Ud 4.3 - Ud 4:3 The Cowherd | Gopāla Sutta
Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Source: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud4_3.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 136
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.

Ud 4:3 The Cowherd (Gopāla Sutta)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was wandering among the Kosalans with a large community of monks. Then, coming down from the road, he went to a certain tree, and on arrival sat down on a seat laid out. A certain cowherd then went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One, instructed, urged, roused, & encouraged him with Dhamma-talk. The cowherd–instructed, urged, roused, & encouraged by the Blessed One’s talk on Dhamma–said to him, “Lord, may the Blessed One, together with the community of monks, acquiesce to my offer of tomorrow’s meal.”

The Blessed One acquiesced with silence.

Then the cowherd, understanding the Blessed One’s acquiescence, got up from his seat, bowed down to the Blessed One and left, circling him to the right.

Then, after the night had passed, the cowherd–having prepared in his own home a great deal of thick milk-rice porridge & fresh ghee–announced the time of the meal to the Blessed One: “It’s time, lord. The meal is ready.”

So the Blessed One early in the morning adjusted his under robe and–carrying his bowl & robes–went together with the community of monks to the cowherd’s home. On arrival, he sat down on a seat laid out. The cowherd, with his own hand, served & satisfied the community of monks headed by the Blessed One with thick milk-rice porridge & fresh ghee. Then, when the Blessed One had eaten and had rinsed his bowl & hands, the cowherd, taking a lower seat, sat down to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One, instructed, urged, roused, & encouraged him with Dhamma-talk, then got up from his seat & left.

Now, not long after the Blessed One’s departure, the cowherd was killed by a certain man between the boundaries of two villages. A large number of monks then went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they told him, “The cowherd who today served & satisfied the community of monks headed by the Blessed One with thick milk-rice porridge & fresh ghee, has been killed, it is said, by a certain man between the boundaries of two villages.”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Whatever an enemy
might do to an enemy,
    or a foe
    to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you
    even worse.1

Note

1. This verse also occurs at Dhp 42, where it is paired with Dhp 43:

Whatever a mother, father
or other kinsman
might do for you,
the well-directed mind
can do for you
    even better.