The Connected Discourses of the Buddha Page 11
The hunger and thirst that the miser fears
Afflict that fool in this world and the next.
87 “Therefore, having removed stinginess,
The conqueror of the stain should give a gift.63
Deeds of merit are the support for living beings
[When they arise] in the other world.”
Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:88 “They do not die among the dead
Who, like fellow travellers on the road,
Provide though they have but a little:
This is an ancient principle.64 <41>
89 “Some provide from the little they have,
Others who are affluent don’t like to give.
An offering given from what little one has
Is worth a thousand times its value.” [19]
Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:90 “The bad do not emulate the good,
Who give what is hard to give
And do deeds hard to do:
The Dhamma of the good is hard to follow.
91 “Therefore their destination after death
Differs for the good and the bad:
The bad go to hell,
The good are bound for heaven.”
Then another devatā said to the Blessed One: “Which one, Blessed One, has spoken well?”
“You have all spoken well in a way. But listen to me too: <42>92 “If one practises the Dhamma
Though getting on by gleaning,
If while one supports one’s wife
One gives from the little one has,
Then a hundred thousand offerings
Of those who sacrifice a thousand
Are not worth even a fraction
[Of the gift] of one like him.”65
Then another devatā addressed the Blessed One in verse: 93 “Why does their sacrifice, vast and grand,
Not share the value of the righteous one’s gift?
Why are a hundred thousand offerings
Of those who sacrifice a thousand
Not worth even a fraction
[Of the gift] of one like him?”
Then the Blessed One answered that devatā in verse:94 “Since they give while settled in unrighteousness,
Having slain and killed, causing sorrow,
Their offering—tearful, fraught with violence—
Shares not the value of the righteous one’s gift. <43>
That is why a hundred thousand offerings
Of those who sacrifice a thousand
Are not worth even a fraction
[Of the gift] of one like him.” [20]
33 (3) Good
At Sāvatthī. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of devatās belonging to the Satullapa host, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side.
Then one devatā, standing to one side, uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
95 “Through stinginess and negligence
A gift is not given.
One who knows, desiring merit,
Should surely give a gift.”
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
And further:
Even when there’s little, giving is good. <44>
96 “Some provide from what little they have,
Others who are affluent don’t like to give.
An offering given from what little one has
Is worth a thousand times its value.”
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
Even when there’s little, giving is good.
And further:
When done with faith too, giving is good.
97 “Giving and warfare are similar, they say:
A few good ones conquer many.
If one with faith gives even a little,
He thereby becomes happy in the other world.”66
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
Even when there’s little, giving is good. [21]
When done with faith too, giving is good.
And further:
The gift of a righteous gain is also good. <45>
98 “When he gives a gift of a righteous gain
Obtained by exertion and energy,
Having passed over Yama’s Vetaraṇī River,
That mortal arrives at celestial states.”67
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
Even when there’s little, giving is good.
When done with faith too, giving is good;
The gift of a righteous gain is also good.
And further:
Giving discriminately too is good.68
99 “Giving discriminately is praised by the Fortunate One—
To those worthy of offerings
Here in the world of the living.
What is given to them bears great fruit
Like seeds sown in a fertile field.”
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:“Good is giving, dear sir!
Even when there’s little, giving is good.
When done with faith too, giving is good;
The gift of a righteous gain is also good.
Giving with discretion too is good. <46>
And further:
Restraint towards living beings is also good.
100 “One who fares harming no living beings
Does no evil from fear of others’ censure.
In that they praise the timid, not the brave,
For out of fear the good do no evil.”
Then another devatā said to the Blessed One: [22] “Which one, Blessed One, has spoken well?”
“You have all spoken well in a way. But listen to me too:101 “Surely giving is praised in many ways,
But the path of Dhamma surpasses giving.
For in the past and even long ago,
The good and wise ones attained Nibbāna.”69
34 (4) There Are No <47>
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of devatās belonging to the Satullapa host, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side.
Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:102 “There are among humans
No permanent sensual pleasures;
Here there are just desirable things.
When a person is bound to these,
Heedless in their midst,
From Death’s realm he does not reach
The state of no-more-coming-back.”70
[Another devatā:] “Misery is born of desire; suffering is born of desire. By the removal of desire, misery is removed; by the removal of misery, suffering is removed.”71
[The Blessed One:]103 “They are not sense pleasures, the world’s pretty things:
Man’s sensuality is the intention of lust. <48>
The pretty things remain as they are in the world
But the wise remove the desire for them.72 [23]
104 “One should discard anger, cast off conceit,
Transcend all the fetters.
No sufferings torment one who has nothing,
Who does not adhere to name-and-form.73
105 “He abandoned reckoning, did not assume conceit;
He cut off craving here for name-and-form.
Though devas and humans search for him
Here and beyond, in the heavens and all abodes,
They do not find the one whose knots are cut,
The one untroubled, free of longing.”
106 “If devas and humans have not seen
The one thus liberated here or beyond,”
[said the Venerable Mogharāja],
“Are they to be praised who venerate him,
The best of men, faring for the good of humans?”74 <49>
107 “Those bhikkhus too become worthy of praise,
[Mogharāja,” said the Blessed One,]
“Who venerate him, the one thus liberated.
