Connected Discourses with Devatās

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devatā of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and said to him:

2“How, dear sir, did you cross the flood?”¹ Mārisa, “dear sir,” is the term which the devas generally use to address the Buddha, eminent bhikkhus (see, e.g., 40:10; IV 270,16), and members of their own community (11:3; I 218,34); kings also use it to address one another (3:12; I 80,4). Spk explains it as a term of affection meaning “one without suffering” (niddukkha), but it is probably a Middle Indic form of Skt madṛsa. The word “flood” (ogha) is used metaphorically, but here with technical overtones, to designate a doctrinal set of four floods (see 45:171), so called, according to Spk, “because they keep beings submerged within the round of existence and do not allow them to rise up to higher states and to Nibbāna.” The four (with definitions from Spk) are: (i) the flood of sensuality (kāmogha) = desire and lust for the five cords of sensual pleasure (agreeable forms, sounds, etc.—see 45:176); (ii) the flood of existence (bhavogha) = desire and lust for form-sphere existence and formless-sphere existence and attachment to jhāna; (iii) theflood of views (diṭṭhogha) = the sixty-two views (DN I 12-38); and (iv) the flood of ignorance (avijjogha) = lack of knowledge regarding the Four Noble Truths. Flood lack of knowledge regarding the Four Noble Truths. Flood imagery is also used at vv. 298-300, 511-13, and 848-49.

3“By not halting, friend, and by not straining I crossed the flood.”² Appatiṭṭhaṁ khvāhaṁ āvuso anāyūhaṁ ogham atariṁ. Spk: The Buddha’s reply is intended to be paradoxical, for one normally crosses a flood by halting in places that offer a foothold and by straining in places that must be crossed. Spk glosses appatiṭṭhaṁ only with appatiṭṭhahanto (an alternative form of the present participle), but Spk-pṭ elaborates: “Not halting: not coming to a standstill on account of the defilements and so forth; the meaning is ‘not sinking’ (appatiṭṭhahanto ti kilesādīnaṁ vasena asantiṭṭhanto, asaṁsīdanto ti attho).” The verb patitiṭṭhati usually means “to become established,” i.e., attached, principally on account of craving and other defilements: see below v. 46 and n. 35. Consciousness driven by craving is “established” (see 12:38-40, 12:64, 22:53-54), and when craving is removed it becomes “unestablished, unsupported.” The arahant expires “with consciousness unestablished” (appatiṭṭhitena viññāṇena … parinibbuto; see 4:23 (I 122,12-13)). All these nuances resonate in the Buddha’s reply.
The verb āyūhati is rare in the Nikāyas, but see below v. 263df, v. 264d, and Sn 210d. It is an intensification of ūhati (augmented by ā- with -y- as liaison); the simple verb occurs at MN I 116,13-14, where it might be rendered “to be strained.” Its occurrence there ties up with the present context: a strained mind is far from concentration. In the later literature the noun form āyūhana acquires the technical sense of “accumulation,” with specific reference to kamma; in the formula of dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda ), volitional formations (saṅkhārā) are said to have the function of āyūhana; see Paṭis I 52,14, 26; Vism 528,12 (Ppn 17:51), 579,31-580,4 (Ppn 17:292-93).
Spk: The Blessed One deliberately gave an obscure reply to the deva in order to humble him, for he was stiff with conceit yet imagined himself wise. Realizing that the deva would not be able to penetrate the teaching unless he first changed his attitude, the Buddha intended to perplex him and thereby curb his pride. At that point, humbled, the deva would ask for clarification and the Buddha would explain in such a way that he could understand.

4“But how is it, dear sir, that by not halting and by not straining you crossed the flood?”

5“When I came to a standstill, friend, then I sank; but when I struggled, then I got swept away. It is in this way, friend, that by not halting and by not straining I crossed the flood.”³ The Buddha’s brief reply points to the middle way (majjhimā paṭipadā) in its most comprehensive range, both practical and philosophical. To make this implication clear Spk enumerates seven dyads: (i) “halting” by way of defilements, one sinks; “straining” by way of volitional formations, one gets swept away; (ii) by way of craving and views, one sinks; by way of the other defilements, one gets swept away; (iii) by way of craving, one sinks; by way of views, one gets swept away; (iv) by way of the eternalist view, one sinks; by way of the annihilationist view, one gets swept away (see It 43,12-44,4); (v) by way of slackness one sinks, by way of restlessness one gets swept away; (vi) by way of devotion to sensual pleasures one sinks, by way of devotion to self-mortification one gets swept away; (vii) by way of all unwholesome volitional formations one sinks, by way of all mundane wholesome volitional formations one gets swept away. Ñāṇananda suggests connecting the principle of “not halting, not straining” with each of the four floods: see SN-Anth 2:56-58.

[The devatā:]

6, 1 “After a long time at last I see
A brahmin who is fully quenched,
Who by not halting, not straining,
Has crossed over attachment to the world.”⁴ Spk: The Buddha is called a brahmin in the sense of arahant (see Dhp 388, 396-423). He is fully quenched (parinibbuto ) in that he is quenched through the quenching of defilements (kilesanibbānena nibbutaṁ). Craving is designated attachment (visattikā) because it clings and adheres to a variety of sense objects.

7This is what that devatā said.⁵ Spk: When the deva heard the Buddha’s reply he was established in the fruit of stream-entry. The Teacher approved. Then that devatā, thinking, “The Teacher has approved of me,” paid homage to the Blessed One and, keeping him on the right, disappeared right there. [2]

2. Emancipation

1 At Sāvatthī. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devatā of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and said to him:

2“Do you know, dear sir, emancipation, release, seclusion for beings?”⁶ Sattānaṁ nimokkhaṁ pamokkhaṁ vivekaṁ. Spk: “Emancipation (nimokkha) is the path, for beings are emancipated from the bondage of defilements by the path; release (pamokkha) is the fruit, for at the moment of the fruit beings have been released from the bondage of defilements; seclusion (viveka) is Nibbāna, for when they attain Nibbāna beings are separated from all suffering. Or, alternatively, all three are designations for Nibbāna: for having attained Nibbāna, beings are emancipated, released, separated from all suffering.” The actual wording of the verse seems to confirm the second alternative.

3“I know, friend, emancipation, release, seclusion for beings.”

4“But in what way, dear sir, do you know emancipation, release, seclusion for beings?”

[The Blessed One:]

5, 2 “By the utter destruction of delight in existence,⁷ Spk glosses: Nandībhavaparikkhayā ti nandīmūlakassa kammabhavassa parikkhayena; nandiyā ca bhavassa cā ti pi vaṭṭati; “By delight-existence-destruction: by the utter destruction of kamma-process existence rooted in delight; it is also proper to understand it as meaning ‘(the destruction) of delight and of existence.’” It would be more plausible, however, to construe this three-term tappurisa as an inverted compound placed in irregular order probably owing to the exigencies of verse. This interpretation is confirmed by Pj II 469,14 and Dhp-a IV 192,7-8 in their gloss on the related bahubbīhi compound nandībhavaparikkhīṇaṁ as tīsu bhavesu parikkhīṇataṇhaṁ; “one who has destroyed craving for the three realms of existence.” See too below v. 300c and n. 165.
By the extinction of perception and consciousness,
By the cessation and appeasement of feelings:
It is thus, friend, that I know for beings—
Emancipation, release, seclusion.”⁸ In this verse only the first two pādas conform to a recognizable metre (Vatta), which indicates that the verse is corrupt. Ee2 amends the third pāda and adds a line found only in a Lanna ms to arrive at a novel reading: vedanānaṁ nirodhā ca/ upasanto carissatī ti. It then treats the last three pādas of the other editions as prose. This, however, alters the meaning of the verse in such a way that it no longer directly answers the question. Spk: By the first method of explanation, delight in existence (nandībhava, or, following the gloss: “existence rooted in delight”), being the threefold activity of kammic formation (tividhakammābhisaṅkhāra—see 12:51), implies the aggregate of volitional formations (saṅkhārakkhandha); perception and consciousness implies the two aggregates associated therewith; and by mentioning this, the feeling associated with those three aggregates is included. Thus, by way of the nonoccurrence of the four kammically active mental aggregates (anupādiṇṇaka-arūpakkhandhā), “Nibbāna with residue” (sa-upādisesa-nibbāna) is indicated. By the phrase by the cessation and appeasement of feelings (vedanānaṁ nirodhā upasamā), the kammically acquired (upādiṇṇaka) feeling is referred to, and by mentioning this the other three associated aggregates are implied; the aggregate of form is included as their physical basis and object. Thus, by way of the nonoccurrence of the five kammically acquired aggregates, “Nibbāna without residue” (anupādisesa-nibbāna ) is indicated. By the second method (taking “delight” and “existence” as parallel terms), delight implies the aggregate of volitional formations; existence, the aggregate of form; and the other three aggregates are shown under their own names. Nibbāna is indicated as the nonoccurrence of these five aggregates. Thus the Blessed One concludes the teaching with Nibbāna itself.
On the two elements of Nibbāna, see the General Introduction, p. 50.

3. Reaching

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 3 “Life is swept along, short is the life span;
No shelters exist for one who has reached old age.
Seeing clearly this danger in death,
One should do deeds of merit that bring happiness.”⁹ Spk: “Life is swept along” (upanīati jīvitaṁ) means: “(Life) is destroyed, it ceases; or it moves towards, i.e., gradually approaches, death” (upanīyatī ti parikkhīyati nirujjhati; upagacchati vā; anupubbena maraṇaṁ upetī ti attho). “Short is the life span” (appam āyu): “The life span is limited in two ways: first, because it is said, ‘One who lives long lives for a hundred years or a little longer’ (see 4:9); and second, because in the ultimate sense the life-moment of beings is extremely limited, enduring for a mere act of consciousness.” Spk continues as at Vism 238 (Ppn 8:39).

[The Blessed One:]

3, 4 “Life is swept along, short is the life span;
No shelters exist for one who has reached old age.
Seeing clearly this danger in death,
A seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.”¹⁰ Spk: This deva had been reborn into one of the brahmā worlds with a long life span. When he saw beings passing away and taking rebirth in realms with a short life span, he was moved to pity and urged them to do “deeds of merit” (puññāni)—to develop the form-sphere and formless-sphere jhānas—so that they would be reborn into the form and formless realms with a long life span. The Buddha’s verse is a rejoinder intended to show that the deva’s advice is still tied to the round of existence and does not lead to emancipation. The peace (santi) which the Buddha commends is Nibbāna. Spk explains two denotations of lokāmisa, literally “carnal things”: (i) figuratively (pariyāyena), it denotes the entire round of existence with its three planes, the objective sphere of attachment, “the bait of the world”; (ii) literally (nippariyāyena), it signifies the four requisites (clothing, food, dwelling, and medicines), the material basis for survival. For the figurative use of āmisa, see v. 371d, v. 480, and 35:230; in the last text, however, the six sense objects are compared to baited hooks rather than to the bait itself.
[3]

4. Time Flies By

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 5 “Time flies by, the nights swiftly pass;
The stages of life successively desert us.¹¹ Vayoguṇā anupubbaṁ jahanti. Spk: Youth deserts one who reaches middle age; both youth and middle age desert one who reaches old age; and at the time of death, all three stages desert us.
Seeing clearly this danger in death,
One should do deeds of merit that bring happiness.”

[The Blessed One:]

3, 6 “Time flies by, the nights swiftly pass;
The stages of life successively desert us.
Seeing clearly this danger in death,
A seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.”

5. How Many Must One Cut?

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 7 “How many must one cut, how many abandon,
And how many further must one develop?
When a bhikkhu has surmounted how many ties
Is he called a crosser of the flood?”

[The Blessed One:]

3, 8 “One must cut off five, abandon five,
And must develop a further five.
A bhikkhu who has surmounted five ties
Is called a crosser of the flood.”¹² Spk: One must cut off (chinde) the five lower fetters (identity view, doubt, the distorted grasp of rules and vows, sensual desire, ill will). One must abandon (jahe) the five higher fetters (lust for form, lust for the formless, conceit, restlessness, ignorance). In order to cut off and abandon these fetters one must develop a further five (pañca cuttari bhāvaye), namely, the five spiritual faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom). The five ties (pañcasaṅgā) are: lust, hatred, delusion, conceit, and views. A bhikkhu who has surmounted these five ties is called a crosser of the flood (oghatiṇṇo), that is, a crosser of the fourfold flood (see n. 1). Strangely, although the verses refer to the five ties as if they are a standard doctrinal set, no pentad of saṅgas can be found as such in the Nikāyas; the five saṅgas are mentioned at Vibh 377,16-18.

6. Awake

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 9 “How many are asleep when [others] are awake?
How many are awake when [others] sleep?
By how many does one gather dust?
By how many is one purified?”

[The Blessed One:]

3, 10 “Five are asleep when [others] are awake;
Five are awake when [others] sleep.
By five things one gathers dust,
By five things one is purified.”¹³ Spk says, “When the five faculties are awake the five hindrances are asleep, and when the five hindrances are asleep the five faculties are awake,” but this seems redundant; the explanation would be more satisfactory if we take the first phrase to be stating that when the five faculties are asleep the five hindrances are awake, thus making more explicit the relationship of diametric opposition and mutual exclusion between the two pentads. Spk continues: “It is by the same five hindrances that one gathers dust, i.e., the dust of the defilements; and it is by the five faculties that one is purified.” [4]

7. Not Penetrated

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 11 “Those who have not penetrated things,
Who may be led into others’ doctrines,
Fast asleep, they have not yet awakened:
It is time for them to awaken.”¹⁴ Spk identifies the dhammā of pāda a as the catusaccadhammā , “the things (or teachings) of the four (noble) truths.” Who may be led into others’ doctrines: Spk: The doctrines of the other spiritual sects apart from the Buddha’s Teaching are called “others’ doctrines” (paravādā); specifically, the doctrines of the sixty-two views (DN I 12-38). Some tend to these doctrines of their own accord, some are led into them and adopt them through the influence of others.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 12 “Those who have penetrated things well,
Who cannot be led into others’ doctrines,
Those awakened ones, having rightly known,
Fare evenly amidst the uneven.”¹⁵ Those awakened ones (sambuddhā). Spk: There are four kinds of awakened ones: omniscient Buddhas, paccekabuddhas, “four-truth awakened ones” (i.e., arahant disciples), and those awakened through learning. The first three types are indicated in the present context. They fare evenly amidst the uneven: they fare evenly amidst the uneven common domain of the world, or amidst the uneven community of sentient beings, or amidst the uneven multitude of defilements.

8. Utterly Muddled

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 13 “Those who are utterly muddled about things,
Who may be led into others’ doctrines,
Fast asleep, they have not yet awakened:
It is time for them to awaken.”

[The Blessed One:]

3, 14 “Those who aren’t muddled about things,
Who cannot be led into others’ doctrines,
Those awakened ones, having rightly known,
Fare evenly amidst the uneven.”

9. One Prone to Conceit

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 15 “There is no taming here for one fond of conceit,
Nor is there sagehood for the unconcentrated:
Though dwelling alone in the forest, heedless,
One cannot cross beyond the realm of Death.”¹⁶ Spk: Here taming (dama) signifies the qualities pertaining to concentration. Sagehood (mona) is the knowledge of the four supramundane paths, so called because it experiences (munātī ti monaṁ); that is, it knows the four truths. The realm of Death (maccudheyya) is the round with its three planes, so called because it is the domain of Death; its beyond or far shore (pāra) is Nibbāna.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 16 “Having abandoned conceit, well concentrated,
With lofty mind, everywhere released:
While dwelling alone in the forest, diligent,
One can cross beyond the realm of Death.”¹⁷ Spk sees this couplet as an implicit formulation of the threefold training: by the abandoning of conceit the higher virtue (adhisīla) is implied; by well concentrated (susamāhitatto ), the training in concentration or the higher mind (adhicitta); and by lofty mind (sucetaso), denoting a mind endowed with wisdom, the training in the higher wisdom (adhipaññā). To this we might add that the last phrase, everywhere released (sabbadhi vippamutto), points to the culmination of the threefold training in liberation (vimutti). See DN II 122,15-123,12. [5]

10. Forest

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 17 “Those who dwell deep in the forest,
Peaceful, leading the holy life,
Eating but a single meal a day:
Why is their complexion so serene?”¹⁸ Spk: This verse was spoken by an earth-bound deva who dwelt in that forest. Each day he would see the bhikkhus who inhabited the forest sitting in meditation after their meal. As they sat, their minds would become unified and serene, and the serenity of their minds would become manifest in their complexion (vaṇṇa). Puzzled that they could have such serene faces while living under these austere conditions, the deva came to the Buddha to inquire into the cause. The facial complexion (mukhavaṇṇa) or complexion of the skin (chavivaṇṇa) is understood to indicate success in meditation; see 21:3 (II 275,20-21), 28:1 (III 235,22); and Vin I 40,14, and 41,2.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 18 “They do not sorrow over the past,
Nor do they hanker for the future.
They maintain themselves with what is present:
Hence their complexion is so serene.

