---
SAMYUTTA NIKĀYA
Collection of Groups of Related Discourses
SĀGĀTHĀ VAGGA SAMYUTTA
Division of Discourses with Verses
---
Dēvata Samyutta
Group of Related Discourses to Various Unnamed Devas
Nala Vagga
Oghatarana Sutta
Discourse on Crossing the Flood
---
Thus have I heard:
Once the Lord Buddha was residing at the Jētavana Monastery of Anāthapindika in Sāvatthi.
Then, soon after the middle watch of the night,
a certain deva of exceeding beauty approached the Lord Buddha,
illuminating the entire Jētavana Monastery.
After paying homage to the Lord Buddha, he stood at a suitable place.
Thus standing, he addressed the Lord Buddha:
> “Sir, how did you cross the flood?”
The Lord Buddha replied:
> “Friend, by not remaining still, and by not putting forth strenuous effort, I crossed the flood.”
The deva asked again:
> “But Sir, in what way did you cross the flood, neither remaining still, nor putting forth strenuous effort?”
The Lord Buddha said:
> “Friend, if I remain still, I sink;
if I put forth strenuous effort, I drift.
Thus, by neither remaining still nor putting forth strenuous effort, I crossed the flood.”
Then the deva said:
> “In the sentient world, only after a long time do I see one in whom āsavas are extinct —
one in whom defilements have been extinguished,
and who, neither remaining still nor putting forth strenuous effort,
has crossed the ocean of Craving.”
Thus said the deva.
The Teacher approved.
Having noted the approval of the Teacher,
the deva paid homage to the Lord Buddha, respectfully withdrew, and vanished from there.
---
End of the Oghatarana Sutta, the first in this vagga.
---
EXPLANATION
The flood, known as ogha, is a powerful metaphor.
It represents the waters of Craving, Wrong View, and Ignorance that keep us submerged in the cycle of existence — samsara.
There are four oghas:
First — Kāma ogha: the strong attachment to the five sensual pleasures — sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch.
Second — Bhava ogha: the craving for rebirth in the Fine Material Sphere, the Non-material Sphere, or for attaining the jhānas that lead to those realms.
Third — Ditthi ogha: the sixty-two wrong views, as described in the Brahmajāla Sutta of the Degha Nikāya.
And fourth — Avijjā ogha: ignorance of the Truth.
Here’s the teaching:
If I remain still, I sink.
If you stay amidst sensual pleasures, making no effort to break free,
you sink to the lower realms — the four miserable states.
Or, in another sense,
if you make no effort to overcome demeritorious actions,
you sink deeper into suffering.
But, if I put forth strenuous effort, I drift.
Striving for purification through self-mortification sends you adrift in samsāra.
Or, in another sense, even doing meritorious deeds while craving higher realms
only brings mundane merit, keeping you drifting in the cycle of existence.
The one who transcends these floods is the brāhmaṇa —
a Buddha or an arahant, in whom the āsavas, the defilements, are extinct.
In this discourse, a certain brahma, a divine being who knew Kassapa Buddha, is mentioned.
Many aeons passed after Kassapa Buddha before Gotama Buddha appeared in this world.
0 Comments