Buddhism · Sutta Pitaka · Minor Collection (Khuddaka)
Thag, poem 261
Mahākassapa · Mahākassapattheragāthā
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PāliPali
“You shouldn’t live for the adulation of a following; it turns your mind, making it hard to get immersion. Seeing that popularity is suffering, you shouldn’t consent to a following.
“Na gaṇena purakkhato care, Vimano hoti samādhi dullabho; Nānājanasaṅgaho dukho, Iti disvāna gaṇaṁ na rocaye.
A sage should not visit respectable families; it turns your mind, making it hard to get immersion. If you’re eager and greedy for flavors, you’ll miss the goal that brings such happiness.
Na kulāni upabbaje muni, Vimano hoti samādhi dullabho; So ussukko rasānugiddho, Atthaṁ riñcati yo sukhāvaho.
They know it really is a bog, this homage and veneration in respectable families. Honor is a subtle dart, hard to extract, and hard for a reprobate to give up.”
With his putrid hand he offered me a morsel. Putting the morsel in my bowl, his finger dropped off right there.
So me pakkena hatthena, ālopaṁ upanāmayi; Ālopaṁ pakkhipantassa, aṅguli cettha chijjatha.
Sitting by a wall, I ate that lump of rice. I did not feel any disgust while eating or afterwards.
Kuṭṭamūlañca nissāya, ālopaṁ taṁ abhuñjisaṁ; Bhuñjamāne vā bhutte vā, jegucchaṁ me na vijjati.
Anyone who makes use of leftovers for food, rancid urine as medicine, the root of a tree as lodging, and cast-off rags as robes, is at ease in any quarter.”
Uttiṭṭhapiṇḍo āhāro, pūtimuttañca osadhaṁ; Senāsanaṁ rukkhamūlaṁ, paṁsukūlañca cīvaraṁ; Yassete abhisambhutvā, sa ve cātuddiso naro.
“Where some have fallen to ruin while climbing the mountain, there Kassapa ascends; an heir of the Buddha, aware and mindful, owing to his psychic powers.
“Strewn with garlands of the musk-rose tree, these regions are so delightful, so lovely, echoing with the trumpeting of elephants: these rocky crags delight me!
Karerimālāvitatā, bhūmibhāgā manoramā; Kuñjarābhirudā rammā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
Glistening, they look like blue stormclouds, with waters cool and streams so clear, and covered all in ladybugs: these rocky crags delight me!
Nīlabbhavaṇṇā rucirā, vārisītā sucindharā; Indagopakasañchannā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
Like the peak of a blue stormcloud, or like a fine bungalow, lovely, echoing with the trumpeting of elephants: these rocky crags delight me!
Nīlabbhakūṭasadisā, kūṭāgāravarūpamā; Vāraṇābhirudā rammā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
The rain comes down on the lovely flats, in the mountains frequented by seers. Echoing with the cries of peacocks, these rocky crags delight me!
It’s enough for me, who loves absorption, to remain resolute. It’s enough for me, a resolute monk who wants what’s best.
Alaṁ jhāyitukāmassa, pahitattassa me sato; Alaṁ me atthakāmassa, pahitattassa bhikkhuno.
It’s enough for me, a resolute monk who loves comfort. It’s enough for me, resolute and unaffected, loving meditation.
Alaṁ me phāsukāmassa, pahitattassa bhikkhuno; Alaṁ me yogakāmassa, pahitattassa tādino.
Covered with flowers of flax, like the welkin covered with stormclouds, full of flocks of many different birds, these rocky crags delight me!
Umāpupphena samānā, gaganāvabbhachāditā; Nānādijagaṇākiṇṇā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
Empty of householders, frequented by herds of deer, full of flocks of many different birds, these rocky crags delight me!
Anākiṇṇā gahaṭṭhehi, migasaṅghanisevitā; Nānādijagaṇākiṇṇā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
The water’s clear and the rocks are broad, monkeys and deer are all around; festooned with dewy moss, these rocky crags delight me!”
Acchodikā puthusilā, gonaṅgulamigāyutā; Ambusevālasañchannā, te selā ramayanti maṁ.
“Even the music of a five-piece band can never give such pleasure as when, with unified mind, you rightly discern the Dhamma.”
Na pañcaṅgikena turiyena, Rati me hoti tādisī; Yathā ekaggacittassa, Sammā dhammaṁ vipassato.
“Don’t get involved in lots of work, avoid people, and don’t try to acquire things. If you’re eager and greedy for flavors, you’ll miss the goal that brings such happiness.
Kammaṁ bahukaṁ na kāraye, Parivajjeyya janaṁ na uyyame; Ussukko so rasānugiddho, Atthaṁ riñcati yo sukhāvaho.
Don’t get involved in lots of work, avoid what doesn’t lead to the goal. The body gets worn out and fatigued, and when you ache, you won’t find serenity.”
Kammaṁ bahukaṁ na kāraye, Parivajjeyya anattaneyyametaṁ; Kicchati kāyo kilamati, Dukkhito so samathaṁ na vindati.
“You won’t see yourself by merely reciting words, wandering stiff-necked and thinking, ‘I’m better than them.’
Oṭṭhappahatamattena, attānampi na passati; Patthaddhagīvo carati, ahaṁ seyyoti maññati.
The fool is no better, but they think they are. The wise don’t praise pompous people.
When a mendicant who is haughty and fickle wears rags from the rubbish-heap, that doesn’t make them shine: they’re like a monkey in a lion skin.
Uddhato capalo bhikkhu, paṁsukūlena pāruto; Kapīva sīhacammena, na so tenupasobhati.
But if they not restless or fickle, alert, with senses restrained, then, wearing rags from the rubbish-heap, they shine like a lion in a mountain cave.”
“Like a lotus flower to which water will not stick, Gotama the immeasurable is unstained by robes, lodgings, or food. He inclines to renunciation, and has escaped the three states of existence.
Na cīvare na sayane, bhojane nupalimpati; Gotamo anappameyyo, muḷālapupphaṁ vimalaṁva; Ambunā nekkhammaninno, tibhavābhinissaṭo.
The great sage’s neck is mindfulness meditation; faith is his hands, and wisdom his head. Having great knowledge, he always wanders, quenched.” The Book of the Forties is finished.