4, 19 “Through hankering for the future,
Through sorrowing over the past,
Fools dry up and wither away
Like a green reed cut down.”

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus!”

2“Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied. The Blessed One said this:

3“Once in the past, bhikkhus, a certain devatā of the Tāvatiṁsa host was revelling in Nandana Grove, < 11 > supplied and endowed with the five cords of celestial sensual pleasure, accompanied by a retinue of celestial nymphs. On that occasion he spoke this verse:

4, 20 “‘They do not know bliss
Who have not seen Nandana,
The abode of the glorious male devas
Belonging to the host of Thirty.’¹⁹ Tāvatiṁsa, “the realm of the thirty-three,” is the third sense-sphere heaven. It is so named because thirty-three youths, headed by the youth Magha, had been reborn here as a result of their meritorious deeds. Magha himself became Sakka, ruler of the devas. Nandana is the Garden of Delight in Tāvatiṁsa, so called because it gives delight and joy to anyone who enters it. According to Spk, this deva had just taken rebirth into this heaven and, while wandering through the Nandana Grove, he spoke the verse as a spontaneous paean of joy over his celestial glory. Spk glosses naradevānaṁ with devapurisānaṁ, “devamales”; it is clearly not a dvanda compound. Tidasa, “the Thirty” (lit. “triple ten”), is a poetic epithet for Tāvatiṁsa. [6]

5“When this was said, bhikkhus, a certain devatā replied to that devatā in verse:

6, 21 “‘Don’t you know, you fool,
That maxim of the arahants?
Impermanent are all formations;
Their nature is to arise and vanish.
Having arisen, they cease:
Their appeasement is blissful.’”²⁰ Spk ascribes this rejoinder to a female deva who was a noble disciple (ariyasāvikā). Thinking, “This foolish deva imagines his glory to be permanent and unchanging, unaware that it is subject to cutting off, perishing, and dissolution,” she spoke her stanza in order to dispel his delusion. The “maxim of the arahants” is pronounced by the Buddha at 15:20 (II 193, also at DN II 199,6-7); the deva-king Sakka repeats it on the occasion of the Buddha’s parinibbāna (see v. 609). The first line usually reads aniccā vata saṅkhārā rather than, as here, aniccā sabbasaṅkhārā. An identical exchange of verses occurs below at 9:6, with the goddess Jālinı̄ and the Venerable Anuruddha as speakers. The feminine vocative bāle in pāda b implies that the latter dialogue was the original provenance of the verse, or in any case that the first devatā is female. Spk: Formations here are all formations of the three planes of existence (sabbe tebhūmakasaṅkhārā), which are impermanent in the sense that they become nonexistent after having come to be (hutvā abhāvaṭṭhena aniccā). Their appeasement is blissful (tesaṁ vūpasamo sukho): Nibbāna itself, called the appeasement of those formations, is blissful.

12. Delight

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 22 “One who has sons delights in sons,
One with cattle delights in cattle.
Acquisitions truly are a man’s delight;
Without acquisitions one does not delight.”²¹ Upadhi, “acquisitions” (from upa + dhā, “to rest upon”) means literally “that upon which something rests,” i.e., the “foundations” or “paraphernalia” of existence. The word has both objective and subjective extensions. Objectively, it refers to the things acquired, i.e., one’s assets and possessions; subjectively, to the act of appropriation rooted in craving. In many instances the two senses merge, and often both are intended. The word functions as a close counterpart of upādāna, “clinging,” to which, however, it is not etymologically related. See in this connection 12:66 and II, n. 187, and Sn p. 141. Spk (along with other commentaries) offers a fourfold classification of upadhi: (i) kāmūpadhi, acquisitions as sensual pleasures and material possessions; (ii) khandhūpadhi, the five aggregates; (iii) kilesūpadhi, defilements, which are the foundation for suffering in the realm of misery; and (iv) abhisaṅkhārūpadhi, volitional formations, accumulations of kamma, which are the foundation for all suffering in saṁsāra. In the deva’s verse upadhi is used in the first sense.
In his reply the Buddha turns the devatā’s expression “one without acquisitions” (nirupadhi) on its head by using the term as a designation for the arahant, who is free from all four kinds of upadhi and thus completely free from suffering. The pair of verses recurs below at 4:8, with Māra as the interlocutor.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 23 “One who has sons sorrows over sons,
One with cattle sorrows over cattle.
Acquisitions truly are a man’s sorrows;
Without acquisitions one does not sorrow.”

13. None Equal to That for a Son

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 24 “There is no affection like that for a son,
No wealth equal to cattle,
There is no light like the sun,
Among the waters the ocean is supreme.”²² Spk: There is no affection like that for oneself because people, even if they discard their parents and neglect to care for their children, still care for themselves (see v. 392). There is no wealth equal to grain because people, when famished, will give away gold and silver and other assets in order to obtain grain. There is no light like wisdom because wisdom can illumine the ten-thousandfold world system and dispel the darkness concealing the three periods of time, which even the sun cannot do (see AN II 139-40). Among the waters the rain is supreme because if the rainfall were to be cut off even the great ocean would dry up, but when the rain continues to pour down the world becomes one mass of water even up to the Ābhassara deva world.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 25 “There is no affection like that for oneself,
No wealth equal to grain,
There is no light like wisdom,
Among the waters the rain is supreme.”

14. The Khattiya

1, 26 “The khattiya is the best of bipeds,
The ox, the best of quadrupeds;
A maiden is the best of wives,
The first born, the best of sons.”²³ From this point on, wherever the text does not specify the identity of the speakers, it is implied that the first verse is spoken by a devatā and the reply by the Buddha.

2, 27 “The Buddha is the best of bipeds,
A steed, the best of quadrupeds;
An obedient woman is the best of wives,
A dutiful boy, the best of sons.” [7]

15. Murmuring

1, 28 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How fearful that appears to me!”²⁴ In pāda b, Be and Se read sannisīvesu, a word not encountered elsewhere, while Ee1 & 2, following SS, read sannisinnesu , which may be a “correction” of the original reading; the text available to the subcommentator evidently read sannisīvesu. Spk glosses: yathā phāsukaṭṭhānaṁ upagantvā sannisinnesu vissamānesu. [Spk-pṭ: parissamavinodanatthaṁ sabbaso sannisīdantesu; d-kārassa hi v-kāraṁ katvā niddeso.] The gist of this explanation is that at noon all the birds (and other animals), exhausted by the heat, are quietly resting in order to dispel their fatigue. In pāda c the resolution of saṇateva is problematic. Spk glosses: saṇati viya mahāviravaṁ viya muccati, “it seems to make a sound, it seems as if it releases a great roar.” This implies that Spk divides the sandhi into saṇate iva. Ee2 apparently accepts this with its reading saṇate va. Following a suggestion of VĀT, I resolve it saṇati eva, taking the sense to be that the forest itself is emitting the sound. The verb saṇati means merely to make a sound, and is elsewhere used to describe a noisy creek (Sn 720-21), so here the sound might be more appropriately described as a murmur than as a roar. In pāda d the verb is paṭibhāti, glossed by Spk as upaṭṭhāti.
Spk: In the dry season, at high noon, when the animals and birds are all sitting quietly, a great sound arises from the depths of the forest as the wind blows through the trees, bamboo clusters, and hollows. At that moment an obtuse deva, unable to find a companion with whom to sit and converse amiably, uttered the first stanza. But when a bhikkhu has returned from his alms round and is sitting alone in a secluded forest abode attending to his meditation subject, abundant happiness arises (as is expressed in the rejoinder).

2, 29 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How delightful that appears to me!”

16. Drowsiness and Lethargy

1, 30 “Drowsiness, lethargy, lazy stretching,
Discontent, torpor after meals:
Because of this, here among beings,
The noble path does not appear.”

2, 31 “Drowsiness, lethargy, lazy stretching,
Discontent, torpor after meals:
When one dispels this with energy,
The noble path is cleared.”²⁵ Arati, tandi, vijambhikā, and bhattasammada recur at 46:2 (V 64,31-32) and 46:51 (V 103,13-14). Formal definitions are at Vibh 352. Spk: The noble path (ariyamagga) is both the mundane and supramundane path. The clearing of the path comes about when one expels the mental corruptions by means of the path itself, with the energy (viriya) conascent with the path. On the distinction between the mundane and supramundane paths, see the Introduction to Part V, pp.1490-92.

17. Difficult to Practise

1, 32 “The ascetic life is hard to practise
And hard for the inept to endure,
For many are the obstructions there
In which the fool founders.”

2, 33 “How many days can one practise the ascetic life
If one does not rein in one’s mind?
One would founder with each step
Under the control of one’s intentions.²⁶ Spk explains pade pade, in pāda c, thus: “In each object (ārammaṇe ārammaṇe); for whenever a defilement arises in relation to any object, it is just there that one founders (visīdati). But the phrase can also be interpreted by way of the modes of deportment (iriyāpatha); if a defilement arises while one is walking, (standing, sitting, or lying down), it is just there that one founders. Intentions (saṅkappa) should be understood here by way of the three wrong intentions, i.e., of sensuality, ill will, and harming.”

3, 34 “Drawing in the mind’s thoughts
As a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell,
Independent, not harassing others, fully quenched,
A bhikkhu would not blame anyone.”²⁷ The simile of the tortoise is elaborated at 35:240, followed by the same verse. Spk: One is independent (anissito) of the dependencies of craving and views, and fully quenched by the quenching of defilements (kilesaparinibbāna). He would not reprove another person for defects in conduct, etc., from a desire to humiliate him, but he would speak out of compassion, with the idea of rehabilitating him, having set up in himself the five qualities (speaking at the right time, about a true matter, gently, in a beneficial way, with a mind of lovingkindness; see AN III 244,1-3).

18. A Sense of Shame

1, 35 “Is there a person somewhere in the world
Who is restrained by a sense of shame,
One who draws back from blame
As a good horse does from the whip?”²⁸ Be and Se read the verb in pāda c as apabodhati, Ee1 as appabodhati, Ee2 as appabodheti. Apparently the latter readings arose on the supposition that the word is formed from a + pabodh. Spk’s gloss—apaharanto bujjhati, “who, pulling back, knows”—supports apabodhati (apa + bodh). The Skt parallel at Uv 19:5 has a different pāda altogether, sarvapāpaṁ jahāty eṣa. Though the verse includes no ostensible interrogative, Spk interprets it as posing a question. I take koci to be equivalent to kvaci, though Spk glosses it as a personal pronoun. Spk: As a good thoroughbred who knows to pull back from the whip does not let it strike him, so a bhikkhu who is keen to avoid blame—who knows to pull back from it—does not let any genuine ground for abuse strike him. The deva asks: “Is there any such arahant?” But no one is wholly free from abuse on false grounds. The Buddha answers that such arahants, who avoid unwholesome states from a sense of shame, are few.

2, 36 “Few are those restrained by a sense of shame
Who fare always mindful;
Few, having reached the end of suffering,
Fare evenly amidst the uneven.” [8]

19. A Little Hut

1, 37 “Don’t you have a little hut?
Don’t you have a little nest?
Don’t you have any lines extended?
Are you free from bondage?”

2, 38 “Surely I have no little hut,
Surely I have no little nest,
Surely I have no lines extended,
Surely I’m free from bondage.”²⁹ Spk: The deva refers to one’s mother as a “little hut” because one dwells in her womb for ten months; to a wife as a “little nest” because, after a hard day’s work, men resort to the company of women in the way that birds, after searching for food during the day, resort to their nests at night; to sons as “lines extended” (santānakā) because they extend the family lineage; and to craving as bondage. The Buddha replies as he does because he will never again dwell within a mother’s womb, or support a wife, or beget sons.

3, 39 “What do you think I call a little hut?
What do you think I call a little nest?
What do you think I call lines extended?
What do you think I call bondage?”³⁰ Spk: The deva asked these additional questions because he was astonished by the Buddha’s quick replies and wanted to find out if he had really grasped the meaning. Although three eds. employ the singular santānakaṁ in pāda c of this verse, SS and Ee2 have the plural santānake, which seems preferable for maintaining consistency with the other verses. Kintāham should be resolved kin te ahaṁ.

4, 40 “It’s a mother that you call a little hut,
A wife that you call a little nest,
Sons that you call lines extended,
Craving that you tell me is bondage.”

5, 41 “It’s good that you have no little hut,
Good that you have no little nest,
Good that you have no lines extended,
Good that you are free from bondage.”

20. Samiddhi

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at R̄jagahain the Hot Springs Park. Then the Venerable Samiddhi, having risen at the first flush of dawn, went to the hot springs to bathe. Having bathed in the hot springs and come back out, he stood in one robe drying his limbs.

2Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devatā of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire hot springs, approached the Venerable Samiddhi. Having approached, she stood in the air and addressed the Venerable Samiddhi in verse:³¹ The opening portion of this sutta appears, with elaboration, in the prologue to the Samiddhi Jātaka (Ja No. 167), which includes the first pair of verses as well. MN No. 133 opens in a similar way, with Samiddhi as the protagonist. The bhikkhu Samiddhi was so named because his body was splendid (samiddha), handsome and lovely. Spk makes it clear that this is a female devatā (called a devadhītā in the Jātaka), an earth-deity (bhummadevatā) who resided in the grove. When she saw Samiddhi in the light of the early dawn, she fell in love with him and planned to seduce him. Samiddhi appears below at 4:22 and 35:65-68.

3, 42 “Without having enjoyed you seek alms, bhikkhu,
You don’t seek alms after you’ve enjoyed.
First enjoy, bhikkhu, then seek alms:
Don’t let the time pass you by!” [9]

4, 43 “I do not know what the time might be;
The time is hidden and cannot be seen.
Hence, without enjoying, I seek alms:
Don’t let the time pass me by!”³² The verses revolve around a pun on the double meaning of bhuñjati, to eat food and to enjoy sense pleasures. The devatā is ostensibly telling Samiddhi to eat before going on alms round (i.e., to get his fill of sensual pleasures before taking to the monk’s life), but Samiddhi insists he will not abandon the monk’s life for the sake of sensual enjoyment. Spk: The devatā had spoken of time with reference to the time of youth, when one is able to enjoy sensual pleasures. In pādas ab of his reply Samiddhi speaks with reference to the time of death (maraṇakāla), which is hidden (channa) in that one never knows when it will arrive. In pāda d he refers to the time for practising the duty of an ascetic (samaṇadhammakaraṇakāla), as it is difficult for an old person to learn the Dhamma, practise austerities, dwell in the forest, and develop the meditative attainments. The vo in pāda a is a mere indeclinable (nipātamatta).

5Then that devat̄alighted on the earth and said to the Venerable Samiddhi:“You have gone forth while young, bhikkhu, a lad with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, without having dallied with sensual pleasures. Enjoy human sensual pleasures, bhikkhu; do not abandon what is directly visible in order to pursue what takes time.”

