English
many khattiyas, brahmins, vessas, suddas, elephant riders, horse riders, charioteers, foot soldiers, archers, shield-bearers, cloth-wearers, movers, alms-givers, nobles, princes, attackers, great elephants, heroes, armourers, warriors, sons of slave women, sons of hired laborers, wrestlers, accountants, cooks, chefs, barbers, bath attendants, perfumers, garland makers, gold smiths, silver smiths, lead smiths, tin smiths, iron smiths, turners, blacksmiths, jewelers, weavers, potters, bamboo workers, salt makers, leather workers, chariot makers, ivory carvers, rope makers, brush makers, thread Makers of bows, makers of strings, makers of arrows, makers of chariots, painters, dyers, washers, weavers, tailors, goldsmiths, money-changers, perfumers, grass-cutters, wood-cutters, laborers, leaf-gatherers, fruit-gatherers, root-gatherers, cooks, cake-makers, fishers, butchers, toddy-tappers, actors, dancers, acrobats, magicians, bards, wrestlers, cremators, flower-throwers, hunters, fowlers, courtesans, dancers, potter-women, people from Sakka, Yavana, Cīna, Vilāta, Ujjenī, Bhārukaccha, Kāsī, Kosala, Parantaka, Māgadha, Sāketa, Soreyya, Pāveyya, Koṭumbara, Māthura, Alasanda, Kasmīra, Gandhāra— people from various regions, who had come to dwell in that city, seeing that new, well-divided, faultless, blameless, delightful city, knew by inference: ‘Indeed, that city-architect is skillful, who built this city.’ Even so, great king, that Blessed One, unequaled, incomparably unequaled, matchless, peerless, incomparable, immeasurable, unlimited, boundless, of infinite virtues, who had reached the perfection of virtues, of infinite resolve, infinite splendor, infinite energy, infinite strength, who had attained the perfection of the Buddha-powers, having defeated Māra with his army, having shattered the net of wrong views, having dispelled ignorance, having generated wisdom, having upheld the torch of Dhamma, having attained omniscience, having conquered the battle, built the city of Dhamma. The city of Dhamma of the Blessed One, great king, has morality as its rampart, shame as its moat, knowledge as its gatehouse, energy as its watchtower, faith as its bolt, mindfulness as its doorkeeper, wisdom as its palace, Suttantas as its crossroads, Abhidhamma as its main square, Vinaya as its judgment hall, and the ways of mindfulness as its streets. And in those ways of mindfulness, great king, such shops are spread out. Namely, a flower shop, a perfume shop, a fruit shop, a medicine shop, a herb shop, an immortality shop, a jewel shop, and an all-purpose shop.” “Venerable Nāgasena, which is the flower shop of the Buddha, the Blessed One?” “There is, great king, that which was known by the Blessed One, The seeing Arahant, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One, has declared the distinctions of objects. Namely: perception of impermanence, perception of suffering, perception of non-self, perception of impurity, perception of danger, perception of abandonment, perception of dispassion, perception of cessation, perception of non-delight in the whole world, perception of impermanence in all formations, mindfulness of breathing, perception of a bloated corpse, perception of a discolored corpse, perception of a festering corpse, perception of a cut-up corpse, perception of a gnawed-at corpse, perception of a scattered corpse, perception of a hacked and scattered corpse, perception of a bloody corpse, perception of a worm-infested corpse, perception of a skeleton, perception of loving-kindness, perception of compassion, perception of sympathetic joy, perception of equanimity, recollection of death, mindfulness of the body. These, O great king, are the distinctions of objects declared by the Buddha, the Blessed One. Therein, whoever desires to be freed from old age and death, he takes up one of these objects. By that object, he is freed from lust, he is freed from hatred, he is freed from delusion, he is freed from conceit, he is freed from wrong views. He crosses over saṃsāra, he stops the stream of craving, he purifies the three defilements, having destroyed all defilements, entering the stainless, dustless, pure, bright, unborn, unaging, deathless, blissful, cooled, fearless, supreme city, the city of Nibbāna, he liberates his mind in Arahantship. This, O great king, is called 'the Blessed One's flower market'. "Taking the root of kamma, go to the market; Having bought an object, then be freed with liberation." "Venerable Nāgasena, what is the Blessed Buddha's perfume market?" "Indeed, O great king, the Blessed One has declared distinctions of virtue, by the perfume of which virtue, the sons of the Blessed One, anointed with the perfume of virtue, perfume and thoroughly perfume the world with its deities. They waft and over-waft in all directions and intermediate directions, with the wind and against the wind, pervading, they stand. What are