dn21:1.1.1 So I have heard.
BAGIAN 1
dn21:1.1.2 At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Magadhans, where east of Rājagaha there is a brahmin village named Ambasaṇḍā, north of which, on Mount Vediyaka, is Indra’s hill cave.
dn21:1.1.3 Now at that time Sakka, the lord of gods, grew eager to see the Buddha.
dn21:1.1.4 He thought,
dn21:1.1.5 “Where is the Blessed One at present, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha?”
dn21:1.1.6 Seeing that the Buddha was at Indra’s hill cave,
dn21:1.1.7 he addressed the gods of the thirty-three,
dn21:1.1.8 “Good fellows, the Buddha is staying in the land of the Magadhans at Indra’s hill cave.
dn21:1.1.9 What if we were to go and see that Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha?”
dn21:1.1.10 “Yes, lord,” replied the gods.
dn21:1.2.1 Then Sakka addressed the centaur Pañcasikha,
dn21:1.2.2 “Dear Pañcasikha, the Buddha is staying in the land of the Magadhans at Indra’s hill cave.
dn21:1.2.3 What if we were to go and see that Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha?”
dn21:1.2.4 “Yes, lord,” replied the centaur Pañcasikha. Taking his arched harp made from the pale timber of wood-apple, he went as Sakka’s attendant.
dn21:1.2.5 Then Sakka went at the head of a retinue consisting of the gods of the thirty-three and the godling centaur Pañcasikha.
dn21:1.2.6 As easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from the heaven of the gods of the thirty-three and landed on Mount Vediyaka north of Ambasaṇḍā.
dn21:1.3.1 Now at that time a dazzling light appeared over Mount Vediyaka and Ambasaṇḍā, as happens through the glory of the gods.
dn21:1.3.2 People in the villages round about, terrified, shocked, and awestruck, said,
dn21:1.3.3 “Mount Vediyaka must be on fire today, blazing and burning!
dn21:1.3.4 Oh why has such a dazzling light appeared over Mount Vediyaka and Ambasaṇḍā?”
dn21:1.4.1 Then Sakka addressed the centaur Pañcasikha,
dn21:1.4.2 “My dear Pañcasikha, it is hard for one like me to get near the Realized Ones while they are on retreat practicing absorption, enjoying absorption.
dn21:1.4.3 But if you were to charm the Buddha first, then I could go to see him.”
dn21:1.4.4 “Yes, lord,” replied the centaur Pañcasikha. Taking his arched harp made from the pale timber of wood-apple, he went to Indra’s hill cave. When he had drawn near, he stood to one side, thinking,
dn21:1.4.5 “This is neither too far nor too near; and he’ll hear my voice.”
dn21:1.4.7.0 1. Pañcasikha’s Song
dn21:1.4.8 Standing to one side, Pañcasikha played his arched harp, and sang these verses on the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, the perfected ones, and sensual love.
dn21:1.5.1 “O Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā, my Darling Sunshine,
dn21:1.5.2 I pay homage to your father Timbaru,
dn21:1.5.3 through whom was born a lady so fine,
dn21:1.5.4 to fill me with a joy I never knew.
dn21:1.5.5 As sweet as a breeze to one who’s sweating,
dn21:1.5.6 or when thirsty, a sweet and cooling drink,
dn21:1.5.7 so dear are you, Aṅgīrasi, to me—
dn21:1.5.8 just like the teaching is to all the saints!
dn21:1.5.9 Like a cure when you’re struck by fever dire,
dn21:1.5.10 or food to ease the hunger pain,
dn21:1.5.11 come on, Bhaddā, please put out my fire,
dn21:1.5.12 quench me like water on a flame.
dn21:1.5.13 As elephants burning in the heat of summer,
dn21:1.5.14 sink down in a lotus pond to rest,
dn21:1.5.15 so cool, full of petals and of pollen—
dn21:1.5.16 that’s how I would plunge into your breast.
dn21:1.5.17 Like elephants bursting bonds in rutting season,
dn21:1.5.18 beating off the pricks of lance and pikes—
dn21:1.5.19 I just don’t understand what is the reason
dn21:1.5.20 I’m so crazy for your shapely thighs!
dn21:1.5.21 For you, my heart is full of passion,
dn21:1.5.22 I’m in a besotted state of mind.
dn21:1.5.23 There is no going back, I’m just not able,
dn21:1.5.24 I’m like a fish that’s hooked up on the line.
dn21:1.5.25 Come on, my Bhaddā, hold me, fair of thighs!
dn21:1.5.26 Embrace me, maid of captivating eyes!