6“I have not abandoned what is directly visible, friend, in order to pursue what takes time. I have abandoned what takes time in order to pursue what is directly visible. For the Blessed One, friend, has stated that sensual pleasures are time-consuming, full of suffering, full of despair, and the danger in them is still greater, while this Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise.”³³ At 4:21 Māra offers the same advice to a group of young bhikkhus, who reply in words identical with those of Samiddhi. The Buddha’s exposition of the dangers in sensual pleasures may be found at MN I 85-87, 364-67, 506-8, and elsewhere. Samiddhi’s answer reiterates the standard verse of homage to the Dhamma, omitting only the first term (“well expounded”), which is not relevant here. Spk interprets the “immediate” or “timeless” (akālika) character of the Dhamma by way of the Abhidhamma doctrine that the fruit (phala) arises in immediate succession to its respective path (magga), but this idea certainly seems too narrow for the present context, where the contrast is simply between the immediately beneficial Dhamma and “time-consuming” sensual pleasures. For more on akālika, see II, n. 103. A few words are called for in explanation of my translation of opanayika as “applicable,” which departs from the prevalent practice of rendering it “leading onward.” CPD points out that “the context in which [the word] occurs shows clearly that it cannot have the active sense of ‘leading to’ … but must rather be interpreted in a passive sense (gerundive) in accordance with the commentaries.” To be sure, Vism 217,10-12 (Ppn 7:84) does allow for an active sense with its alternative derivation: nibbānaṁ upanetīti ariyamaggo upaneyyo … opanayiko, “it leads on to Nibbāna, thus the noble path is onward-leading … so it is leading onwards”; this derivation, however, is almost surely proposed with “edifying” intent. Earlier in the same passage the word is glossed by the gerundive upanetabba, “to be brought near, to be applied,” so I follow the derivation at Vism 217,3-9 (Ppn 7:83), which is probably correct etymologically: bhāvanāvasena attano citte upanayanaṁ arahatī ti opanayiko … asaṅkhato pana attano cittena upanayanaṁ arahatī ti opanayiko; sacchikiriyāvasena allīyanaṁ arahatī ti attho; “The Dhamma (as noble path) is applicable because it deserves application within one’s own mind by way of meditative development….But the unconditioned Dhamma (i.e., Nibbāna) is applicable because it deserves application with one’s own mind; that is, it deserves being resorted to by way of realization.”While the word opanayika does not occur in any other context that allows us to draw inferences about its meaning, the cognate expression att’ ūpanāyiko (at 55:7 (V 353,21, 26) and Vin III 91,33-34) clearly means “applicable to oneself.” On the other hand, to indicate that the Dhamma conduces to Nibbāna the texts use another expression, niyyānika upasamasaṁvattanika (see, e.g., 55:25 (V 380,11) and upasamasaṁattanika (see, e.g., 55:25 (V 380,11)and MN I 67,13), which would not fit the contexts where the above formula appears.

7“But how is it, bhikkhu, that the Blessed One has stated that sensual pleasures are time-consuming, full of suffering, full of despair, and the danger in them is still greater? How is it that this Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise?”

8“I am newly ordained, friend, not long gone forth, just recently come to this Dhamma and Discipline. I cannot explain it in detail. But that Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, is dwelling at Rājagaha in the Hot Springs Park. Approach that Blessed One and ask him about this matter. As he explains it to you, so you should remember it.”

9“It isn’t easy for us to approach that Blessed One, bhikkhu, as he is surrounded by other devatās of great influence.³⁴ Spk: “Each of the deva-kings has a retinue of a hundred or a thousand koṭis of devas. Placing themselves in grand positions, they see the Tathāgata. How can powerless female devas like us get a chance to see him?” A koṭi = 10,000,000. If you would approach him and ask him about this matter, we will come along too in order to hear the Dhamma.”

10“Very well, friend,” the Venerable Samiddhi replied. Then he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, [10] and reported his entire discussion with that devat̄, [11] <22–23> (verses 44–45, included in the report, repeat verses 42–43) adding: “If that devatā’s statement is true, venerable sir, then that devatā should be close by.”

11When this was said, that devat̄said to the Venerable Samiddhi: “Ask, bhikkhu! Ask, bhikkhu! For I have arrived.”

12Then the Blessed One addressed that devatā in verse:

13, 46 “Beings who perceive what can be expressed
Become established in what can be expressed.
Not fully understanding what can be expressed,
They come under the yoke of Death.³⁵ Spk: What can be expressed (akkheyya) are the five aggregates, the objective sphere of linguistic reference (not the terms of expression themselves). Beings who perceive what can be expressed (akkheyyasaññino sattā): When ordinary beings perceive the five aggregates, their perceptions are affected by the ideas of permanence, pleasure, and self, elsewhere called “distortions” (vipallāsa, AN II 52,4-8). These distorted perceptions then provoke the defilements, on account of which beings become established in what can be expressed (akkheyyasmiṁ patiṭṭhitā). Beings “become established in” the five aggregates in eight ways: by way of lust, hatred, delusion, views, the underlying tendencies, conceit, doubt, and restlessness (see n. 2). It-a II 31-32, commenting on the same couplet at It 53, says that “beings who perceive what can be expressed” are those who perceive the five aggregates by way of a percept occurring in the mode of “I,” “mine,” “deva,” “human,” “woman,” or “man,” etc. That is, they perceive the five aggregates as a being or person, etc.
Spk suggests that this verse is stated in order to show how sensual pleasures are “time-consuming.” [Spk-pṭ: Kāmā here denotes all phenomena of the three planes, called sensual pleasures because they are pleasurable (kamanīyā).] This suggestion seems confirmed by the last line: those who do not understand the five aggregates correctly “come under the yoke of Death”; they undergo repeated birth and death and hence remain caught in saṁsāra, the net of time.

14, 47 “But having fully understood what can be expressed,
One does not conceive ‘one who expresses.’
For that does not exist for him
By which one could describe him.³⁶ Spk: One “fully understands what can be expressed” by way of the three kinds of full understanding: (i) by full understanding of the known (ñātapariññā) one understands the five aggregates in terms of their individual characteristics, etc.; (ii) by full understanding by scrutinization (tīraṇapariññā) one scrutinizes them in forty-two modes as impermanent, suffering, etc.; (iii) by full understanding as abandonment (pahānapariññā) one abandons desire and lust for the aggregates by means of the supreme path. For a fuller discussion, see Vism 606-7 (Ppn 20:3-4) and Vism 611-13 (Ppn 20:18-19), based on Paṭis II 238-42, where, however, only forty modes are enumerated under (ii).The forty-two modes are at Vism 655,15-30 (Ppn 21:59), in connection with “discerning formations as void.” One does not conceive “one who expresses” (akkhātaraṁ na maññati). Spk: The arahant does not conceive the speaker as an individual (puggala); that is, he no longer takes the five aggregates to be “mine,” “I,” and “my self.”
That does not exist for him (taṁ hi tassa na hotī ti): In this couplet I follow SS in omitting, as an interpolation, the words na tassa atthi, included in all the printed eds. The Skt version too, cited at Ybhūś 2:2 (Enomoto, CSCS, p. 23), does not include such a phrase, but reads: tad vai na vidyate tasya, vadeyur yena tam pare, “That does not exist for him by which others might speak of him.”
Spk explains that there exist no grounds for speaking of the arahant as lustful, or as hating, or as deluded. It would be more fitting, perhaps, to see this second couplet as referring to the arahant after his parinibbāna, when by casting off the five aggregates (“what can be expressed”) he goes beyond the range of verbal expression (see Sn 1076). It should be noted that thematically these two verses closely correspond to the Mūlapariyāya Sutta (MN No. 1). Spk states that this verse discusses the “directly visible” ninefold supramundane Dhamma, i.e., the four paths, their fruits, and Nibbāna.

15“If you understand, spirit, speak up.”

16“I do not understand in detail, venerable sir, the meaning of what was stated in brief by the Blessed One. Please, venerable sir, let the Blessed One explain it to me in such a way that I might understand in detail the meaning of what he stated in brief.” [12]

[The Blessed One:]

17, 48 “One who conceives ‘I am equal, better, or worse,’
Might on that account engage in disputes.
But one not shaken in the three discriminations
Does not think, ‘I am equal or better.’³⁷ The “three discriminations” (tayo vidhā) are the three modes of conceit: the conceit “I am better” (seyyo ’ham asmimāna), the conceit “I am equal” (sadiso ’ham asmimāna), and the conceit “I am worse” (hīno ’ham asmimāna). See 22:49 (III 48-49), 45:162, 46:41. At Vibh 389-90 it is shown that these three become ninefold in so far as each triad may be entertained by one who is truly better, truly equal, or truly worse. One “not shaken in the three discriminations” is the arahant, who alone has completely eradicated the fetter of conceit. Spk points out that the first couplet shows how sensual pleasures are time-consuming, while the second couplet discusses the supramundane Dhamma.

18“If you understand, spirit, speak up.”

19“In this case too, venerable sir, I do not understand in detail … let the Blessed One explain it to me in such a way that I might understand in detail the meaning of what he stated in brief.”

[The Blessed One:]

20, 49 “He abandoned reckoning, did not assume conceit;³⁸ The most common reading of this pāda is pahāsi saṅkhaṁ na vimānam ajjhagā, found in Be, Se, and Ee1 of v. 49, in Be and Ee1 of the parallel v. 105, and in the lemma in Spk (Be, Se) to v. 49. From his comments it is clear the commentator had a text with vimāna, which he explains as equivalent to vividhamāna: “He does not assume the threefold conceit with its nine divisions” (navabhedaṁ tividhamānaṁ na upagato). Spk’s alternative explanation, which takes vimānaṁ to be the mother’s womb, the destination of the rebirth process, seems too fanciful to be taken seriously. Vimānadassī occurs at Sn 887b in the sense of “contemptuous,” but this meaning of vimāna may be too narrow for the present context. The verse may have originally read na ca mānam and this reading may have already been corrupted before the age of the commentaries, c/v confusion being not uncommon in Sinhala-script texts. The corruption would then have been preserved and perpetuated by the commentators. Despite the dominance of na vimānam, the reading na ca mānam is found in v. 105 of Se, in the lemma to v. 49 in four Sinhala mss of Spk (referred to in the notes to Spk (Se)), and in Thai eds. of SN and Spk. The Skt counterpart (quoted at Ybhūś 2:4; Enomoto, CSCS, p. 23) has prahāya mānaṁ ca na saṅgam eti, which corresponds more closely to the alternative reading of the Pāli. The original finite verb may have been the rare reduplicative perfect ājā (as in SS) or āgā (as in Ee2 and Thai eds.). See von Hinüber, “On the Perfect in Pāli,” Selected Papers, pp. 174-76.
Spk understands pahāsi saṅkhaṁ to mean that the arahant can no longer be described by such concepts as lustful, hating, or deluded, but the point is more likely to be that he has stopped forming papañcasaññāsaṅkhā, “ideas and notions arisen from mental proliferation” (see MN I 112,2-3). The Skt reading saṅgam may actually make better sense in this context. It seems that this phrase refers back to v. 47 and na vimānam ajjhagā back to v. 48. It is possible, too, that the lines describe the arahant after his parinibbāna, when he can no longer be reckoned by way of the five aggregates (see 44:1). Pādas cf seem to be describing the arahant after his parinibbāna, though elsewhere he is also said to be unfindable here and now (e.g., at 22:86; III 118,35-36).

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.

21“If you understand, spirit, speak up.”

22“I understand in detail, venerable sir, the meaning of what was stated in brief by the Blessed One thus:

23, 50 “One should do no evil in all the world,
Not by speech, mind, or body.
Having abandoned sense pleasures,
Mindful and clearly comprehending,
One should not pursue a course
That is painful and harmful.”³⁹ Spk explains the avoidance of evil in body, speech, and mind by way of the ten courses of wholesome kamma (see MN I 47,12-17, 287-288, etc.). The phrase having abandoned sense pleasures rejects the extreme of indulgence in sensual pleasures; one should not pursue a course that is painful and harmful rejects the extreme of self-mortification. Thus, Spk says, the verse points to the middle way that avoids the two extremes. The whole verse can also be construed positively in terms of the Noble Eightfold Path: doing no evil by body and speech implies right speech, right action, and right livelihood; “mindful” implies right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration; “clearly comprehending” implies right view and right intention. Spk says that at the end of the Buddha’s discourse the devatā was established in the fruit of stream-entry and spoke this verse, “a great Dhamma teaching,” in order to show the eightfold path by which she had attained the fruit.

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 51 “As if smitten by a sword,
As if his head were on fire,
A bhikkhu should wander mindfully
To abandon sensual lust.”

[The Blessed One:]

3, 52 “As if smitten by a sword,
As if his head were on fire,
A bhikkhu should wander mindfully
To abandon identity view.”⁴⁰ In pāda b, I read ḍayhamāne va, with Ee1 and SS, as against ḍayhamāno va in Be, Se, and Ee2. With bhavarāga in pāda c, these verses also appear as Th 39-40 and 1162-63. In the present form the pair of verses sets a problem in interpretation, for kāmarāga, sensual lust, is abandoned by the third path, while sakkāyadiṭṭhi, identity view, is abandoned by the first path, so the devatā appears to be advocating a higher attainment than the Buddha. This problem does not arise in the Th version, since bhavarāga, lust for existence, is abandoned by the fourth path, that of arahantship. Spk gives an ingenious solution: The deva spoke his verse with reference to the abandoning of sensual lust by way of suppression only (vikkhambhanappahānam eva), i.e., temporarily through the attainment of jhāna, while the Buddha recommended the attainment of stream-entry, which eliminates identity view by way of eradication (samuccheda) so that not even the subtle underlying tendency (anusaya) remains, thus ensuring full liberation in a maximum of seven more lives.

22. It Touches

1, 53 “It does not touch one who does not touch,
But then will touch the one who touches.
Therefore it touches the one who touches,
The one who wrongs an innocent man.”⁴¹ The verse poses a riddle which hinges on two connotations of phusati, “to touch”: (i) to acquire a particular kamma, here the grave kamma of wronging an innocent person; and (ii) to reap the result of that kamma when it comes to maturity.

2, 54 “If one wrongs an innocent man,
A pure person without blemish,
The evil falls back on the fool himself
Like fine dust thrown against the wind.”⁴² At Sn 662 this verse refers to Kokāliya’s calumny of Sāriputta and Moggallāna (see 6:10, which includes the story but not this verse). A different, and less credible, background story is told at Dhp-a III 31-33, commenting on Dhp 125; see BL 2:282-84. On the kammic result of harming innocents, see Dhp 137-40.

23. Tangle

1, 55 “A tangle inside, a tangle outside,
This generation is entangled in a tangle.
I ask you this, O Gotama,
Who can disentangle this tangle?”⁴³ This verse and the next form the opening theme of Vism and are commented on at Vism 1-4 (Ppn 1:1-8); the explanation is incorporated into Spk. VĀT suggests that the words antojaṭā bahijaṭā should be taken as bahubbīhi compounds in apposition to pajā (“having a tangle inside, having a tangle outside”), but I translate in accordance with Spk, which treats them as tappurisa. Spk: Tangle (jaṭā) is a term for the network of craving, in the sense that it “laces together,” for it arises repeatedly up and down among the sense objects such as forms. There is a tangle inside, a tangle outside, because craving arises with respect to one’s own possessions and those of others; with respect to one’s own body and the bodies of others; and with respect to the internal and external sense bases.

2, 56 “A man established on virtue, wise,
Developing the mind and wisdom,
A bhikkhu ardent and discreet:
He can disentangle this tangle.⁴⁴ The Buddha’s reply is a succinct statement of the threefold training, with samādhi referred to by the word citta. Spk says wisdom is mentioned three times in the verse: first as innate intelligence (“wise”); second, as insight-wisdom (vipassanā-paññā), the wisdom to be developed; and third, as “discretion,” the pragmatic wisdom that takes the lead in all tasks (sabbakiccaparināyikā parihāriyapaññā). Spk: “Just as a man standing on the ground and taking up a well-sharpened knife might disentangle a great tangleof bamboos, so this bhikkhu… standing on the ground of virtue and taking up, with the hand of practical intelligence exerted by the power of energy, the knife of insight-wisdom well sharpened on the stone of concentration, might disentangle, cut away, and demolish the entire tangle of craving that had overgrown his own mental continuum” (adapted from Ppn 1:7).

3, 57 “Those for whom lust and hatred
Along with ignorance have been expunged,
The arahants with taints destroyed:
For them the tangle is disentangled.⁴⁵ While the previous verse shows the trainee (sekha), who is capable of disentangling the tangle, this verse shows the arahant, the one beyond training (asekha), who has finished disentangling the tangle.

