The Buddha confirms Venerable Mahāmoggallāna's clairvoyant vision of a man sunk in a sewer, eating dung with both hands suffering in a ghostly incarnation, formerly a nasty brahmin in Rājagaha, illustrating the inescapable results of unwholesome kamma.
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ purisaṁ gūthakūpe nimuggaṁ ubhohi hatthehi gūthaṁ khādantaṁ …pe…
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe duṭṭhabrāhmaṇo ahosi. So kassapassa sammāsambuddhassa pāvacane bhikkhusaṅghaṁ bhattena nimantetvā doṇiyo gūthassa pūrāpetvā etadavoca— aho bhonto yāvadatthaṁ bhuñjantu ceva harantu cā’ti …pe….
Dutiyaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Idhāhaṁ, āvuso, gijjhakūṭā pabbatā orohanto addasaṁ purisaṁ gūthakūpe nimuggaṁ ubhohi hatthehi gūthaṁ khādantaṁ …pe…
“Just now, reverend, as I was descending from Vulture’s Peak Mountain I saw a man sunk in a sewer, eating dung with both hands. …” …
eso, bhikkhave, satto imasmiṁyeva rājagahe duṭṭhabrāhmaṇo ahosi.
“That being used to be a nasty brahmin right here in Rājagaha.
So kassapassa sammāsambuddhassa pāvacane bhikkhusaṅghaṁ bhattena nimantetvā doṇiyo gūthassa pūrāpetvā etadavoca—
In the time of the Buddha Kassapa’s dispensation he invited the Saṅgha of mendicants for a meal. He filled a trough with dung and said:
aho bhonto yāvadatthaṁ bhuñjantu ceva harantu cā’ti …pe….
‘My good men, eat as much as you like, and take what’s left.’ …”
Dutiyaṁ.
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Last updated on July 27, 2026