So I have heard. Evaṁ me sutaṁ—At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Now at that time Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth was residing by Suppāraka on the ocean shore, where he was honored, respected, revered, venerated, and esteemed. And he received robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. Tena kho pana samayena bāhiyo dārucīriyo suppārake paṭivasati samuddatīre sakkato garukato mānito pūjito apacito lābhī cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānapaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānaṁ. Then as he was in private retreat this thought came to his mind, Atha kho bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi: “I am one of those in the world who are perfected or on the path to perfection.” “ye kho keci loke arahanto vā arahattamaggaṁ vā samāpannā, ahaṁ tesaṁ aññataro”ti.

Then a deity who was a former relative of Bāhiya, having sympathy and wanting what’s best for him, approached him and said: Atha kho bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa purāṇasālohitā devatā anukampikā atthakāmā bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāya yena bāhiyo dārucīriyo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ etadavoca: “Bāhiya, you’re not a perfected one, nor on the path to perfection. “neva kho tvaṁ, bāhiya, arahā, nāpi arahattamaggaṁ vā samāpanno. You don’t have the practice by which you might become a perfected one or one on the path to perfection.” Sāpi te paṭipadā natthi yāya tvaṁ arahā vā assa arahattamaggaṁ vā samāpanno”ti.

“So who then are those in the world who are perfected or on the path to perfection?” “Atha ke carahi sadevake loke arahanto vā arahattamaggaṁ vā samāpannā”ti? “In the northern lands there is a city named Sāvatthī. “Atthi, bāhiya, uttaresu janapadesu sāvatthī nāma nagaraṁ. There that Blessed One is now staying, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha. Tattha so bhagavā etarahi viharati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho. He is a perfected one and teaches the Dhamma for the sake of perfection.” So hi, bāhiya, bhagavā arahā ceva arahattāya ca dhammaṁ desetī”ti.

Impelled by that deity, Bāhiya left Suppāraka right away. Atha kho bāhiyo dārucīriyo tāya devatāya saṁvejito tāvadeva suppārakamhā pakkāmi. Sojourning no more than a single night in any place, he made his way to Anāthapiṇḍika’s Monastery in the Jeta Grove at Sāvatthī. Sabbattha ekarattiparivāsena yena sāvatthī jetavanaṁ anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāmo tenupasaṅkami. At that time several mendicants were walking mindfully in the open air. Tena kho pana samayena sambahulā bhikkhū abbhokāse caṅkamanti. Bāhiya approached them and said, Atha kho bāhiyo dārucīriyo yena te bhikkhū tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā te bhikkhū etadavoca: “Sirs, where is the Blessed One at present, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha? “kahaṁ nu kho, bhante, etarahi bhagavā viharati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho? For I want to see him.” Dassanakāmamhā mayaṁ taṁ bhagavantaṁ arahantaṁ sammāsambuddhan”ti. “He has entered an inhabited area for almsfood, Bāhiya.” “Antaragharaṁ paviṭṭho kho, bāhiya, bhagavā piṇḍāyā”ti.

Then Bāhiya rushed out of the Jeta Grove and entered Sāvatthī, where he saw the Buddha walking for alms. He was impressive and inspiring, with peaceful faculties and heart, attained to the highest self-control and serenity, like an elephant with tamed, guarded, and controlled faculties. Atha kho bāhiyo dārucīriyo taramānarūpo jetavanā nikkhamitvā sāvatthiṁ pavisitvā addasa bhagavantaṁ sāvatthiyaṁ piṇḍāya carantaṁ pāsādikaṁ pasādanīyaṁ santindriyaṁ santamānasaṁ uttamadamathasamathamanuppattaṁ dantaṁ guttaṁ yatindriyaṁ nāgaṁ. Bāhiya went up to the Buddha, bowed down with his head at the Buddha’s feet, and said, Disvāna yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato pāde sirasā nipatitvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “Sir, let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma! “desetu me, bhante, bhagavā dhammaṁ; desetu sugato dhammaṁ, That would be for my lasting welfare and happiness.” yaṁ mamassa dīgharattaṁ hitāya sukhāyā”ti. The Buddha said this: Evaṁ vutte, bhagavā bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ etadavoca: “It’s not the time, Bāhiya, so long as I have entered an inhabited area for almsfood.” “akālo kho tāva, bāhiya, antaragharaṁ paviṭṭhamhā piṇḍāyā”ti.

For a second time, Bāhiya said, Dutiyampi kho bāhiyo dārucīriyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “But you never know, sir, when life is at risk, either the Buddha’s or my own. “dujjānaṁ kho panetaṁ, bhante, bhagavato vā jīvitantarāyānaṁ, mayhaṁ vā jīvitantarāyānaṁ. Let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma! Desetu me, bhante, bhagavā dhammaṁ; That would be for my lasting welfare and happiness.” desetu sugato dhammaṁ, yaṁ mamassa dīgharattaṁ hitāya sukhāyā”ti. For a second time, the Buddha said, Dutiyampi kho bhagavā bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ etadavoca: “It’s not the time, Bāhiya, so long as I have entered an inhabited area for almsfood.” “akālo kho tāva, bāhiya, antaragharaṁ paviṭṭhamhā piṇḍāyā”ti.

