Mulinkyaputta once came to the Teacher and expressed his surprise to him that his preaching left a number of the most important questions unresolved: whether the world is eternal or limited by time, whether life will last after death, etc.
“I don’t like it,” said Mulinkyaputta. “That’s why I came to the Teacher so that he could resolve my doubts, if he could.” If a straightforward person does not know something, he should simply say: “I don’t know that.”
Buddha answered him in his own manner with slight irony:
“What did I tell you before, Mulinkyaputta?” Did I tell you: “Come to me and be my disciple, I want to teach you whether the world is eternal or not eternal, whether the life force is identical with the body or not?”
“You didn’t say that, sir.”
“Perhaps you told me: “I want to be your student. Reveal to me whether the world is eternal or not eternal”?
Mulinkyaputta was forced to deny this too.
“One man,” continued the Buddha, “was struck by a poisoned arrow. Then his friends and relatives called for a knowledgeable doctor. What if the patient in this case said: “I will not allow the wound to be treated until I find out who that person is, what his name is, what kind of tribe he is, what weapon the arrow was shot from”? What would be the end of it all?
Mulinkyaputta replied:
“The person would most likely die.”
Buddha said:
- Life is short, energy is limited. Don't be distracted by questions that don't lead to enlightenment. Therefore, Mulinkyaputta, what is revealed by me, then consider it to be open, and what is not discovered by me, then consider it to be undiscovered.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru