Vesāli Sutta
1. Vesāli Sutta.– See the Vajjiputtaka Sutta.
2. Vesāli Sutta.– Ugga visits the Buddha at the Kūṭāgārasālā and asks what prevents some people from gaining freedom in this very life. The Buddha explains that the cause is grasping to agreeable sense objects. S.iv.109.
3. Vesāli Sutta.– The Buddha once addressed the monks on the great benefits of meditating on repulsiveness (asubha), and then retired into solitude in the Mahāvana for a fortnight. The monks, filled with the idea of repulsiveness (asubha), felt loathing for their bodies and many committed suicide.¹ The Buddha hearing of this, summoned the monks to the Kūṭāgārasālā and taught them the great merits of concentration on breathing. S.v.320 f.
¹ It is often asked, “If the Buddha was Omniscient, why did he give the meditation object of repulsiveness to these monks instead of mindfulness of respiration, then retire into solitude for a fortnight leaving strict instructions that he was not to be disturbed?” The answer is that the Buddha knew that the past kamma of these monks was about to bear fruit whatever he did, and they would therefore benefit the most from practising meditation on the repulsiveness of the body to overcome attachment to the body prior to their impending and inevitable death (ed.)