The theme is to pay tribute to the 80 Maha Arahants and the 13 Maha Theri Arahants who had by their efforts won emancipation of a rare distinction. They belonged to the innermost circles in the life of the Gautama Buddha. The Buddha and the Maha Arahants were together most of the time.
No 78. Acela Kassapa Maha Thera
Acela or acelaka is a generic term for those ascetics who, mainly due to the notion of total renunciation, choose not to own anything at all, not even to have any clothing. Most of such naked ascetics are also wanderers (paribbājaka). The term acela is often applied to the Ᾱjīvikas, who were as such itinerant naked ascetics.
If we follow the conversion stories of naked ascetics (acela) named Kassapa, there are a total of 4 of them.
Converted by Venue Reference
Acela Kassapa 1 the Buddha Ujuññā Kassapa Sīha,nāda Sutta14 D 8
Acela Kassapa 2 Bakkula Veḷuvana Bakkula Sutta M 12415
Acela Kassapa 3 the Buddha Veḷuvana, Rajagaha (Pabbajjā) Acela Kassapa Sutta S12.17
Acela Kassapa 4 Citta gaha,pati Macchika,saṇḍa (Arahatta) Acela Kassapa Sutta S 41.9
The Acela Kassapa covered here in the Pen Portraits will be the one converted by Gautama Buddha at Veluvana, Rajagaha (Acela Kassapa Sutta S 12.17 – the discourse on true nature of action and the middle way)
Acela Kassapa met the Buddha going out from Veluvanarama in the Bamboo Forest in Rajagaha for alms. He wished the Buddha to answer a question. The Buddha pointed out that it was not the occasion as He had entered among houses for alms. When he pleaded for the third time that he had not much to ask, the Blessed One consented.
He asked whether “what one or another did was conducive to happiness”. The Buddha’s answer was in the negative. Then he put a supplementary question whether “what one or another omitted to do was conducive to suffering”. The Buddha said there was suffering.
The Blessed One knew that there were two schools of thought. One section maintained that there was no rebirth. The other section held that the world was eternal.
Buddha’s Eightfold Path was the Middle Way lying midway between these opposing schools of thought. The Blessed One then unfolded the law of Dependent Origination
(Paticca Samuppada) which is the law of causality expounded in the formula of twelve Nidanas:-
Avijjā,paccayā sankhārā – With ignorance as condition, there are volitional formations;
sankhāra,paccayā viññāṇaṁ – with volitional formations as condition, there is consciousness;
viññāṇa,paccayā nāma,rūpaṁ – with consciousness as condition, there is name-and-form;
nāma,rūpa,paccayā saḷ‘āyatanaṁ – with name-and-form as condition, there is the sixfold sense-base;
saḷ‘āyatana,paccayā phasso – with the sixfold sense-base as condition, there is contact;
phassa,paccayā vedanā – with contact as condition, there is feeling;
vedanā,paccayā taṇhā – with feeling as condition, there is craving;
taṇhā,paccayā upādānaṁ – with craving as condition, there is clinging;
upādāna,paccayā bhavo – with clinging as condition, there is existence;
bhava,paccayā jāti – with existence as condition, there is birth;
jāti,paccayā jarā,maraṇaṁ – with birth as condition there arise decay-and-death,
soka,parideva,dukkha,– sorrow, lamentation, physical pain,
domanass’upāyasā sambhavanti – mental pain and despair.
evam-etassa kevalassa dukkha, —Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.
khandhassa samudayo hoti.
Avijjāya tveva asesa,virāga,– But with the utter fading away and ending of ignorance,
nirodhā sankhāra,nirodho – volitional formations end;
sankhāra,nirodhā viññāṇa,nirodho – with the ending of volitional formations, consciousness ends;
viññāṇa,nirodhā nāma,rūpa,nirodho – with the ending of consciousness, name-and-form ends;
nāma,rūpa,nirodhā saḷāyatana,nirodho – with the ending of name-and-form, the six sense-bases end;
saḷ‘āyatana,nirodhā phassa,nirodho – with the ending of the six sense-bases, contact ends;
phassa,nirodhā vedanā,nirodho – with the ending of contact, feeling ends;
vedanā,nirodhā taṇhā,nirodho – with the ending of feeling, craving ends;
taṇhā,nirodhā upādāna,nirodho – with the ending of craving, clinging ends;
upādāna,nirodhā bhava,nirodho – with the ending of clinging, existence ends;
bhava,nirodhā jāti,nirodho – with the ending of existence, birth ends;
jāti,nirodhā jarā,maraṇaṁ – with the ending of birth, there end decay-and-death,
soka parideva,dukkha,- sorrow, lamentation, physical pain,
domanass’upāyasā nirujjhanti – mental pain and despair.
evam-etassa kevalassa dukkha – Such is the ending of this whole mass of suffering.
khandhassa nirodho hoti.
This teaching to Acela Kassapa then became known as the (Pabbajjā) Acelaka Kassapa Sutta, The Discourse on Kassapa the Naked Ascetic (on his renunciation)
When this was said, Acela Kassapa said this to the Blessed One: “Excellent, Bhante! Excellent, Bhante! I go to the Blessed One for refuge, to the Dharma, and to the community of monks. May I, Bhante, receive the going-forth before the Blessed One; may I receive admission into the Sangha.”
Since Acela Kassapa was a follower of another sect of teaching and wished for the ordination in the Buddha’s Dhamma and Vinaya, he had to undergo a probation of 4 months as a Novice monk. At the end of the 4 months, the senior monks who were satisfied would ordain him into the state of a monk [higher ordination]. Acela Kassapa agreed to the probation terms and even said he was willing to undergo a probation of 4 years due to his immense faith and determination.
Because the Buddha could read the purity of Acela Kassapa’s mind and recognize his spiritual readiness, He waived the probationary period. Instead of waiting months or years, Acela Kassapa was granted immediate higher ordination (Acceptance/Upasampadā) into the monkhood by the Blessed One. He practiced diligently and became an Arahant (fully enlightened) shortly thereafter. “Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, done what had to be done, there is no more of this state of being.”
