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B0102030101devatāsaṃyuttaṃ (deva samyutta sutra)

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Knowing the common usage in the world; He would speak merely by convention. 6. The Discourse on Lights 26. "How many lights are there in the world, by which the world is illuminated? Having come to ask the Blessed One, how shall we know this?" "There are four lights in the world, a fifth is not found here; By day the sun shines, by night the moon illuminates. "Then fire illuminates here and there, day and night; The Fully Awakened One is the best of those who shine, this is the unsurpassed light." 7. The Discourse on Streams 27. "From where do streams turn back? Where does the cycle not revolve? Where do name and form cease without remainder?" "Where water and earth, fire and wind find no footing; From there streams turn back, there the cycle does not revolve; There name and form cease without remainder." 8. The Discourse on the Wealthy 28. "The wealthy, those with great possessions, even kings with realms; They covet one another, unadorned by sensual pleasures. "Among those who are eager, following the stream of becoming; Who have abandoned craving? Who are without eagerness in the world?" "Having abandoned home, gone forth, having abandoned children, cattle, and property; Having abandoned lust and hatred, and dispelled ignorance; The Arahants, whose defilements are destroyed, they are without eagerness in the world." 9. The Discourse on the Four Wheels 29. "With four wheels, nine doors, full and bound by greed; Born in the mud, Great Hero, how will the journey be?" "Having cut the strap and the thong, and, desire and greed are evil; Having uprooted craving with its root, thus will the journey be. 10. The Discourse on Eṇijaṅgha 30. “To Eṇijaṅgha, the lean, the hero, who eats little, not greedy; A lion, a solitary wanderer, a great one, who is indifferent to sensual pleasures; We approach and ask, ‘How is one freed from suffering?’” “The five strands of sensual pleasure in the world, and the mind as the sixth, are declared; Having abandoned desire for these, thus is one freed from suffering.” The third chapter, Sattivagga. Its summary – By the dart, and it touches, the matted hair, the restraint of mind; By the Arahant, the lamp, by the arrows, and by the great wealth; By the four wheels, the ninth, by Eṇijaṅgha, these are ten. 4. The Chapter of the Satullapa Devas 1. The Discourse on Good People 31. Thus have I heard – At one time the Blessed One was dwelling in Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery. Then, when the night was far advanced, many devas of the Satullapa group, of resplendent 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. Standing to one side, one deva spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One – “Associate only with good people, make friends only with good people; Having understood the good people's true Dhamma, one becomes better, not worse.” Then another deva spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One – “Associate only with good people, make friends only with good people; Having understood the good people's true Dhamma, wisdom is gained, not from elsewhere.” Then another deva spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One – “Associate only with good people, make friends only with good people; Having understood the good people's true Dhamma, one grieves not amidst sorrow.” Then another deva spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One – “Associate only with good people, make friends only with good people; Having understood the good people's true Dhamma, one shines among relatives.” Then another deva, in the presence of the Blessed One near him spoke this verse: "Associate only with the good, Befriend only the good; Understanding the true Dhamma of the virtuous, Beings go to a good destination." Then another deity, near the Blessed One, spoke this verse: "Associate only with the good, Befriend only the good; Understanding the true Dhamma of the virtuous, Beings endure constantly." Then another deity said to the Blessed One, "Whose is the well-spoken word, O Blessed One?" "All of your words are well-spoken in their own way, but listen to mine as well: "Associate only with the good, Befriend only the good; Understanding the true Dhamma of the virtuous, One is freed from all suffering." This the Blessed One said. Delighted, those deities, having saluted the Blessed One and circumambulated him, vanished right there. 