4, 58 “Where name-and-form ceases,
Stops without remainder,
And also impingement and perception of form:
It is here this tangle is cut.”⁴⁶ Spk says this verse is stated to show the opportunity (or region) for the disentangling of the tangle (jaṭāya vijaṭanokāsa ). Here name (nāma) represents the four mental aggregates. Spk treats impingement (paṭigha) as metrical shorthand for perception of impingement (paṭighasaññā). According to Spk-pṭ, in pāda c we should read a compressed dvanda compound, paṭigharūpasaññā (“perceptions of impingement and of form”), the first part of which has been truncated, split off, and nasalized to fit the metre. Impingement being the impact of the five sense objects on the five sense bases, “perceptionof impingement” (paṭighasaññā) is defined as the fivefold sense perception (seeVibh261,31-34and Vism 329,22-24; Ppn 10:16). Perception of form (rūpasaññā) has a wider range, comprising as well the perceptions of form visualized in the prising as well the perceptions of form visualized in the jhānas [Spk-pṭ: perception of the form of the earth-kasiṇa, etc.]. Spk explains that the former implies sense-sphere existence, the latter form-sphere existence, and the two jointly imply formless-sphere existence, thus completing the three realms of existence.
It is here that this tangle is cut. Spk: The tangle is cut, in the sense that the round with its three planes is terminated; it is cut and ceases in dependence on Nibbāna.
[14]

24. Reining in the Mind

1, 59 “From whatever one reins in the mind,
From that no suffering comes to one.
Should one rein in the mind from everything,
One is freed from all suffering.”

2, 60 “One need not rein in the mind from everything
When the mind has come under control.
From whatever it is that evil comes,
From this one should rein in the mind.”⁴⁷ Readings of pāda b differ. I follow Se and Ee2, mano yatattam āgataṁ, as against Be na mano saṁyatattam āgataṁ. Spk: This deva held the view that one should rein in every state of mind; whether wholesome or not, whether mundane or supramundane, the mind should be reined in, not aroused. [Spk-pṭ: He believed that every state of mind brings suffering and that the unconscious state is better.] The Buddha spoke the rejoinder to show that a distinction should be made between the mind to be reined in and the mind to be developed. See 35:205 (IV 195,15-30), where the Buddha advises reining in the mind (tato cittaṁ nivāraye) from objects that arouse the defilements.

25. The Arahant

1, 61 “If a bhikkhu is an arahant,
Consummate, with taints destroyed,
One who bears his final body,
Would he still say, ‘I speak’?
And would he say, ‘They speak to me’?”⁴⁸ Spk: This deva, who dwelt in a forest grove, heard the forest bhikkhus using such expressions as “I eat, I sit, my bowl, my robe,” etc. Thinking, “I had imagined these bhikkhus to be arahants, but can arahants speak in ways that imply belief in a self?” he approached the Buddha and posed his question.

2, 62 “If a bhikkhu is an arahant,
Consummate, with taints destroyed,
One who bears his final body,
He might still say, ‘I speak,’
And he might say, ‘They speak to me.’
Skilful, knowing the world’s parlance,
He uses such terms as mere expressions.”⁴⁹ Vohāramattena so vohareyya. Spk: “Although arahants have abandoned talk that implies belief in a self, they do not violate conventional discourse by saying, ‘The aggregates eat, the aggregates sit, the aggregates’ bowl, the aggregates’ robe’; for no one would understand them.” See in this connection DN I 202,7-9: “Thus, Citta, there are these worldly expressions, worldly terms, worldly conventions, worldly concepts, which the Tathāgata uses without grasping them.”

3, 63 “When a bhikkhu is an arahant,
Consummate, with taints destroyed,
One who bears his final body,
Is it because he has come upon conceit
That he would say, ‘I speak,’
That he would say, ‘They speak to me’?”⁵⁰ Spk: At this point the deva thought that while arahants may not speak thus because they hold a view (of self), they might do so because they still have conceit (i.e., asmimāna, the conceit “I am”). Hence he asked the second question, and the Buddha’s reply indicates arahants have abandoned the ninefold conceit (see n. 37).

4, 64 “No knots exist for one with conceit abandoned;
For him all knots of conceit are consumed.
Though the wise one has transcended the conceived, [15]
He still might say, ‘I speak,’
He might say too, ‘They speak to me.’
Skilful, knowing the world’s parlance,
He uses such terms as mere expressions.”⁵¹ Spk resolves mānaganthassa in pāda b as māno ca ganthā assa, “for him conceit and knots,” in order to conform to the doctrinal tetrad of gantha, which does not include māna; see 45:174. It seems, however, that here mānaganthā should be understood in a looser sense, as mānassa ganthā. At It 4,16, in a sutta solely about māna, we find mānaganthā used as a bahubbīhi compound qualifying pajā (“a generationknotted by conceit”)and arahantsdescribed as mānaganthābhibhuno (“those who have overcome the knots of conceit”), which supports my rendering here. The readingsofpāda c vary: Be has maññataṁ ,Semaññana (which is the gloss in Spk (Be)), Ee1 yamataṁ, Ee2 ya mataṁ (= yam mataṁ?). Spk explains that he has transcended the threefold conceiving due to craving, views, and conceit.

26. Sources of Light

1, 65 “How many sources of light are in the world
By means of which the world is illumined?
We have come to ask the Blessed One this:
How are we to understand it?”

2, 66 “There are four sources of light in the world;
A fifth one is not found here.
The sun shines by day,
The moon glows at night,
67 And fire flares up here and there
Both by day and at night.
But the Buddha is the best of those that shine:
He is the light unsurpassed.”

27. Streams

1, 68 “From where do the streams turn back?
Where does the round no longer revolve?
Where does name-and-form cease,
Stop without remainder?”

2, 69 “Where water, earth, fire, and air,
Do not gain a footing:
It is from here that the streams turn back,
Here that the round no longer revolves;
Here name-and-form ceases,
Stops without remainder.”⁵² Spk: The question refers to the “streams” of saṁsāra, the answer to Nibbāna. Portions of the reply can be found at DN I 223,13-15 and Ud 9,4. On the stopping of the streams, see Sn 1034-37, and on the round not revolving see the expression vaṭṭaṁ … natthi paññāpanāya at 22:56-57 and 44:6 (IV 391,9).

28. Those of Great Wealth

1, 71⁵³ Ee2 precedes this verse with another (v. 70) found only in two Lanna mss from northern Thailand. As that verse is not included in any other edition or known ms of SN, and hardly relates to the subject matter of the dialogue between the Buddha and the devatā, it clearly does not belong here; thus I have not translated it. My decision is further supported by the absence of any gloss on the verse in Spk and Spk-pṭ, which indicates it was not found in the texts available to the commentators. At Ee2, p. xvii, the editor argues that this verse must be “restored” to provide a question put by the deity, but he assumes that the sutta originally read the first word of v. 72d as te which was then changed to ko or ke by the textual tradition in order to supply a question. But since ke as a question makes perfectly good sense, both syntactically and semantically, there is no reason to suppose the original reading was te and thus no need to interpolate a new verse to supply the question. “Those of great wealth and property,
Even khattiyas who rule the country,
Look at each other with greedy eyes,
Insatiable in sensual pleasures.
72 Among these who have become so avid,
Flowing along in the stream of existence,
Who here have abandoned craving?
Who in the world are no longer avid?”⁵⁴ Spk: “ong those who have become so avid (ussukkajātesu): Among those who are engaged in various tasks, avid to produce unarisen forms, etc., and to enjoy those that have arisen.” In pāda c of the second verse I read ke ’dha taṇhaṁ with Be and Se, as against gedhataṇhaṁ(“greed and craving”) in Ee1 & 2, and kodhataṇhaṁ(“anger and craving”) in SS. In pāda d, Ee2 reads te lokasmiṁas against ke lokasmiṁ in the other eds. Ussuka (Skt utsuka) means anxiously desirous, zealous, or busily engaged in some pursuit. The corresponding noun is ussukka, which is sometimes found where the adjective would have been more appropriate. Ussuka is used in both a laudatory and reprobative sense. At 41:3 (IV 288,12 = 291,4, 302,7), it occurs in the commendatory sense, which I render “zealous.” See too MN I 324,27 and Vin I 49,19-50,8. The negative sense—of being greedy, ambitious, or “avid” (my preferred rendering)—is found here and at Dhp 199. The expression appossukka, lit. “having little zeal,” is used to describe one who refrains from busy activity. In SN we find this expression—which I generally render, loosely, “(living) at ease”—at 9:10 (I 202,22), 21:4 (II 277,12), 35:240 (IV 178,1, here “keeping still”), and 51:10 (V 262,18). The abstract noun appossukkatā, at 6:1 (I 137,1, 6), characterizes the Buddha’s original inclination, just after his enlightenment, towards a life of quietude rather than towards the “busy work” of preaching the Dhamma. See too below n. 366 and n. 551.

2, 73 “Having left their homes and gone forth,
Having left their dear sons and cattle,
Having left behind lust and hatred,
Having expunged ignorance—
The arahants with taints destroyed
Are those in the world no longer avid.” [16]

29. Four Wheels

1, 74 “Having four wheels and nine doors,
Filled up and bound with greed,
Born from a bog, O great hero!
How does one escape from it?”⁵⁵ Spk: The four wheels are the four modes of deportment (walking, standing, sitting, lying down). The nine doors are the nine “wound openings” (eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, genitals, anus). It is filled up with impure body parts (head-hairs, etc.), and bound with greed, i.e., with craving. How does one escape from it?: How can there be emergence from such a body? How can there be freedom, release, a transcendence of it? Spk-pṭ adds: It is born from a bog (paṅkajāta) because it is produced in the foul bog of the mother’s womb. The Pāli expression could also have been rendered, “It is a bog,” but I follow Spk-pṭ. This stark perspective on the body is elaborated at Sn I, 11, pp. 34-35.

2, 75 “Having cut the thong and the strap,
Having cut off evil desire and greed,
Having drawn out craving with its root:
Thus one escapes from it.”⁵⁶ In pāda a (= Dhp 398a), Ee1 nandiṁ should be amended to naddhiṁ. Spk explains that in the Dhp verse varattā is craving (taṇhā), but as craving is mentioned separately in our verse, varattā is glossed differently here. Spk: The thong (naddhi) is hostility (upanāha), i.e., strong anger; the strap (varattā) is the remaining defilements. Desire and greed refer to the same mental state spoken of in two senses: desire (icchā) is the preliminary weak stage, or the desire for what has not been obtained; greed (lobha) is the subsequent strong stage, or the holding to an acquired object. Craving with its root: with its root of ignorance.

30. Antelope Calves

1, 76 “Having approached you, we ask a question
Of the slender hero with antelope calves,
Greedless, subsisting on little food,
Wandering alone like a lion or nāga,
Without concern for sensual pleasures:
How is one released from suffering?”⁵⁷ This verse of inquiry occurs at Sn 165-66, though with an additional couplet and with a variant line in place of the actual question. The inquirers there are the two yakkhas, Hemavata and Sātāgira. The question (or rather, string of questions) is posed only at Sn 168 and the reply given at Sn 169; they are identical with the question and reply at vv. 221-22. It is only after receiving this reply that the yakkhas pose the present question, kathaṁ dukkhā pamuccati? , and the answer given is identical. Having antelope calves (eṇijaṅgha) is one of the thirty-two marks of a great man (see DN III 156,5-12; MN II 136,14). On nāga, see below n. 84.

2, 77 “Five cords of sensual pleasure in the world,
With mind declared to be the sixth:
Having expunged desire here,
One is thus released from suffering.”⁵⁸ Spk: Here: in this name-and-form (nāmarūpa). By mentioning the five cords of sensual pleasure, form is indicated [Spk-pṭ: because they have the nature of form]. By mind (mano), name (nāma), i.e., the four mental aggregates, is indicated. Thus the basis (of desire) here can be interpreted by way of the five aggregates, etc.

1Thus have I heard. 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.⁵⁹ Spk explains that these devas were called satullapakāyikā (“belonging to the extolling-of-the-good group”) because they had been reborn in heaven as a result of extolling the Dhamma of the good by way of undertaking it [Spk-pṭ: that is, the Dhamma of the good which consists of going for refuge, taking the precepts, etc.]. The background story is as follows: Once a merchant ship with a crew of seven hundred men, while crossing the sea, was beset by a terrible storm. As the ship sank, the crew members, praying frantically to their gods, noticed one of their number sitting calmly, cross-legged “like a yogi,” free from fear. They asked him how he could remain so calm, and he explained that as he had undertaken the Three Refuges and Five Precepts he had no reason for fear. They requested the same from him, and after dividing them into seven groups of a hundred each he gave each group in turn the refuges and precepts, completing the procedure just as the ship was swallowed up by the sea. As the fruit of this final deed of merit, all the men were immediately reborn in the Tāvatiṁsa heaven in a single group with their leader at the head. Recognizing that they had attained such fortune through their leader’s kindness, they came to the Blessed One’s presence to speak praise of him.
Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. [17]

2Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

3, 78 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
One becomes better, never worse.”

4Then five other devatās in turn recited their verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

5, 79 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
Wisdom is gained, but not from another.”⁶⁰ Spk: Just as oil is not to be obtained from sand, so wisdom is not gained from another, from the blind fool; but just as oil is obtained from sesamum seeds, so one gains wisdom by learning the Dhamma of the good and by following a wise person.

6, 80 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
One does not sorrow in the midst of sorrow.”

7, 81 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
One shines amidst one’s relations.”

8, 82 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
Beings fare on to a good destination.”

9, 83 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
Beings abide comfortably.”⁶¹ I take sātataṁ to be an accusative adverb from the abstract noun of sāta. Spk, however, takes it as an adverb from satata, “continually,” which seems less satisfactory.

10Then another devatā said to the Blessed One: “Which one, Blessed One, has spoken well?”

11“You have all spoken well in a way.⁶² Pariyāyena. Spk glosses kāraṇena, “for a reason,” which does not help much. I understand the purport to be that their verses are only provisionally correct, acceptable from a mundane point of view. The Buddha’s verse is definitive (nippariyāyena) because it points to the ultimate goal. See the contrast of pariyāyena and nippariyāyena at AN IV 449-54. But listen to me too: [18]

12, 84 “One should associate only with the good;
With the good one should foster intimacy.
Having learnt the true Dhamma of the good,
One is released from all suffering.”

13This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, those devatās paid homage to the Blessed One and, keeping him on the right, they disappeared right there.

32. Stinginess

1On 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.

2Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

3, 85 “Through stinginess and negligence
A gift is not given.
One who knows, desiring merit,
Should surely give a gift.”

4Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

5, 86 “That which the miser fears when he does not give
Is the very danger that comes to the nongiver.
The hunger and thirst that the miser fears
Afflict that fool in this world and the next.

6, 87 “Therefore, having removed stinginess,
The conqueror of the stain should give a gift.⁶³ The stain (mala) is stinginess itself; see the stock description of the generous lay follower as one who “dwells at home with a mind rid of the stain of stinginess” (vigatamalamaccherena cetasā agāraṁ ajjhāvasati).
Deeds of merit are the support for living beings
[When they arise] in the other world.”

7Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

8, 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 Spk: Those do not die among the dead: They do not die among those who are “dead” by the death consisting in miserliness. The goods of the miser are just like those of the dead, for neither distribute their belongings.

9, 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]

10Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

11, 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.

12, 91 “Therefore their destination after death
Differs for the good and the bad:
The bad go to hell,
The good are bound for heaven.”

13Then another devatā said to the Blessed One: “Which one, Blessed One, has spoken well?”

14“You have all spoken well in a way. But listen to me too:

15, 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 Spk: If one practises the Dhamma: if one practises the Dhamma by way of the ten courses of wholesome kamma. Though getting on by gleaning (samuñjakaṁ care): one gets on “by gleaning” by cleaning up the threshing floor, etc., beating the straw, etc. Of those who sacrifice a thousand: Of those who sacrifice (offer alms) to a thousand bhikkhus or who offer alms purchased with a thousand pieces of money. This done a hundred thousand times is equivalent to alms given to ten koṭis of bhikkhus or worth ten koṭis of money (a koṭi = 10,000,000). Are not worth even a fraction: the word “fraction” (kala) can mean a sixteenth part, or a hundredth part, or a thousandth part; here a hundredth part is intended. If one divides into a hundred parts (the value of) a gift given by him, the gift of 10,000 koṭis given by the others is not worth one portion of that. Though Spk speaks of alms offerings to bhikkhus, v. 94 just below implies that the animal sacrifices of the brahmins are what is being rejected.

16Then another devatā addressed the Blessed One in verse:

17, 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?”

18Then the Blessed One answered that devatā in verse:

19, 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.
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. Good

1At 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.

2Then one devatā, standing to one side, uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

3“Good is giving, dear sir!

4, 95 “Through stinginess and negligence
A gift is not given.
One who knows, desiring merit,
Should surely give a gift.”

5Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

6“Good is giving, dear sir!

