SN 6.13 - SN 6:13 At Andhakavinda | Andhakavinda Sutta
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN6_13.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: DN 29; MN 4; Thag 1:50; Thag 2:11
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.

At Andhakavinda
 Andhakavinda Sutta (SN 6:13)

On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling among the Magadhans in Andhakavinda. And on that occasion he was sitting out in the open in the thick darkness of night while the rain fell in scattered drops.

Then, Brahmā Sahampati in the far extreme of the night, his extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Andhakavinda, went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, stood to one side. As he was standing there, he recited these verses in the Blessed One’s presence:

“Stay in isolated dwellings.
Live for freedom from fetters.
But if one doesn’t attain delight there,
one should live with the Saṅgha,
	mind protected,
				mindful.

Walking for alms
from family to family,
senses guarded,
		masterful, mindful,
stay in isolated dwellings.

Freed from fear,
released in the fearless,
where fearful snakes are,
lightning wanders,
the sky thunders,
in the thick darkness of night,
there sits the monk—
	horripilation left behind.

And this has actually been seen by me,
it’s not hearsay, quotation marks.
In a single holy life,
a thousand have left death behind.
More in training,
five hundred plus
ten times tenfold ten:
All have attained the stream
that never leads to an animal birth.

As for other people, partaking of merit,
—so to my mind—
I cannot count them,
for fear of telling a falsehood.”