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Samyutta Nikaya

# SN 55.21 Paṭhama Mahānāma Sutta (Discourse to Mahānāma – Part 1) SN 55.21

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- The Connected Discourses: SN 55.21, Paṭhama Mahānāma Sutta (Discourse to Mahānāma - Part 1). (Duration: 6:50)

## Text

    [page 1]
    SN 55.21
    Mahāvagga Saṁyutta
    (Connected Discourses on the Great Section)

    Sotāpatti Saṁyutta
    (Connected Discourses on the Stream-Winning)

    Saraṇāni Vagga
    (The Section on Saraṇāni)

    Paṭhama Mahānāma Sutta
    “Discourse to Mahānāma – Part 1”

    Translated by Bhikkhu Candana
    Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023

    The is what I personally heard.
    At one time, The Blessed One was staying at the Nigrodha Monastery in the royal city of
    Kapilavatthu, among the Sakyans.
    Then, Mahānāma the Sakyan came and approached The Blessed One, and having paid homage to
    Him, he sat down to one side, and said to The Blessed One:

    “Here, Bhante, we find our City of Kapilavatthu being prosperous, rich, well-stocked and
    successful, populated by so many people, affluent and full of resources, with many wide streets,
    avenues, along with narrow, dead-end streets.

    “Now, often, when the day is over and night is approaching, after I take my leave here from the
    Sangha, after I paid homage to The Blessed One or a respectable Bhikkhu I may be visiting, I go
    back and re-enter the Kapilavatthu City Gate.

    “Along the way, however, I often encounter a stray elephant, a horse, a chariot being driven
    fast, or a cart, or a person on foot.

    “In those moments, Bhante, I find myself having lost my mindfulness, having forgotten about
    The Blessed One, The Dhamma, and The Saṅgha, as I get caught up in the thought:

    ‘What if something happens as I am walking back home, and I were to die right now? What
    would happen to me? Where would I be reborn in my next life?’”

    [page 2]
    “Do not be afraid, Mahānāma! You have nothing to fear, at all, Mahānāma! For when the time
    comes for you to die, your death will be a good death, and not a bad one!

    “Imagine, Mahānāma, there was someone who, for a long time now, had been living his life with
    a heart that is infused with strong faith; filled with the fragrance of virtue throughout, augmented
    by his constant quest to gain a better understanding of the Dhamma, open-handed in his
    generosity, as he trains himself daily, while wisdom grows in his heart, continuously.

    “Now, because his physical body is made up of the four primary elements, the product of his
    mother and father, nourished and sustained by food and boiled rice, it always is subject to the
    fact of impermanence, to decaying, and to weathering away, to breaking up and finally being
    destroyed. And even though the time comes for the physical body to fall prey and be chewed
    upon and devoured by various birds like crows, vultures, or wild dogs, and jackals, as well as
    many kinds of little animals like worms; still however, the refined Citta of such a person rises
    higher and higher to even more sublime states, as it steadily continues heading upstream.

    “It is just like someone were to drop a clay pot full of purified ghee or oil into a deep lake,
    whereby the jar of clay housing the ghee would crack and be shattered, as it sinks down to the
    bottom. But the purified ghee or oil would immediately start rising up to the surface, as it
    steadily continues heading upward.
    “It is exactly like that, Mahānāma, when someone who, for a long time now, has been living his
    life with a heart that is infused with strong faith; filled with the fragrance of virtue throughout,
    augmented by his constant quest to gain a better understanding of the Dhamma, open-handed in
    his generosity, as he trains himself daily, while wisdom grows in his heart, continuously.

    “Now, although his physical body that is made up of the four primary elements, the product of
    his mother and father, nourished and sustained by food and boiled rice, is subject to the fact of
    impermanence, to decaying, and to weathering away, to breaking up and finally being
    destroyed; and, even though, when the time comes, his physical body will fall prey and be
    chewed upon and devoured by various birds like crows, vultures, or wild dogs and jackals, as
    well as many kinds of little animals like worms; nevertheless, the refined Citta of such a person
    will rise higher and higher to even more sublime states, as it will steadily continue heading
    upstream.
    “So, rest assured, Mahānāma! Your heart has, for a long time indeed, been infused with strong
    faith, filled with the fragrance of virtue throughout, augmented by your constant quest to gain a
    better understanding of the Dhamma, remaining open-handed in generosity, as you have been
    training yourself daily, while wisdom continues to grow in your heart, continuously.

    “Do not be afraid, Mahānāma! You have nothing to fear, at all, Mahānāma! For when the time
    comes for you to die, your death will be a good death, and not a bad one!”

    Sādhu

    Sādhu

    Sādhu

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