English
Then, venerable Samiddhi, having arisen in the last watch of the night, went to the Tapoda (hot springs) to bathe his limbs. Having bathed his limbs in the Tapoda, he came out and stood with a single robe, letting his limbs dry. Then a certain deity, when the night was far advanced, with radiant beauty illuminating the entire Tapoda, approached venerable Samiddhi. Having approached, standing in the air, she addressed venerable Samiddhi with a verse: You beg, monk, without having eaten, You do not beg after eating; Having eaten, monk, you should beg, Lest time passes you by. I do not know time, Time is hidden, not seen; Therefore I beg without having eaten, Lest time passes me by. Then that deity, having descended to the earth, said to venerable Samiddhi: "You are a young monk, recently ordained, with jet-black hair, endowed with the beauty of youth, in the prime of life, not having indulged in sensual pleasures. Enjoy, monk, human sensual pleasures; do not abandon the visible here and now to pursue the temporary." "Indeed, friend, I do not abandon the visible here and now to pursue the temporary. Rather, friend, I abandon the temporary to pursue the visible here and now. For, friend, sensual pleasures have been declared by the Blessed One to be full of much suffering, much distress; their danger is greater here. This Dhamma is visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onwards, to be personally experienced by the wise." "And how, monk..." "Indeed, Kāḷikā, the desires spoken of by the Blessed One are full of much suffering, full of much tribulation. Is there more danger in them? How is this Dhamma visible here and now, timeless, inviting one to come and see, leading onwards, to be known by the wise, each for himself?" "Friends, I am new, recently ordained, recently come to this Dhamma and Discipline. I cannot explain it in detail. That Blessed One, the Arahant, the Fully Self-Awakened One, dwells in Rājagaha, at Tapodārāma. Go to that Blessed One and ask him about this matter. As the Blessed One explains it to you, so you should remember it." "It is not easy for us, bhikkhu, to approach that Blessed One, surrounded as he is by other powerful deities. If you, bhikkhu, were to approach that Blessed One and ask him about this matter, we too would come to hear the Dhamma." "So be it, friends," said Venerable Samiddhi, agreeing to that deity, and he went to the Blessed One. Having approached, he saluted the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, Venerable Samiddhi said to the Blessed One: "Here, Bhante, in the night, at dawn, I rose and went to Tapoda to bathe my limbs. Having bathed my limbs in Tapoda, I came out and stood in a single robe, drying my limbs. Then, Bhante, a certain deity, when the night was far advanced, of surpassing beauty, illuminating the entire Tapoda, came to where I was. Having come, standing in the air, she addressed me with this verse: 'You beg, bhikkhu, without having eaten; You do not beg after having eaten. Having eaten, bhikkhu, you should beg; Lest time pass you by.' "When this was said, Bhante, I replied to that deity with a verse: 'I do not know time, Hidden time is not seen. Therefore I beg without having eaten, Lest time pass me by.' "Then, Bhante, that deity stood on the ground, and said this to me: ‘You are young, bhikkhu, gone forth with jet-black hair, endowed with excellent youth, in the prime of life, not having enjoyed sensual pleasures. Enjoy, bhikkhu, human sensual pleasures; do not abandon the visible and pursue the temporal.’ ‘‘When this was said, venerable sir, I said to that deity: ‘Indeed, friend, I do not abandon the visible and pursue the temporal; rather, friend, I abandon the temporal and pursue the visible. For, friend, sensual pleasures are said by the Blessed One to be temporal, full of much suffering, full of much despair; the danger in them is greater. This Dhamma is visible, timeless, inviting one to come and see, leading inwards, to be personally experienced by the wise.’ ‘‘When this was said, venerable sir, that deity said to me: ‘How, bhikkhu, are temporal sensual pleasures said by the Blessed One to be full of much suffering, full of much despair; with greater danger in them? How is this Dhamma visible, timeless, inviting one to come and see, leading inwards, to be personally experienced by the wise?’ When this was said, venerable sir, I said to that deity: ‘Indeed, friend, I am new, recently gone forth, having just come to this Dhamma and Discipline, I am not able to explain it in detail. That Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Awakened One, is dwelling in Rājagaha, at Tapodārāma. Go to that Blessed One and ask him about this matter. As the Blessed One explains it to you, so should you remember it.’ ‘‘When this was said, venerable sir, that deity said to me: ‘Indeed, bhikkhu, it is not easy for us to approach that Blessed One, surrounded as he is by other powerful deities. If, bhikkhu, you were to approach that Blessed One and ask him about this matter, we too would come to hear the Dhamma.’ If, venerable sir, that deity’s words are true, then that deity is not far from here.’ When this was said, that deity said to Venerable Samiddhi: ‘‘Ask, bhikkhu, ask, bhikkhu, that which I have come for.’ Then the Blessed One to that deity He addressed her with verses: "Beings are conscious of what is describable, established in what is describable; Not fully understanding what is describable, they come to the yoke of death. But having fully understood what is describable, one does not conceive of a describer; For that does not exist for him, by which one might describe him, that does not exist for him; If you understand, speak, O yakkha!" "Indeed, venerable sir, I do not understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement by the Blessed One. It would be good for me, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would speak in such a way that I might understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement by the Blessed One." "Equal, superior, or indeed inferior, Whoever conceives thus, he would dispute thereby; Undisturbed in these three modes, 'Equal' or 'superior' does not exist for him; If you understand, speak, O yakkha!" "Indeed, venerable sir, I do not understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement by the Blessed One. It would be good for me, venerable sir, if the Blessed One would speak in such a way that I might understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement by the Blessed One." "He has abandoned reckoning, he has not entered conceit, he has cut off craving for name-and-form here; Him, whose bonds are cut, free from trouble, without longing, searching ones did not find; Neither gods nor humans, here or beyond, nor in any abodes in the heavens; If you understand, speak, O yakkha!" "Indeed, venerable sir, I understand the detailed meaning of this brief statement by the Blessed One thus – One should do no evil by word, by mind, Or by body, anything in all the world; Having abandoned sensual pleasures, mindful and clearly comprehending, One should not pursue suffering, which is connected with harm." The Second Chapter on Nandanā. Its summary – Nandanā and "rejoices," and "nothing equal to a son"; "The warrior" and "while flowing," and "sloth and torpor" and "difficult"; "Shame" and "the hut" is the ninth, the tenth is called "Samiddhī." 3. The Chapter on the Spear. 1. The Discourse on the Spear. 21. At Sāvatthī. charity. Standing to one side, that deity spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One: “As if pierced by a spear, As if burning on the head; For the abandoning of sensual passion, A mindful monk should wander.” “As if pierced by a spear, As if burning on the head; For the abandoning of identity view, A mindful monk should wander.” 2. The Discourse on Contact 22. “One who does not touch, touches not, But one who touches, touches in return; Therefore, one who touches, touches The one who is not corrupt, but corrupts.” “Whoever harms a person who is not corrupt, A pure person, free from blemish; That evil returns to that fool, Like fine dust thrown against the wind.” 3. The Discourse on the Tangle 23. “Within is a tangle, without is a tangle, The people are entangled in a tangle; This I ask you, Gotama, Who can untangle this tangle?” “A person of wisdom, established in virtue, Developing mind and wisdom; Ardent, discerning monk, He can untangle this tangle. “Those whose lust and hatred, And ignorance are dispelled; With defilements destroyed, Arahants, Their tangle is untangled. “Where name and form, Completely cease; Resistance and perception of form, There this tangle is cut.” 4. The Discourse on Restraining the Mind 24. “From wherever one restrains the mind, From there suffering does not come to him; If he restrains the mind from everywhere, He is freed from all suffering.” “One should not restrain the mind from everywhere, The mind that has come to self-control; From wherever there is evil, From there one should restrain the mind.” 5. The Discourse on the Arahant 25. “The monk who is an Arahant, one who has done what is to be done, With defilements destroyed, bearing the final body; He may say ‘I speak,’ He may say ‘They speak to me.’” “The monk who is an Arahant, one who has done what is to be done, With defilements destroyed, bearing the final body; He may say ‘I speak,’ He may say ‘They speak to me’; Knowing the common designation in the world, He uses it merely as a convention.” “The monk who is The Arahant, who has done what is to be done, Whose defilements are destroyed, who bears the final body; Would that bhikkhu, having come to conceit, Say, "I speak"? Or would he say, "They speak to me"? For one whose conceit is abandoned, there are no ties, All ties of conceit are dispelled. That wise one has transcended the notion of "I am," Yet he might say, "I speak." He might say, "They speak to me,"