Introduction

In the Majjhima Nikaya, the 71st, 72nd, and 73rd suttas form a single narrative of the evolving relationship between the wanderer Vacchagotta and the Buddha. This sutta is the story of their first conversation, in which Vacchagotta, having only heard of the Buddha but not yet familiar with His teachings, asks several questions, ascertaining whether the Buddha's teachings differ from the paths of the Jains, Brahmin householders, and nihilists (Ajivakas).

One early morning, before going on alms round, the Buddha visited the hermitage of Vacchagotta, a hermit living nearby. Vacchagotta, who had heard of the Blessed One before, wished to question the Buddha about the knowledge He had attained. Mahavira's assertion was widely known among ascetics: "Whether I walk, stand, wake, or sleep, knowledge and divine vision are constantly and unceasingly present within me." Therefore, Vacchagotta asked whether this definition was accurate for describing the state the Buddha had attained.

The Buddha's Answer

The Buddha responded that such a definition of the state He had attained was incorrect. The correct statement is that the Buddha possesses threefold true knowledge. To the extent He desires, the Buddha sees and knows His past lives. To the extent He desires, the Buddha sees and knows the paths of beings' rebirths according to their karma. The Buddha possesses direct knowledge of the destruction of the stains that defile the mind and the attainment of liberation through wisdom.

(Mahavira's attainment is the continuity of clarity of consciousness. This attainment testifies to a permanent abiding in the state of Brahma; see Brahmajala Sutta, DN 1, a recollection of birth in the world of Brahma. Mahavira is also believed to have had certainty regarding the paths of rebirth of beings, but did not answer questions about past births. Regarding liberation, Mahavira spoke of liberation through the depletion of evil accumulations, called "danda" - a stick, a punishment, and considered severe physical asceticism to be the method of achieving this liberation. Buddha, on the other hand, claimed that evil accumulations cannot be eliminated through anger towards the body, and taught disciples the path to the destruction of mental defilements through contemplation.)

The question of the bonds of possessiveness

Having received the Buddha's answer, the hermit Vaccha asked the following question: What is the highest possible attainment of those who are bound by the bonds of running household affairs, i.e., not hermits?

The Buddha answers this question: among those who have not cast off the bonds of householder life, there are none who attain the complete extinction of suffering, Nibbana, but there are many who attain the heavenly realms. (Casting off the bonds of household life implies renouncing the notions of "this is mine," "I own this").

The question of the fate of those who believe in the disappearance of consciousness with the death of the body

Followers of the doctrine that with the disappearance of the body, consciousness also disappears were called Ajivakas (jiva means living being). Ajivavada, the teaching of the Ajivakas, is the belief that the mind is a reflection of the activity of the bodily senses.

The Buddha replied that after death none of the Ajivakas attains the extinction of suffering, and the Buddha himself could recall only one who had attained the heavenly worlds, and that this Ajivaka based his behavior on the idea of ​​moral satisfaction arising from wholesome deeds and moral dissatisfaction arising from unwholesome deeds (i.e., his disregard for the state of consciousness was mitigated by the idea of ​​the presence of moral pleasure and pain).

Having heard the Buddha's answers, Vaccha felt confidence in the words of the Blessed One.