3:11 Nṅlaka
- suttas - - evening talks - short morning talks - lectures - guided meditations - talk collections - other themes - chants - - - - à¹à¸à¸¢ - Franā§ais - Espaā±ol - - Portuguāªs - Ð ÑÑÑкий - - - УкÑаÑнÑÑка Submit Search - Home - Suttas - KN - Sn - Sn 3:11 Nṅlaka ## Browse Suttas Go to Sutta Nipṅta index Sn index ## 3:11  Nṅlaka Asita the seer, in his mid-day meditation, saw the Group of Thirty— Sakka1 the king, and devas dressed in pure white exultant, ecstatic— holding up banners, cheering wildly, & on seeing the devas so joyful & happy, having paid his respects, he said: "Why is the deva community so wildly elated? Why are they holding up banners & waving them around? Even after the war with the Asuras —when victory was the devasâ, the Asuras defeated— even then there was nothing hair-raising like this. Seeing what marvel are the devas so joyful? They whistle, they sing, play music, clap their hands, dance. So I ask you, who live on Mount Meruâs summit. Please dispel my doubt quickly, dear sirs." "The Bodhisatta, the foremost jewel, unequaled, has been born for welfare & happiness in the human world, in a town in the Sakyan countryside, Lumbini. Thatâs why weâre contented, so wildly elated. He, the highest of all beings, the ultimate person, a bull among men, highest of all people, will set turning the Wheel [of Dhamma] in the forest named after the seers, like a strong, roaring lion, the conqueror of beasts." Hearing these words, Asita quickly descended [from heaven] and went to Suddhodanaâs dwelling. There, taking a seat, he said to the Sakyans: "Where is the prince? I, too, want to see him." The Sakyans then showed to the seer named Asita their son, the prince, like gold aglow, burnished by a most skillful smith in the mouth of the furnace, blazing with glory, flawless in color. On seeing the prince blazing like flame, pure like the bull of the stars going across the sky —the burning sun, released from the clouds of autumn— he was exultant, filled with abundant rapture. The devas held in the sky a many-spoked sunshade of a thousand circles. Gold-handled whisks waved up & down, but those holding the whisks & the sunshade couldnât be seen. The coiled-haired seer named Dark Splendor, seeing the boy, like an ornament of gold on the red woolen blanket, a white sunshade held over his head, received him, joyful in mind & pleased. And on receiving the bull of the Sakyans, longingly, the master of mantras & signs exclaimed with a confident mind: "This one is unsurpassed, the highest of the biped race." Then, foreseeing his own imminent departure, he, dejected, shed tears. On seeing him weeping, the Sakyans asked: "But surely there will be no danger for the prince?" On seeing the Sakyansâ concern he replied, "I foresee for the prince no harm. Nor will there be any danger for him. This oneâs not insignificant: Be assured. This prince will touch the ultimate self-awakening. He, seeing the utmost purity, will set rolling the Wheel of Dhamma through sympathy for the welfare of many. His holy life will spread far & wide. But as for me, my life here has no long remainder. My death will take place before then. I wonât get to hear the Dhamma of this one with the peerless role. Thatâs why Iâm stricken, afflicted, & pained." He, having brought the Sakyans abundant rapture, the follower of the holy life left the inner chamber and, out of sympathy for his nephew, urged him on toward the Dhamma of the one with the peerless role: "When you hear from another the word, ),
# Right single quote
('â', Awakened One,â or ),
# Right single quote
('â', Attaining self-awakening, he lays open the path of the Dhamma,â go there and, asking him yourself, follow the holy life under that Blessed One." Instructed by the one whose mind was set on his benefit, Such, seeing in the future the utmost purity, Nṅlaka, who had laid up a store of merit, awaited the Victor expectantly, guarding his senses. On hearing word of the Victorâs turning of the foremost wheel, he went, he saw the bull among seers. Confident, he asked the foremost sage about the utmost sagacity, now that Asitaâs forecast had come to pass. Nṅlaka: "Now that I know Asitaâs words to be true, I ask you, Gotama, you who have gone to the beyond of all dhammas. Iâm intent on the homeless life; I long for the almsround. Tell me sage, when asked, the highest state of sagacity." The Buddha: "Iâll teach you a sagacity          hard to do, hard to master. Come now, Iâll tell you. Be steadfast. Be firm. Practice even-mindedness, for in a village thereâs praise & abuse. Ward off any flaw in the heart. Go about calmed & not haughty. High & low things will come up like fire-flames in a forest. Women seduce a sage. May they not seduce you.2 Abstaining from sexual intercourse, abandoning various sensual pleasures, be unopposed, unattached, to beings moving & still. ),
