[468] 2.
"'An ascetic!'—good lady, so you look upon this one;
'ascetics!'—so you perceive them;
you praise only ascetics:
surely you will become a female ascetic (samaṇī).
Abundant food and drink
you bestow upon the ascetics.
Now, Rohiṇī, I ask you:
why are the ascetics dear to you?
Not desirous of work, lazy,
living on what is given by others,
full of expectation, desirous of delicacies—
why are the ascetics dear to you?"
"At long last indeed, dear father,
you ask me about the ascetics.
I shall extol to you
their wisdom (paññā), virtue (sīla), and striving (parakkama).
Desirous of work, not lazy,
doers of the most excellent work,
they abandon lust (rāga) and hatred (dosa):
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
They shake off the three roots of evil,
doers of what is pure;
all evil has been abandoned by them:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Pure is their bodily action,
and their verbal action is the like;
pure is their mental action:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Stainless as conch and pearl,
pure within and without,
filled with bright qualities:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Greatly learned, bearers of the Dhamma,
noble ones living by the Dhamma,
they teach the meaning (attha) and the Dhamma:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Greatly learned, bearers of the Dhamma,
noble ones living by the Dhamma,
of unified mind (ekaggacittā) and mindful (satimant):
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Going far, mindful,
speaking with wisdom, free from restlessness,
they understand the end of suffering (dukkha):
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
From whatever village they depart,
they do not look back at anything;
free from longing they go on their way:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
They do not lay up their goods in a storehouse,
nor in a pot, nor in a basket,
but seek only what is already prepared:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
They take no gold coin,
nor gold, nor silver;
they sustain themselves by what the present brings:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me.
Gone forth from different families
and from different regions,
they hold one another dear:
that is why the ascetics are dear to me."
"Truly for our benefit, good lady,
were you born into our family, Rohiṇī—
having faith in the Buddha and in the Dhamma,
and keen reverence for the Saṅgha.
For you understand this—
the unsurpassed field of merit (puññakkhetta):
these ascetics accept
the offering (dakkhiṇā) from us as well;
for the sacrifice (yañña) established here
will be abundant for us."
"If you fear suffering,
if suffering is displeasing to you,
go to the Buddha for refuge (saraṇa),
to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of the steadfast (tādī);
undertake the precepts (sīlāni):
that will be for your welfare."
"I go to the Buddha for refuge,
to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha of the steadfast;
I undertake the precepts:
that will be for my welfare.
Formerly I was a kinsman of Brahmā (brahmabandhu);
now am I truly a brahmin.
I possess the three true knowledges (tevijja), I am a scholar of sacred lore (sottiya),
a master of knowledge (vedagū) am I, and one washed clean (nhātaka)."
Rohiṇī.
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.