For a third time, Bāhiya said, Tatiyampi kho bāhiyo dārucīriyo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “But you never know, sir, when life is at risk, either the Buddha’s or my own. “dujjānaṁ kho panetaṁ, bhante, bhagavato vā jīvitantarāyānaṁ, mayhaṁ vā jīvitantarāyānaṁ. Let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma! Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma! Desetu me, bhante, bhagavā dhammaṁ; That would be for my lasting welfare and happiness.” desetu sugato dhammaṁ, yaṁ mamassa dīgharattaṁ hitāya sukhāyā”ti.

“In that case, Bāhiya, you should train like this: “Tasmātiha te, bāhiya, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘In the seen will be merely the seen; in the heard will be merely the heard; in the thought will be merely the thought; in the known will be merely the known.’ ‘diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati, sute sutamattaṁ bhavissati, mute mutamattaṁ bhavissati, viññāte viññātamattaṁ bhavissatī’ti. That’s how you should train. Evañhi te, bāhiya, sikkhitabbaṁ. When you have trained in this way, Yato kho te, bāhiya, diṭṭhe diṭṭhamattaṁ bhavissati, sute sutamattaṁ bhavissati, mute mutamattaṁ bhavissati, viññāte viññātamattaṁ bhavissati, you won’t be ‘by that’. tato tvaṁ, bāhiya, na tena. When you’re not ‘by that’, Yato tvaṁ, bāhiya, na tena; you won’t be ‘in that’. tato tvaṁ, bāhiya, na tattha. When you’re not ‘in that’, Yato tvaṁ, bāhiya, na tattha, you won’t be in this life or the next or between the two. tato tvaṁ, bāhiya, nevidha na huraṁ na ubhayamantarena. Just this is the end of suffering.” Esevanto dukkhassā”ti.

Then, due to this brief Dhamma teaching of the Buddha, Bāhiya’s mind was right away freed from defilements by not grasping. Atha kho bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa bhagavato imāya saṅkhittāya dhammadesanāya tāvadeva anupādāya āsavehi cittaṁ vimucci.

And when the Buddha had given Bāhiya this brief advice he left. Atha kho bhagavā bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ iminā saṅkhittena ovādena ovaditvā pakkāmi. But soon after the Buddha had left, a cow with a baby calf charged at Bāhiya and took his life. Atha kho acirapakkantassa bhagavato bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ gāvī taruṇavacchā adhipatitvā jīvitā voropesi.

Then the Buddha wandered for alms in Sāvatthī. After the meal, on his return from almsround, he exited the city together with several mendicants and saw that Bāhiya had passed away. Atha kho bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ piṇḍāya caritvā pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto sambahulehi bhikkhūhi saddhiṁ nagaramhā nikkhamitvā addasa bāhiyaṁ dārucīriyaṁ kālaṅkataṁ; He said to the monks, disvāna bhikkhū āmantesi: “Mendicants, pick up Bāhiya’s corpse. Having lifted it onto a cot and carried it, cremate it and build a monument. “gaṇhatha, bhikkhave, bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa sarīrakaṁ; mañcakaṁ āropetvā nīharitvā jhāpetha; thūpañcassa karotha. Mendicants, one of your spiritual companions has passed away.” Sabrahmacārī vo, bhikkhave, kālaṅkato”ti.

“Yes, sir,” replied those mendicants. They did as the Buddha asked, then returned to the Buddha “Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paṭissutvā bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa sarīrakaṁ mañcakaṁ āropetvā nīharitvā jhāpetvā thūpañcassa katvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu. and said, Ekamantaṁ nisinnā kho te bhikkhū bhagavantaṁ etadavocuṁ: “Sir, Bāhiya’s corpse has been cremated and a monument built for him. “daḍḍhaṁ, bhante, bāhiyassa dārucīriyassa sarīraṁ, thūpo cassa kato. Where has he been reborn in his next life?” Tassa kā gati, ko abhisamparāyo”ti? “Mendicants, Bāhiya was astute. He practiced in line with the teaching, and did not trouble me about the teachings. “Paṇḍito, bhikkhave, bāhiyo dārucīriyo paccapādi dhammassānudhammaṁ; na ca maṁ dhammādhikaraṇaṁ vihesesi. Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth has become fully quenched.” Parinibbuto, bhikkhave, bāhiyo dārucīriyo”ti.

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment: Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:

“Where water and earth, “Yattha āpo ca pathavī, fire and air have no footing—tejo vāyo na gādhati;

there no star does shine, Na tattha sukkā jotanti, nor does the sun shed its light; ādicco nappakāsati; there the moon glows not, Na tattha candimā bhāti, yet no darkness is found. tamo tattha na vijjati.

And when a sage, a brahmin, finds understanding Yadā ca attanāvedi, through their own sagacity, muni monena brāhmaṇo; then, from forms and formless, Atha rūpā arūpā ca, from pleasure and pain they are released.” sukhadukkhā pamuccatī”ti.

Dasamaṁ.

This too is a heartfelt saying that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard. Ayampi udāno vutto bhagavatā iti me sutanti.

Bodhivaggo paṭhamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Tayo bodhī ca huṁhuṅko, brāhmaṇā kassapena ca; Aja saṅgāma jaṭilā, bāhiyenāti te dasāti.