.

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