{"id":"thag18.1","title":"Mahākassapa","languageCodes":["en","pi"],"languageNotes":{"en":"Bhikkhu Sujato · CC0","pi":"Mahāsaṅgīti edition · SuttaCentral"},"chapters":[{"id":"thag18.1","title":"Mahākassapa","units":[{"id":"thag18.1:0","sourceIds":["thag18.1:0.1","thag18.1:0.2","thag18.1:0.3","thag18.1:0.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Theragāthā 18.1\nCattālīsanipāta\nPaṭhamavagga\nMahākassapattheragāthā","en":"Verses of the Senior Monks 18.1\nThe Book of the Forties\nChapter One\nMahākassapa"}},{"id":"thag18.1:1","sourceIds":["thag18.1:1.1","thag18.1:1.2","thag18.1:1.3","thag18.1:1.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"“Na gaṇena purakkhato care,\nVimano hoti samādhi dullabho;\nNānājanasaṅgaho dukho,\nIti disvāna gaṇaṁ na rocaye.","en":"“You shouldn’t live for the adulation of a following;\nit turns your mind, making it hard to get immersion.\nSeeing that popularity is suffering,\nyou shouldn’t consent to a following."}},{"id":"thag18.1:2","sourceIds":["thag18.1:2.1","thag18.1:2.2","thag18.1:2.3","thag18.1:2.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Na kulāni upabbaje muni,\nVimano hoti samādhi dullabho;\nSo ussukko rasānugiddho,\nAtthaṁ riñcati yo sukhāvaho.","en":"A sage should not visit respectable families;\nit turns your mind, making it hard to get immersion.\nIf you’re eager and greedy for flavors,\nyou’ll miss the goal that brings such happiness."}},{"id":"thag18.1:3","sourceIds":["thag18.1:3.1","thag18.1:3.2","thag18.1:3.3","thag18.1:3.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Paṅkoti hi naṁ avedayuṁ,\nYāyaṁ vandanapūjanā kulesu;\nSukhumaṁ sallaṁ durubbahaṁ,\nSakkāro kāpurisena dujjaho.","en":"They know it really is a bog,\nthis homage and veneration in respectable families.\nHonor is a subtle dart, hard to extract,\nand hard for a reprobate to give up.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:4","sourceIds":["thag18.1:4.1","thag18.1:4.2","thag18.1:4.3","thag18.1:4.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Senāsanamhā oruyha,\nnagaraṁ piṇḍāya pāvisiṁ;\nBhuñjantaṁ purisaṁ kuṭṭhiṁ,\nsakkaccaṁ taṁ upaṭṭhahiṁ.","en":"“I came down from my lodging\nand entered the city for alms.\nI courteously stood by\nwhile a leper ate."}},{"id":"thag18.1:5","sourceIds":["thag18.1:5.1","thag18.1:5.2","thag18.1:5.3","thag18.1:5.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"So me pakkena hatthena,\nālopaṁ upanāmayi;\nĀlopaṁ pakkhipantassa,\naṅguli cettha chijjatha.","en":"With his putrid hand\nhe offered me a morsel.\nPutting the morsel in my bowl,\nhis finger dropped off right there."}},{"id":"thag18.1:6","sourceIds":["thag18.1:6.1","thag18.1:6.2","thag18.1:6.3","thag18.1:6.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Kuṭṭamūlañca nissāya,\nālopaṁ taṁ abhuñjisaṁ;\nBhuñjamāne vā bhutte vā,\njegucchaṁ me na vijjati.","en":"Sitting by a wall,\nI ate that lump of rice.\nI did not feel any disgust\nwhile eating or afterwards."}},{"id":"thag18.1:7","sourceIds":["thag18.1:7.1","thag18.1:7.2","thag18.1:7.3","thag18.1:7.4","thag18.1:7.5","thag18.1:7.6"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Uttiṭṭhapiṇḍo āhāro,\npūtimuttañca osadhaṁ;\nSenāsanaṁ rukkhamūlaṁ,\npaṁsukūlañca cīvaraṁ;\nYassete abhisambhutvā,\nsa ve cātuddiso naro.","en":"Anyone who makes use of\nleftovers for food,\nrancid urine as medicine,\nthe root of a tree as lodging,\nand cast-off rags as robes,\nis at ease in any quarter.