SN2 Linked Discourses on Godlings

SN2.1

Linked Discourses 2.1

Chapter One

With Kassapa (1st)

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Kassapa, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him,

“The Buddha has revealed the mendicant, but not his instructions to a mendicant.”

“Well then, Kassapa, clarify this matter yourself.”

“You should all train to learn well-spoken words,

to attend closely to ascetics,

to sit alone in hidden places,

and to settle the mind.”

That is what the godling Kassapa said,

and the Teacher concurred.

Then Kassapa, knowing that the Teacher concurred, bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

SN2.2

Linked Discourses 2.2

Chapter One

With Kassapa (2nd)

At Sāvatthī.

Standing to one side, the godling Kassapa spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“If a mendicant is a meditator, freed in mind,

and if they desire the heart’s fulfillment—

having known the arising and passing of the world,

good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”

SN2.3

Linked Discourses 2.3

Chapter One

With Māgha

At Sāvatthī.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Māgha, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and addressed the Buddha in verse:

“When what is slain do you sleep at ease?

When what is slain is there no sorrow?

What is the one thing

whose killing you approve?”

“When anger’s slain you sleep at ease.

When anger’s slain there is no sorrow.

Anger has a poisonous root

and a sweet tip, O Smiter of the Constrictor.

The noble ones praise its killing,

for when it’s slain there is no sorrow.”

SN2.4

Linked Discourses 2.4

Chapter One

With Maghada

At Sāvatthī.

Standing to one side, the godling Maghada addressed the Buddha in verse:

“How many lamps are there

that light up the world?

We’ve come to ask the Buddha;

how are we to understand this?”

“There are four lamps in the world,

a fifth is not found.

The sun blazes by day,

the moon radiates at night,

while a fire illuminates both

by day and by night.

But a Buddha is the best of blazes:

this is the supreme radiance.”

SN2.5

Linked Discourses 2.5

Chapter One

With Dāmali

At Sāvatthī.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Dāmali, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“This is what should be done by a brahmin:

unrelenting striving.

Then, with the giving up of sensual pleasures,

they won’t hope to be reborn.”

“The brahmin has nothing left to do,”

said the Buddha to Dāmali,

“for they’ve completed their task.

So long as a personage fails to gain a footing in the river,

they swim with every limb.

But someone who has gained a footing and stands on dry land

need not swim, for they have reached the far shore.

Dāmali, this is a simile for the brahmin,

alert, a meditator who has ended defilements.

Since they’ve reached the end of rebirth and death,

they need not swim, for they have reached the far shore.”

SN2.6

Linked Discourses 2.6

Chapter One

With Kāmada

At Sāvatthī.

Standing to one side, the godling Kāmada said to the Buddha,

“It’s too hard, Blessed One! It’s just too hard!”

“They do it even though it’s hard,”

said the Buddha to Kāmada,

“the stable trainees with ethics, and immersion.

For one who has entered the homeless life,

contentment brings happiness.”

“Such contentment, Blessed One, is hard to find.”

“They find it even though it’s hard,”

said the Buddha to Kāmada,

“those who love to settle the mind;

whose minds love to meditate

day and night.”

“But it’s hard, Blessed One, to immerse this mind in samādhi.”

“They become immersed in samādhi even though it’s hard,”

said the Buddha to Kāmada,

“those who love calming the faculties.

Having cut through the net of Death,

the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way.”

“But this path, Blessed One, is rough and hard to travel.”

“Though it’s rough, hard to travel,

the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way.

The ignoble fall headfirst

on a rough path.

But the path of the noble ones is smooth,

for the noble ones are smooth amid the rough.”

SN2.7

Linked Discourses 2.7

Chapter One

With Pañcālacaṇḍa

At Sāvatthī.

Standing to one side, the godling Pañcālacaṇḍa spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“The opening amid confinement

was discovered by the Buddha of vast intelligence,

who awakened to absorption,

the sage, the solitary boss bull.”

“Even amid confinement they understand,”

said the Buddha to Pañcālacaṇḍa,

“the principle for attaining extinguishment.

Those who have acquired mindfulness

are perfectly serene in samādhi.”

SN2.8

Linked Discourses 2.8

Chapter One

With Tāyana

At Sāvatthī.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Tāyana, formerly a religious founder, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:

“Cut the stream, striving!

Cast aside sensual pleasures, brahmin.

A sage who doesn’t give up sensual pleasures

is not reborn in a unified state.

If one is to do what should be done,

one should staunchly strive.

For the life gone forth when laxly led

just stirs up dust all the more.

