Dhamma Principles › The Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyī: Why Disciples Truly Honour Their Teacher
The Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyī: Why Disciples Truly Honour Their Teacher
Core teachings

The Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyī: Why Disciples Truly Honour Their Teacher

มหาสกุลุทายิสุตฺตํ

Sakuludāyī thinks disciples honour the Buddha for five qualities of frugality and contentment. The Buddha rejects this and gives the five real reasons: virtue, true knowledge and vision, wisdom, answering questions on the noble truths, and the ways of practice he has declared.

7 points

In the Mahāsakuludāyī Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya, the Buddha visits a wanderers' park near Rājagaha. The wanderer Sakuludāyī tells him that many famous teachers had spent the rains there. Pūraṇa Kassapa was contradicted by his own disciples in the middle of an assembly and got no respect, but when the ascetic Gotama taught, if someone coughed, a fellow monk nudged him with a knee to be quiet, and even those who had left the robes still praised the Teacher, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha and blamed only themselves.

The Buddha asks what qualities Udāyī sees that make his disciples honour him. Udāyī names five: he eats little, and is content with any robe, any almsfood and any lodging, and he lives in seclusion. The Buddha points out that some disciples are stricter than he is in every one of these; if honour depended on them, those disciples would not honour him.

He then gives five real reasons: higher virtue, true knowledge and vision, higher wisdom, answering questions on the noble truths for those overwhelmed by suffering, and the ways of practice he has declared, from the four foundations of mindfulness up to the destruction of the taints, which many disciples have practised to the consummation of direct knowledge.

  1. 1

    Respect seen in the assembly สกฺกโรนฺติ ครุํ กโรนฺติ มาเนนฺติ ปูเชนฺติ

    Sakuludāyī relates that some teacher's disciples interrupted him in the assembly, saying not to ask him because he didn't know. But when the ascetic Gotama taught, there was no sound of coughing or sneezing; people listened eagerly as if waiting for honey. And those who left the robes blamed only themselves as lacking merit, not the Teacher.

    Applying it in daily life

    Notice how people who have left a team or organisation speak about it. That often reflects genuine respect better than praise while they were still there.

  2. 2

    The five reasons Udāyī assumed อปฺปาหาโร

    Udāyī says disciples honour the Buddha because he eats little, is content with whatever robes, almsfood and lodging he gets, and lives in seclusion, and because he praises these qualities.

    Applying it in daily life

    Review why you admire the people you admire: for what is visible from outside, or for a deeper quality?

  3. 3

    Some disciples are stricter than he is สนฺตุฏฺโฐ อิตรีตเรน จีวเรน

    The Buddha says some disciples eat only a cupful or half a bael fruit's worth, while he sometimes eats a full bowl or more. Some wear rag robes from rubbish heaps, while he sometimes wears robes given by householders. Some never go under a roof for eight months; some forest dwellers join the Saṅgha only for the fortnightly Pātimokkha. If honour were for these things, those disciples would not honour him.

    Applying it in daily life

    Don't use outward strictness as the yardstick of a person's worth, whether judging others or yourself.

  4. 4

    First reason: higher virtue อธิสีเล สมฺภาเวนฺติ

    Disciples esteem the Buddha for higher virtue: the ascetic Gotama is virtuous, possessing the supreme aggregate of virtue. This is the first reason disciples honour him and live in dependence on him.

    Applying it in daily life

    Trustworthiness begins with consistent conduct, not with position or image.

  5. 5

    Second and third reasons: true knowledge and wisdom ชานํ เยวาห ชานามีติ

    Disciples esteem him because when he knows he says "I know", and when he sees he says "I see"; he teaches for direct knowledge, with reasons, and with wonders. They esteem his wisdom: he foresees the course of arguments yet to come and refutes others' objections soundly with reasons.

    Applying it in daily life

    Practise saying only what you really know, and dare to say "I don't know that yet." Your credibility will grow over time.

  6. 6

    Fourth reason: answering those in suffering about the noble truths ทุกฺโขติณฺณา ทุกฺขปเรตา

    Disciples overwhelmed and beset by suffering come and ask about suffering, its origin, its cessation and the way to its cessation. The Buddha answers so that their minds are satisfied.

    Applying it in daily life

    A good teacher or adviser is someone you can go to on hard days, who helps you see the cause and the way out, not just offers comfort.

  7. 7

    Fifth reason: the ways of practice he declared อภิญฺญาโวสานปารมิปฺปตฺตา

    The Buddha has declared ways of practice: the four foundations of mindfulness, four right strivings, four bases of power, five faculties, five powers, seven factors of awakening, the Noble Eightfold Path, eight liberations, eight bases of mastery, ten kasiṇas, four jhānas, insight knowledge, the mind-made body, the direct knowledges, up to the destruction of the taints. He says many disciples who practise them have reached the consummation of direct knowledge.

    Applying it in daily life

    Pick something from this list you can start now, such as mindfulness or right striving, and practise it steadily. No need to rush into things beyond your strength.

Try it in daily life

This discourse invites the question of why we respect anyone. Outward strictness is easy to see and impressive, but it is not the measure of a teacher's real worth. What deserves attention is virtue, genuine knowledge, and a teaching that truly leads out of suffering when applied.

The same holds at work. A good manager or mentor isn't measured by working the hardest or living most frugally, but by integrity, verifiable knowledge, and helping others grow.

The ways of practice in the fifth reason include many subtle, deep subjects, such as the liberations, the kasiṇas and the direct knowledges. You needn't understand them all at once, and they should not be practised in pursuit of powers.

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