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:8","sourceIds":["thag18.1:8.1","thag18.1:8.2","thag18.1:8.3","thag18.1:8.4","thag18.1:8.5","thag18.1:8.6"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yattha eke vihaññanti,\nāruhantā siluccayaṁ;\nTassa buddhassa dāyādo,\nsampajāno patissato;\nIddhibalenupatthaddho,\nkassapo abhirūhati.","en":"“Where some have fallen to ruin\nwhile climbing the mountain,\nthere Kassapa ascends;\nan heir of the Buddha,\naware and mindful,\nowing to his psychic powers."}},{"id":"thag18.1:9","sourceIds":["thag18.1:9.1","thag18.1:9.2","thag18.1:9.3","thag18.1:9.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto,\nselamāruyha kassapo;\nJhāyati anupādāno,\npahīnabhayabheravo.","en":"Returning from almsround,\nKassapa ascends the mountain,\nand practices absorption without grasping,\nwith fear and dread given up."}},{"id":"thag18.1:10","sourceIds":["thag18.1:10.1","thag18.1:10.2","thag18.1:10.3","thag18.1:10.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto,\nselamāruyha kassapo;\nJhāyati anupādāno,\nḍayhamānesu nibbuto.","en":"Returning from almsround,\nKassapa ascends the mountain,\nand practices absorption without grasping,\nquenched amongst those who burn."}},{"id":"thag18.1:11","sourceIds":["thag18.1:11.1","thag18.1:11.2","thag18.1:11.3","thag18.1:11.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Piṇḍapātapaṭikkanto,\nselamāruyha kassapo;\nJhāyati anupādāno,\nkatakicco anāsavo.","en":"Returning from almsround,\nKassapa ascends the mountain,\nand practices absorption without grasping,\nhis task completed, free of defilements.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:12","sourceIds":["thag18.1:12.1","thag18.1:12.2","thag18.1:12.3","thag18.1:12.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Karerimālāvitatā,\nbhūmibhāgā manoramā;\nKuñjarābhirudā rammā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"“Strewn with garlands of the musk-rose tree,\nthese regions are so delightful, so lovely,\nechoing with the trumpeting of elephants:\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:13","sourceIds":["thag18.1:13.1","thag18.1:13.2","thag18.1:13.3","thag18.1:13.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Nīlabbhavaṇṇā rucirā,\nvārisītā sucindharā;\nIndagopakasañchannā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"Glistening, they look like blue stormclouds,\nwith waters cool and streams so clear,\nand covered all in ladybugs:\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:14","sourceIds":["thag18.1:14.1","thag18.1:14.2","thag18.1:14.3","thag18.1:14.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Nīlabbhakūṭasadisā,\nkūṭāgāravarūpamā;\nVāraṇābhirudā rammā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"Like the peak of a blue stormcloud,\nor like a fine bungalow, lovely,\nechoing with the trumpeting of elephants:\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:15","sourceIds":["thag18.1:15.1","thag18.1:15.2","thag18.1:15.3","thag18.1:15.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Abhivuṭṭhā rammatalā,\nnagā isibhi sevitā;\nAbbhunnaditā sikhīhi,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"The rain comes down on the lovely flats,\nin the mountains frequented by seers.\nEchoing with the cries of peacocks,\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:16","sourceIds":["thag18.1:16.1","thag18.1:16.2","thag18.1:16.3","thag18.1:16.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Alaṁ jhāyitukāmassa,\npahitattassa me sato;\nAlaṁ me atthakāmassa,\npahitattassa bhikkhuno.","en":"It’s enough for me, who loves absorption,\nto remain resolute.