2. The Discourse on Stinginess 32. At one time the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. Then, many Satullapa deities, when the night was far advanced, with resplendent beauty illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One; having approached and saluted the Blessed One, they stood to one side. Standing to one side, one deity, near the Blessed One, spoke this verse: "From stinginess and heedlessness, Thus gifts are not given; By one desiring merit, It should be given, by one who knows." Then another deity, near the Blessed One, spoke these verses: "That which the stingy one fears and does not give, That very fear comes to him who does not give; Hunger and thirst, Which the stingy one fears; These afflict that fool, In this world and the next. "Therefore, having overcome stinginess, One should give a gift, having conquered defilement; Merits in the other world, Are the support for living beings." Then another deity, near the Blessed One, spoke these verses: "They do not die among the dead, Like fellow travelers on a path; Those who give in small things This is the ancient law. Some give little, Many do not desire; A small gift given, Is reckoned equal to a thousand. Then another deity, in the presence of the Blessed One, spoke these verses: To those who give what is hard to give, To those who do what is hard to do; The ignoble do not imitate, The Dhamma of the good is hard to follow. Therefore, of the good and the ignoble, Their destination here is different; The ignoble go to hell, The good have heaven as their destination. Then another deity, in the presence of the Blessed One, said this: "Whose is the well-spoken word, Blessed One?" "All of your words are well-spoken in their own way; but listen to mine too: One who practices Dhamma, even if he lives on gleanings, And supports his wife and gives a little; The offerings of a thousand sacrificers, Of hundreds of thousands, are not worth a sixteenth part of such a one. Then another deity addressed the Blessed One with a verse: How is it that this great and extensive sacrifice, Does not equal a gift given with equanimity; How is it that the offerings of a thousand sacrificers, Of hundreds of thousands, are not worth a sixteenth part of such a one? Some give, being settled in unevenness, Having cut, having killed, having caused sorrow; That offering, with tearful faces, with violence, Does not equal a gift given with equanimity. Thus, the offerings of a thousand sacrificers, Of hundreds of thousands, are not worth a sixteenth part of such a one. 3. Sādhu Sutta 33. Sāvatthī. At that time, many deities of the Satullapa group, when the night was far advanced, with their surpassing radiance illuminating the entire Jeta Grove, approached the Blessed One; having approached and paid homage to the Blessed One, they stood to one side. Standing to one side, one deity, in the presence of the Blessed One, uttered this inspired utterance: "Good indeed, sir, is giving; From stinginess and heedlessness, such a gift is not given; One who desires merit, should give. knowing what is. Then another deity uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “Good, sir, is giving; But even a little giving is good.” “Some give little, many do not wish to give much; A small offering given, is measured equal to a thousand.” Then another deity uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “Good, sir, is giving; even a little giving is good; But even giving with faith is good.” “Giving and battle are said to be alike, Though few, they conquer many; If one gives even a little with faith, By that he is happy in the other world.” Then another deity uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “Good, sir, is giving; even a little giving is good; Giving with faith is good; but even giving from what is righteously gained is good.” “He who gives a gift from what is righteously gained, From what a being has acquired through effort and energy; That mortal, having crossed Yama’s river Vetaraṇī, Attains divine abodes.” Then another deity uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “Good, sir, is giving; even a little giving is good; Giving with faith is good; giving from what is righteously gained is good; But even giving after careful consideration is good.” “Giving after careful consideration is praised by the Sugata, To those worthy of offerings in this living world; Gifts given to these bear great fruit, Like seeds sown in a good field.” Then another deity uttered this inspired utterance in the presence of the Blessed One: “Good, sir, is giving; even a little giving is good; Giving with faith is good; giving from what is righteously gained is good; Giving after careful consideration is good; but even restraint towards living beings is good.” “He who walks not harming living beings, Does no evil through slandering others; They praise the timid, not the brave in that regard, For the good do no evil out of fear.” Then another deity He said to the Blessed One: "Whose, now, O Blessed One, is well-spoken?" "All of you have spoken well in turn, but also listen to me – "Faith, indeed, is giving, Praised in many ways; But better than giving Is the path of Dhamma; For in former times, And even earlier, the saints, The wise, attained Nibbāna itself." 4.