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SN 47.9PTS SN 5.1523 min read

Sick

Gilānasutta

The Buddha decides to spend his final rains retreat at Vesālī in Beluvagāmaka. During the retreat he becomes very ill, but later recovers. Ānanda wonders who will guide the Saṅgha when the Buddha dies, but the Buddha says they should be their own refuge, grounded on the four kinds of mindfulness meditation.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 47.9Linked Discourses 47.9
  • 0.21. Ambapālivagga1. In Ambapālī’s Mango Grove

0.3GilānasuttaSick

1.1Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard.1.2ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā vesāliyaṁ viharati veḷuvagāmake.At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the little village of Beluva.11.3Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:There the Buddha addressed the mendicants:1.4“etha tumhe, bhikkhave, samantā vesāliyā yathāmittaṁ yathāsandiṭṭhaṁ yathāsambhattaṁ vassaṁ upetha.“Mendicants, please enter the rainy season residence with whatever friends or acquaintances you have around Vesālī.21.5Idhevāhaṁ veḷuvagāmake vassaṁ upagacchāmī”ti.I’ll commence the rainy season residence right here in the little village of Beluva.”

1.6“Evaṁ, bhante”ti kho te bhikkhū bhagavato paṭissutvā samantā vesāliyā yathāmittaṁ yathāsandiṭṭhaṁ yathāsambhattaṁ vassaṁ upagacchuṁ.“Yes, sir,” those mendicants replied. They did as the Buddha said,1.7Bhagavā pana tattheva veḷuvagāmake vassaṁ upagacchi.while the Buddha commenced the rainy season residence right there in the little village of Beluva.

2.1PTS 5.153Atha kho bhagavato vassūpagatassa kharo ābādho uppajji, bāḷhā vedanā vattanti māraṇantikā.After the Buddha had commenced the rainy season residence, he fell severely ill, struck by dreadful pains, close to death.2.2Tatra sudaṁ bhagavā sato sampajāno adhivāsesi avihaññamāno.But he endured unbothered, with mindfulness and situational awareness.2.3Atha kho bhagavato etadahosi:Then it occurred to the Buddha:

2.4“na kho me taṁ patirūpaṁ, yohaṁ anāmantetvā upaṭṭhāke anapaloketvā bhikkhusaṅghaṁ parinibbāyeyyaṁ.“It would not be appropriate for me to be fully extinguished before informing my supporters and taking leave of the mendicant Saṅgha.32.5Yannūnāhaṁ imaṁ ābādhaṁ vīriyena paṭipaṇāmetvā jīvitasaṅkhāraṁ adhiṭṭhāya vihareyyan”ti.Why don’t I forcefully suppress this illness, stabilize the life force, and live on?”42.6Atha kho bhagavā taṁ ābādhaṁ vīriyena paṭipaṇāmetvā jīvitasaṅkhāraṁ adhiṭṭhāya vihāsi.So that is what he did.2.7Atha kho bhagavato so ābādho paṭippassambhi.Then the Buddha’s illness died down.

3.1Atha kho bhagavā gilānā vuṭṭhito aciravuṭṭhito gelaññā vihārā nikkhamitvā vihārapacchāyāyaṁ paññatte āsane nisīdi.Soon after the Buddha had recovered from that sickness, he left his dwelling and sat in the shade of the porch on the seat spread out.3.2Atha kho āyasmā ānando yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā ānando bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:Then Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

3.3“diṭṭho me, bhante, bhagavato phāsu;“Sir, it’s fantastic that the Buddha is comfortable,53.4diṭṭhaṁ, bhante, bhagavato khamanīyaṁ;that he’s keeping well,3.5diṭṭhaṁ, bhante, bhagavato yāpanīyaṁ.and that he’s getting by.3.6Api ca me, bhante, madhurakajāto viya kāyo, disāpi me na pakkhāyanti, dhammāpi maṁ nappaṭibhanti bhagavato gelaññena.Because when the Buddha was sick, my body felt like it was drugged. I was disorientated, and the teachings didn’t spring to mind.3.7Api ca me, bhante, ahosi kācideva assāsamattā:Still, at least I was consoled by the thought that3.8‘na tāva bhagavā parinibbāyissati, na yāva bhagavā bhikkhusaṅghaṁ ārabbha kiñcideva udāharatī’”ti.the Buddha won’t be fully extinguished without bringing something up regarding the Saṅgha of mendicants.”6

