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5:16 Piṅgiya’s Questions
I’m old & weak,
my complexion dull,
I’ve blurry eyes
and trouble hearing—
but may I not perish
while still deluded,
confused!
Teach me the Dhamma
so that I may know
the abandoning here
of birth & aging.
The Buddha:
Seeing people suffering
on account of their bodies—
heedless people are afflicted
on account of their bodies—
then heedful, Piṅgiya,
let go of the body
for the sake of no further becoming.
Piṅgiya:
In the four cardinal directions,
the four intermediate,
above & below
—these ten directions—
there is nothing in the world
unseen, unheard,
unsensed, uncognized by you.
Teach me the Dhamma
so that I may know
the abandoning here
of birth & aging.
The Buddha:
Seeing people,
victims of craving—
inflamed, overwhelmed with aging—
then heedful, Piṅgiya,
let go of craving
for the sake of no further becoming.
vv. 1120–1123