\nIt’s enough for me,\na resolute monk who wants what’s best."}},{"id":"thag18.1:17","sourceIds":["thag18.1:17.1","thag18.1:17.2","thag18.1:17.3","thag18.1:17.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Alaṁ me phāsukāmassa,\npahitattassa bhikkhuno;\nAlaṁ me yogakāmassa,\npahitattassa tādino.","en":"It’s enough for me,\na resolute monk who loves comfort.\nIt’s enough for me,\nresolute and unaffected, loving meditation."}},{"id":"thag18.1:18","sourceIds":["thag18.1:18.1","thag18.1:18.2","thag18.1:18.3","thag18.1:18.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Umāpupphena samānā,\ngaganāvabbhachāditā;\nNānādijagaṇākiṇṇā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"Covered with flowers of flax,\nlike the welkin covered with stormclouds,\nfull of flocks of many different birds,\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:19","sourceIds":["thag18.1:19.1","thag18.1:19.2","thag18.1:19.3","thag18.1:19.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Anākiṇṇā gahaṭṭhehi,\nmigasaṅghanisevitā;\nNānādijagaṇākiṇṇā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"Empty of householders,\nfrequented by herds of deer,\nfull of flocks of many different birds,\nthese rocky crags delight me!"}},{"id":"thag18.1:20","sourceIds":["thag18.1:20.1","thag18.1:20.2","thag18.1:20.3","thag18.1:20.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Acchodikā puthusilā,\ngonaṅgulamigāyutā;\nAmbusevālasañchannā,\nte selā ramayanti maṁ.","en":"The water’s clear and the rocks are broad,\nmonkeys and deer are all around;\nfestooned with dewy moss,\nthese rocky crags delight me!”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:21","sourceIds":["thag18.1:21.1","thag18.1:21.2","thag18.1:21.3","thag18.1:21.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Na pañcaṅgikena turiyena,\nRati me hoti tādisī;\nYathā ekaggacittassa,\nSammā dhammaṁ vipassato.","en":"“Even the music of a five-piece band\ncan never give such pleasure\nas when, with unified mind,\nyou rightly discern the Dhamma.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:22","sourceIds":["thag18.1:22.1","thag18.1:22.2","thag18.1:22.3","thag18.1:22.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Kammaṁ bahukaṁ na kāraye,\nParivajjeyya janaṁ na uyyame;\nUssukko so rasānugiddho,\nAtthaṁ riñcati yo sukhāvaho.","en":"“Don’t get involved in lots of work,\navoid people, and don’t try to acquire things.\nIf you’re eager and greedy for flavors,\nyou’ll miss the goal that brings such happiness."}},{"id":"thag18.1:23","sourceIds":["thag18.1:23.1","thag18.1:23.2","thag18.1:23.3","thag18.1:23.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Kammaṁ bahukaṁ na kāraye,\nParivajjeyya anattaneyyametaṁ;\nKicchati kāyo kilamati,\nDukkhito so samathaṁ na vindati.","en":"Don’t get involved in lots of work,\navoid what doesn’t lead to the goal.\nThe body gets worn out and fatigued,\nand when you ache, you won’t find serenity.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:24","sourceIds":["thag18.1:24.1","thag18.1:24.2","thag18.1:24.3","thag18.1:24.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Oṭṭhappahatamattena,\nattānampi na passati;\nPatthaddhagīvo carati,\nahaṁ seyyoti maññati.","en":"“You won’t see yourself\nby merely reciting words,\nwandering stiff-necked\nand thinking, ‘I’m better than them.’"