Samaññaphala Sutta
2nd Sutta in the Digha Nikaya, Pāli Canon / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Samaññaphala Sutta ("The Fruit of Contemplative Life") is the second discourse (Pali, sutta; Skt., sutra) of the Digha Nikaya.
In terms of narrative, this discourse tells the story of King Ajātasattu, son and successor of King Bimbisara of Magadha, who posed the following question to many leading Indian spiritual teachers: What is the benefit of living a contemplative life? After being dissatisfied with the answers provided by these other teachers, the king posed this question to the Buddha whose answer motivated the king to become a lay follower of the Buddha.
In terms of Indian philosophy and spiritual doctrines, this discourse:
- provides the Buddha's own description of the lifestyle, mental, psychic and spiritual benefits ("fruit") of the Buddhist contemplative life;
- provides one of the most detailed accounts in the Sutta Pitaka of the Buddhist community's code of ethical behavior;
- describes from the Buddhist standpoint the essence of the teachings of several leading spiritual guides in the Buddha's time (see the table below for more details); and,
- through the narrative of King Ajātasattu's confessed transgression and his subsequent psychic unrest, paranoia and karmic impediments, the narrative illustrates Buddhist notions of merit and kamma in juxtaposition to those associated with other contemporaneous teachers (who, for instance, are depicted as advocating views of amorality, fatalism, materialism, eternalism and agnosticism).
Thanissaro Bhikkhu refers to this discourse as "one of the masterpieces of the Pali canon."[1]