Saṃyutta Nikāya
5. Mahā-Vagga
51. Iddhi-Pāda Saṃyutta
1. Cāpāla Vagga
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
5. The Great Chapter
51. Kindred Sayings on the Bases of Psychic Power
1. Cāpāla
Sutta 10
Cetiya Suttaṃ
The Shrine[1]
Translated by F. L. Woodward
Edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Copyright The Pali Text Society
Commercial Rights Reserved
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On a certain occasion the Exalted One was staying near Vesālī in Great Wood, at the House of the Peaked Gable.
Now the Exalted One,
robing himself in the forenoon
and taking bowl and outer robe,
set out for Vesālī
to beg for alms.
After going his alms-rounds in Vesālī,
returning and eating his meal,
he called to the venerable Ānanda, saying:
"Ānanda, take a mat.[2]
I will go to Capala Shrine
for the noonday rest."
"Very well, lord,"
said the venerable Ānanda in reply to the Exalted One,
and taking a mat
he followed in the footsteps of the Exalted One.
Now when the Exalted One reached Capala Shrine
he sat down on the seat made ready.
And the venerable Ānanda,
saluting the Exalted One,
sat down at one side.
As he thus sat,
the Exalted One said this
to the venerable Ānanda:
"Delightful, Ānanda, is Vesālī!
Delightful are the shrines of Udena[3]
and of Gotama!
Delightful is the [231] Shrine of Seven Mangoes,[4]
the Shrine of Many Sons,[5]
of Sarandada,[6]
Delightful is Capala Shrine!
Whosoever, Ānanda,
has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,[7]
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased[8]
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
such an one,
if he so wished,
might remain (on earth)
for his full span of life,[9]
or for what is left of it.
Now, Ānanda, the Tathāgata has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
and if he chooses
he can remain for his full span of life
or for what is left of it."
This section is displayed in smaller type and indented to emphasize that it is an editorial comment of the narrator. Since Ānanda was supposedly the original narrator and would not have used the third person to reference himself, and, in any case, denied that he was at fault in this case, this is the work of a later editor in support of the supposed censure of Ānanda at the first council. It is forcing an interpretation on the reader.
— p.p.
Now although so broad a hint[10] was thus dropped by the Exalted One, though so broad and clear was his meaning, yet could not the venerable Ānanda penetrate it.
Thus he begged not the Exalted One:
'Let my lord the Exalted One remain for the full span of life.
Let the Happy One remain for the rest of his span of life, for the profit of many folk, for the happiness of many folk, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, profit and happiness of devas and mankind,'
- so far was his mind misguided by Māra.[11]
[232] Then a second time the Exalted One said to the venerable Ānanda:
"Delightful, Ānanda, is Vesālī!
Delightful are the shrines of Udena
and of Gotama!
Delightful is the Shrine of Seven Mangoes,
the Shrine of Many Sons,
of Sarandada,
Delightful is Capala Shrine!
Whosoever, Ānanda,
has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
such an one,
if he so wished,
might remain (on earth)
for his full span of life,
or for what is left of it.
Now, Ānanda, the Tathāgata has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
and if he chooses
he can remain for his full span of life
or for what is left of it."
§
Then a third time the Exalted One said to the venerable Ānanda:
"Delightful, Ānanda, is Vesālī!
Delightful are the shrines of Udena
and of Gotama!
Delightful is the Shrine of Seven Mangoes,
the Shrine of Many Sons,
of Sarandada,
Delightful is Capala Shrine!
Whosoever, Ānanda,
has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
such an one,
if he so wished,
might remain (on earth)
for his full span of life,
or for what is left of it.
Now, Ānanda, the Tathāgata has cultivated
and made much of,
applied himself to,
made a basis of,
stood upon,
increased
and fully undertaken
the four bases of psychic power, -
and if he chooses
he can remain for his full span of life
or for what is left of it."
Now although so broad a hint was thus dropped by the Exalted One, though so broad and clear was his meaning, yet could not the venerable Ānanda penetrate it.
Thus he begged not the Exalted One:
'Let my lord the Exalted One remain for the full span of life.
Let the Happy One remain for the rest of his span of life, for the profit of many folk, for the happiness of many folk, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, profit and happiness of devas and mankind,' - so far was his mind misguided by Māra.
Thereupon the Exalted One said to the venerable Ānanda:
"Go, Ānanda.
Do that for which you deem it the proper time."[12]
"Very well, lord,"
replied the venerable Ānanda to the Exalted One,
and rising from his seat
he saluted the Exalted One by the right
and went and sat down
at the root of a tree
not far away.
Thereupon Māra, the Evil One,
not long after the venerable Ānanda had gone,
came to the Exalted One,
and on coming to him
said this:
"Now let the Exalted One pass away!
Now let the Happy One pass away!
Now is the time
for the passing of my lord the Exalted One!