dn21:1.5.27 Take me in your arms, my lovely lady,
dn21:1.5.28 that’s all I’d ever want or could desire.
dn21:1.5.29 Ah, then my desire was such a small thing,
dn21:1.5.30 my sweet, with your curling wavy hair;
dn21:1.5.31 now, like to arahants an offering,
dn21:1.5.32 it’s grown so very much from there.
dn21:1.5.33 Whatever the merit I have forged
dn21:1.5.34 by giving to such perfected beings—
dn21:1.5.35 may that, my altogether gorgeous,
dn21:1.5.36 ripen in togetherness with you.
dn21:1.5.37 Whatever the merit I have forged
dn21:1.5.38 in this vast territory,
dn21:1.5.39 may that, my altogether gorgeous,
dn21:1.5.40 ripen in togetherness with you.
dn21:1.5.41 As the Sakyan, absorbed, did meditate
dn21:1.5.42 at one, alert, and mindful too,
dn21:1.5.43 the sage seeking the state free of death—
dn21:1.5.44 so I, oh my Sunshine, seek for you!
dn21:1.5.45 And just like the sage would delight,
dn21:1.5.46 once he had awakened to the truth,
dn21:1.5.47 so I would delight, my fine lady,
dn21:1.5.48 were I to become one with you.
dn21:1.5.49 If Sakka were to grant me one wish,
dn21:1.5.50 as Lord of the Thirty and Three,
dn21:1.5.51 my Bhaddā, you’re all I would wish for,
dn21:1.5.52 so strong is the love in me.
dn21:1.5.53 Like a freshly blossoming sal tree
dn21:1.5.54 is your father, my lady so wise.
dn21:1.5.55 I pay homage to he, bowing humbly,
dn21:1.5.56 whose daughter is of such a kind.”
dn21:1.6.1 When Pañcasikha had spoken, the Buddha said to him,
dn21:1.6.2 “Pañcasikha, the sound of your strings blends well with the sound of your singing,
dn21:1.6.3 so that neither overpowers the other.
dn21:1.6.4 But when did you compose these verses on the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, the perfected ones, and sensual love?”
dn21:1.6.5 “This one time, sir, when you were first awakened, you were staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River.
dn21:1.6.6 And at that time I was in love with Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā, who they call ‘Darling Sunshine’, the daughter of the centaur king Timbaru.
dn21:1.6.7 But the sister desired another.
dn21:1.6.8 It was the one named Sikhaṇḍī, the son of Mātali the chariot handler, who she loved.
dn21:1.6.9 Since I couldn’t win that sister by any means,
dn21:1.6.10 I took my arched harp to Timbaru’s home, where I played those verses.
dn21:1.7.10 When I finished, Suriyavaccasā said to me,
dn21:1.7.11 ‘Good fellow, I have not personally seen the Buddha. But I did hear about him when I went to dance for the gods of the thirty-three in the Hall of Clear Right.
dn21:1.7.12 Since you extol the Buddha, let us meet up today.’
dn21:1.7.13 And that’s when I met up with that sister.
dn21:1.7.14 But we have not met since.”
dn21:1.8.0 2. The Approach of Sakka
dn21:1.8.1 Then Sakka, lord of gods, thought,
dn21:1.8.2 “Pañcasikha is exchanging pleasantries with the Buddha.”
dn21:1.8.3 So he addressed Pañcasikha,
dn21:1.8.4 “My dear Pañcasikha, please bow to the Buddha for me, saying:
dn21:1.8.5 ‘Sir, Sakka, lord of gods, with his ministers and retinue, bows with his head at your feet.’”
dn21:1.8.6 “Yes, lord,” replied Pañcasikha. He bowed to the Buddha and said,
dn21:1.8.7 “Sir, Sakka, lord of gods, with his ministers and retinue, bows with his head at your feet.”
dn21:1.8.8 “So may Sakka with his ministers and retinue be happy, Pañcasikha,” said the Buddha,
dn21:1.8.9 “for all want to be happy—whether gods, humans, titans, dragons, centaurs, or any of the other diverse creatures there may be.”
dn21:1.8.10 For that is how the Realized Ones salute such illustrious spirits.
dn21:1.8.11 And being saluted by the Buddha, Sakka entered Indra’s hill cave, bowed to the Buddha, and stood to one side.
dn21:1.8.12 And the gods of the thirty-three did likewise,
dn21:1.8.13 as did Pañcasikha.
dn21:1.9.1 And at that time the uneven places were evened out, the cramped places were opened up, the darkness vanished in the cave and light appeared, as happens through the glory of the gods.
