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SN 3.1PTS (1st ed) SN 1.683 min read

Young

Daharasutta

King Pasenadi meets the Buddha for the first time. He wonders how the Buddha can claim to be awakened when he is still so young. The Buddha teaches him four things that should not be looked down on for their youth.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 3.1Linked Discourses 3.1
  • 0.21. Paṭhamavagga1. Shackles

0.3DaharasuttaYoung

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 rājā pasenadi kosalo yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavatā saddhiṁ sammodi.Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him.11.4Sammodanīyaṁ kathaṁ sāraṇīyaṁ vītisāretvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha,21.5“bhavampi no gotamo anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti paṭijānātī”ti?“Does the worthy Gotama claim to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening?”

1.6“Yañhi taṁ, mahārāja, sammā vadamāno vadeyya ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho’ti, mameva taṁ sammā vadamāno vadeyya.“If anyone should rightly be said to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening, it’s me.1.7Ahañhi, mahārāja, anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddho”ti.For, Great King, I have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening.”

2.1“Yepi te, bho gotama, samaṇabrāhmaṇā saṅghino gaṇino gaṇācariyā ñātā yasassino titthakarā sādhusammatā bahujanassa, seyyathidaṁ—“Well, there are those ascetics and brahmins who lead an order and a community, and tutor a community. They’re well-known and famous religious founders, deemed holy by many people. That is,32.2pūraṇo kassapo, makkhali gosālo, nigaṇṭho nāṭaputto, sañcayo belaṭṭhaputto, pakudho kaccāyano, ajito kesakambalo;Pūraṇa Kassapa, the bamboo-staffed ascetic Gosāla, the Jain ascetic of the Ñātika clan, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Ajita of the hair blanket.42.3tepi mayā ‘anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti paṭijānāthā’ti puṭṭhā samānā anuttaraṁ sammāsambodhiṁ abhisambuddhoti na paṭijānanti.I also asked them whether they claimed to have awakened to the supreme perfect awakening, but they made no such claim.2.4Kiṁ pana bhavaṁ gotamo daharo ceva jātiyā navo ca pabbajjāyā”ti?So why do you, given that you’re so young in age and newly gone forth?”

3.1“Cattāro kho me, mahārāja, daharāti na uññātabbā, daharāti na paribhotabbā.“Great king, these four things should not be looked down upon or disparaged because they are young.3.2Katame cattāro?What four?3.3Khattiyo kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo.An aristocrat,3.4Urago kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo.a serpent,3.5Aggi kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo.a fire,3.6Bhikkhu, kho, mahārāja, daharoti na uññātabbo, daharoti na paribhotabbo.and a mendicant.3.7Ime kho, mahārāja, cattāro daharāti na uññātabbā, daharāti na paribhotabbā”ti.These four things should not be looked down upon or disparaged because they are young.”

4.1Idamavoca bhagavā.That is what the Buddha said.4.2Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

5.1“Khattiyaṁ jātisampannaṁ,“A man should not despise5.2abhijātaṁ yasassinaṁ;an aristocrat of impeccable lineage,5.3Daharoti nāvajāneyya,high-born and famous,5.4na naṁ paribhave naro.just because they’re young.

6.1Ṭhānañhi so manujindo,For it’s possible that that lord of mankind,6.2rajjaṁ laddhāna khattiyo;as aristocrat, will gain the throne.6.3So kuddho rājadaṇḍena,And in his anger he’ll execute a royal punishment,6.4tasmiṁ pakkamate bhusaṁ;and have you violently beaten.6.5Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya,Hence you should avoid him6.6rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.for the sake of your own life.

7.1Gāme vā yadi vā raññe,Whether in village or wilderness,7.2yattha passe bhujaṅgamaṁ;wherever a serpent is seen,7.3Daharoti nāvajāneyya,a man should not look down on it7.4na naṁ paribhave naro.or despise it for its youth.

8.1Uccāvacehi vaṇṇehi,With its rainbow of colors,58.2urago carati tejasī;the serpent of fiery breath glides along.68.3So āsajja ḍaṁse bālaṁ,It lashes out and bites the fool,8.4naraṁ nāriñca ekadā;both men and women alike.8.5Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya,Hence you should avoid it8.6rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.for the sake of your own life.

9.1Pahūtabhakkhaṁ jālinaṁ,A fire devours a vast amount,9.2pāvakaṁ kaṇhavattaniṁ;a conflagration with a blackened trail.9.3Daharoti nāvajāneyya,A man should not look down on it9.4na naṁ paribhave naro.just because it’s young.

10.1Laddhā hi so upādānaṁ,For once it gets fuel10.2mahā hutvāna pāvako;it’ll become a big conflagration.10.3So āsajja ḍahe bālaṁ,It’ll lash out and burn the fool,10.4naraṁ nāriñca ekadā;both men and women alike.10.5Tasmā taṁ parivajjeyya,Hence you should avoid it10.6rakkhaṁ jīvitamattano.for the sake of your own life.

