When the Walls of Ego Crumble: The Cula-Saccaka Sutta and the Art of Letting Go
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa (Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, the Fully Enlightened One)
“Atta have jitam seyyo” Self-conquest is indeed far better than the conquest of others.
Blessings to you, seekers of life’s truth.
In the turbulent currents of our modern world, we are often conditioned to believe in “competence” and “confidence.” We are taught to build a solid identity, to take a stand, and to believe the mantra: “I am the master of my fate; I design my own life.”
Confidence is a virtue. However, when confidence overflows into the “delusion of grandeur”—the belief that we are greater than nature itself—a tidal wave of suffering inevitably awaits us.
Today, I invite you to travel back over 2,500 years to the land of the Buddha. We will meet a man who was the embodiment of legendary confidence. He was the representative of supreme intellect and sky-high arrogance. His name was Saccaka Niganthaputta.
1. The Prologue: The Mountain of Ego
Imagine a handsome young man, a renowned scholar of the city of Vesali. His words were as sharp as razors; his intellect struck like lightning. Saccaka wasn’t just smart; he knew he was smart. His confidence was so overwhelming that he dared to proclaim to the masses:
“In this world, be it a monk, a Brahmin, or a supreme teacher, if they were to face me in a debate, there is no one who would not shake. They would tremble until sweat poured from their armpits… Even a lifeless stone pillar, if it could understand human speech, would shudder upon hearing my arguments!”
Behold, my friends, this is the voice of one who carries the heavy burden of “Atta” (Self/Ego).
One day, Saccaka heard rumors that the Monk Gotama—the Buddha—was teaching “Anatta” (Non-self). He heard that the Buddha taught that the body and mind are not “Self,” nor do they belong to us. Upon hearing this, the fire of arrogance flared in Saccaka’s heart. He laughed derisively and announced, “The Monk Gotama holds a distorted view. It seems I must go and ‘fix’ his understanding.”
He then gathered five hundred Licchavi princes to witness the spectacle, hoping to humiliate the Buddha in a public debate and have the world inscribe the name of Saccaka as the conqueror.
2. The Battlefield: The Trap of “Mine”
When Saccaka’s procession arrived at the Great Wood (Mahavana), the atmosphere was thick with tension. On one side stood a young tiger thirsty for victory; on the other sat a Lion, calm and still as a mountain.
Saccaka opened his attack with supreme confidence: “Master Gotama, I assert that Form, Feeling, Perception, Mental Formations, and Consciousness… all of these are my Self. They are absolutely mine.”
The Buddha did not respond with emotion. He was not offended by the aggressive tone. Instead, He laid a brilliant intellectual trap using a simple question known as the “Metaphor of the King.”
The Buddha asked: “Aggivessana (Saccaka’s clan name), a King who rules a country… does he have the sovereign power to execute those who do wrong, or to banish anyone from his kingdom?”
Saccaka replied instantly, “Certainly. A King must possess such absolute power.”
This was the moment Saccaka stepped into the trap of truth. The Buddha immediately countered:
“Since you assert that this body is ‘Your Self,’ that it is your kingdom… do you then have the power to command this body: ‘Let my body remain beautiful like this; do not let it age’? Or ‘Let it be strong like this; do not let it get sick’?”
In that second… silence fell over the Great Wood.
The question pierced through the armor of ego straight to the heart. The truth was undeniable. We can command our arms to move, but we cannot command our cells not to degenerate. We can order our mouths to smile, but we cannot order our minds not to feel grief when we face loss. If this body were truly “Ours,” like a King owns his land, we would have absolute command over it. But we do not.
3. The Conclusion: The Sweat of Awakening
The image that appeared before the crowd that day has been recorded in the scriptures for millennia. Saccaka, who boasted that he would make his opponents sweat, now sat head bowed, silent, and dejected.
Most significantly, “Sweat poured from his body until his outer robe was soaked.”
Those drops of sweat were not caused by the heat of the sun. They were the physical manifestation of the heat within—the burning sensation of a lifetime’s illusion crumbling before the face of Truth.
The Buddha compared Saccaka to a man seeking heartwood in a forest. He sees a large, sturdy-looking banana tree and cuts it down. But as he peels away the layers of the trunk… layer by layer… he finds only emptiness. There is no solid core inside. Similarly, if we dissect our lives into elements and aggregates, we find no permanent “Self” to hold onto.
4. Application: To Put Down is to Rise Up
Dear seekers… The story of Saccaka is not merely an ancient fable. It is a large mirror reflecting our modern lives.
Ask yourself… How often do we suffer to the point of breaking because we try to play the role of Saccaka? We scream at the world, “This is mine! That is my person! This is my life!”
We try to use our “authority” to command everything. We order our partners to be this way… our subordinates to be that way… the economy to be good… our bodies to remain young.
But the tighter we try to “grasp” these things, the more pain we feel. It is like holding a burning coal in your hand and screaming, “Why is it so hot?” The tighter you squeeze, the more your hand burns.
Please pause and reflect: Suffering does not come from the fact that things change. The world spins according to its nature. Sun, rain, aging, separation—these are “Nature.” Suffering arises because we “resist” Nature. It arises because we use our “Ego,” our sense of “Me and Mine,” to stand in the way of the world’s rotation.
Today, I ask for your suffering as alms. I ask you to lay down the fictional role of “Owner of the World.” Do not carry the world on your shoulders alone; it is too heavy for the shoulders of a small human being.
When you face an unsolvable problem, when people are not as you wish, or when you see wrinkles in the mirror, take a deep breath and tell yourself with an awakened heart:
“This thing… is just as it is. It is not under my command. It is not me. It is not mine.”
This acceptance is not the defeat of a loser. It is the “Victory of the Wise.” It is the victory over delusion. It is pulling the arrow of attachment out of your heart.
Just like Saccaka, who eventually lowered his pride, bowed to the truth, and invited the Buddha for a meal. He changed from an “Arrogant Enemy” to a “Humble Friend.” His life became lighter, cooler, and he finally tasted the flavor of Dhamma.
Dear friends… May you train your mind to be an “Observer,” not a “Controller.” Watch the drama of life unfold with a mind that understands, a mind that is kind, and a mind that knows how to let go. When you do this… no matter how chaotic the external world becomes, your internal world will remain still, stable, and cool, like a mountain unshaken by the wind.
May the power of the Truth, well-expounded by the Blessed One, be a lamp guiding your life. May you step over the wall of Ego, access the lightness of Anatta, and find true happiness, prosperity, and liberation from all suffering.
💡 Footer Note: Why use “Clan Names”?
You may have noticed that in this dialogue, the Buddha addresses Saccaka as “Aggivessana” (his clan name) rather than Saccaka. Conversely, Brahmins and scholars often addressed the Buddha as “The Monk Gotama” (his clan name).
Why not use first names? In ancient Indian culture, addressing someone by their “Gotra” (Clan Name) was a mark of high social etiquette with significant psychological implications:
- Honoring Lineage: It acknowledges that the person comes from a respected, educated family line. It is a form of formal respect.
- Creating Intellectual Equality: In the context of a debate, using clan names levels the playing field. It reduces the focus on religious status (Prophet vs. Ascetic) and shifts the dynamic to “Scholar vs. Scholar,” allowing for an exchange of wisdom on equal ground.
- Polite Distance: It is similar to using surnames in Western culture (e.g., Mr. Anderson or Dr. Smith). It implies politeness and respect while maintaining an appropriate professional distance for intellectual discourse.