}},{"id":"thag18.1:25","sourceIds":["thag18.1:25.1","thag18.1:25.2","thag18.1:25.3","thag18.1:25.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Aseyyo seyyasamānaṁ,\nbālo maññati attānaṁ;\nNa taṁ viññū pasaṁsanti,\npatthaddhamānasaṁ naraṁ.","en":"The fool is no better,\nbut they think they are.\nThe wise don’t praise\npompous people."}},{"id":"thag18.1:26","sourceIds":["thag18.1:26.1","thag18.1:26.2","thag18.1:26.3","thag18.1:26.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yo ca seyyohamasmīti,\nnāhaṁ seyyoti vā pana;\nHīno taṁsadiso vāti,\nvidhāsu na vikampati.","en":"Whoever does not waver\ndue to the discriminations—\n‘I am better’, ‘I’m not better’,\n‘I am worse’, or ‘I am the same’—"}},{"id":"thag18.1:27","sourceIds":["thag18.1:27.1","thag18.1:27.2","thag18.1:27.3","thag18.1:27.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Paññavantaṁ tathā tādiṁ,\nsīlesu susamāhitaṁ;\nCetosamathamanuttaṁ,\ntañce viññū pasaṁsare.","en":"with such understanding, unaffected,\nsteady in ethics,\nand devoted to serenity of mind:\nthat is who the wise praise.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:28","sourceIds":["thag18.1:28.1","thag18.1:28.2","thag18.1:28.3","thag18.1:28.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yassa sabrahmacārīsu,\ngāravo nūpalabbhati;\nĀrakā hoti saddhammā,\nnabhato puthavī yathā.","en":"“Whoever has no respect\nfor their spiritual companions\nis as far from the true teaching\nas the earth is from the sky."}},{"id":"thag18.1:29","sourceIds":["thag18.1:29.1","thag18.1:29.2","thag18.1:29.3","thag18.1:29.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yesañca hiriottappaṁ,\nsadā sammā upaṭṭhitaṁ;\nVirūḷhabrahmacariyā te,\ntesaṁ khīṇā punabbhavā.","en":"Those whose conscience and prudence\nare always rightly established,\nthrive in the spiritual life;\nfor them, there are no future lives."}},{"id":"thag18.1:30","sourceIds":["thag18.1:30.1","thag18.1:30.2","thag18.1:30.3","thag18.1:30.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Uddhato capalo bhikkhu,\npaṁsukūlena pāruto;\nKapīva sīhacammena,\nna so tenupasobhati.","en":"When a mendicant who is haughty and fickle\nwears rags from the rubbish-heap,\nthat doesn’t make them shine:\nthey’re like a monkey in a lion skin."}},{"id":"thag18.1:31","sourceIds":["thag18.1:31.1","thag18.1:31.2","thag18.1:31.3","thag18.1:31.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Anuddhato acapalo,\nnipako saṁvutindriyo;\nSobhati paṁsukūlena,\nsīhova girigabbhare.","en":"But if they not restless or fickle,\nalert, with senses restrained,\nthen, wearing rags from the rubbish-heap, they shine\nlike a lion in a mountain cave.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:32","sourceIds":["thag18.1:32.1","thag18.1:32.2","thag18.1:32.3","thag18.1:32.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Ete sambahulā devā,\niddhimanto yasassino;\nDasadevasahassāni,\nsabbe te brahmakāyikā.","en":"“These many gods\npowerful and glorious,\nall 10,000 of them,\nbelong to the host of the Divinity."}},{"id":"thag18.1:33","sourceIds":["thag18.1:33.1","thag18.1:33.2","thag18.1:33.3","thag18.1:33.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Dhammasenāpatiṁ vīraṁ,\nmahājhāyiṁ samāhitaṁ;\nSāriputtaṁ namassantā,\ntiṭṭhanti pañjalīkatā.","en":"They stand with cupped palms\nhonoring Sāriputta,\nthe General of the Dhamma, the hero,\nthe serene great meditator:"}},{"id":"thag18.1:34","sourceIds":["thag18.1:34.1","thag18.1:34.2","thag18.1:34.3","thag18.1:34.