SN 2.1PTS (1st ed) SN 1.461 min read

With Kassapa (1st)

Paṭhamakassapasutta

A deity named Kassapa comes to the Buddha and speaks of the training of a mendicant in seclusion and right speech.

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

0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.1Linked Discourses 2.1
0.21. Paṭhamavagga1. Chapter One

0.3PaṭhamakassapasuttaWith Kassapa (1st)

1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

1.3Atha kho kassapo devaputto abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi. Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho kassapo devaputto bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: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,¹1.4“bhikkhuṁ bhagavā pakāsesi, no ca bhikkhuno anusāsan”ti.“The Buddha has revealed the mendicant, but not his instructions to a mendicant.”²

1.5“Tena hi, kassapa, taññevettha paṭibhātū”ti.“Well then, Kassapa, clarify this matter yourself.”

2.1“Subhāsitassa sikkhetha,“You should all train <j>to learn well-spoken words,³2.2samaṇūpāsanassa ca;to attend closely to ascetics,2.3Ekāsanassa ca raho,to sit alone in hidden places,2.4cittavūpasamassa cā”ti.and to settle the mind.”

3.1Idamavoca kassapo devaputto;That is what the godling Kassapa said,3.2samanuñño satthā ahosi.and the Teacher concurred.3.3Atha kho kassapo devaputto “samanuñño me satthā”ti bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā padakkhiṇaṁ katvā tatthevantaradhāyīti.Then Kassapa, knowing that the Teacher concurred, bowed and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

Translator’s notes

The commentary says that godlings (devaputta) are born “in the lap of the gods”, that is, not from a womb. Typically, in contrast with the “deities” (devatā), they are named individuals. The commentary also takes the term as gendered, with devaputta as “son of god” and devadhītā as “daughter of god”. But as the latter term is not attested in early Pali (or Sanskrit) we should probably take devaputta as gender neutral (like devatā). This is supported by pre-Buddhist Sanskrit, where we only find devaputra as an adjective, “the heaven and earth, whose children are gods”, where those children are “two young women, sisters” (Rig Veda 1.185.4).
Many of the Suttas in this chapter refer to Indra (i.e. Sakka) under different names. Indra was a son of the original Kassapa, so this may refer to Indra with the patronymic.
↩ sn2.1:1.3
This is an unusual thing to say, as the Buddha obviously gave instructions for mendicants very often. It must have a specific context. The commentary supplies a context, but it relies on a later legend.
This suggests that the verse below, which is phrased as a direct exhortation to the mendicants, is to be read as Kassapa quoting the Buddha’s own words. However, no such verse is attributed to the Buddha in the Pali canon. At Thag 3.7:3.1 it is spoken by the mendicant Vāraṇa.
↩ sn2.1:1.4
I read sikkhetha as second person plural optative, and subhāsitassa (etc.) as dative (of purpose), although we would expect the āya form in this sense. The commentary glosses with third singular and accusative (subhāsitaṁ sikkheyya). Norman (Elders Verses I, note 239) suggests it may be locative.
↩ sn2.1:2.1