English
He spoke such speech as was gentle, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, heart-touching, urbane, dear to many, agreeable to many. Having done and accumulated that karma…pe… having passed away from there, having come to this state of being, he obtains these two marks of a Great Man: he has an abundant tongue and a Brahma-voice, speaking like a karavīka bird. “Endowed with these marks, if he dwells in a home, he becomes a Wheel-turning King…pe… A king, being such, what does he obtain? He has authoritative speech; his words are heeded by brahmins and householders, townspeople and country folk, accountants and chief ministers, soldiers, doorkeepers, ministers, councilors, kings, vassals, and princes. A king, being such, obtains this… A Buddha, being such, what does he he obtain? He has authoritative speech; his words are heeded by… monks, nuns, laymen, laywomen, devas, humans, asuras, nāgas, gandhabbas. Being a Buddha, he obtains this.” The Blessed One spoke this meaning. 237. Therein it is said: “He did not utter harsh words, abusive, quarrelsome, harmful, troublesome, oppressive to many; He spoke not a word that was violent, but sweet, well-composed, gentle. “Words dear to the mind, going to the heart, pleasing to the ear, he uttered; Having experienced the fruit of well-practiced speech, in the heavens, you experience the fruit of merit. “Having known the fruit of good conduct, he attained this Brahma-like voice; His tongue is broad and wide, he becomes one whose words are authoritative. “Even for a householder, it succeeds as he speaks, and if that man goes forth; People accept his words, of one who speaks much, much good speech.” (30) The Lion-Jaw Characteristic 238. “And further, monks, in a former birth, a former existence, a former dwelling, when the Tathāgata was a human being, he abandoned frivolous talk, he abstained from frivolous talk; he was a speaker at the right time, a speaker of truth, a speaker of what is beneficial, a speaker of the Dhamma, a speaker of the Vinaya; he spoke words that were treasured, timely, reasoned, limited, connected with the goal. Having performed that kamma… (etc.)… having passed away from there, having come to this state, he obtains this great man’s characteristic: he has a lion-jaw. “Endowed with that characteristic, if he lives the household life, he becomes a Wheel-turning Monarch… (etc.)… Being a monarch, what does he obtain? He is unassailable by any human enemy or adversary. Being a monarch, he obtains this… Being a Buddha, what does he obtain? He is unassailable by internal or external enemies or adversaries, by lust, or by hatred, or by delusion, or by a recluse, or by a brahmin, or by a deva, or by Māra, or by Brahmā, or by anyone in the world. Being a Buddha, Being so, he obtains this. The Blessed One spoke this matter. 239. Therein it is said – No idle chatter, no arrogance, His path of speech was not scattered; And he removed what was unbeneficial, And he spoke what was beneficial and brought happiness to many. Having done that, departing from here, he was reborn in heaven, He experienced the result of good deeds; Departing from there, having come back here again, He obtained the highest, unsurpassed, two-tusked (elephant). He becomes a king, very difficult to overcome, Lord of men, ruler of men, of great power; He becomes like the best city of the three heavens, Like Indra, the lord of the best devas. By gandhabbas, asuras, yakkhas, rakkhasas, By devas, he is indeed not to be overcome; If he is of such a nature, of such a kind, Here, in the directions, in the intermediate directions, and in the sub-directions. (31-32) Marks of even teeth and very white tusks 240. Moreover, monks, the Tathāgata, in a former birth, a former existence, a former dwelling, being a human in the past, abandoned wrong livelihood and maintained his life by right livelihood; he abstained from false weights, false coins, false measures, bribery, deception, fraud, crookedness, cutting, killing, binding, highway robbery, plunder, and violence. He, by the doing, accumulation, abundance, and vastness of that kamma, with the breaking up of the body, after death, is reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. There he surpasses other devas in ten ways: by divine life-span, by divine beauty, by divine happiness, by divine fame, by divine sovereignty, by divine forms, by divine sounds, by divine smells, by divine tastes, by divine tangibles. He, departing from there, having come to this state of being, obtains these two marks of a Great Man: he has even teeth, and very white tusks. He, endowed with these marks, if he dwells in a home, becomes a Wheel-turning Monarch, righteous, a king of righteousness, conquering the four quarters, having attained stability in his country. endowed with the seven treasures. These seven treasures are for him, namely – the wheel-treasure, the elephant-treasure, the horse-treasure, the gem-treasure, the woman-treasure, the householder-treasure, and the leader-treasure as the seventh. Moreover, he has more than a thousand sons, brave, heroic in form, crushers of enemy armies. He conquers and dwells over this earth, bounded by the ocean, without defect, without sign of trouble, without thorns, prosperous, flourishing, secure, auspicious, without blemish, by righteousness, without rod, without weapon. Being a king, what does he gain? He has a pure retinue, and his retinue consists of Brahmins and householders, town and country folk, accountants and high officials, army officers, doorkeepers, ministers, councillors, tributary kings, and princes. Being a king, he gains this. But if he goes forth from home to homelessness, he becomes an Arahant, a Fully Self-Awakened One, with the veil removed from the world. Being a Buddha, what does he gain? He has a pure retinue, and his retinue consists of monks, nuns, male lay followers, female lay followers, devas, humans, asuras, nāgas, and gandhabbas. Being a Buddha, he gains this. The Blessed One spoke this meaning. 241. Therein it is said – He abandoned wrong livelihood, Lived a righteous life; He generated purity by righteousness; He removed what was unbeneficial, And practiced what was beneficial And brought happiness to many. In heaven, a person experiences fruits of happiness, Having done deeds Praised by the skillful and wise good people; Equal to the best of the cities of the three heavens, He delights, Endowed with joy and play. Having obtained human existence from there, And passed away from the result of good deeds; By the remainder, He obtains what is spoken of, Equal, pure, and very bright. Many interpreters, having gathered, Skillful and esteemed people, declared this: He will have a retinue of pure people, With teeth as white, pure, and beautiful as a twice-born's. A king has many people, With a pure retinue, Governing a vast land; Not oppressing the populace, They act for the good and happiness of many. But if he renounces, He becomes faultless, A monk with dust calmed, With the covering removed; Free from fear and fatigue, He sees this world and the other. Following his counsel, Many laypeople and monks, Shake off impure, blameworthy evil; For he is surrounded by the pure, He dispels the defilements of stain, barrenness, and impurity. This the Blessed One said. Delighted, those bhikkhus Rejoiced in the Blessed One's words. The Lakkhaṇa Sutta, the seventh, is finished.