7And further:
Even when there’s little, giving is good.

8, 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.”

9Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

10“Good is giving, dear sir!
Even when there’s little, giving is good.
And further:
When done with faith too, giving is good.

11, 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 Spk: “Faith” here means faith in kamma and its fruit. Just as in war a few heroic men conquer even many cowards, so one endowed with faith, etc., in giving even a small gift, crushes much stinginess and achieves abundant fruit.

12Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

13“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.

14, 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 Spk explains dhammaladdhassa as either wealth righteously gained, or a person who has gained righteousness, i.e., a noble disciple. The former alternative makes better sense; see AN II 68,13-20. Yama is the god of the nether world; Vetaraṇı̄ is the Buddhist equivalent of the river Styx (see Sn 674 and Pj II 482,4-6). Spk says that Vetaraṇı̄ is mentioned only as “the heading of the teaching,” i.e., as an example; he has actually passed over all thirty-one great hells.

15Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

16“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 Viceyyadānaṁ The expression is an absolutive syntactical compound; see Norman, “Syntactical Compounds in Middle Indo-Aryan,” in Collected Papers, 4:218-19. Spk: A gift given after making discrimination. There are two kinds of discrimination: (i) regarding the offering, i.e., one puts aside inferior items and gives only superior items; and (ii) regarding the recipient, i.e., one leaves aside those defective in morality or the followers of the ninety-five heretical creeds (pāsaṇḍa, the non-Buddhist sects; see n. 355) and gives to those endowed with such qualities as virtue, etc., who have gone forth in the Buddha’s dispensation.

17, 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.”

18Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One:

19“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.
And further:
Restraint towards living beings is also good.

20, 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.”

21Then another devatā said to the Blessed One: [22] “Which one, Blessed One, has spoken well?”

22“You have all spoken well in a way. But listen to me too:

23, 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 In pāda a, I read addhā hi with Ee2 and SS (also at Ja III 472,29), as against saddhā hi in Be and Ee1 and saddhābhi in Se . Spk glosses dhammapadaṁva in pāda b thus: nibbānasaṅkhātaṁ dhammapadam eva, “just the state of Dhamma known as Nibbāna.” Usually dhammapada is a stanza or saying of Dhamma (as at vv. 785-86, 826), which is also plausible in this context, but I prefer to take it as a metrical contraction of dhammapaṭipadā, the practice-path of Dhamma, a sense attested to at Sn 88, which explicitly equates dhammapada with magga. The point the Buddha is then making is that the practice of Dhamma (by the Noble Eightfold Path aimed at Nibbāna) is better than the practice of giving aimed at a heavenly rebirth. The fuller gloss on the verse at Ja III 474 supports the above interpretation: ʺAlthough giving is definitely (ekaṁen’ eva, apparently the gloss on addhā hi) praised in (ekamsenʹeva, apparently the gloss on addhāhi) praised in many ways, a dhammapada—a portion of Dhamma (dhammakoṭthāsa ) consisting in serenity and insight and in Nibbāna—is even better than giving. Why so? Because in the past (pubb’ eva)—that is, in this aeon, Kassapa Buddha and soon—and even earlier (pubbatar’eva) , that is, Vessabhū Buddha and so on (in earlier aeons), the good, the superior persons (sappurisā), endowed with wisdom, developed serenity and insight and attained Nibbāna.”

34. There Are No

1On 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.

2Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

3, 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 In pāda d, we should adopt the reading of the agent noun āgantā in Be, Se, and Ee2, as against āgantvā in Ee1, which leaves the sentence with an unresolved absolutive clause. We find āgantā used in the sense of āgāmī, and anāgantā used synonymously with anāgāmī (in relation to itthattaṁ, “this state of being”) at AN I 63,30-64,18. Spk: They do not come from Death’s realm, that is, from the round of existence with its three planes, to Nibbāna, which is the state of no-more-coming-back (apunāgamana), so called because beings do not return from Nibbāna. One who is heedless and bound to sensual pleasures cannot attain that.

4[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 identity of the speaker of this passage is difficult to determine from the text. I follow Ee2 in taking it to be another devatā. Though most editions break the lines up as if they were verse, there is no recognizable metre and it seems likely they are intended as prose. Ee2 does not number it as a verse. Spk says that misery (agha) in the first line is the suffering of the five aggregates, and suffering (dukkha) in the second line is synonymous with it. The fourth line is paraphrased: “By the removal of the five aggregates the suffering of the round is removed.”

[The Blessed One:]

5, 103 “They are not sense pleasures, the world’s pretty things:
Man’s sensuality is the intention of lust.
The pretty things remain as they are in the world
But the wise remove the desire for them.⁷² In pāda b the unusual compound saṅkapparāga is glossed by Spk as saṅkappitarāga, “intended lust.” Mp III 407,5 glosses: saṅkappavasena uppannarāgo, “lust arisen by way of intention (or thought).” Spk-pṭ adds: subhādivasena saṅkappitavatthumhi rāgo, “lust in regard to an object thought about as beautiful, etc.” The key to the expression, however, is probably Dhp 339d (= Th 760d), where we find saṅkappā rāganissitā, “intentions based on lust.” Spk sums up the purport of the verse thus: “Here the identification of sensuality with the sensual object is rejected; it is the sensual defilement that is called sensuality.” Dhīra allows of two derivations, one meaning “wise,” the other “firm, steadfast”; see PED and MW, s.v. dhīra. I have usually translated it as “wise,” following the commentarial gloss paṇḍita, but elsewhere (e.g., at vv. 411e, 413e, 493a, 495a) I have taken advantage of the word’s ambivalence to render it “steadfast.” The word has elevated overtones and seems to be used solely in verse.
[23]

6, 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 Akiñcana in pāda c is a common epithet of the arahant. Spk explains it as devoid of the “something” (or impediments) of lust, hatred, and delusion (see 41:7; IV 297,18-19 = MN I 298,14-15).

7, 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.”

8, 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 Spk: Mogharāja was an elder skilled in the sequential structure of discourses (anusandhikusala). [Spk-pṭ: He was one of the sixteen pupils of the brahmin Bāvarı̄;see Sn 1116-19.] Having observed that the meaning of the last verse had not gone in sequence, he spoke thus to connect it in sequence (perhaps by drawing out its implications?). Spk points out that although all arahants can be described as “the best of men, faring for the good of humans” (naruttamaṁ atthacaraṁ narānaṁ), the elder used this expression with specific reference to the Buddha (dasabalaṁ sandhāy’ eva). Spk paraphrases his statement as an interrogative (te kiṁ pasaṁsiyā udāhu apasaṁsiyā), which I follow, but it might also be read as a simple declaration which is first confirmed and then improved upon by the Buddha.

9, 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 Spk explains bhikkhū in pāda a (and presumably in pāda d too) as a vocative addressed to Mogharāja; but as the latter is also addressed by name it seems preferable to take the word in both instances as a nominative plural. In both Be and Se the word is clearly plural. The Buddha thus confirms that those who venerate him are praiseworthy, but steers the inquirer beyond mere devotion by adding that those who understand the truth and abandon doubt (by attaining the path of stream-entry) are even more praiseworthy; for they will eventually become “surmounters of ties” (saṅgātigā), i.e., arahants.

35. Faultfinders

1On 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 Spk: There is no separate deva world named “the faultfinders” (ujjhānasaññino). This name was given to these devas by the redactors of the texts because they arrived in order to find fault with the Tathāgata for his “misuse” of the four requisites. They had thought: ʺThe ascetic Gotama praises contentment with simple requisites to the bhikkhus, but he himself lives luxuriously. Daily he teaches the Dhamma to the multitude. His speech goes in one direction, his deeds in another.” The fact that they address the Buddha while they are still hovering in the air is already indicative of disrespect. [24]

2Then one devatā, standing in the air, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

3, 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 Spk defines kitavā as a fowler (sākuṇika) and explains: “As a fowler conceals himself behind branches and foliage and kills the fowl that come near, thereby supporting his wife, so the swindler conceals himself behind a rag-robe and cheats the multitude with clever talk. All the use he makes of the four requisites (robes, food, lodging, and medicines) is use by theft. The deva utters this verse with reference to the Blessed One.” The same explanation of kitavā is given at Dhp-a III 375 (to Dhp 252). However, at Ja VI 228,19 the word occurs in a context that clearly shows it means a gambler; it is glossed by akkhadhutta, a dice-gambler, and I translate accordingly here. See Palihawadana, “From Gambler to Camouflage: The Strange Semantic Metamorphosis of Pāli Kitavā.”

[Another devatā:]

4, 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:]

5, 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.

6, 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.”

7Then those devatās, having alighted on the earth, prostrated themselves with their heads at the Blessed One’s feet and said to the Blessed One:“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.”

8Then the Blessed One displayed a smile.⁷⁸ Spk: Why did the Buddha display a smile? It is said that those devas did not apologize in a way that accorded with the Buddha’s true nature (sabhāvena); they acted as if there were no difference between the Tathāgata, the supreme person in the world, and ordinary worldly people. The Blessed One smiled with the intention: “When discussion arises from this, I will show the power of a Buddha and thereafter I will pardon them.” 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:

9, 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:]

10, 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 In pāda d, I follow Se in reading tenādha, as against kenīdha in Be and Ee1 and ko nīdha in Ee2. Neither Spk nor Spk-pṭ offers any help with the meaning of the verse. I translate kusala here in accordance with Spk-pṭ’s gloss, anavajja. At KS 1:35 this verse has been overlooked.

[A devatā:]

11, 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:]

12, 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.

13, 116 “If one does not grant pardon
To those who confess transgression,
Angry at heart, intent on hate,
One strongly harbours enmity.
In that enmity I do not delight,
Thus I pardon your transgression.”

36. Faith

1On 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.

2Then one devatā, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

3, 117 “Faith is a person’s partner;
If lack of faith does not persist,
Fame and renown thereby come to him,
And he goes to heaven on leaving the body.”

4Then another devatā recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

5, 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 This verse is identical with v. 104 except that in pāda d saṅgā replaces dukkhā. On the five ties, see n. 12.

[Another devatā:]

6, 119 “Foolish people devoid of wisdom
Devote themselves to negligence.
But the wise man guards diligence
As his foremost treasure.

7, 120 “Do not yield to negligence,
Don’t be intimate with sensual delight.
For the diligent ones, meditating,
Attain supreme happiness.” [26]

37. Concourse

1Thus 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 This sutta reproduces the opening of the Mahāsamaya Sutta (DN No. 20). The background story, related in detail in Spk (as well as in Sv II 672-77 on DN No. 20), begins when the Buddha intervened to prevent a war between the Sakyans and Koliyans, his paternal and maternal kins-men, over the waters of the river Rohiṇı̄. After he mediated a peaceful resolution of their conflict, 250 youths from each community went forth under him as monks. After a period of exertion, they all attained arahantship on the same day, the full-moon day of the month of Jeṭṭhamūla (May-June). When the sutta opens, on the same night, they have all assembled in the Master’s presence in order to announce their attainments. The word samaya in the title means, not “occasion,” but meeting or “concourse”; Spk glosses mahāsamaya in v. 121 as mahāsamūha, “great assembly.” 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 The Pure Abodes (suddhāvāsā) are five planes in the form realm into which only nonreturners can be reborn: Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, Sudassı̄, and Akaniṭṭha. Here they attain final deliverance without ever returning from that realm. All the inhabitants are thus either nonreturners or arahants. “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.”

2Then, 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 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:

3, 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.”

4Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

5, 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]

6Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

7, 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 In pāda a, I read khilaṁ with Se and Ee1 & 2, as against khīlaṁ in Be. As indakhīlaṁ appears in pāda b, khīlaṁ would be redundant in pāda a. The two words are unrelated: khila is a wasteland, both literally and figuratively; khīla, a stake or pillar, of which a particular kind, the indakhīla , is planted in front of a city gate or at the entrance to a house as an auspicious symbol. Spk defines all three terms—khila, paligha, and indakhīla—in the same way, as lust, hatred, and delusion. At 45:166 these three are called khila, but at MN I 139,19-22 paligha is identified with ignorance (avijjā). A set of five cetokhila is mentioned at MN I 101,9-27. These bhikkhus are unstirred (anejā) by the stirring (or commotion, ejā) of craving (see 35:90). Nāga is a word used to designate various types of powerful beings, particularly a class of semi-divine dragons, but it also can denote cobras and bull elephants and is used as a metaphor for the arahant; see MN I 145,5-7. In relation to the arahant the dominant sense is that of the bull elephant (see Dhp chap. 23), but because the latter expression would, in English, seem demeaning rather than complimentary I have left nāga untranslated. Spk explains the word by way of “edifying etymology” thus: chandādīhi na gacchantī ti nāgā; tena tena maggena pahīne kilese na āgacchantī ti nāgā; nānappakāraṁ āguṁ na karontī ti nāgā; “nāgas, because they do not go along by way of desire and so forth; nāgas, because they do not return to the defilements abandoned by the successive paths; nāgas, because they do not commit the various kinds of crime.” Spk calls this a brief account and refers the reader to Nidd I 201-2 for a full explanation. See too Sn 522, which offers a similar etymology.
The “One with Vision” (cakkhumā) is the Buddha, so called because he possesses the “five eyes” (see n. 370).

8Then another devatā recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One:

9, 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 Spk: This verse refers to those who have gone for refuge by the definitive going for refuge (nibbematikasaraṇagamana ). Spk-pṭ: By this the supramundane going for refuge is meant (i.e., by the minimal attainment of stream-entry). But those who go for refuge to the Buddha by the mundane going for refuge (i.e., without a noble attainment) will not go to the plane of misery; and if there are other suitable conditions, on leaving the human body they will fill up the hosts of devas.

38. The Stone Splinter

1Thus 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 The Buddha’s foot had been injured when his evil cousin Devadatta tried to murder him by hurling a boulder at him on Mount Vulture Peak. The boulder was deflected, but a splinter that broke off from it cut the Buddha’s foot and drew blood. The full story of Devadatta’s evil schemes is related at Vin II 184-203; see too Ñāṇamoli, Life of the Buddha, chap. 13. This same incident forms the background to 4:13 below. According to Spk, the seven hundred devas who came to see the Blessed One included all the devas of the Satullapa host. 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.

2Then, when the night had advanced, seven 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.

3Then 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 Spk: He is called a nāga on account of his strength (see n. 84); a lion (sīha) on account of his fearlessness; a thoroughbred (ājānīya) on account of his familiarity with what he has learned (?byattaparicayaṭṭhena),or because he knows what is the right means and the wrong means; a chief bull (nisabha) because he is without a rival; a beast of burden (dhorayha) because of bearing the burden; tamed (danta) because he is free from deviant conduct. Spk glosses nāgavatā as nāgabhāvena . Geiger takes nāgavatā as the instrumental of the adjective nāgavant used adverbially in the sense of a comparison (GermTr, p. 93). However, I follow Norman’s suggestion (in a personal communication) that -vata here may be the Pāli equivalent of Skt -vrata, in the sense of “sphere of action, function, mode or manner of life, vow” (MW). Ee2, based on a Lanna commentary, emends the text to read nāgo va tā ca pan’ uppannā sārīrikā vedanā (and similarly in the parallel passages that follow); see Ee2, p. xviii. But I am doubtful that the text would switch so suddenly from metaphor (in the previous sentence) to simile, and then back to metaphor below.

4Then 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.”

5Then 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.”

6Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “The ascetic Gotama is indeed a chief bull, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful ... disagreeable, through his chief bull’s manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.”

7Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “The ascetic Gotama is indeed a beast of burden, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful ... disagreeable, through his beast-of-burden’s manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.”

8Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “The ascetic Gotama is indeed tamed, sir! And when bodily feelings have arisen that are painful, racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing, disagreeable, through his tamed manner he endures them, mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.”

