Snp. 1.9 — Hemavata Sutta

Snp. 1.9

Hemavata Sutta

“Hemavata”

153. “Today is the Fifteenth Day of the Uposatha,” called out the Yakkha, Sātāgiri of Mount Sātā, to his friend Hemavata.

“A Holy Night indeed, is at hand, my dear friend. Come, let us both go now and see Our Peerless Teacher, Gautama.”

154. “Friend Sātāgiri, can your teacher keep his mind well- disposed towards all beings, equally? Is your teacher well- disposed towards all beings without any discrimination?” Responded the Yakkha Hemavata to his friend, Sātāgiri, while asking further.

“Does your teacher exercise his power and control over his thoughts, restraining them to only what is desirable, while refraining from all that is undesirable?”

155. “Friend Hemavata, our Teacher, the Buddha, looks upon all beings with equanimity. And He exercises His power and control over His thoughts, restraining them to only what is desirable, while refraining from all that is undesirable.”

156. “Friend Sātāgiri, does your teacher take what is not freely given?” Hemavata continues inquiring from his friend. “How is his self-control? How does he behave towards other beings? Does he live carelessly? Is he negligent and heedless when it comes to practicing the Jhānas?”

157. “Friend Hemavata,” responded Sātāgiri, “Our Teacher does not take what is not given, for He is fully restrained with self-control, behaving with loving-kindness towards all beings. The Buddha is far from being careless, and He is neither negligent nor heedless in His practice of the Jhānas.”

158. “Friend Sātāgiri, is He the kind of teacher who speaks falsely?” Asked Hemavata further from his friend. “Does He use harsh or violent words? Does He slander against anyone? Does He spend his time engaging in idle or useless chatter?”

159. “Friend Hemavata, He is the kind of Teacher who never speaks falsely,” replied Sātāgiri.

“He does not use any harsh or violent words. He neither slanders against anyone, nor spends His time engaging in idle or useless chatter, for He always speaks with discernment, saying only what is necessary, and wise.”

160. “Friend Sātāgiri, is He not given to any sensual desires? Is His mind unperturbed, no longer chasing after or indulging in sense pleasures?” Further asked the Yakkha Hemavata, “Has He overcome delusion? Does He possess the eye to see through all phenomena?”

161. “Friend Hemavata, the Teacher is not given to any sensual desires,” replied Sātāgiri.

“His mind is unperturbed, no longer indulging in nor chasing after sense pleasures. He has overcome all delusion, and with the Eye of a Buddha, He sees the true nature of all phenomena.”

162. “Friend Sātāgiri, is He a master of knowledge?” Asked Hemavata.

“Does He possess perfect purity of conduct? Are His mental contaminants all destroyed? And is He bound to any more renewed existence?”

163. “Indeed, Friend Hemavata, He is the Great Master of Knowledge!” Replied Sātāgiri, while adding:

“He is the One possessing perfect purity of conduct; having destroyed all His heart’s contaminants, He now lives finally freed, No longer bound to any more renewed existence! “The Great Sage’s Heart is flawlessly exquisite, whether one witnesses His speech or deed. “My dear friend, being fully accomplished in both Knowledge and Behavior, Gautama is the very Teacher possessing the qualities you hold so dear and praise. “My dear friend, being fully accomplished in both Knowledge and Behavior, Gautama is the very Teacher possessing the qualities you wholeheartedly rejoice in and celebrate.

164. “My dear friend, being fully accomplished in both Knowledge and Behavior, let us now go and see Gautama,

the only One who possesses the purest Knowledge and Behavior.

165. “The Silent Warrior, whose slender limbs are like those of an antelope, eating only a little, with a heart that knows no lust for food, He now sits meditating in the great forest all alone; let us now go my dear friend, and see Gautama.

166. “And by approaching Him, the One who is the Lion among men, the Bull Elephant roaming and living alone, beyond the trappings of sense pleasures, let us ask Him on how to liberate ourselves from the tangle of death.

167. “Let us go and ask Gautama, the Teacher, the Guide, the Expounder of meanings, who has overcome and gone beyond all things, for He is the Buddha, having overcome all hatred and fear.”

Then, the two Yakkha generals approached The Blessed One, and after paying homage to Him, stood at a respectful distance, and Hemavata eagerly addressed The Blessed One with a question:

168. “How does the world arise?” as he continued:

“By means of what association is the world maintained? By grasping onto what does the world become afflicted; and with what?”

169. “The world arises in six,” answered The Blessed One to Hemavata.

“It is maintained through association with the six. By grasping onto the six the world becomes afflicted; afflicted with the six.”

170. “What is that grasping by which the world becomes afflicted?” Hemavata asked further. “Do tell us about this release, when asked the question: ‘how is one freed from all suffering?”

And The Blessed One replied:

172. “Five are the kinds of sensual pleasures in the world, to which the mind is added as the sixth. When there is no more longing in the heart for any of these, then one is completely freed from all suffering. “This is the way to be released from the world, this truth that I declare to you. This in itself is the way you seek; to be freed from all suffering.”

173. “Who in the world can cross the great flood? Asked Hemavata.

“Who in the world can cross the bottomless ocean? Who, with no support or any footing, ferries on undisturbed, never sinking into the deep?”

And The Blessed One said,

174. “He who always lives with virtuous behavior and understanding; the wise one, who is contented, and ever mindful, constantly reflecting on the level of the mind’s release, is the one who goes beyond the flood, that is so hard to cross.

175. “He who is disgusted by perceptions of sense pleasures, who has broken all the fetters, and is completely done with seeking any kind of rebirth; it is he, who does not sink into the deep.”

Then, Hemavata the Yakkha exclaimed:

176. “Behold, the One with deepest wisdom! The One who penetrates by seeing the subtlest of meanings! He, who possesses nothing, nor clings to anything belonging to the senses, it is He, who is free in every respect, wherever He goes, the Great Recluse, walking the Path of the Noble Ones.

177. “Behold, the One with the unparalleled name; He, who sees the subtlest of meanings, the Giver of wisdom, unfettered to the realm of the senses. Gaze upon Him, the All-knower, the Wisest of Beings, the Great Recluse, walking the Path of the Noble Ones.

178. “It was indeed a fine sight for us to behold this day; a lovely dawn, beautifully arisen, for we have now seen the Perfectly Awakened One, who has crossed the flood, having liberated Himself from the mental contaminants.

179. “O! Blessed One, now these powerful and mighty Yakkhas, one thousand in number, all go to you for Refuge, and from today forth, Lord, You are our Peerless Teacher.

180. “From village to village we will now roam, and from peak to peak, while paying homage to the Perfectly Awakened One, and to the sublime Truth of the Dhamma You teach!”

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