SN 2.7PTS (1st ed) SN 1.481 min read

With Pañcālacaṇḍa

Pañcālacaṇḍasutta

Pañcālacaṇḍa praises the Buddha for finding the opening amid the confinement of the world. But the Buddha affirms that anyone with mindfulness and stillness may find such an escape.

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

0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.7Linked Discourses 2.7
0.21. PaṭhamavaggaChapter One

0.3PañcālacaṇḍasuttaWith Pañcālacaṇḍa

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho pañcālacaṇḍo devaputto bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Standing to one side, the godling Pañcālacaṇḍa spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:¹

2.1“Sambādhe vata okāsaṁ,“The opening amid confinement2.2Avindi bhūrimedhaso;was discovered by the Buddha of vast intelligence,2.3Yo jhānamabujjhi buddho,who awakened to absorption,²2.4Paṭilīnanisabho munī”ti.the sage, the solitary boss bull.”
3.1“Sambādhe vāpi vindanti,“Even amid confinement they understand,”3.2(pañcālacaṇḍāti bhagavā)said the Buddha to Pañcālacaṇḍa,3.3Dhammaṁ nibbānapattiyā;“the principle for attaining extinguishment.3.4Ye satiṁ paccalatthaṁsu,Those who have acquired mindfulness3.5Sammā te susamāhitā”ti.are perfectly serene in samādhi.”

Translator’s notes

This saying by Pañcālacaṇḍa is quoted by Udāyī and explained by Ānanda at AN 9.42. Pañcālacaṇḍa appears alongside Āḷavaka, the tutelary deity of Āḷavī, hinting that he may be the fierce (caṇḍa) protector of the Pañcāla clan (DN 32:10.16). Several Pañcālacaṇḍas appear in the Jātakas: a licentious youth and a misogynistic chaplain (Ja 536), and a prince of Pañcāla (Ja 546). A Pañcālacaṇḍa appears as a Vedic teacher of the idea that speech is what unifies (Aitereya Āraṇyaka 3.1.6 = Śāṅkhāyana Āraṇyaka 7.19, Gopatha Brāhmaṇa 1.1.27n). None of these, however, have any obvious relation to our text.
↩ sn2.7:1.2
The compound jhānamabujjhi can be resolved as either jhānaṁ abujjhi (“awakened to absorption”) or jhānena abujjhi (“awakened by means of absorption”). At AN 9.42, Ānanda explains that each stage of absorption is an “opening” relative to what came before, but still a “confinement”, and only Nibbāna is the opening without confinement. The thrust of the verse, therefore, is the Buddha’s insight into the nature of absorption, supporting the sense “awakened to absorption”.
↩ sn2.7:2.3