those distinctions of virtue? Virtue of taking refuge, virtue of five precepts, virtue of eight precepts, virtue of ten precepts, virtue of restraint by the Pātimokkha, included in the five sections. This, O great king, is called 'the Blessed One's perfume market'. This too has been said, O great... O King, by the Blessed One, the God of gods – ‘‘No flower's fragrance goes against the wind, Nor sandalwood, tagara, or jasmine; But the fragrance of the virtuous goes against the wind, The good person pervades all directions. ‘‘Sandalwood or tagara, Or lotus, or jasmine; Among these kinds of fragrances, The fragrance of virtue is unsurpassed. ‘‘Slight is this fragrance, That of tagara and sandalwood; But the fragrance of the virtuous, Is supreme among the gods.’’ ‘‘Venerable Nāgasena, what is the fruit-stall of the Buddha, the Blessed One?’’ ‘‘Indeed, O King, fruits have been declared by the Blessed One. Namely, the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, the fruit of arahantship, the attainment of the fruit of emptiness, the attainment of the fruit of signlessness, the attainment of the fruit of desirelessness. Therein, whoever desires any fruit, gives the price of kamma, and buys the desired fruit. Whether the fruit of stream-entry, whether the fruit of once-returning, whether the fruit of non-returning, whether the fruit of arahantship, whether the attainment of the fruit of emptiness, whether the attainment of the fruit of signlessness, whether the attainment of the fruit of desirelessness. Just as, O King, if a certain man had a mango tree with unfailing fruit, he would not yet drop the fruits from it, until the buyers arrive. But when the buyers have arrived, taking the price, he would declare thus: ‘Hey man, this is indeed a mango tree with unfailing fruit. From it, take as much fruit as you desire, whether unripe, or half-ripe, or fully ripe, or green, or mature.’ So, with the price given by himself, if he desires unripe, he takes unripe; if he desires half-ripe, he takes half-ripe; if he desires fully ripe, he takes fully ripe; if he desires green, he takes green; if he desires mature, he takes mature. Even so, O King, whoever desires any fruit, gives the price of kamma, and takes the desired fruit, whether the fruit of stream-entry, whether the fruit of once-returning, whether the fruit of non-returning, whether the fruit of arahantship, whether the attainment of the fruit of emptiness, whether the attainment of the fruit of signlessness, whether the attainment of the fruit of desirelessness. This is called, O great king, "the Buddha's fruit market." "People give the root of kamma, They receive the fruit of deathlessness; By that they are happy, Those who have bought the fruit of deathlessness." "Venerable Nāgasena, what is the Buddha's antidote market?" "Indeed, O great king, the antidotes have been declared by the Blessed One, by which antidotes that Blessed One frees the world, with its devas, from the poison of defilements. And what are those antidotes? These, O great king, are the Four Noble Truths declared by the Blessed One. Namely, the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering. Therein, whoever, seeking knowledge, listens to the Dhamma of the Four Truths, they are freed from birth, they are freed from old age, they are freed from death, they are freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. This, O great king, is called 'the Buddha's antidote market.'" "Whatever antidotes there are in the world, Repelling poisons; There is none equal to the antidote of Dhamma, Drink this, O bhikkhus!" "Venerable Nāgasena, what is the Buddha's medicine market?" "Indeed, O great king, the medicines have been declared by the Blessed One, by which medicines that Blessed One treats devas and humans. Namely, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Four Right Exertions, the Four Bases of Psychic Power, the Five Faculties, the Five Powers, the Seven Factors of Awakening, the Noble Eightfold Path. With these medicines, the Blessed One purges wrong view, purges wrong intention, purges wrong speech, purges wrong action, purges wrong livelihood, purges wrong effort, purges wrong mindfulness, purges wrong concentration. He causes the vomiting of greed, He causes the vomiting of hatred, He causes the vomiting of delusion, He causes the vomiting of conceit, He causes the vomiting of views, He causes the vomiting of doubt, He causes the vomiting of restlessness, He causes the vomiting of sloth and torpor, He causes the vomiting of shamelessness and fearlessness of wrongdoing, all... purifies the defiled mind. This is called, O Great King, 'the Medicine-House of the Blessed One.' "Whatever medicines there are in the world, Of various kinds, many; Nothing is equal to the medicine of Dhamma, Drink this, O monks. "Having drunk the medicine of Dhamma, They become ageless and deathless; Having developed and seen,