9Then another devatā uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “See his concentration well developed and his mind well liberated—not bent forward and not bent back, and not blocked and checked by forceful suppression! ⁸⁸ I read with Se: Passa samādhiṁ subhāvitaṁ cittañ ca suvimuttaṁ na cābhinataṁ na cāpanataṁ na ca sasaṅkhāraniggayhavāritavataṁ . Be is identical except that the final word in the compound is read as -gataṁ;; Ee1 -cāritavataṁ is clearly an error, rectified in PED, s.v. vāritavata. Ee2 reads as in Se, but with niggayha taken as uncompounded, which leaves sasaṅkhāra dangling. The same expression occurs elsewhere: at AN IV 428,9-10 the full formula is used to describe a samādhi called aññāphala, the fruit of final knowledge (or perhaps, “having final knowledge as its fruit”); sasaṅkhāraniggayhavāritavata, at AN I 254,34, describes a samādhi developed as the basis for the six abhiññā (probably the fourth jhāna); and at AN III 24,9, DN III 279,4, and Vibh 334,15, it characterizes a “right concentration of fivefold knowledge” (pañcañāṇika sammā samādhi). In the present context, it seems, the expression qualifies cittaṁ, mind, though the mind has these qualities by virtue of the samādhi in which it is absorbed. At AN IV 428,9-10 and elsewhere the phrase clearly qualifies the samādhi. Spk (Se): The concentration is that of the fruit of arahantship (arahattaphalasamādhi). The mind is said to be well liberated (suvimuttaṁ) because it is liberated by the fruit. Not bent forward and not bent back: the mind accompanied by lust is said to be “bent forward” (abhinataṁ), that accompanied by hate to be ʺbent backʺ (apanataṁ) . Rejecting both, he speaks thus. Not blocked and checked by forceful suppression: It is not blocked and checked, having suppressed the defilements forcefully, with effort; rather, it is checked because the defilements have been cut off. The meaning is that it is concentrated by the concentration of fruition (na ca sasaṅkhāraniggayhavāritavatan ti na sasaṅkhārena sappayogena kilese niggahetvā vāritavataṁ; kilesānaṁ pana chinnattā vataṁ, phalasamādhinā samāhitan ti attho). (N.B. While Spk (Be) reads -gataṁ in the lemma, it reads -vataṁ twice in the explanation.)
Spk-pṭ: This is not achieved, not fixed, forcefully, with effort, by way of abandoning in a particular respect or by way of abandoning through suppression as is the mundane-jhāna mind or insight; but rather (it is achieved) because the defilements have been completely cut off (lokiyajjhānacittaṁviya vipassanā viya ca sasaṅkhārena sappayogena tadaṅgappahāna-vikkhambhanappahānavasena ca vikkhambhetvā na adhigataṁ na ṭhapitaṁ, kiñcarahi kilesānaṁ sabbaso chinnatāya).
The Pāli phrase is extremely difficult and the exact reading uncertain. Indeed, in the Central Asian Skt ms corresponding to DN III 279,4 (Waldschmidt, Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden IV, p. 70, V.8 (3)), it is conspicuously absent. A Skt version in Śrāv-bh (p. 444,19-21) reads vārivad dhṛtaṁ, “maintained like water,” which seems to me unlikely to correspond to the original reading.
Ee1 puts a hiatus after niggayha, and Ee2 separates it off entirely; the other eds. integrate niggayha into the long compound. There is no way to determine, on the basis of grammar alone, which is correct. Each attempt to resolve the expression into its elements gives rise to its own special problems, and even the aṭṭhakathās and ṭīkās offer conflicting explanations, e.g., Sv III 1060,11-13 and Vibh-a 421,13-15 take niggayha to be absolutive (as does Spk) and turn vārita into the absolutive vāretvā; their respective ṭīkās, Sv-pṭ III 284,24-27 (Be) and Vibh-mṭ 205,16-18 (Be), take niggayha as the gerundive niggahetabba and vārita as the gerundive vāretabba. Since niggayha occurs elsewhere unambiguously as an absolutive (e.g., at MN III 118,4, interestingly, as here, without a direct object), while there seem to be no instances in canonical Pāli of the word occurring as a gerundive, the aṭṭhakathās are more likely to be right. Norman questions this interpretation on the ground that there is no other known instance in Pāli of an absolutive occurring as the second member of a compound (personal communication), but perhaps we should not rule out the possibility that we have such a construction here. I translate, however, in compliance with natural English idiom rather than in strict conformity with the syntax of the Pāli.
Readings of the last part of the compound vary among the different traditions: in general vāritavata prevails in the Sinhalese tradition, vāritagata in the Burmese,with Burmese vv.ll. vārivāvata and vārivāvaṭa also recorded. Vārita here is a past participle of the causative vāreti, to block, to restrain. The terminal member of the compound could then be either vata or gata. Gata is clearly a past participle. Vata is more problematic. At KS 1:39, vāritavataṁ is rendered “having the habit of self-denial.” Apparently C.Rh.D understands vata as equivalent to Skt vrata . However, Spk’s gloss, chinnattā vataṁ phalasamādhinā samāhitaṁ, suggests that we have a past participle here, and I would propose that vata represents Skt vṛta, which according to MW can mean “stopped, checked, held back.” I cannot cite other occurrences of the simple participle vata in Pāli, but prefixed forms are common enough: saṁvuta, nibbuta, vivaṭa, āvaṭa, etc. Thus we would have here two past participles from the same root, one causative, the other simple, so that the compound vāritavata would mean “blocked and checked” (unfortunately two distinct English verbs are needed to capture the nuances). Although this construction is certainly unusual, it need not be rejected out of hand, as it may have been used for special emphasis. If the reading gata is accepted, vāritagata could mean “gone to (attained to) control,” with varita taken as a noun of state. This certainly sounds more natural than vāritavata, but the prevalence of vata in the textual tradition lends strong support to its authenticity.
If anyone would think such a one could be violated—such a nāga of a man, such a lion of a man, [29] such a thoroughbred of a man, such a chief bull of a man, such a beast of burden of a man, such a tamed man—what is that due to apart from lack of vision?”

10, 125 Though brahmins learned in the five Vedas
Practise austerities for a hundred years,
Their minds are not rightly liberated:
Those of low nature do not reach the far shore.⁸⁹ It is not clear who is speaking these stanzas, and the verses themselves have no evident connection to the preceding prose portion of the sutta. It is possible they were annexed to the prose text by the redactors of the canon. I read pāda a as in Be, Se, and Ee2 thus: pañcavedā sataṁ samaṁ. The mention of five Vedas is strange but Spk explains: itihāsapañcamānaṁ vedānaṁ, “the Vedas with the histories as a fifth.” Spk glosses sataṁ samaṁ as vassasataṁ; Geiger is certainly wrong in rejecting this explanation (GermTr, p. 41, n. 3). Spk also glosses hīnattarūpā as hīnattasabhāvā and mentions a variant, hīnattharūpā, glossed by Spk-pṭ as hīnatthajātikā parihnatthā, ʺthose of low goals, those who have fallen away from the goal.”

11, 126 They founder in craving, bound to vows and rules,
Practising rough austerity for a hundred years,
But their minds are not rightly liberated:
Those of low nature do not reach the far shore.

12, 127 There is no taming here for one fond of conceit,
Nor is there sagehood for the unconcentrated:
Though dwelling alone in the forest, heedless,
One cannot cross beyond the realm of Death.

13, 128 Having abandoned conceit, well concentrated,
With lofty mind, everywhere released:
While dwelling alone in the forest, diligent,
One can cross beyond the realm of Death.

39. Pajjunna’s Daughter (1)

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesālī in the Great Wood in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. Then, when the night had advanced, Kokanadā, Pajjunna’s daughter, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Great Wood, approached the Blessed One.⁹⁰ Pajjunna (Skt Parjanya) is the deva-king of rain clouds; originally a Vedic deity, Spk assigns him to the heaven of the Four Great Kings. He is mentioned at DN III 205,6. Nothing else is known about his two daughters, named after the red lotus (see v. 401a). Having approached, she paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 129 “I worship the Buddha, the best of beings,
Dwelling in the woods at Vesālī. [30]
Kokanadā am I,
Kokanadā, Pajjunna’s daughter.⁹² Neither Spk nor Spk-pṭ offers help with the singular sattassa in pāda a, but I take this simply as a metrical adaptation of sattānaṁ. The line then expresses the same idea as 45:139 (V 41,23-42,2).

3, 130 “Earlier I had only heard that the Dhamma
Has been realized by the One with Vision;
But now I know it as a witness
While the Sage, the Fortunate One, teaches.

4, 131 “Those ignorant people who go about
Criticizing the noble Dhamma
Pass on to the terrible Roruva hell
And experience suffering for a long time.⁹³ Spk: There are two Roruva hells: the Smokey Roruva (dhūmaroruva )and the Flaming Roruva (jālaroruva) . The Smokey Roruva is a separate hell, but the Flaming Roruva is a name for the great hell Avı̄ci, called Roruva because when beings are roasted there they cry out again and again (punappunaṁ ravaṁ ravanti). At 3:20 the Flaming Roruva is spoken of as the Great Roruva (mahāroruva).

5, 132 “But those who have peace and acquiescence
In regard to the noble Dhamma,
On discarding the human body,
Will fill the host of devas.”⁹⁴ Spk-pṭ glosses khantiyā in pāda b as ñāṇakhantiyā, which implies that here the word does not bear its usual meaning of patience, but the special sense of “acquiescence” (in the Teaching). See the expression dhammanijjhānakkhanti at MN II 173,21-22.

40. Pajjunna’s Daughter (2)

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesālī in the Great Wood, in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. Then, when the night had advanced, Cūḷakokanadā, Pajjunna’s [younger] daughter, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Great Wood, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, she paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 133 “Here came Kokanadā, Pajjunna’s daughter,
Beautiful as the gleam of lightning.
Venerating the Buddha and the Dhamma,
She spoke these verses full of meaning. [31]

3, 134 “Though the Dhamma is of such a nature
That I might analyse it in many ways,
I will state its meaning briefly
To the extent I have learnt it by heart.⁹⁵ The Dhamma is of such a nature (tādiso dhammo). Spk: “For such is the nature of the Dhamma, O Blessed One, it has such a structure, such divisions, that it lends itself to analysis in many ways.” Spk-pṭ: “It is such that one who has penetrated the truths as they are, skilled in the meaning and the doctrine, might explain, teach, proclaim, establish, disclose, analyse, and elucidate it, bringing forth examples, reasons, and conclusions.”

4, 135 “One should do no evil in all the world,
Not by speech, mind, or body.
Having abandoned sense pleasures,
Mindful and clearly comprehending,
One should not pursue a course
That is painful and harmful.”

1Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devatā of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta’s Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One:

2, 136 “When one’s house is ablaze
The vessel taken out
Is the one that is useful,
Not the one left burnt inside.

3, 137 “So when the world is ablaze
With [the fires of] aging and death,
One should take out [one’s wealth] by giving:
What is given is well salvaged. [32]

4, 139⁹⁶ Ee2, again on the testimony of the Lanna mss, precedes this verse with another one (v. 138) on the unpredictability of death, found also at Ja II 58. But if the verse were originally part of the text, Spk would surely have incorporated here the commentary on it found, with the verse itself, at Vism 236-37 (Ppn 8:29-34). Since there are strong reasons against the inclusion of the verse, I have passed over it in this translation. “What is given yields pleasant fruit,
But not so what is not given.
Thieves take it away, or kings,
It gets burnt by fire or is lost.

5, 140 “Then in the end one leaves the body
Along with one’s possessions.
Having understood this, the wise person
Should enjoy himself but also give.
Having given and enjoyed as fits his means,
Blameless he goes to the heavenly state.”

42. Giving What?

[A devatā:]

1, 141 “Giving what does one give strength?
Giving what does one give beauty?
Giving what does one give ease?
Giving what does one give sight?
Who is the giver of all?
Being asked, please explain to me.”

[The Blessed One:]

2, 142 “Giving food, one gives strength;
Giving clothes, one gives beauty;
Giving a vehicle, one gives ease;
Giving a lamp, one gives sight.

3, 143 “The one who gives a residence
Is the giver of all.
But the one who teaches the Dhamma
Is the giver of the Deathless.”

43. Food

1, 144 “They always take delight in food,
Both devas and human beings.
So what sort of spirit could it be
That does not take delight in food?”⁹⁷ Yakkha in pāda c is glossed by Spk-pṭ as satta. Although ko is an interrogative, it seems that the sentence is declarative in force. The verse may be echoing the Taittirı̄yaka Upaniṣad, II.2, III.2, 7-10.

2, 145 “When they give out of faith
With a heart of confidence,
Food accrues to [the giver] himself
Both in this world and the next.

3, 146 “Therefore, having removed stinginess,
The conqueror of the stain should give a gift.
Merits are the support for living beings
[When they arise] in the other world.”

44. One Root

[A devatā:]

1, 147 “The seer has crossed over the abyss
With its one root, two whirlpools,
Three stains, five extensions,
An ocean with twelve eddies.”⁹⁸ Spk explains the riddle thus: The ocean (samudda) or abyss (pātāla) is craving, called an ocean because it is unfillable and an abyss because it gives no foothold. Its one root (ekamūla) is ignorance; the two whirlpools (dvirāvaṭṭa) are the views of eternalism and annihilationism. [Spk-pṭ: Craving for existence revolves by way of the eternalist view; craving for extermination by way of the annihilationist view.] The three stains (timala) are lust, hatred, and delusion; the five extensions (pañcapatthara), the five cords of sensual pleasure; and the twelve eddies (dvādasāvaṭṭa), the six internal and external sense bases. Ñāṇananda proposes an alternative interpretation of some of these terms: with reference to 36:4, he takes the abyss to be painful feeling, and with reference to 35:228, the ocean to be the six sense faculties. The two whirlpools are pleasant and painful feeling; the one root, contact. For details see SN-Anth 2:63-66.
[33]

45. Perfect

[A devatā:]

1, 148 “Behold him of perfect name,
The seer of the subtle goal,
The giver of wisdom, unattached
To the lair of sensual pleasures.
Behold the wise one, all-knowing,
The great seer treading the noble path.”⁹⁹ Spk: Of perfect name (anomanāma): of undefective name, of complete name, because he (the Buddha) possesses all excellent qualities (see too v. 927c and n. 653). The seer of the subtle goal (or “meanings”: nipuṇatthadassiṁ): because he sees the fine, recondite meanings such as the diversity of aggregates, etc. He is the giver of wisdom (paññādadaṁ) by teaching the path of practice for the achievement of wisdom. Treading the noble path (ariye pathe kamamānaṁ): the present tense is used with reference to the past, for the Blessed One had gone along the noble path on the site of the great enlightenment; he is not going along it now. I question Spk’s explanation of nipuṇattha, which seems to refer to attha in the sense of the goal, i.e., Nibbāna.

46. Nymphs

1, 149 “Resounding with a host of nymphs,
Haunted by a host of demons!
This grove is to be called ‘Deluding’:
How does one escape from it?”¹⁰⁰ Spk relates the background story: In his previous life this deva had been an overzealous bhikkhu who had neglected sleep and food in order to attend to his meditation subject. Because of his excessive zeal, he died of a wind ailment and was immediately reborn in the Tāvatiṁsa heaven amidst a retinue of celestial nymphs (accharā). The change occurred so quickly that he did not even know he had expired and thought he was still a bhikkhu. The nymphs tried to seduce him,but he rejected their amorous advances and tried to resume his meditation practice. Finally, when the nymphs brought him a mirror, he realized he had been reborn as a deva, but he thought: “I did not practise the work of an ascetic in order to take rebirth here, but to attain the supreme goal of arahantship.” Then, with his virtue still intact, surrounded by the retinue of nymphs, he went to the Buddha and spoke the first verse. The verse revolves around a word play between Nandana, the garden of delight, and Mohana, the garden of delusion. The garden was “resounding with a host of nymphs” because the nymphs were singing and playing musical instruments. Spk paraphrases the question by way of its intent: “Teach me insight meditation, which is the basis for arahantship.”

2, 150 “‘The straight way’ that path is called,
And ‘fearless’ is its destination.
The chariot is called ‘unrattling,’
Fitted with wheels of wholesome states.