4.1“Kiṁ pana dāni, ānanda, bhikkhusaṅgho mayi paccāsīsati?“But what could the mendicant Saṅgha expect from me now, Ānanda?74.2Desito, ānanda, mayā dhammo anantaraṁ abāhiraṁ karitvā.I’ve taught the Dhamma without making any distinction between secret and public teachings.84.3Natthānanda, tathāgatassa dhammesu ācariyamuṭṭhi.The Realized One doesn’t have the closed fist of a tutor when it comes to the teachings.9

4.4Yassa nūna, ānanda, evamassa:If there’s anyone who thinks:4.5‘ahaṁ bhikkhusaṅghaṁ pariharissāmī’ti vā, ‘mamuddesiko bhikkhusaṅgho’ti vā, so nūna, ānanda, bhikkhusaṅghaṁ ārabbha kiñcideva udāhareyya.‘I shall lead the mendicant Saṅgha,’ or ‘the Saṅgha of mendicants is meant for me,’ let them bring something up regarding the Saṅgha.104.6Tathāgatassa kho, ānanda, na evaṁ hoti:But the Realized One doesn’t think like this,4.7‘ahaṁ bhikkhusaṅghaṁ pariharissāmī’ti vā, ‘mamuddesiko bhikkhusaṅgho’ti vā.4.8Sa kiṁ, ānanda, tathāgato bhikkhusaṅghaṁ ārabbha kiñcideva udāharissati.so why should he bring something up regarding the Saṅgha?

4.9Etarahi kho panāhaṁ, ānanda, jiṇṇo vuddho mahallako addhagato vayoanuppatto.Now I am old, elderly and senior. I’m advanced in years and have reached the final stage of life.4.10Āsītiko me vayo vattati.I’m currently eighty years old.4.11Seyyathāpi, ānanda, jajjarasakaṭaṁ veḷamissakena yāpeti;Just as a decrepit old cart is kept going by a rope,114.12evameva kho, ānanda, veḷamissakena maññe tathāgatassa kāyo yāpeti.in the same way, the Realized One’s body is kept going as if by a rope.12

5.1PTS 5.154Yasmiṁ, ānanda, samaye tathāgato sabbanimittānaṁ amanasikārā ekaccānaṁ vedanānaṁ nirodhā animittaṁ cetosamādhiṁ upasampajja viharati, phāsutaro, ānanda, tasmiṁ samaye tathāgatassa kāyo hoti.Sometimes the Realized One, not focusing on any signs, and with the cessation of certain feelings, enters and remains in the signless immersion of the heart. Only then does the Realized One’s body become more comfortable.

5.2Tasmātihānanda, attadīpā viharatha attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā.So Ānanda, live as your own island, your own refuge, with no other refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other refuge.13

6.1Kathañcānanda, bhikkhu attadīpo viharati attasaraṇo anaññasaraṇo, dhammadīpo dhammasaraṇo anaññasaraṇo?And how does a mendicant do this?6.2Idhānanda, bhikkhu kāye kāyānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ;It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.6.3vedanāsu …pe…They meditate observing an aspect of feelings …6.4citte …pe…mind …6.5dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ.principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.6.6Evaṁ kho, ānanda, bhikkhu attadīpo viharati attasaraṇo anaññasaraṇo, dhammadīpo dhammasaraṇo anaññasaraṇo.That’s how a mendicant lives with themselves as island and refuge, without other refuge; with the teachings as island and refuge, without other refuge.

6.7Ye hi keci, ānanda, etarahi vā mamaccaye vā attadīpā viharissanti attasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā, dhammadīpā dhammasaraṇā anaññasaraṇā; tamatagge mete, ānanda, bhikkhū bhavissanti ye keci sikkhākāmā”ti.Whether now or after I have passed, any who shall live as their own island, their own refuge, with no other refuge; with the teaching as their island and their refuge, with no other refuge—those mendicants of mine eager to train shall be among the best of the best.”14

6.8Navamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. This picks up the narrative from SN 47.2; the Buddha has just arrived at Beluva from Ambapālī’s mango grove (DN 16:2.21.4).

    Pali texts waver between beluva (“wood-apple”) and veḷuva (from veḷuvant, “full of bamboo”).

