SN 11.22 - SN 11:22 Ugly | Dubbaṇṇiya Sutta
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN11_22.html
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Copyright: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017
License notice: Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA.
Attribution: From Handful of Leaves, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu; https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/SuttaPitaka_251113.epub. Copyright 2014 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Revised edition 2017 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities. Questions about this book may be addressed to Metta Forest Monastery Valley Center, CA 92082-1409 U.S.A. Additional resources More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org. Printed copy A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA.
Publisher references (not part of the sutta): See also: MN 21; SN 1:71; SN 3:23; SN 7:2; AN 3:35; AN 3:133; AN 4:200; AN 5:161–162; AN 7:60; AN 10:80; Dhp XVII
Changes: Presentation only: original HTML markup reflowed into plain text; wording, numbering and source repetitions retained. No repetitions expanded.
Completeness: ABBREVIATED. Every source-unit character is preserved, including introductions, notes and verse structure. Thanissaro's collection-level note explicitly states that repetitions were cut: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/about.html. This is evidence about the translation method, not an assertion that every individual unit contains an omission; no repetitions reconstructed.

Ugly
 Dubbaṇṇiya Sutta (SN 11:22)

Near Sāvatthī. “Once, monks, a certain yakkha—ugly & misshapen—sat down on Sakka the deva-king’s seat. Then the devas of the Thirty-three were indignant, annoyed, & complained: ‘Isn’t it amazing, good sirs! Isn’t it astounding! This yakkha—ugly & misshapen—has sat down on Sakka’s seat!’ But the more the devas of the Thirty-three were indignant, annoyed, & complained, the more well-formed that yakkha became, the more good-looking & inspiring.

“Then the devas of the Thirty-three went to Sakka the deva-king and, on arrival, said to him, ‘Just now, dear sir, a certain yakkha—ugly & misshapen—sat down on your seat. The devas of the Thirty-three were indignant, annoyed, & complained: “Isn’t it amazing, good sirs! Isn’t it astounding! This yakkha—ugly & misshapen—has sat down on Sakka’s seat!” But the more the devas of the Thirty-three were indignant, annoyed, & complained, the more well-formed that yakkha became, the more good-looking & inspiring.’

“‘Then, dear sirs, he must be an anger-eating yakkha.’

“So Sakka the deva-king approached the anger-eating yakkha and, on arrival, arranging his upper robe over one shoulder & kneeling with one knee on the ground, raised his hands palm-to-palm over his heart toward the anger-eating yakkha and announced his name three times, ‘I, dear sir, am Sakka the deva-king! I, dear sir, am Sakka the deva-king! I, dear sir, am Sakka the deva-king!’1 The more Sakka the deva-king announced his name, the uglier & more misshapen the yakkha became. Then, having become uglier & more misshapen, he disappeared right there.

“Then Sakka the deva-king, sitting down on his seat & conciliating the devas of the Thirthy-three, on that occasion recited these verses:

“‘I’m not easily upset in mind,
nor easily led into a whirl.
I don’t get angry for long.
Anger doesn’t persist in me.

When angry, I don’t speak harshly
or insist on my virtues.
I keep myself well under control
with an eye to my own good.’”

Note

1. Repeating one’s name in this fashion was, at that time, considered a sign of respect. See DN 16, note 46.