dn21:1.9.2 Then the Buddha said to Sakka,
dn21:1.9.3 “It’s incredible and amazing that you, the venerable Kosiya, who has so many duties and so much to do, should come here.”
dn21:1.9.4 “For a long time I’ve wanted to come and see the Buddha, but I wasn’t able, being prevented by my many duties and responsibilities for the gods of the thirty-three.
dn21:1.9.5 This one time, sir, the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in the <i lang='pi' translate='no'>salaḷa</i> tree hut.
dn21:1.9.6 Then I went to Sāvatthī to see the Buddha.
dn21:1.10.1 But at that time the Buddha was sitting immersed in some kind of meditation. And a divine maiden of Great King Vessavaṇa named Bhūjati was attending on the Buddha, standing there paying homage to him with cupped palms.
dn21:1.10.2 So I said to her,
dn21:1.10.3 ‘Sister, please bow to the Buddha for me, saying:
dn21:1.10.4 “Sir, Sakka, lord of gods, with his ministers and retinue, bows with his head at your feet.”’
dn21:1.10.5 When I said this, she said to me,
dn21:1.10.6 ‘It’s the wrong time to see the Buddha,
dn21:1.10.7 as he’s in retreat.’
dn21:1.10.8 ‘Well then, sister, please convey my message when the Buddha emerges from that immersion.’
dn21:1.10.10 I hope that sister bowed to you?
dn21:1.10.11 Do you remember what she said?”
dn21:1.10.12 “She did bow, lord of gods, and I remember what she said.
dn21:1.10.13 I also remember that it was the sound of your chariot wheels that pulled me out of that immersion.”
dn21:1.11.1 “Sir, I have heard and learned this in the presence of the gods who were reborn in the host of the thirty-three before me:
dn21:1.11.2 ‘When a Realized One arises in the world, perfected and fully awakened, the heavenly hosts swell, while the titan hosts dwindle.’
dn21:1.11.3 And I have seen this with my own eyes.
dn21:1.11.4.0 2.1. The Story of Gopikā
dn21:1.11.5 Right here in Kapilavatthu there was a Sakyan lady named Gopikā who had confidence in the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha, and had fulfilled her ethics.
dn21:1.11.6 Losing her attachment to femininity, she developed masculinity. When her body broke up, after death, she was reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.
dn21:1.11.7 In the company of the gods of the thirty-three she became one of my sons.
dn21:1.11.8 There they knew him as
dn21:1.11.9 the godling Gopaka.
dn21:1.11.10 Meanwhile three others, mendicants who had led the spiritual life under the Buddha, were reborn in the inferior centaur realm.
dn21:1.11.11 There they amused themselves, supplied and provided with the five kinds of sensual stimulation, and became my servants and attendants.
dn21:1.11.12 At that, Gopaka scolded them,
dn21:1.11.13 ‘Where on earth were you at, good fellows, when you heard the Buddha’s teaching!
dn21:1.11.14 For while I was still a woman I had confidence in the Buddha, the teaching, and the Saṅgha, and had fulfilled my ethics. I lost my attachment to femininity and developed masculinity. When my body broke up, after death, I was reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. In the company of the gods of the thirty-three I became one of Sakka’s sons.
dn21:1.11.15 Here they know me as
dn21:1.11.16 the godling Gopaka.
dn21:1.11.17 But you, having led the spiritual life under the Buddha, were reborn in the inferior centaur realm.
dn21:1.11.18 It is a sad sight indeed to see fellow practitioners reborn in the inferior centaur realm.’
dn21:1.11.19 When scolded by Gopaka, two of those gods regained their memory right away. They went to the host of the priests of Divinity, but one god remained attached to sensual pleasures.
dn21:1.12.1 ‘“I was a laywoman disciple of the Clear-eyed One,
dn21:1.12.2 and my name was Gopikā.
dn21:1.12.3 I was devoted to the Buddha and the teaching,
dn21:1.12.4 and I faithfully served the Saṅgha.
dn21:1.12.5 Because of the clear rightness of the Buddha’s teaching,
dn21:1.12.6 I’m now a mighty, dazzling son of Sakka,
dn21:1.12.7 reborn in the Third Heaven.
dn21:1.12.8 And here they know me as Gopaka.
dn21:1.12.9 Then I saw some mendicants who I’d seen before,
dn21:1.12.10 dwelling in the host of centaurs.
dn21:1.12.11 They were disciples of Gotama
dn21:1.12.12 when I used to be a human.