A bad deed is better left undone,

for it will plague you later on.

A good deed is better done,

one that does not plague you.

When kusa grass is wrongly grasped

it only cuts the hand.

So too, the ascetic life, when wrongly taken,

drags you to hell.

Any lax act,

any corrupt observance,

or suspicious spiritual life,

is not very fruitful.”

That is what the godling Tāyana said.

Then he bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

Then, when the night had passed, the Buddha told the mendicants all that had happened.

“Mendicants, tonight, the glorious godling Tāyana, formerly a religious founder, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, came to me, bowed, stood to one side,

and recited these verses in my presence.” The Buddha repeated the verses in full, adding:

“That is what the godling Tāyana said. Then he bowed and respectfully circled me, keeping me on his right side, before vanishing right there.

Mendicants, learn the verses of Tāyana!

Memorize the verses of Tāyana!

Remember the verses of Tāyana!

These verses are beneficial and relate to the fundamentals of the spiritual life.”

SN2.9

Linked Discourses 2.9

Chapter One

The Moon

At Sāvatthī.

Now at that time the Moon God had been seized by Rāhu, lord of titans.

Then the Moon God, recollecting the Buddha, at that time spoke this verse:

“Homage to you, Buddha, hero!

You’re free in every way.

I’ve wandered into confinement:

be my refuge!”

Then the Buddha addressed Rāhu in verse concerning the Moon God:

“The Moon God has gone for refuge

to the Realized One, the perfected one.

The Buddhas have compassion for the world—

so Rāhu, release the Moon!”

Then Rāhu, having released the Moon, rushed to see Vepacitti, lord of titans and stood to one side, shocked and awestruck.

Vepacitti addressed him in verse:

“Why the rush?

Rāhu, you released the Moon

and came here looking like you’re in shock:

why do you stand there so scared?”

“My head would have exploded in seven pieces,

I would have found no happiness in life,

if, when enchanted by the Buddha’s verse,

I had not released the Moon.”

SN2.10

Linked Discourses 2.10

Chapter One

The Sun

At Sāvatthī.

Now at that time the Sun God had been seized by Rāhu, lord of titans.

Then the Sun God, recollecting the Buddha, at that time spoke this verse:

“Homage to you, Buddha, hero!

You’re free in every way.

I’ve wandered into confinement:

be my refuge!”

Then the Buddha addressed Rāhu in verse concerning the Sun God:

“The Sun God has gone for refuge

to the Realized One, the perfected one.

The Buddhas have compassion for the world—

so Rāhu, release the Sun!

He is a beacon in the darkness,

the dazzling sun, circle of awesome might.

Rāhu, do not swallow him as he traverses the sky.

Rāhu, release my offspring, the Sun!”

Then Rāhu, having released the Sun, rushed to see Vepacitti, lord of titans and stood to one side, shocked and awestruck.

Vepacitti addressed him in verse:

“Why the rush?

Rāhu, you released the Sun

and came here looking like you’re in shock:

why do you stand there so scared?”

“My head would have exploded in seven pieces,

I would have found no joy in life,

if, when enchanted by the Buddha’s verse,

I had not released the Sun.”

SN2.11

Linked Discourses 2.11

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Candimasa

At Sāvatthī.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Candimasa, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“Like deer in a mosquito-free marsh,

they will reach a safe place

having entered the absorptions,

unified, alert, and mindful.”

“Like fish when the net is cut,

they will reach the far shore

having entered the absorptions,

diligent, with strife discarded.”

SN2.12

Linked Discourses 2.12

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Vishnu

Standing to one side, the godling Vishnu spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“Happy are the men

who pay homage to the Holy One!

They apply themselves to Gotama’s instructions,

diligently training.”

“Those who practice absorption in accord with the training”,

said the Buddha to Vishnu,

“in the way of teaching I’ve proclaimed,

diligent while there is still time;

they won’t fall under the sway of Death.”

SN2.13

Linked Discourses 2.13

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Dīghalaṭṭhi

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Dīghalaṭṭhi, lighting up the entire Bamboo Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“If a mendicant is a meditator, freed in mind,

and if they desire the heart’s fulfillment—

having known the arising and passing of the world,

good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”

SN2.14

Linked Discourses 2.14

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Nandana

Standing to one side, the godling Nandana addressed the Buddha in verse:

“I ask you, Gotama, whose wisdom is vast,

the Blessed One of unhindered knowledge and vision.

What sort do they call ethical?

What sort do they call wise?

What sort lives on after transcending suffering?

What sort is worshiped by the deities?”