    ↩ sn47.9:1.2

  2. The Buddha was travelling with a large retinue, which could become burdensome on a small village if they were to stay the three months of the rains residence. The texts note several monasteries and places to stay around Vesālī.

    ↩ sn47.9:1.4

  3. Here upaṭṭhāka refers to the lay devotees, who the Buddha informs before his passing.

    Apaloketi (“take leave”) also has a literal sense of “glance back”; both senses are found in this narrative (see DN 16:4.1.2).

    ↩ sn47.9:2.4

  4. “Life force” is jīvitasaṅkhāra whereas below we find āyusaṅkhāra (DN 16:3.10.1). They are evidently synonyms; Ps 1.6:4.3 refers to the three jīvitasaṅkhāras from MN 43:24.2, but there the text has āyusaṅkhāra. The sense is not “will to live” but “life force”, i.e. the vital energy that sustains life (SN 20.6:3.2, MN 43:23.1). This leans on the old use of Sanskrit samas kurva or saṁskāra for the “reviving” or “rejuvenation” of the god Pajāpati when he is depleted by the act of creation, like a fire run low or a man after sex (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 7.2.1.5 et passim).

    ↩ sn47.9:2.5

  5. This is the first indication of Ānanda’s fragile emotional state in the days to come.

    Read diṭṭhā (Sanskrit diṣṭyā), “fantastic, how fortunate”, per DN 26:21.9 and Ja 81:1.4.

    ↩ sn47.9:3.3

  6. Previously the Buddha had spoken of “taking leave” of the Saṅgha, but here something more specific is meant. Udāharati is typically used when a previously-mentioned matter (often unpleasant) is “brought up”, as at the monastic procedures for confession or invitation to admonish (Kd 1:16.2.5, Kd 1:2.1.9). Ānanda is implying that there is some unfinished disciplinary business that needs attention. Despite the Buddha’s response, he did in fact go on to make a number of statements and rulings.

    ↩ sn47.9:3.8

  7. For forty-five years he had been teaching and supporting the community.

    ↩ sn47.9:4.1

  8. A principle not followed by some contemporary Buddhist schools that harbor “secret teachings”.

    ↩ sn47.9:4.2

  9. “Closed fist of a tutor” is ācariyamuṭṭhi. Compare Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 6.2.4: “I have taught you all that I know.”

    ↩ sn47.9:4.3

  10. Pariharissāmi (“lead”) needs careful parsing with regard to tenses. The general meaning is to “carry about” or “maintain, nurture”. The Buddha elsewhere said that he “leads” the Saṅgha (DN 26:25.6: pariharāmi). When the Buddha was about to go on retreat, Moggallāna said that he and Sāriputta “shall lead” (pariharissāmi), to which the Buddha said they “should lead” (MN 67:13.7: parihareyyaṁ). Devadatta, on the other hand, ensured his downfall when he determined that he “shall lead” the Saṅgha, having taken over from the Buddha (AN 5.100:2.3, Kd 1:2.1.23). Thus the future tense indicates the determination to lead. But at this point, the Buddha’s mind is already set on letting go. He is not saying that no one should lead the Saṅgha, but that it is up to whoever leads it to address the issues.

    ↩ sn47.9:4.5

  11. The reading and derivation of veṭhamissakena are unclear. As a form of violence we find veṭhamissena at Thag 2.12:1.1, notably also in instrumental. Veṭha means “twist, strap, turban”. Missa means “mixed” or “plaited” (Bu Ss 2:2.1.21). Thus it probably refers to a kind of strong twisted material used to tie or bind, i.e. rope.

    ↩ sn47.9:4.11

  12. Compare Rig Veda 8.48.5: “As leather binds a chariot, soma knits my joints together.” Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.3.35 compares the labored breathing of one near death with the creaking of a heavily-laden cart. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 13.2.7.8 says a handsome cart is well-finished with ropes. Indian carts were bound with ropes down to modern times. See too SN 41.5:5.5 and note.

    ↩ sn47.9:4.12

  13. This central theme of the Buddha’s teaching—that each of us is responsible for our own salvation—becomes even more important as the Buddha’s days grow short.

    ↩ sn47.9:5.2

  14. Read tama(t)agge with tama as superlative, literally “at the peak of the best”.

    ↩ sn47.9:6.7