But having known Dhamma and abandoned doubt,
Those bhikkhus become even surmounters of ties.”75
35 (5) Faultfinders
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of “faultfinding” devatās, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One and stood in the air.76 [24]
Then one devatā, standing in the air, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:108 “If one shows oneself in one way
While actually being otherwise,
What one enjoys is obtained by theft
Like the gains of a cheating gambler.”77
[Another devatā:] <50>109 “One should speak as one would act;
Don’t speak as one wouldn’t act.
The wise clearly discern the person
Who does not practise what he preaches.”
[The Blessed One:]110 “Not by mere speech nor solely by listening
Can one advance on this firm path of practice
By which the wise ones, the meditators,
Are released from the bondage of Māra.
111 “Truly, the wise do not pretend,
For they have understood the way of the world.
By final knowledge the wise are quenched:
They have crossed over attachment to the world.”
Then those devatās, having alighted on the earth, prostrated themselves with their heads at the Blessed One’s feet and said to the Blessed One: <51>“A transgression overcame us, venerable sir, being so foolish, so stupid, so unskilful that we imagined we could assail the Blessed One. Let the Blessed One pardon us for our transgression seen as such for the sake of restraint in the future.”
Then the Blessed One displayed a smile.78 Those devatās, finding fault to an even greater extent, then rose up into the air. One devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:112 “If one does not grant pardon
To those who confess transgression,
Angry at heart, intent on hate,
One strongly harbours enmity.”
[The Blessed One:] <52>113 “If there was no transgression,
If here there was no going astray,
And if enmities were appeased,
Then one would be faultless here.”79
[A devatā:]114 “For whom are there no transgressions?
For whom is there no going astray?
Who has not fallen into confusion?
And who is the wise one, ever mindful?” [25]
[The Blessed One:]115 “The Tathāgata, the Enlightened One,
Full of compassion for all beings:
For him there are no transgressions,
For him there is no going astray;
He has not fallen into confusion,
And he is the wise one, ever mindful.
116 “If one does not grant pardon
To those who confess transgression, <53>
Angry at heart, intent on hate,
One strongly harbours enmity.
In that enmity I do not delight,
Thus I pardon your transgression.”
36 (6) Faith
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of devatās belonging to the Satullapa host, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side.
Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:117 “Faith is a person’s partner;
If lack of faith does not persist,
Fame and renown thereby come to him, <54>
And he goes to heaven on leaving the body.”
Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:80 118 “One should discard anger, cast off conceit,
Transcend all the fetters.
No ties torment one who has nothing,
Who does not adhere to name-and-form.”81
[Another devatā:]119 “Foolish people devoid of wisdom
Devote themselves to negligence.
But the wise man guards diligence
As his foremost treasure.
120 “Do not yield to negligence,
Don’t be intimate with sensual delight.
For the diligent ones, meditating,
Attain supreme happiness.” [26]
37 (7) Concourse <55>
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Great Wood together with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus all of whom were arahants.82 And the devatās from ten world systems had for the most part assembled in order to see the Blessed One and the Bhikkhu Saṅgha. Then the thought occurred to four devatās of the host from the Pure Abodes:83 “This Blessed One is dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Great Wood together with a great Saṅgha of bhikkhus, with five hundred bhikkhus all of whom are arahants. And the devatās from ten world systems have for the most part assembled in order to see the Blessed One and the Bhikkhu Saṅgha. Let us also approach the Blessed One and, in his presence, each speak our own verse.”
Then, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, those devatās disappeared from among the devas of the Pure Abodes <56> and reappeared before the Blessed One. Then those devatās paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, one devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:121 “A great concourse takes place in the woods,
The deva hosts have assembled.
We have come to this Dhamma concourse
To see the invincible Saṅgha.”
Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:122 “The bhikkhus there are concentrated;
They have straightened their own minds.
Like a charioteer who holds the reins,
The wise ones guard their faculties.” [27]
Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:123 “Having cut through barrenness, cut the cross-bar,
Having uprooted Indra’s pillar, unstirred,
They wander about pure and stainless,
Young nāgas well tamed by the One with Vision.”84 <57>
Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:124 “Those who have gone to the Buddha for refuge
Will not go to the plane of misery.
On discarding the human body,
They will fill the hosts of devas.”85
38 (8) The Stone Splinter
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rājagaha in the Maddakucchi Deer Park. Now on that occasion the Blessed One’s foot had been cut by a stone splinter.86 Severe pains assailed the Blessed One—bodily feelings that were painful, racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing, disagreeable. But the Blessed One endured them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed. Then the Blessed One had his outer robe folded in four, and he lay down on his right side in the lion posture with one leg overlapping the other, mindful and clearly comprehending. <58>
Then, when the night had advanced, seve
n hundred devatās belonging to the Satullapa host, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Maddakucchi Deer Park, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side.
Then one devatā, standing to one side, uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: [28] “The ascetic Gotama is indeed a nāga, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful, racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing, disagreeable, through his nāga-like manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.” 87
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “The ascetic Gotama is indeed a lion, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful, racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing, disagreeable, through his leonine manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.”
Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “The ascetic Gotama is indeed a thoroughbred, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful ... disagreeable, through his thoroughbred manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.”