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"‘Namo te purisājañña,\nnamo te purisuttama;\nYassa te nābhijānāma,\nyampi nissāya jhāyati.","en":"‘Homage to you, O thoroughbred!\nHomage to you, supreme among men!\nWe don’t understand\nthe basis of your absorption."}},{"id":"thag18.1:35","sourceIds":["thag18.1:35.1","thag18.1:35.2","thag18.1:35.3","thag18.1:35.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Accheraṁ vata buddhānaṁ,\ngambhīro gocaro sako;\nYe mayaṁ nābhijānāma,\nvālavedhisamāgatā’.","en":"The profound domain of the Buddhas\nis truly amazing.\nWe don’t understand,\nthough we’ve gathered here to split hairs.’"}},{"id":"thag18.1:36","sourceIds":["thag18.1:36.1","thag18.1:36.2","thag18.1:36.3","thag18.1:36.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Taṁ tathā devakāyehi,\npūjitaṁ pūjanārahaṁ;\nSāriputtaṁ tadā disvā,\nkappinassa sitaṁ ahu.","en":"When he saw the host of gods\npaying homage to Sāriputta—\nwho is truly worthy of homage—\nKappina smiled.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:37","sourceIds":["thag18.1:37.1","thag18.1:37.2","thag18.1:37.3","thag18.1:37.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Yāvatā buddhakhettamhi,\nṭhapayitvā mahāmuniṁ;\nDhutaguṇe visiṭṭhohaṁ,\nsadiso me na vijjati.","en":"“As far as the range of the Buddha extends,\napart from the great sage himself,\nI am distinguished in austerities,\nno equal to me is found."}},{"id":"thag18.1:38","sourceIds":["thag18.1:38.1","thag18.1:38.2","thag18.1:38.3","thag18.1:38.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Pariciṇṇo mayā satthā,\nkataṁ buddhassa sāsanaṁ;\nOhito garuko bhāro,\nnatthi dāni punabbhavo.","en":"I’ve served the Teacher\nand fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.\nThe heavy burden is laid down,\nnow there’ll be no more future lives.”"}},{"id":"thag18.1:39","sourceIds":["thag18.1:39.1","thag18.1:39.2","thag18.1:39.3","thag18.1:39.4","thag18.1:39.5","thag18.1:39.6"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Na cīvare na sayane,\nbhojane nupalimpati;\nGotamo anappameyyo,\nmuḷālapupphaṁ vimalaṁva;\nAmbunā nekkhammaninno,\ntibhavābhinissaṭo.","en":"“Like a lotus flower\nto which water will not stick,\nGotama the immeasurable is unstained\nby robes, lodgings, or food.\nHe inclines to renunciation,\nand has escaped the three states of existence."}},{"id":"thag18.1:40","sourceIds":["thag18.1:40.1","thag18.1:40.2","thag18.1:40.3","thag18.1:40.4","thag18.1:40.5","thag18.1:40.6"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Satipaṭṭhānagīvo so,\nsaddhāhattho mahāmuni;\nPaññāsīso mahāñāṇī,\nsadā carati nibbuto”ti.\n… Mahākassapo thero …\nCattālīsanipāto niṭṭhito.","en":"The great sage’s neck is mindfulness meditation;\nfaith is his hands, and wisdom his head.\nHaving great knowledge,\nhe always wanders, quenched.”\nThe Book of the Forties is finished."}},{"id":"thag18.1:41","sourceIds":["thag18.1:41.0","thag18.1:41.1","thag18.1:41.2","thag18.1:41.3","thag18.1:41.4"],"kind":"text","text":{"pi":"Tatruddānaṁ\nCattālīsanipātamhi,\nmahākassapasavhayo;\nEkova thero gāthāyo,\ncattālīsa duvepi cāti."}}]}],"sourceRevision":"afdafa92450cfe7573b280da50382888323666d2","sourceUrl":"https://suttacentral.net/thag18.1/en/sujato","licence":"CC0 1.0","licenceUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/","editionNote":"Full supplied source file; inherited abbreviations are preserved. Not a reconstructed expansion of every repetition. No Malay or Mandarin translation is implied."}