[309] 9. Today is the Uposatha (uposatha) of the fifteenth (said the yakkha Sātāgira);
the heavenly night is at hand.
Come, let us see Gotama,
the Teacher of flawless name.
Is the mind (mano) of that steadfast one (tādī) (said the yakkha Hemavata)
well disposed toward all beings?
And regarding the desirable and the undesirable,
are his thoughts brought under mastery?
His mind is well disposed (said the yakkha Sātāgira),
that steadfast one's, toward all beings;
and regarding the desirable and the undesirable,
his thoughts are brought under mastery.
Does he not take what is not given? (said the yakkha Hemavata)
Is he restrained toward living beings?
Is he far from heedlessness?
Does he not neglect meditation (jhāna)?
He does not take what is not given (said the yakkha Sātāgira),
and he is restrained toward living beings,
and he is far from heedlessness:
the Buddha does not neglect meditation.
Does he not speak falsehood? (said the yakkha Hemavata)
Is his speech not harsh?
Does he not utter slander?
Does he not speak frivolous talk?
He does not speak falsehood (said the yakkha Sātāgira),
nor is his speech harsh,
nor does he utter slander:
with wisdom (mantā) he speaks what is beneficial.
Is he not attached to sensual pleasures (kāma)? (said the yakkha Hemavata)
Is his mind (citta) unclouded?
Has he passed beyond delusion (moha)?
Is he possessed of vision regarding dhammas?
He is not attached to sensual pleasures (said the yakkha Sātāgira),
and his mind is unclouded;
he has passed beyond all delusion:
the Buddha is possessed of vision regarding dhammas.
Is he accomplished in true knowledge (vijjā)? (said the yakkha Hemavata)
Is his conduct fully purified?
Are his taints (āsava) destroyed?
Is there no renewed existence for him?
He is accomplished indeed in true knowledge (said the yakkha Sātāgira),
and his conduct is fully purified;
all his taints are destroyed:
there is no renewed existence for him.
Accomplished is the sage's (muni) mind,
in deed and in word alike;
as one accomplished in true knowledge and conduct,
in accordance with Dhamma you praise him.
Accomplished is the sage's mind,
in deed and in word alike;
as one accomplished in true knowledge and conduct,
in accordance with Dhamma you rejoice in him.
Accomplished is the sage's mind,
in deed and in word alike;
accomplished in true knowledge and conduct—
come, let us see Gotama.
With calves like the antelope's, lean, wise,
of little food, free from greed,
the sage meditating in the forest—
come, let us see Gotama.
Him, a lion faring alone, a nāga,
without longing for sensual pleasures—
let us approach and ask
about release from the snare of Death.
The proclaimer, the expounder,
gone to the far shore of all dhammas,
the Buddha who has passed beyond enmity and fear—
him, Gotama, let us ask.
In what has the world arisen? (said the yakkha Hemavata)
In what does it form intimacy (santhava)?
Clinging to what,
in what is the world afflicted?
In the six the world has arisen
("Hemavata," said the Blessed One);
in the six it forms intimacy;
clinging to just the six,
in the six the world is afflicted.
What is that clinging (upādāna)
wherein the world is afflicted?
Asked about the way out (niyyāna), declare it:
how is one released from suffering (dukkha)?
The five strands of sensual pleasure (kāmaguṇa) in the world,
with mind as the sixth, have been proclaimed:
having expunged desire (chanda) for these,
thus one is released from suffering.
This, the way out for the world,
has been declared to you as it really is (yathātathaṃ);
this I declare to you:
thus one is released from suffering.
Who here crosses over the flood (ogha)?
Who here crosses the ocean?
Who does not sink in the deep,
where there is no footing and no support?
One always accomplished in virtue (sīla),
possessed of wisdom, well concentrated,
perceiving inwardly, mindful,
crosses the flood so hard to cross.
One abstaining from the perception of sensual pleasures (kāmasaññā),
who has passed beyond all fetters (saṃyojana),
in whom delight and existence are utterly destroyed—
he does not sink in the deep.
Him of profound wisdom, who sees the subtle meaning,
owning nothing, unattached to sensual existence—
behold him, everywhere fully released,
the great seer treading the divine path.
Him of flawless name, who sees the subtle meaning,
the giver of wisdom, unattached to sensual clinging—
behold him, the all-knower, the truly wise,
the great seer treading the noble path.
Well seen indeed for us today!
Well has it dawned, well have we risen,
in that we have seen the Fully Awakened One (sambuddha),
who has crossed the flood and is free of taints.
These ten hundred yakkhas,
possessed of psychic power (iddhi), glorious—
they all go to you for refuge:
you are our unsurpassed Teacher.
We shall wander
from village to village, from mountain to mountain,
paying homage to the Fully Awakened One
and to the excellence of the Dhamma.
The Hemavata Sutta, the ninth.
In the Suttanipāta, the tenth discourse of the Uragavagga: the Āḷavaka Sutta.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.