3, 151 “The sense of shame is its leaning board,
Mindfulness its upholstery;
I call the Dhamma the charioteer,
With right view running out in front.¹⁰¹ Spk: The eightfold path is called the straight way (ujuko maggo) because it is devoid of crookedness of bodily conduct, etc. The destination, Nibbāna, is said to be fearless (abhaya) because there is nothing to fear in that and because there is no fear for one who has attained it. Unlike an actual chariot, which rattles or whines when its axle is not lubricated or when it is mounted by too many people, the eightfold path does not rattle or whine (na kūjati na viravati) even when mounted simultaneously by 84,000 beings. The chariot itself is also the eightfold path, and its wheels of wholesome states (dhammacakka) are bodily and mental energy. The “Dhamma” that is called the charioteer is the supramundane path, with the right view of insight (vipassanā-sammādiṭṭhi) running out in front (purejava). For just as the king’s servants first clear the path before the king comes out, so the right view of insight clears the way by contemplating the aggregates, etc., as impermanent, etc., and then the right view of the path (magga-sammādiṭṭhi ) arises fully understanding the round of existence. In v. 150c I read akūjano with Be and Ee2, as against akujano in Se and Ee1. Geiger derives akujano from kujati, “to be crooked” (GermTr, p. 51, n. 3), but see Ja VI 252,20, where the ʺchariot of the body” is described as vācāsaññamakūjano, “not rattling by restraint of speech,” which supports the reading and rendering adopted here. The extended simile should be compared with that of the brahmayāna, the divine vehicle, at 45:4; see too the extended chariot simile at Ja VI 252-53.

4, 152 “One who has such a vehicle—
Whether a woman or a man—
Has, by means of this vehicle,
Drawn close to Nibbāna.”¹⁰² Spk: Having completed the discourse (the verse), the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, and at the end of that discourse the deva was established in the fruit of stream-entry; the other beings present attained the fruits that accorded with their own supporting conditions.

47. Planters of Groves

1, 153 “For whom does merit always increase,
Both by day and by night?
Who are the people going to heaven,
Established in Dhamma, endowed with virtue?”

2, 154 “Those who set up a park or a grove,
The people who construct a bridge,
A place to drink and a well,
Those who give a residence:¹⁰³ Spk explains all these as gifts to the Saṅgha. Parks (ārāma) are distinguished by planted flowering trees and fruit trees, while groves (vana) are clusters of wild trees. Papa is glossed as a shed for giving drinking water.

3, 155 “For them merit always increases,
Both by day and by night;
Those are the people going to heaven,
Established in Dhamma, endowed with virtue.”

48. Jeta’s Grove

[The devatā Anāthapiṇḍika:]

1, 156 “This indeed is that Jeta’s Grove,
The resort of the Order of seers,
Dwelt in by the Dhamma King,
A place that gives me joy.¹⁰⁴ These verses were spoken by Anāthapiṇḍika, chief patron of the Buddha, after he was reborn in the Tusita heaven. They recur below, with prose text, at 2:20. [34]

2, 157 “Action, knowledge, righteousness,
Virtue, an excellent life:
By this are mortals purified,
Not by clan or wealth.

3, 158 “Therefore a person who is wise,
Out of regard for his own good,
Should carefully examine the Dhamma:
Thus he is purified in it.

4, 159 “Sāriputta truly is endowed with wisdom,
With virtue and with inner peace.
Even a bhikkhu who has gone beyond
At best can only equal him.”¹⁰⁵ Anāthapiṇḍika had been especially devoted to Sāriputta, who delivered a moving sermon to him while he was on his deathbed: see MN No. 143, which also includes the same account of the great patron’s posthumous visit to Jeta’s Grove. Spk: At best can only equal him (etāvaparamo siyā): There is no bhikkhu, not even one who has attained Nibbāna, who surpasses the Elder Sāriputta (na therena uttaritaro nāma atthi).

49. Stingy

[A devatā:]

1, 160 “Those who are stingy here in the world,
Niggardly folk, revilers,
People who create obstacles
For others engaged in giving alms:
161 What kind of result do they reap?
What kind of future destiny?
We’ve come to ask the Blessed One this:
How are we to understand it?”

[The Blessed One:]

2, 162 “Those who are stingy here in the world,
Niggardly folk, revilers,
People who create obstacles
For others engaged in giving alms:
They might be reborn in hell,
In the animal realm or Yama’s world.¹⁰⁶ “Yama’s world” (yamaloka) here evidently refers to the pettivisaya , the domain of ghosts. Yama is the Lord of Death; see MN III 179-86, AN I 138-42.

3, 163 “If they come back to the human state
They are born in a poor family
Where clothes, food, pleasures, and sport
Are obtained only with difficulty.

4, 164 “Whatever the fools may expect from others,
Even that they do not obtain.
This is the result in this very life;
And in the future a bad destination.”

[A devatā:]

5, 165 “We understand thus what you have said;
We ask, O Gotama, another question:
Those here who, on gaining the human state,
Are amiable and generous,
Confident in the Buddha and the Dhamma
And deeply respectful towards the Saṅgha:
166 What kind of result do they reap?
What kind of future destiny?
We’ve come to ask the Blessed One this:
How are we to understand it?”

[The Blessed One:]

6, 167 “Those here who, on gaining the human state,
Are amiable and generous,
Confident in the Buddha and the Dhamma
And deeply respectful towards the Saṅgha,
These brighten up the heavens
Where they’ve been reborn.¹⁰⁷ I read with Se and Ee1 ete sagge pakāsenti, as against Be ete saggā pakāsanti, “these heavens shine,” and Ee2 ete sagge pakāsanti, “these shine in heaven.” I take sagge as accusative plural rather than locative singular, which is also plausible. [35]

7, 168 “If they come back to the human state
They are reborn in a rich family
Where clothes, food, pleasures, and sport
Are obtained without difficulty.

8, 169 “They rejoice like the devas who control
The goods amassed by others.¹⁰⁸ Spk-pṭ: Because they are endowed with happiness they are like the devas who exercise control over the goods created by others. The comparison is with the devas of the paranimmitavasavattī realm, the sixth sense-sphere heaven.
This is the result in this very life;
And in the future a good destination.”

50. Ghaṭīkāra

[The devatā Ghaṭīkāra:]

1, 170 “Seven bhikkhus reborn in Avihā
Have been fully liberated.
With lust and hatred utterly destroyed,
They have crossed over attachment to the world.”¹⁰⁹ The deva Ghaṭı̄kāra had been a potter during the dispensation of the Buddha Kassapa, who had a monastic seat at Vehaliṅga, the potter’s home town. At that time the future Buddha Gotama was his closest friend, the brahmin youth Jotipāla. Although Jotipāla went forth as a bhikkhu under the Buddha Kassapa, Ghaṭı̄kāra had to remain in the household life to support his blind, aged parents. He was the Buddha’s chief supporter and had attained the stage of nonreturner. Highlights from the story, related in MN No. 81, appear in the verses to follow here. Avihā is one of the Pure Abodes (see n. 83). Spk says that the seven bhikkhus were liberated by the liberation of the fruit of arahantship, which they attained immediately after taking rebirth into the Avihā brahmā world.

[The Blessed One:]

2, 171 “And who are those who crossed the swamp,
The realm of Death so hard to cross?
Who, having left the human body,
Have overcome the celestial bond?”¹¹⁰ In pāda a, I read paṅkaīṁ with Be and Ee1 as against saṅgaīṁ (“tie”) in Se and Ee2. Spk states that the abandoning of the human body implies the eradication of the five lower fetters and the celestial bond (dibbayoga) signifies the five higher fetters.

[Ghaṭīkāra:]

3, 172 “Upaka and Palagaṇḍa,
With Pukkusāti—these are three.
Then Bhaddiya and Bhaddadeva,
And Bāhudantī and Piṅgiya.
These, having left the human body,
Have overcome the celestial bond.”¹¹¹ I follow the spelling of the names in Se. Upaka is the former Ājı̄vaka ascetic whom the newly enlightened Buddha met while en route to Isipatana (MN I 170,33-171, 20). Later, after an unhappy marriage, he entered the Saṅgha: see DPPN 1:386. The story of Pukkusāti is related in MN No. 140 and Ps V 33-63; see too DPPN 2:214-16. Piṅgiya here may be identical with the pupil of Bāvarı̄ whose verses occur at Sn 1131-49, though this remains uncertain. The identity of the other bhikkhus cannot be established.

[The Blessed One:]

4, 173 “Good is the word you speak of them,
Of those who have abandoned Māra’s snares.
Whose Dhamma was it that they understood
Whereby they cut through the bondage of existence?”¹¹² I read pāda a with Be and Se kusalī bhāsasi tesaṁ. Spk: Kusalan ti idaṁ vacanaṁ imassa atthīti kusalī; tesaṁ therānaṁ tvaṁ kusalaṁ anavajjaṁ bhāsasi.

[Ghaṭīkāra:]

5, 174 “It was not apart from the Blessed One!
It was not apart from your Teaching!
By having understood your Dhamma
They cut through the bondage of existence.

6, 175 “Where name-and-form ceases,
Stops without remainder:
By understanding that Dhamma here
They cut through the bondage of existence.”¹¹³ On “where name-and-form ceases” see above n. 46. Spk paraphrases the next to last line: “Those elders (did so) having understood that Dhamma here in your dispensation.”

[The Blessed One:]

7, 176 “Deep is the speech you utter,
Hard to understand, very hard to grasp.
Having understood whose Dhamma
Do you utter such speech?”

[Ghaṭīkāra:]

8, 177 “In the past I was the potter,
Ghaṭīkāra in Vehaḷiṅga.
I supported my mother and father then
As a lay follower of the Buddha Kassapa. [36]

9, 178 “I abstained from sexual intercourse,
I was celibate, free from carnal ties.
I was your fellow villager,
In the past I was your friend.

10, 179 “I am the one who knows
These seven liberated bhikkhus,
Who with lust and hatred utterly destroyed
Have crossed over attachment to the world.”

[The Blessed One:]

11, 180 “Just so it was at that time,
As you say, O Bhaggava:¹¹⁴ Bhaggava was the potter’s name, possibly a clan name.
In the past you were the potter,
Ghaṭīkara in Vehaḷiṅga.
You supported your mother and father then
As a lay follower of the Buddha Kassapa.

12, 181 “You abstained from sexual intercourse,
You were celibate, free from carnal ties.
You were my fellow villager,
In the past you were my friend.”

13, 182 Such was the meeting that took place
Between those friends from the past,
Both now inwardly developed,
Bearers of their final bodies.¹¹⁵ Spk says that the concluding verse was added by the redactors of the texts. The statement that both were inwardly developed (bhāvitattānaṁ) and were bearing their final bodies (sarīrantimadhārinaṁ) implies that after his rebirth in the Pure Abodes, Ghaṭı̄kāra too had become an arahant.

[A devatā:]

1, 183 “What is good until old age?
What is good when established?
What is the precious gem of humans?
What is hard for thieves to steal?”

[The Blessed One:]

2, 184 “Virtue is good until old age;
Faith is good when established;
Wisdom is the precious gem of humans;
Merit is hard for thieves to steal.”

52. Undecaying

1, 185 “What is good by not decaying?
What is good when made secure?
What is the precious gem of humans?
What cannot be stolen by thieves?”¹¹⁶ Se and Ee2 read corehi ʹhāriyaṁ, Be corehyahāriyaṁ. Both are orthographical attempts to salvage a text that appears to assert the exact opposite of the meaning required. Without such editorial moulding corehi hāriyaṁ (the reading of Ee1) would mean, “What is it that thieves should bear away?” —the rendering used at KS 1:51. Spk offers no help. [37]

2, 186 “Virtue is good by not decaying;
Faith is good when made secure;
Wisdom is the precious gem of humans;
Merit cannot be stolen by thieves.”

53. The Friend

1, 187 “What is the friend of one on a journey?
What is the friend in one’s own home?
What is the friend of one in need?
What is the friend in the future life?”¹¹⁷ Reading in pāda a (in the next verse too) pavasato with Be, Se, and Ee2, as against pathavato in Ee1.

2, 188 “A caravan is the friend of one on a journey;
A mother is the friend in one’s own home;
A comrade when the need arises
Is one’s friend again and again.
The deeds of merit one has done—
That is the friend in the future life.”

54. Support

1, 189 “What is the support of human beings?
What is the best companion here?
The creatures who dwell on the earth—
By what do they sustain their life?”

2, 190 “Sons are the support of human beings,
A wife the best companion;
The creatures who dwell on the earth
Sustain their life by rain.”¹¹⁸ Spk: Sons are the support (vatthu) of human beings because they care for their parents in old age. A wife is the best companion because one can confide to her one’s most personal secrets.

55. Produces (1)

1, 191 “What is it that produces a person?
What does he have that runs around?
What enters upon saṁsāra?
What is his greatest fear?”

2, 192 “It is craving that produces a person;
His mind is what runs around;
A being enters upon saṁsāra;
Suffering is his greatest fear.”

56. Produces (2)

1, 193 “What is it that produces a person?
What does he have that runs around?
What enters upon saṁsāra?
From what is he not yet freed?”

2, 194 “Craving is what produces a person;
His mind is what runs around;
A being enters upon saṁsāra;
He is not freed from suffering.” [38]

57. Produces (3)

1, 195 “What is it that produces a person?
What does he have that runs around?
What enters upon saṁsāra?
What determines his destiny?”

2, 196 “Craving is what produces a person;
His mind is what runs around;
A being enters upon saṁsāra;
Kamma determines his destiny.”

58. The Deviant Path

1, 197 “What is declared the deviant path?
What undergoes destruction night and day?
What is the stain of the holy life?
What is the bath without water?”

2, 198 “Lust is declared the deviant path;
Life undergoes destruction night and day;
Women are the stain of the holy life:
Here menfolk are enmeshed.
Austerity and the holy life—
That is the bath without water.”¹¹⁹ Spk: The deviant path (uppatha) is a nonpath (amagga) for going to heaven and Nibbāna. Undergoes destruction day and night (rattindivakkhaya): it is destroyed by the days and nights or during the days and nights. Women are the stain of the holy life: by washing off an external stain one can become clean, but if one is defiled by the stain of women it is not possible to make oneself pure. Austerity (tapa) is a name for restraint, the ascetic practices (dhutaṅgaguṇa), energy, and extreme asceticism (dukkarakārika); all these except extreme asceticism (i.e., self-mortification) are practices that burn up the defilements. The holy life (brahmacariya ) is abstinence from sexual intercourse. On “the bath without water” see vv. 646, 705. To appreciate this expression one must remember that for the brahmins in the Buddha’s time (as for many Hindus today) ritual bathing was a way to wash away one’s sins. The Buddha replaced this with the “internal bath” of the mind; see 7:21 below and MN I 39,1-2, 280,18-20.

59. Partner

1, 199 “What is a person’s partner?
What is it that instructs him?
Taking delight in what is a mortal
Released from all suffering?”

2, 200 “Faith is a person’s partner,
And wisdom is what instructs him.
Taking delight in Nibbāna, a mortal
Is released from all suffering.”

60. Poetry

1, 201 “What is the scaffolding of verses?
What constitutes their phrasing?
On what base do verses rest?
What is the abode of verses?”

2, 202 “Metre is the scaffolding of verses;
Syllables constitute their phrasing;
Verses rest on a base of names;
The poet is the abode of verses.”¹²⁰ Spk: Metre is the scaffolding of verses (chando nidānaṁ gāthānaṁ): Metres, beginning with the gāyatti, are the scaffolding of verses; for one beginning the preliminary verses first considers, “In which metre should it be?” Syllables constitute their phrasing (akkharā tāsaṁ viyañjanaṁ): For syllables make up words, and words make up a verse, and a verse reveals the meaning. Verses rest on a base of names: One composing a verse composes it by relying on some name such as “the ocean” or “the earth.” The poet is the abode where verses dwell: The abode (āsaya) of verses is their support (patiṭṭhā); verses come forth from the poet, and thus he is their support.

1, 203 “What has weighed down everything?
What is most extensive?
What is the one thing that has
All under its control?”

2, 204 “Name has weighed down everything;
Nothing is more extensive than name.
Name is the one thing that has
All under its control.”¹²¹ In pāda a, I read addhabhavi with Be and Ee1 & 2, as against anvabhavi in Se. Addhabhavi is aorist of adhibhavati, to overcome, to overpower; see CPD, s.v. addhabhavati. Spk: There is no living being or entity that is free from a name, whether the name be natural or fabricated. Even a tree or stone with no known name is still called “the nameless one.”

62. Mind

1, 205 “By what is the world led around?
By what is it dragged here and there?
What is the one thing that has
All under its control?”

2, 206 “The world is led around by mind;
By mind it’s dragged here and there.
Mind is the one thing that has
All under its control.”¹²² The verb in pāda b is passive. Spk to v. 246 glosses the active parikassati as parikaḍḍhati, to drag around. Spk: Those who come under the control of the mind are subjected to total obsession. Spk-pṭ: The sutta speaks of those who have not fully understood reality. But those who have fully understood the aggregates and abandoned the defilements do not come under control of the mind; rather, it is the mind that comes under their control.

