1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati veḷuvane kalandakanivāpe.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground.

1.3Atha kho dīghalaṭṭhi devaputto abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇo kevalakappaṁ veḷuvanaṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhāsi.Then, late at night, the glorious godling Dīghalaṭṭhi, lighting up the entire Bamboo Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side,¹1.4Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho dīghalaṭṭhi devaputto bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

2.1“Bhikkhu siyā jhāyī vimuttacitto,“If a mendicant is a meditator, freed in mind,2.2Ākaṅkhe ce hadayassānupattiṁ;and if they desire the heart’s fulfillment—2.3Lokassa ñatvā udayabbayañca,having known the arising and passing of the world,2.4Sucetaso anissito tadānisaṁso”ti.good-hearted, independent, that is their reward.”