“Someone who is ethical, wise, evolved,

becomes serene, loving absorption, mindful,

who’s gotten rid of and given up all sorrows,

with defilements ended, they bear their final body.

That sort they call ethical.

That sort they call wise.

That sort lives on after transcending suffering.

That sort is worshiped by the deities.”

SN2.15

Linked Discourses 2.15

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Candana

Standing to one side, the godling Candana addressed the Buddha in verse:

“Who here crosses the flood,

tireless all day and night?

Who, not standing and unsupported,

does not sink in the deep?”

“Someone who is always endowed with ethics,

wise and serene,

energetic and resolute,

crosses the flood so hard to cross.

Someone who desists from sensual perception,

has moved past the fetter of form,

and has finished with relishing and greed

does not sink in the deep.”

SN2.16

Linked Discourses 2.16

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Vāsudatta

Standing to one side, the godling Vāsudatta spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“Like they’re struck by a sword,

like their head was on fire,

a mendicant should wander mindful,

to give up sensual desire.”

“Like they’re struck by a sword,

like their head was on fire,

a mendicant should wander mindful,

to give up substantialist view.”

SN2.17

Linked Discourses 2.17

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Subrahmā

Standing to one side, the godling Subrahmā addressed the Buddha in verse:

“This mind is always anxious,

this mind is always stressed

about stresses that haven’t arisen

and those that have.

If there is a state free of anxiety,

please answer my question.”

“Not without understanding and fervor,

not without restraining the sense faculties,

not without letting go of everything,

do I see safety for living creatures.”

That is what the Buddha said. …

The godling vanished right there.

SN2.18

Linked Discourses 2.18

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Kakudha

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāketa in the deer park at the Añjana Wood.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Kakudha, lighting up the entire Añjana Wood, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him,

“Do you delight, ascetic?”

“What have I gained, sir?”

“Well then, ascetic, do you sorrow?”

“What have I lost, sir?”

“Well then, ascetic, do you neither delight nor sorrow?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I hope you’re not gloomy, mendicant,

I hope that delight isn’t found in you.

I hope that discontent doesn’t

overwhelm you as you sit alone.”

“I’m genuinely not gloomy, spirit,

and no delight is found in me.

And also discontent doesn’t

overwhelm me as I sit alone.”

“How are you not gloomy, mendicant?

How is delight not found in you?

How does discontent not

overwhelm you as you sit alone?”

“Delight is born from gloom,

gloom is born from delight;

sir, you should know me as

a mendicant free of delight and gloom.”

“After a long time I see

a brahmin fully quenched.

A mendicant free of delight and gloom,

he has crossed over clinging to the world.”

SN2.19

Linked Discourses 2.19

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Uttara

At Rājagaha.

Standing to one side, the godling Uttara spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

“This life, so very short, is led onward.

One led on to old age has no shelter.

Seeing this peril in death,

do good deeds that bring you joy.”

“This life, so very short, is led onward.

One led on to old age has no shelter.

Seeing this peril in death,

a seeker of peace would drop the world’s bait.”

SN2.20

Linked Discourses 2.20

With Anāthapiṇḍika

With Anāthapiṇḍika

Standing to one side, the godling Anāthapiṇḍika recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:

“This is indeed that Jeta’s Grove,

frequented by the Saṅgha of seers,

where the King of Dhamma stayed:

it brings me joy!

Deeds, knowledge, and principle;

ethical conduct, an excellent livelihood;

by these are mortals purified,

not by clan or wealth.

That’s why an astute person,

seeing what’s good for themselves,

would examine the teaching rationally,

that’s how they become purified in that.

Sāriputta is full of wisdom,

ethics, and peace.

Even a mendicant who has crossed over

might at best equal him.”

That is what the godling Anāthapiṇḍika said.

Then he bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

Then, when the night had passed, the Buddha addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants, tonight, a certain glorious godling, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, came to me, bowed, stood to one side,

and recited these verses in my presence.” The Buddha then repeated the verses in full.

When he said this, Venerable Ānanda said to the Buddha,

“Sir, that godling must surely have been Anāthapiṇḍika.

For the householder Anāthapiṇḍika was devoted to Venerable Sāriputta.”

“Good, good, Ānanda. You’ve reached the logical conclusion, as far as logic goes.

For that was indeed the godling Anāthapiṇḍika.”

SN2.21

Linked Discourses 2.21

Various Sectarians

With Shiva

So I have heard.

At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Then, late at night, the glorious godling Shiva, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,

and recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:

“Associate only with the virtuous!

Try to get close to the virtuous!