Aṅguttara Nikāya
4. Catukka Nipāta
III. Uruvelā Vagga
The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha
IV. The Book of the Fours
III. Uruvelā
Sutta 23
Loka Suttaɱ
The World
Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
© 2012 Bhikkhu Bodhi
Published by
Wisdom Publications
Boston, MA 02115
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Based on a work at http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/numerical-discourses-buddha
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available
at http://www.wisdompubs.org/terms-use.
[1][pts] "Bhikkhus, the Tathāgata has fully awakened to the world; the Tathāgata is detached from the world.
The Tathāgata has fully awakened to the origin of the world; the Tathāgata has abandoned the origin of the world.
The Tathāgata has fully awakened to the cessation of the world; the Tathāgata has realized the cessation of the world.
The Tathāgata has fully awakened to the way leading to the cessation of the world; the Tathāgata has developed the way leading to the cessation of the world.
(1) "Bhikkhus, in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, among this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans, whatever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, reached, sought after, [24] examined by the mind — all that the Tathāgata has fully awakened to; therefore he is called the Tathāgata.
(2) "Bhikkhus, whatever the Tathāgata speaks, utters, or expounds in the interval between the night when he awakens to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment and the night when he attains final Nibbāna, all that is just so and not otherwise; therefore he is called the Tathāgata.
(3) "Bhikkhus, as the Tathāgata speaks, so he does; as he does, so he speaks.
Since he does as he speaks and speaks as he does, therefore he is called the Tathāgata.
(4) "Bhikkhus, in this world with its devas, Māra, and Brahmā, among this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans, the Tathāgata is the vanquisher, the unvanquished, the universal seer, the wielder of mastery; therefore he is called the Tathāgata."
Having directly known all the world — all in the world just as it is — he is detached from all the world, disengaged from all the world.
He is the vanquisher of all, the wise one who has untied all knots. He has reached the supreme peace, Nibbāna, inaccessible to fear.
He is the Buddha, his taints destroyed, untroubled, all doubts cut off; having reached the destruction of all kamma, he is liberated in the extinction of acquisitions.
He is the Blessed One, the Buddha, he is the lion unsurpassed; in this world with its devas, he set in motion the wheel of Brahmā.
Thus those devas and human beings who have gone for refuge to the Buddha assemble and pay homage to him, the great one free from diffidence:
"Tamed, he is the best of tamers; peaceful, he is the seer among peace-bringers; freed, he is the chief of liberators; crossed over, he is the best of guides across."
Thus indeed they pay him homage, the great one free from diffidence. In this world together with its devas, there is no one who can rival you.