# Right single quote
('â', As I am, so are these. As are these, so am I.â Drawing the parallel to yourself, neither kill nor get others to kill. Abandoning the wants & greed where people run-of-the-mill are stuck, practice with vision, cross over this hell. Stomach not full, moderate in food, modest, not being greedy, always not hungering for wants: One without hunger is one whoâs unbound. Having gone on his almsround, the sage should then go to the forest, approaching the root of a tree, taking a seat. The enlightened one, intent on jhṅna, should find delight in the forest, should practice jhṅna at the foot of a tree, attaining his own satisfaction. Then, at the end of the night, he should go to the village, not delighting in an invitation or gift from the village. Having gone to the village, the sage should not go forcing his way among families. Cutting off chatter, he shouldnât utter a scheming word. ),
# Right single quote
('â', I got something. Thatâs fine. I got nothing. That, too, is good.â Being such with regard to both, he returns to the very same tree. Wandering with his bowl in hand —not dumb, but seemingly dumb— he shouldnât despise a piddling gift nor disparage the giver. High & low are the practices proclaimed by the contemplative. They donât go twice to the further shore. This [unbinding] isnât sensed only once.3 In one who has no attachment— the monk who has cut the stream,4 abandoning what is & isnât a duty— no fever is found. Iâll teach you sagacity:Be like a razorâs edge. Pressing tongue against palate, restrain your stomach. Neither be lazy in mind, nor have many thoughts. Be free of raw stench,5 independent, having the holy life as your aim. Train in     solitude & the contemplativeâs task, Solitude is called sagacity. Alone, you truly delight & shine in the ten directions. On hearing the fame of the enlightened —those who practice jhṅna, relinquishing sensuality— my disciple should foster all the more shame & conviction. Know from the rivers in clefts & in crevices: Those in small channels flow noisily, the great flow silent. Whateverâs deficient makes noise. Whatever is full is quiet. The fool is like a half-empty pot; one who is wise, a full lake.6 A contemplative who speaks a great deal endowed with meaning: Knowing, he teaches the Dhamma; knowing, he speaks a great deal. But he who, knowing, is restrained, knowing, doesnât speak a great deal: He is a sage worthy of sagehood. He is a sage, his sagehood attained." vv. 679–723 Notes 1. Reading Sakkaā±ca with the Thai edition. 2. For an instance of a woman who tried to seduce a monk, see the origin story to Pṅcittiya 5 in The Buddhist Monastic Code, volume 1. For an instance of a man who tried to seduce a nun, see Thig 14. 3. According to SnA, the high and low practices taught by the Buddha are, respectively, the practice-mode of pleasant practice and quick intuition, and the practice-mode of painful practice and slow intuition (see AN 4:162). These modes of practice donât go twice to the further shore in the sense that each of the four paths—to stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and arahantship—abandons whatever defilements it is capable of abandoning once and for all. There is no need to repeat that particular path. Unbinding is not attained only once in the sense that it is touched as the result of each of the four paths. 4. SnA: the stream of defilements. However, the stream here could also be the stream of becoming mentioned in Sn 3:12. 5. See Sn 2:2. 6. This verse is quoted in the Milinda Paā±hṅ. See also: AN 3:123; Dhp 268–269; Iti 66–67; Sn 1:12 - --> - - - -