63. Craving

1, 207 “By what is the world led around?
By what is it dragged here and there?
What is the one thing that has
All under its control?”

2, 208 “The world is led around by craving;
By craving it‘s dragged here and there.
Craving is the one thing that has
All under its control.”

64. Fetter

1, 209 “By what is the world tightly fettered?
What is its means of travelling about?
What is it that one must forsake
In order to say, ‘Nibbāna’?”

2, 210 “The world is tightly fettered by delight;
Thought is its means of travelling about.
Craving is what one must forsake
In order to say, ‘Nibbāna.’”¹²³ Spk glosses vicāraṇa in pāda b by pādāni, feet, explaining that the singular should be understood as a plural. In doctrinal contexts the cognate vicāra means examination, and is regularly coupled with vitakka to describe the thought process, e.g., in the formula for the first jhāna. Here, however, the point seems to be that thought can travel over vast distances without physical locomotion.

65. Bondage

1, 211 “By what is the world held in bondage?
What is its means of travelling about?
What is it that one must forsake
To cut off all bondage?” [40]

2, 212 “The world is held in bondage by delight;
Thought is its means of travelling about.
Craving is what one must forsake
To cut off all bondage.”

66. Afflicted

1, 213 “By what is the world afflicted?
By what is it enveloped?
By what dart has it been wounded?
With what is it always burning?”¹²⁴ I read with Be, Se, Ee1, and Spk (Be) kissa dhūpāyito, as against kissā dhūmāyito in Ee2, SS, and Spk (Se). The verse is also at Th 448 with dhūpāyito. Norman (at EV I, n. to 448) contends this word means “perfumed” or “obscured (by smoke),” but Spk glosses as āditto; see too v. 542, where padhūpito must mean “burning.”

2, 214 “The world is afflicted with death,
Enveloped by old age;
Wounded by the dart of craving,
It is always burning with desire.”

67. Ensnared

1, 215 “By what is the world ensnared?
By what is it enveloped?
By what is the world shut in?
On what is the world established?”

2, 216 “The world is ensnared by craving;
It is enveloped by old age;
The world is shut in by death;
The world is established on suffering.”¹²⁵ Spk: The world is ensnared by craving (taṇhāya uḍḍito) because the eye, caught withthe rope of craving, is ensnared on the peg of forms; so too with the ear and ensnared on the peg of forms; so too with the ear and sounds, etc. The world is shut in by death (maccunā pihito): Even though the kamma done in the last life is only one mind-moment away, beings do not know it because they are shut off from it, as if by a mountain, by the strong pains occurring at the time of death.

68. Shut In

1, 217 “By what is the world shut in?
On what is the world established?
By what is the world ensnared?
By what is it enveloped?”

2, 218 “The world is shut in by death;
The world is established on suffering;
The world is ensnared by craving;
It is enveloped by old age.”

69. Desire

1, 219 “By what is the world bound?
By the removal of what is it freed?
What is it that one must forsake
To cut off all bondage?”

2, 220 “By desire is the world bound;
By the removal of desire it is freed.
Desire is what one must forsake
To cut off all bondage.” [41]

70. World

1, 221 “In what has the world arisen?
In what does it form intimacy?
By clinging to what is the world
Harassed in regard to what?”

2, 222 “In six has the world arisen;
In six it forms intimacy;
By clinging to six the world
Is harassed in regard to six.”¹²⁶ See above n. 57. Following a suggestion of VĀT, I take upādāya in pāda c to be an absolutive with the literal meaning “clinging,” completed by the finite verb vihaññati in pāda d; loko in v. 221c thus becomes a mere metrical filler. Spk, however, has adopted an alternative solution, supplying a suppressed finite verbandinterpreting upādāya in the extended sense of “depending on” thus: upadaya in the extended sense of “depending on” thus: tāni yeva ca upādāya āgamma paṭicca pavattati; “It occurs dependent on, contingent on, in dependence on them.” Pj II 210,27-28, commenting on Sn 168, takes a similar approach, though with a different finite verb. The Hemavata Sutta itself, however, suggests that upādāya should be taken in the literal sense of “clinging to.” For after the Buddha has replied at Sn 169 with an answer identical to that in the present sutta, at Sn 170 the yakkha asks: Katamaṁ taṁ upādānaṁ yattha loko vihaññati?, “What is that clinging wherein the world is harassed?”—a question which surely refers back to that same upādāya.
Spk: The “six” in the question should be understood by way of the six internal sense bases, but it may also be interpreted by way of the six internal and external bases. For the world has arisen in the six internal bases, forms intimacy with the six external bases, and by clinging to (or depending on) the six internal bases, it is harassed in the six external bases.
The verse offers a solution to the problem posed below at 2:26, on how the world exists and arises in this very body endowed with perception and mind. On the origination of the world in the six internal bases, see 12:44 (= 35:107). Norman discusses the verses from a philological angle at GD, pp. 181-82, n. to 168.

1At Sāvatthī. Standing to one side, that devatā addressed the Blessed One in verse:

2, 223 “Having slain what does one sleep soundly?
Having slain what does one not sorrow?
What is the one thing, O Gotama,
Whose killing you approve?”¹²⁷ Se, Ee2 jhatvā is certainly the correct reading, chetvā in Be and Ee1 a normalization. The gloss in Spk, vadhitvā, supports jhatvā, and G-Dhp 288-89 has jatva, the Gāndhārı̄ Prakrit counterpart. See Brough, Gāndhārī Dharmapada, pp. 164, 265-66. Jhatvā is also found in the SS reading of v. 94b.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 224 “Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly;
Having slain anger, one does not sorrow;
The killing of anger, O devatā,
With its poisoned root and honeyed tip:
This is the killing the noble ones praise,
For having slain that, one does not sorrow.”¹²⁸ Spk: Anger has a poisoned root (visamūla) because it results in suffering. It has a honeyed tip (madhuragga) because pleasure arises when one returns anger with anger, abuse with abuse, or a blow with a blow.

72. Chariot

1, 225 “What is the token of a chariot?
What, the token of a fire?
What is the token of a country?
What, the token of a woman?”¹²⁹ Spk: A token is that by which something is discerned (paññāyati etenā ti paññāṇaṁ) A standard is the token of a chariot because a chariot, seen from a distance, is identified by its standard as belonging to such and such a king. A married woman, even the daughter of a universal monarch, is identified as Mrs. So-and-So; hence a husband is the token of a woman. On the standard (dhaja) as the token of a chariot, see 11:2 and n. 611. [42]

2, 226 “A standard is the token of a chariot;
Smoke, the token of a fire;
The king is a country’s token;
A husband, the token of a woman.”

73. Treasure

1, 227 “What here is a man’s best treasure?
What practised well brings happiness?
What is really the sweetest of tastes?
How lives the one whom they say lives best?”

2, 228 “Faith is here a man’s best treasure;
Dhamma practised well brings happiness;
Truth is really the sweetest of tastes;
One living by wisdom they say lives best.”¹³⁰ SS record a v.l. sādhutaraṁin pāda c, but Spk’s gloss madhutaraṁ indicates that the reading available to the commentator here was sādutaraṁ. However, Spk recognizes the same v.l. in connection with the identical vv. 846-47. See n. 597. Spk: A householder who lives by wisdom (paññājīvī) is one who becomes established in the Five Precepts and offers regular almsfood, etc.; one gone forth who lives by wisdom uses his requisites with proper reflection, takes up a meditation subject, sets up insight, and attains the noble paths and fruits.

74. Rain

[A devatā:]

1, 229 “What is the best of things that rise up?
What excels among things that fall down?
What is the best of things that go forth?
Who is the most excellent of speakers?”

[Another devatā:]

2, 230 “A seed is the best of things that rise up;
Rain excels among things that fall down;
Cattle are the best of things that go forth;
A son is the most excellent of speakers.”¹³¹ Spk: The former deva had asked the Buddha these questions, but the second deva interrupted, saying, “Why ask the Buddha? I’ll answer you,” and then offered his own ideas. But the first deva rebuked him for intruding and again addressed the questions to the Buddha. Spk: Seed of the seven kinds of grain is the best of things that rise up because, when seed rises, food becomes plentiful and the country is secure. Rain from a rain cloud excels among things that fall down for this ensures a plentiful crop. Cattle are the best of things that go forth, that walk about on foot, because they produce the five kinds of dairy products (milk, curd, butter, ghee, and cream-of-ghee) by which people sustain their health. A son is the most excellent of speakers because he does not say anything harmful to his parents in the royal court, etc.
It should be noted that pavajamānānaṁ in pāda c is the present participle of pavajati or pabbajati, which, in a religious context, signifies the act of leaving the household life to become a monk (pabbajjā). Hence the Buddha’s reply in the next verse.

[The Blessed One:]

3, 231 “Knowledge is the best of things that rise up;
Ignorance excels among things that fall down;
The Saṅgha is the best of things that go forth;
The most excellent of speakers is the Buddha.”¹³² Spk: Knowledge (vijjā) is the knowledge of the four paths; ignorance (avijjā) is the great ignorance at the root of the round. The Saṅgha is the best of things that go forth because it is a rich field of merit. The Buddha is the best of speakers because his teaching of the Dhamma helps release many hundred thousands of beings from bondage.

75. Afraid

1, 232 “Why are so many people here afraid
When the path has been taught with many bases?¹³³ Maggo c’ anekāyatanappavutto. Spk: He says, “The path is explained by many methods (kāraṇehi), by way of the thirty-eight meditation objects. Such being the case, why have these people become frightened and grasped hold of the sixty-two views?” The thirty-eight meditation objects (aṭṭhatiṁārammaṇa) are identical with the classical forty kammaṭṭhāna (e.g., in Vism) except that the list of kasiṇas is drawn from the Nikāyas (e.g., MN II 14,29-15,2), in which the last two (the space kasiṇa and the consciousness kasiṇa) are the same as the first two formless attainments (āruppa) and hence are not reckoned twice. In the Vism system these two are replaced by the limited space kasiṇa and the light kasiṇa, which brings the number up to forty.
I ask you, O Gotama, broad of wisdom:
On what should one take a stand
To have no fear of the other world?”

2, 233 “Having directed speech and mind rightly,
Doing no evil deeds with the body,
Dwelling at home with ample food and drink, [43]
Faithful, gentle, generous, amiable:
When one stands on these four things,
Standing firmly on the Dhamma,
One need not fear the other world.”¹³⁴ The last line should be read with Be, Se, and Ee2 as dhamme ṭhito paralokaṁ na bhāye. Ee1 omits dhamme ṭhito, apparently by oversight. Spk interprets “rightly directed speech and mind” and “doing no evil deeds with the body” as the preliminary factors of purification, and takes the four qualities mentioned in pāda d to be the “four things” on which one should stand. But it also suggests another interpretation: right bodily, verbal, and mental conduct are the first three things, and the four qualities in pāda d taken together are the fourth. The first alternative sounds more plausible.

76. Does Not Decay

1, 234 “What decays, what does not decay?
What is declared the deviant path?
What is the impediment to [wholesome] states?
What undergoes destruction night and day?
What is the stain of the holy life?
What is the bath without water?

2, 235 “How many fissures are there in the world
Wherein the mind does not stand firm?
We’ve come to ask the Blessed One this:
How are we to understand it?”

3, 236 “The physical form of mortals decays,
Their name and clan does not decay.
Lust is declared the deviant path,
Greed the impediment to [wholesome] states.

4, 237 “Life undergoes destruction night and day;
Women are the stain of the holy life:
Here’s where menfolk are enmeshed.
Austerity and the holy life—
That is the bath without water.

5, 238 “There are six fissures in the world
Wherein the mind does not stand firm:
Laziness and negligence,
Indolence, lack of self-control,
Drowsiness and lethargy—
Avoid these fissures completely.”¹³⁵ The Pāli terms for the six fissures (chiddāni) are: ālassa, pamāda, anuṭṭhāna, asaṁama, niddā, tandi. Spk-pṭ: These six things are called fissures because they do not give an opportunity for wholesome states of mind to occur.

77. Sovereignty

1, 239 “What is sovereignty in the world?
What ranks as the best of goods?
What in the world is a rusty sword?
What in the world is considered a plague?

2, 240 “Whom do they arrest when he takes away?
And who, when he takes away, is dear?
In whom do the wise take delight
When he returns again and again?”

3, 241 “Mastery is sovereignty in the world;
A woman ranks as the best of goods;¹³⁶ Spk: A woman is called the best of goods because a woman is an article that should not be given away (avissajjanīyabaṇḍattā ); or else she is so called because all bodhisattas and wheel-turning monarchs are conceived in a mother’s womb. Spk-pṭ: Even the most precious jewel is not called “the best of goods” because it still falls into the category of things that might be given away; but a woman who has not abandoned the family customs should not be relinquished to anyone, and hence she is called the best of goods. Further, a woman is the best of goods because she is a mine for the best of gems, that is, because (her body) is the place for the birth of the human thoroughbreds (i.e., Buddhas and arahants).
In the world anger is a rusty sword;
Thieves in the world are considered a plague.¹³⁷ Abbuda (“plague”) is glossed by Spk as vināsakāraṇa, a cause of destruction. The word also occurs in v. 591 as an extremely high number, in 6:10 as the name of a hell, and at v. 803 as a stage in the development of the fetus.

4, 242 “They arrest a thief when he takes away,
But an ascetic who takes away is dear.
The wise take delight in an ascetic
When he returns again and again.” [44]

78. Love

1, 243 “What should he not give who loves the good?
What should a mortal not relinquish?
What should one release when it’s good,
But not release when it’s bad?”

2, 244 “A person should not give himself away;
He should not relinquish himself.¹³⁸ Spk: One should not give oneself away by becoming the slave of another, but an exception is made of all bodhisattas. So too, except for all bodhisattas, one should not relinquish oneself to lions and tigers, etc.
One should release speech that is good,
But not speech that is bad.”

79. Provisions for a Journey

1, 245 “What secures provisions for a journey?
What is the abode of wealth?
What drags a person around?
What in the world is hard to discard?
By what are many beings bound
Like birds caught in a snare?”

2, 246 “Faith secures provisions for a journey;
Fortune is the abode of wealth;
Desire drags a person around;
Desire is hard to discard in the world.
By desire many beings are bound
Like birds caught in a snare.”

80. Source of Light

1, 247 “What is the source of light in the world?
What in the world is the wakeful one?
What are [the colleagues] of those living by work?
What is one’s course of movement?

2, 248 “What nurtures both the slack and active
Just as a mother nurtures her child?
The creatures who dwell on the earth—
By what do they sustain their life?”

3, 249 “Wisdom is the source of light in the world;
Mindfulness, in the world, is the wakeful one;
Cattle are [the colleagues] of those living by work;
One’s course of movement is the furrow.¹³⁹ I interpret pāda c, in both the question and the reply, with the aid of Spk, which paraphrases only the reply: Gāvo kamme sajīvānan ti kammena saha jīvantānaṁ gāvo va kamme kammasahāyā kammadutiyakā nāma honti; “For those who live together with work, cattle are called the work-companions, the work-partners, in work; for the work of ploughing, etc., is accomplished along with a team of cattle.” In pāda d, sītassa (Ee2: sīta ’ssa) should be resolved sītaṁ assa. Spk takes assa to refer to “the mass of beings” (or of people: sattakāyassa) and explains iriyāpatha, “the course of movement” (or “mode of deportment”), as the means of livelihood (jīvitavutti); it glosses sīta (furrow) with naṅgala (plough). The purport is that the activity of ploughing is the essential means for sustaining human life.

4, 250 “Rain nurtures both the slack and active
Just as a mother nurtures her child.
Those creatures who dwell on the earth
Sustain their life by rain.”

81. Without Conflict

1, 251 “Who here in the world are placid?
Whose mode of life is not squandered?
Who here fully understand desire?
Who enjoy perpetual freedom? [45]

2, 252 “Whom do parents and brothers worship
When he stands firmly established?
Who is the one of humble birth
That even khattiyas here salute?”

3, 253 “Ascetics are placid in the world;
The ascetic life is not squandered;
Ascetics fully understand desire;
They enjoy perpetual freedom.

4, 254 “Parents and brothers worship an ascetic
When he stands firmly established.¹⁴⁰ Spk: Firmly established in virtue.
Though an ascetic be of humble birth
Even khattiyas here salute him.”

[46]