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SN 10.5PTS (1st ed) SN 1.2082 min read

With Sānu

Sānusutta

It seems that the novice Sānu had returned to his home intending to disrobe. To prevent him, a spirit possessed him, encouraging him to pursue the path of good. Sānu’s mother, weeping for her son, also tries to make him stay in robes.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 10.5Linked Discourses 10.5
  • 0.21. Indakavagga1. With Indaka

0.3SānusuttaWith Sānu

1.1Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.1

1.2Tena kho pana samayena aññatarissā upāsikāya sānu nāma putto yakkhena gahito hoti.Now at that time a certain lay woman had a son named Sānu who had been seized by a native spirit.21.3Atha kho sā upāsikā paridevamānā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imā gāthāyo abhāsi:And as that lay woman wept, on that occasion she recited these verses:3

2.1“Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,“I have heard this from the perfected ones.42.2yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;The native spirits will not mess with anyone2.3Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,who leads the spiritual life2.4aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ.by observing the sabbath

3.1Uposathaṁ upavasanti,complete in all eight factors3.2brahmacariyaṁ caranti ye;on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,3.3Na tehi yakkhā kīḷanti,and the eighth day of the fortnight,3.4iti me arahataṁ sutaṁ;as well as on the fortnight of special displays.3.5Sā dāni ajja passāmi,But now today I see3.6yakkhā kīḷanti sānunā”ti.native spirits messing with Sānu.”

4.1“Cātuddasiṁ pañcadasiṁ,“What you heard from the perfected ones is right.4.2yā ca pakkhassa aṭṭhamī;The native spirits will not mess with anyone4.3Pāṭihāriyapakkhañca,who leads the spiritual life4.4aṭṭhaṅgasusamāgataṁ;by observing the sabbath

5.1Uposathaṁ upavasanti,complete in all eight factors5.2brahmacariyaṁ caranti ye.on the fourteenth and the fifteenth days,5.3Na tehi yakkhā kīḷanti,and the eighth day of the fortnight,5.4sāhu te arahataṁ sutaṁ;as well as on the fortnight of special displays.

6.1Sānuṁ pabuddhaṁ vajjāsi,When Sānu regains consciousness tell him6.2yakkhānaṁ vacanaṁ idaṁ;this saying of the native spirits:56.3Mākāsi pāpakaṁ kammaṁ,Don’t do bad deeds6.4āvi vā yadi vā raho.either openly or in secret.

7.1Sace ca pāpakaṁ kammaṁ,If you should do a bad deed,7.2karissasi karosi vā;or you’re doing one now,7.3Na te dukkhā pamutyatthi,you won’t be freed from suffering,7.4uppaccāpi palāyato”ti.though you fly away and flee.”

8.1“Mataṁ vā amma rodanti,“Mum, they cry for the dead,68.2yo vā jīvaṁ na dissati;or for one who’s alive but missing.8.3Jīvantaṁ amma passantī,I’m alive and you can see me,8.4kasmā maṁ amma rodasī”ti.so mum, why do you weep for me?”

9.1“Mataṁ vā putta rodanti,“Son, they cry for the dead,79.2yo vā jīvaṁ na dissati;or for one who’s alive but missing.9.3Yo ca kāme cajitvāna,But someone who has given up sensual pleasures9.4punarāgacchate idha;only to come back here again:9.5Taṁ vāpi putta rodanti,they cry for them as well,9.6puna jīvaṁ mato hi so.for though still alive they’re really dead.

10.1Kukkuḷā ubbhato tāta,My dear, you’ve been rescued from hot coals,10.2kukkuḷaṁ patitumicchasi;and you want to plunge right back in them!10.3Narakā ubbhato tāta,My dear, you’ve been rescued from the abyss,810.4narakaṁ patitumicchasi.and you want to plunge right back there!

11.1Abhidhāvatha bhaddante,Hurry up, good luck to you!911.2kassa ujjhāpayāmase;To whom should we complain?11.3Ādittā nīhataṁ bhaṇḍaṁ,A valuable saved from a fire,11.4puna ḍayhitumicchasī”ti.you want to burn again!”

Translator’s notes

  1. The commentary explains that Sānu was a disillusioned novice who had returned home planning to disrobe.

    Sānu was perhaps named after the planet Saturn (Sanskrit śani; cf. SN 10.7). The Sanskrit word for planet (graha, cf. Pali gayha at DN 20:17.3) shows their role as “seizers”. The later Suśrutasaṁhitā-uttaratantra details the entities that cause such seizures in children (60), corresponding to the nine planets (27). Seizures or fits were treated as medical, spiritual, and astrological in cause and remedy.

    ↩ sn10.5:1.1

  2. Elsewhere we find possession by Māra expressed as anvāviṭṭha, literally “inhabited”, where the victims are made to behave badly but are otherwise normal (SN 4.18:1.4, MN 50:14.2; cf. Sanskrit āviṣṭa). Gahita here is also used for Rāhu “seizing” the Sun and Moon (SN 2.10:1.2). The commentary says he was shaking on the ground, eyes rolling and mouth foaming, i.e. having a “seizure”. This was not ill-motivated, for the yakkha was trying to prevent him from disrobing. Compare those who, though “seized by a gandharva” (gandharvagṛhīta), remain perfectly cogent (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3.3.1, 3.7.1).

    ↩ sn10.5:1.2

  3. PTS editions insert an extra verse below, but it seems to be a scribal error.

    ↩ sn10.5:1.3

  4. See AN 3.70 for a detailed description of the eight-factored sabbath.

    ↩ sn10.5:2.1

  5. It’s interesting that the Buddha cites a yakkha saying to someone recovering from a yakkha-induced seizure. At Thig 12.1:12.1 these lines are attributed to the nun Puṇṇikā.

    ↩ sn10.5:6.2

  6. Sānu has recovered from his seizure to see his weeping mother. This verse appears without any context at Thag 1.44.

    ↩ sn10.5:8.1

  7. Here’s the plot twist: the mother’s real worry is not the seizure, but that her son will fall prey to desire and suffering. See SN 20.10:3.5, “For it is death in the training of the Noble One to reject the training and return to a lesser life.”

    ↩ sn10.5:9.1

  8. This is, I think, the only case in the EBTs where “inferno” might be suggested for naraka. Elsewhere in early Pali, however, it means “cliff, abyss” (MN 49:5.9, MN 86:6.15, Snp 3.11:28.4, Thag 16.8:4.2).

    ↩ sn10.5:10.3

  9. Here we see the origin of the term of address bhante, i.e. “good luck to thee”.

    ↩ sn10.5:11.1