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SN 7.12PTS (1st ed) SN 1.1731 min read

With Udaya

Udayasutta

A brahmin complains when the Buddha visits for alms again and again. The Buddha takes the chance to point out that all natural phenomena repeat in cycles, and only an awakened one escapes the cycle.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 7.12Linked Discourses 7.12
  • 0.22. Upāsakavagga2. Lay Followers

0.3UdayasuttaWith Udaya

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Atha kho bhagavā pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya yena udayassa brāhmaṇassa nivesanaṁ tenupasaṅkami.Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, went to the home of the brahmin Udaya.1.3Atha kho udayo brāhmaṇo bhagavato pattaṁ odanena pūresi.Then Udaya filled the Buddha’s bowl with rice.1.4Dutiyampi kho bhagavā pubbaṇhasamayaṁ nivāsetvā pattacīvaramādāya yena udayassa brāhmaṇassa nivesanaṁ tenupasaṅkami …pe…The next day … Udaya again filled the Buddha’s bowl with rice.

1.5tatiyampi kho udayo brāhmaṇo bhagavato pattaṁ odanena pūretvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:But when he had filled the Buddha’s bowl on the third day, he said to the Buddha,1.6“pakaṭṭhakoyaṁ samaṇo gotamo punappunaṁ āgacchatī”ti.“This ascetic Gotama is such a drag! He keeps coming back again and again!”1

2.1“Punappunañceva vapanti bījaṁ,“Again and again, they sow the seed;2.2Punappunaṁ vassati devarājā;again and again, the king of the heavens sends rain;22.3Punappunaṁ khettaṁ kasanti kassakā,again and again, farmers plough the field;2.4Punappunaṁ dhaññamupeti raṭṭhaṁ.again and again, grain is produced for the nation.

3.1Punappunaṁ yācakā yācayanti,Again and again, the beggars beg;3.2Punappunaṁ dānapatī dadanti;again and again, the donors give.3.3Punappunaṁ dānapatī daditvā,Again and again, when the donors have given,3.4Punappunaṁ saggamupenti ṭhānaṁ.again and again, they take their place in heaven.

4.1Punappunaṁ khīranikā duhanti,Again and again, dairy farmers milk;4.2Punappunaṁ vaccho upeti mātaraṁ;again and again, a calf cleaves to its mother;4.3Punappunaṁ kilamati phandati ca,again and again, oppressing and intimidating,34.4Punappunaṁ gabbhamupeti mando.that dullard returns to the womb again and again.

5.1Punappunaṁ jāyati mīyati ca,Again and again, you’re reborn and die;5.2Punappunaṁ sivathikaṁ haranti;again and again, you get carried to a charnel ground.5.3Maggañca laddhā apunabbhavāya,But when they’ve gained the path <j>for no further rebirth,5.4Na punappunaṁ jāyati bhūripañño”ti.one of vast wisdom is not reborn again and again.”

6.1Evaṁ vutte, udayo brāhmaṇo bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:When he had spoken, the brahmin Udaya said to the Buddha,6.2“abhikkantaṁ, bho gotama …pe…“Excellent, worthy Gotama …6.3upāsakaṁ maṁ bhavaṁ gotamo dhāretu ajjatagge pāṇupetaṁ saraṇaṁ gatan”ti.From this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

Translator’s notes

  1. Pakaṭṭhaka (“drag”) is unique. Commentary glosses “greedy for tastes” (rasagiddha). The basic sense is one who farms by drawing a plough, and the intensive prefix pa conveying someone who does that repeatedly, becoming annoying by drawing out or extracting.

    ↩ sn7.12:1.6
  2. The “king of the heavens” (devarājā) is Indra, god of the rain and thunder. This clarifies the common Pali idiom devo vassati, literally “the god rains”; the god is in fact Indra. In Pali this use of deva straddles the naturalistic and the religious. Often it is just an idiom expressing rainfall, while in other cases, as here, it has a religious connotation. For this reason I use “the heavens” for deva in such cases. It is a Vedic idiom (eg. Rig Veda 5.84.3 divo varṣanti; 9.108.10 vṛṣṭiṁ divaḥ pavasva; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 4.3.1.16 divo varṣati).

    ↩ sn7.12:2.2
  3. These verbs occur together in a list of crimes (SN 24.6:1.3).

    ↩ sn7.12:4.3