dn21:1.12.13 I served them with food and drink,
dn21:1.12.14 and clasped their feet in my own home.
dn21:1.12.15 Where on earth were these good fellows at
dn21:1.12.16 when they learned the Buddha’s teachings?
dn21:1.12.17 For each must know for themselves the teaching
dn21:1.12.18 so well-taught, realized by the Clear-eyed One.
dn21:1.12.19 I was one who followed you,
dn21:1.12.20 having heard the fine words of the noble ones.
dn21:1.12.21 I’m now a mighty, dazzling son of Sakka,
dn21:1.12.22 reborn in the Third Heaven.
dn21:1.12.23 But you followed the best of men,
dn21:1.12.24 and led the supreme spiritual life,
dn21:1.12.25 but still you’re born in this lesser realm,
dn21:1.12.26 a rebirth unbefitting.
dn21:1.12.27 It’s a sad sight I see, good fellows,
dn21:1.12.28 fellow practitioners in a lesser realm.
dn21:1.12.29 Reborn in the host of centaurs,
dn21:1.12.30 only to wait upon the gods.
dn21:1.12.31 Meanwhile, I dwelt in a house—
dn21:1.12.32 but see my distinction now!
dn21:1.12.33 Having been a woman now I’m a male god,
dn21:1.12.34 blessed with heavenly sensual pleasures.”
dn21:1.12.35 Scolded by that disciple of Gotama,
dn21:1.12.36 comprehending Gopaka, <j>they were struck with urgency.
dn21:1.12.37 “Let’s strive, let’s try hard—
dn21:1.12.38 we won’t serve others any more!”
dn21:1.12.39 Two of them roused up energy,
dn21:1.12.40 recalling the Buddha’s instructions.
dn21:1.12.41 Right away they became dispassionate,
dn21:1.12.42 seeing the drawbacks in sensual pleasures.
dn21:1.12.43 The fetters and bonds of sensual pleasures—
dn21:1.12.44 the ties of the Wicked One so hard to break—
dn21:1.12.45 they burst them like a bull elephant his ropes,
dn21:1.12.46 and passed right over the thirty-three.
dn21:1.12.47 The gods with Indra and the Progenitor
dn21:1.12.48 were all gathered in the Hall of Clear Right.
dn21:1.12.49 As they sat there, they passed over them,
dn21:1.12.50 the heroes desireless, practicing purity.
dn21:1.12.51 Seeing them, Vāsava was struck with urgency;
dn21:1.12.52 the master of gods in the midst of the group said,
dn21:1.12.53 “These were born in the lesser centaur realm,
dn21:1.12.54 but now they pass us by!”
dn21:1.12.55 Heeding the speech of one so moved,
dn21:1.12.56 Gopaka addressed Vāsava,
dn21:1.12.57 “There is a Buddha, a lord of men, in the world.
dn21:1.12.58 Known as the Sakyan Sage, <j>he’s mastered the senses.
dn21:1.12.59 Those sons of his lost their memory;
dn21:1.12.60 but when scolded by me they gained it back.
dn21:1.12.61 Of the three, there is one who remains
dn21:1.12.62 dwelling in the host of centaurs.
dn21:1.12.63 But two, recollecting the path to awakening,
dn21:1.12.64 serene, spurn even the gods.
dn21:1.12.65 Such is the explanation of the teaching here:
dn21:1.12.66 not a single disciple doubts that.
dn21:1.12.67 We venerate the Buddha, the victor, lord of men,
dn21:1.12.68 who has crossed the flood and cut off doubt.
dn21:1.12.69 They attained distinction to the extent
dn21:1.12.70 they understood the teaching here;
dn21:1.12.71 two of them distinguished
dn21:1.12.72 in the host of the priests of Divinity.”’
dn21:1.12.73 We have come here, dear sir,
dn21:1.12.74 to realize this same teaching.
dn21:1.12.75 If the Buddha would give me a chance,
dn21:1.12.76 I would ask a question, dear sir.”
dn21:1.13.1 Then it occurred to the Buddha,
dn21:1.13.2 “For a long time now this spirit has led a pure life. Any question he asks me will be beneficial, not unbeneficial.
dn21:1.13.3 And he will quickly understand any answer I give to his question.”
dn21:1.13.4 So the Buddha addressed Sakka in verse:
dn21:1.13.5 “Ask me your question, Vāsava,
dn21:1.13.6 whatever you want.
dn21:1.13.7 I’ll solve each and every
dn21:1.13.8 question you have.”
dn21:1.13.9 The first recitation section is complete.