Thus was it spoken[13]
by my lord the Exalted One:
'0 Evil One, I shall not pass away
till my monks are disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won the peace from the yoke),[14]
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart,
walking according to the ordinances[15] of the Norm,
walking dutifully,
living in accordance with the Norm, -
till they, having of themselves
grasped their Master's teaching,
be able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze
and make it plain:
till they be able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by [233] right reasoning,[16]
and shall teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.'[17]
And now, lord,
the Exalted One's monks
are indeed disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won peace from the yoke),
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart.
They do walk
according to the ordinances of the Norm,
they do walk dutifully,
they do live in accordance with the Norm.
They, of themselves
grasping their Master's teaching,
are able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze,
and make it plain.
They are able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by right reasoning:
they do teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.
So now let my lord the Exalted One pass away!
Let the Happy One pass away!
Now is the time
for the passing away
of my lord the Exalted One!
■
For thus was it spoken by the Exalted One:
'0 Evil One, I shall not pass away
till my nuns are disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won the peace from the yoke),
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart,
walking according to the ordinances of the Norm,
walking dutifully,
living in accordance with the Norm, -
till they, having of themselves
grasped their Master's teaching,
be able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze
and make it plain:
till they be able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by right reasoning,
and shall teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.'
And now, lord,
the Exalted One's nuns
are indeed disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won peace from the yoke),
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart.
They do walk
according to the ordinances of the Norm,
they do walk dutifully,
they do live in accordance with the Norm.
They, of themselves
grasping their Master's teaching,
are able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze,
and make it plain.
They are able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by right reasoning:
they do teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.
So now let my lord the Exalted One pass away!
Let the Happy One pass away!
Now is the time
for the passing away
of my lord the Exalted One!
■
For thus was it spoken by the Exalted One:
'0 Evil One, I shall not pass away
till my lay followers[ed1] are disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won the peace from the yoke),
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart,
walking according to the ordinances of the Norm,
walking dutifully,
living in accordance with the Norm, -
till they, having of themselves
grasped their Master's teaching,
be able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze
and make it plain:
till they be able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by right reasoning,
and shall teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.'
And now, lord,
the Exalted One's lay followers
are indeed disciples
trained and disciplined,
(who have won peace from the yoke),
of wide knowledge,
knowing the Norm by heart.
They do walk
according to the ordinances of the Norm,
they do walk dutifully,
they do live in accordance with the Norm.
They, of themselves
grasping their Master's teaching,
are able to proclaim,
teach,
show forth,
establish,
open up,
analyze,
and make it plain.
They are able to refute
any wrong view arising,
which may well be refuted
by right reasoning:
they do teach the Norm
that brings salvation with it.
So now let my lord the Exalted One pass away!
Let the Happy One pass away!
Now is the time
for the passing away
of my lord the Exalted One!
■
Moreover this was the saying of the Exalted One:
'O Evil One, I shall not pass utterly away
until this way of holy living
(which I teach)
be powerful and prosperous,
wide-spread and widely known,
made popular,
proclaimed abroad
by devas and mankind.'[18]
And now indeed
this holy life
taught by my lord the Exalted One,
this way of holy living,
is powerful and prosperous,
wide-spread and widely known,
made popular,
proclaimed abroad
by devas and mankind.
Therefore let my lord the Exalted One pass utterly away!|| ||
Let the Happy One pass utterly away!
Now is the time
for the utter passing away
of my lord the Exalted One!"
[234] At these words the Exalted One thus spake
to Māra the Evil One:
"Trouble not thyself, O Evil One![19]
In no long time
shall be the utter passing away
of the Tathāgata.
At the end of three months from now
the Tathāgata shall pass utterly away."
Thereupon the Exalted One,
at Cāpāla Shrine,
mindful and self-possessed,
rejected[20] his life's aggregate.[21]
And when the Exalted One had rejected his life's aggregate
there was a mighty earthquake
and a fearful hair-raising thunder
burst from the sky.
And seeing the significance thereof[22]
the Exalted One
uttered on that occasion
these solemn words:
In all its parts, finite[23] and infinite,
His own life's compound did the Sage reject.
With inward calm composedly he burst,
Like shell of armour, the self complex.[24]
[1] Cf. D. ii, 102, 118; Dialog. ii, 110 n. Cetiyas: 'Shrines of pre-Buddhist worship'; Ud. vi; UdA. 322; A. iv, 308. Comy. here does not notice Cāpāla, but UdA. has: 'formerly the dwelling-place of the Yakkha Cāpāla.'
[2] Here, says Comy., a skin is meant.
[3] Udena-C. Comy. 'A residence at the Yakkha Udena's shrine; so also of Gotama-C.' Comy. does not notice the others, and I have not DA. at hand. I quote UdA. for the others.