11.1Vanaṁ yadaggi ḍahati,When a forest is burned by fire,11.2pāvako kaṇhavattanī;a conflagration with a blackened trail,11.3Jāyanti tattha pārohā,the shoots will spring up there again,11.4ahorattānamaccaye.with the passing of the days and nights.

12.1Yañca kho sīlasampanno,But if a mendicant endowed with ethics12.2bhikkhu ḍahati tejasā;burns you with their power,12.3Na tassa puttā pasavo,you’ll have no children or livestock,12.4dāyādā vindare dhanaṁ;nor will your heirs find wealth.12.5Anapaccā adāyādā,Childless and heirless you become,12.6tālāvatthū bhavanti te.like a palm-tree stump.7

13.1Tasmā hi paṇḍito poso,That’s why an astute person,13.2sampassaṁ atthamattano;seeing what’s good for themselves,13.3Bhujaṅgamaṁ pāvakañca,would always treat these properly:13.4khattiyañca yasassinaṁ;a serpent, a conflagration,13.5Bhikkhuñca sīlasampannaṁ,a famous aristocrat,13.6sammadeva samācare”ti.and a mendicant endowed with ethics.”

14.1Evaṁ vutte, rājā pasenadi kosalo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When this was said, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Buddha,14.2“abhikkantaṁ, bhante, abhikkantaṁ, bhante.“Excellent, sir! Excellent!14.3Seyyathāpi, bhante, nikkujjitaṁ vā ukkujjeyya, paṭicchannaṁ vā vivareyya, mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, andhakāre vā telapajjotaṁ dhāreyya: ‘cakkhumanto rūpāni dakkhantī’ti; evamevaṁ bhagavatā anekapariyāyena dhammo pakāsito.As if he were righting the overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to the lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with clear eyes can see what’s there, the Buddha has made the teaching clear in many ways.14.4Esāhaṁ, bhante, bhagavantaṁ saraṇaṁ gacchāmi dhammañca bhikkhusaṅghañca.I go for refuge to the Buddha, to the teaching, and to the mendicant Saṅgha.814.5Upāsakaṁ maṁ, bhante, bhagavā dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

Translator’s notes

  1. Pasenadi, son of Sañjaya Mahākosala, ruled the nation of Kosala from its capital Sāvatthī until his death shortly before the Buddha. Like the Buddha’s family, he claimed descent from the Solar lineage of Okkāka. He features throughout the Suttas as a well-meaning if sometimes naive ruler. During his realm, Kosala was a flourishing trade center with a vibrant religious life, a center not just for Buddhists but for Vedic brahmins and Jains, as well as local religious customs.

    ↩ sn3.1:1.3

  2. Pasenadi’s polite but not reverential behavior indicates that he is not yet a devotee of the Buddha. This may, in fact, record their first meeting.

    ↩ sn3.1:1.4

  3. The six non-Vedic “ascetics” are referred to as “ascetics and brahmins”. Some, such as Kassapa, may in fact have been brahmins, but the term is probably meant as a generic catch-all for “religious practitioners”.

    ↩ sn3.1:2.1

  4. The sequence of names here differs from the usual (DN 2:2.2). We have met four of these already in SN 2.30, which gives a summary of their teachings. As for the remaining two, Sañjaya’s method of radical avoidance is taught at DN 2:32.2, while Ajita’s materialistic denial of merit is at DN 2:23.2.

    ↩ sn3.1:2.2

  5. Compare the devas of SN 2.29:7.1.

    ↩ sn3.1:8.1

  6. This is an allusion to the venomous bite, tejas having roots in both “sharp” and “fiery”. This metaphor is the origin of the dragon’s fiery breath. For a fiery dragon defeated by the Buddha, whose flames are even more multi-colored, see Kd 1:15.1.1. For a dragon who shape-shifted to seem like a human, see Kd 1:63.1.1.

    ↩ sn3.1:8.2

  7. Indian legends are rife with ascetics who seek vengeance by means of deadly curses for slights real or imagined (eg. Snp 5.1:8.1, MN 56:13.27, MN 93:18.15). A true Buddhist mendicant, on the other hand, bears any slight or grievance with patience and loving-kindness, per the “simile of the saw” (MN 21:20.1, MN 28:24.3). It is, ironically, due to the very perfection of their virtue that any harmful deed done against them reaps a painful karmic result.

    ↩ sn3.1:12.6

  8. This marks the point at which Pasenadi becomes a follower of the Buddha. The Buddha persuaded him, not through talk on profound philosophy or deep meditation, but with practical advice that is useful for him as a ruler.

    ↩ sn3.1:14.4