[4] Sattamba-C. 'Seven princesses, daughters of Kiki (cf JA. vi, Vessantara J., 481), rajah of Kāsi (Benares), being strongly stirred, left Rājagaha, and the place where they struggled (for attainment) was called after them "Seven Mangoes Shrine."' According to JA. they were reborn in this era as sisters Khemā, Uppalavaṇṇā, Paṭācārā, Gotamā, Dhamadiṇṇā, Mahāmāyā, and Visākhā.
[5] 'A many-branching nigrodha tree. Many men pray for sons to the deva therein dwelling. Hence the name.' Comy.
[6] A yakkha of this name. Cf. Dial, ii, 80; A. iii, 167; iv, 16; UdA. 323.
[7] Yāni-katā. Comy. yutta-yānayṃ viya katāi.
[8] Pancitā. Comy. samantato citā suvaḍḍhitā.
[9] Sometimes translated 'the aeon' or world-period. But Comy. generally takes it as āyu-kappa (tasmiṃ tasmiṃ kāle yaṃ manussānaṃ dyuppamāṇaṃ taṃ paripuṇṇaṃ katvā tiṭṭheyya dhareyya), and quotes Mahāsivatthero on the subject.
[10] Oḷārike nimitte. UdA. thūla-saññ'uppādane.
[11] Pariyuṭṭhita-citto. Comy. = ajjhotthata-citto (i.e., bis heart was overspread by illusion). Commentators describe the wiles of Māra. 'He puts his hand into one's mouth and kneads the heart, so that it is senseless. ... He showed the elder a terrifying aspect, so that he could not penetrate the hint dropped by the Master.'
[12] A polite formula of dismissal. UdA. thinks he sent him away for noonday siesta.
[13] After attaining the wisdom, under the Goatherds' Banyan, on the occasion of the temptation of Māra.
[14] Our text inserts (on the authority of one MS. only) patta-yoga-kkhema, not to be found at D., Ud., or in Comy.
[15] Dhammānudhamma-paṭipannā. Rhys Davids in Buddhist Suttas ad loc., 'Masters of the lesser corollaries that follow from the larger doctrine.' Comy. 'having reached the insight that results from the Ariyan Norm.'
[16] Saha-dhammena (not 'according to the Norm' or 'by truth'). Comy. 'sa-hetukena sa-kāraṇena vacanena.'
[17] Sappāṭihāriyaṃ. Comy. yāva-niyyanikaṃ katva (making it profitable, salutary). Rhys Davids, 'wonder-working.'
[18] Text yāva-d-eva manussehi. Rhys Davids,' among men.' I follow Comy. (as on S. ii, 121, etc.). on Ud. reading yāva deva-manussehi, explained as: yattaka viññū-jātikā devā c'eva manussā c'atthi; tehi sabbehi suṭṭhu pakāsitaṃ. Cf. K.S. ii, 75 n.
[19] Appossukko. Comy. nirālayo (homeless), as at DhpA. iv, 31, but not appropriate in this connexion. UdA. nirussukko (indifferent) vigat'ussāho ... mā ... vāyāmaṃ karohi; nirālayo, together with a reading līna-viriyo (not insistent) for nirālayo.
[20] Comy. ñāṇena paricchinditvā vissaji, pajahi, 'consciously limiting it, he rejected, abandoned ... but not like crumbling a clod of earth in one's hand. He made up his mind thus: Just for three months I will reap the fruit of attainment and no longer.' UdA. thinks it was 'not because Māra asked or because Ānanda failed to ask, but from lack of any more capable of receiving the Buddha-teaching (Buddha-veneyyānaṃ abhāvato).'
[21] Āyu-sañhhāraṃ. At S. ii, 266, 'things of physical life.' Cf. M. i, 295; JA. iv, 215. At Dialog. ii, 113, Rhys Davids has: 'He renounced those tendencies, potentiahties, which in the ordinary course of things would otherwise have led to the putting together of, the building up of, more life (that is, of course, in this birth. Any more life in a future birth [as UdA. notes] he had already renounced, when, under the Wisdom Tree, he attained Nirvāna).'
[22] Atthaṃ viditvā. Comy. is silent, but UdA. 'the significance of thus rejecting his life's aggregate.'
[23] Tulaṃ, 'limited or weighable.' Comy. suggests an alternative 'weighing (tulaṃ = tūlento, tīrento) Nibbāna (atulaṃ) and becoming (sambhavaṃ.)'
[24] Atta-sambhavaṃ Comy. attani jātaṃ kilesaṃ and bhava-gāmi-kammaṃ. At D. loc. cit. the narrative continues with the Buddha's relating all this to Ānanda, and explaining the causes of earthquakes, etc.
[ed1] Woodward has abridged these sections and indicates that this should be as per the previous, but substituting "lay-disciples both male and female" but the Pali has only: "upāsakā."
