Thus have I heard. On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, while that Bhikkhu had gone for his day’s abiding, he kept on thinking evil unwholesome thoughts connected with the household life.
Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
758 “Desiring seclusion you entered the woods,
Yet your mind gushes outwardly.
Remove, man, the desire for people;
Then you’ll be happy, devoid of lust.
759 “You must abandon discontent, be mindful —
Let us remind [you] of that [way] of the good.
Hard to cross, indeed, is the dusty abyss;
Don’t let sensual dust drag you down.
760 “Just as a bird littered with soil
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust,
So a Bhikkhu, strenuous and mindful,
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust.”
Then that Bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion when that Bhikkhu had gone for his day’s abiding he fell asleep. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
761 “Get up, Bhikkhu, why lie down?
What need do you have for sleep?
What slumber [can there be] for one afflicted,
Stricken, pierced by the dart?
762 “Nurture in yourself that faith
With which you left behind the home life
And went forth into homelessness:
Don’t come under sloth’s control.”
[The Bhikkhu:]
763 “Sensual pleasures are impermanent, unstable,
Though the dullard is enthralled with them.
When he’s free, detached among those bound,
Why trouble one gone forth?
764 “When, by the removal of desire and lust
And the transcendence of ignorance,
That knowledge has been cleansed,
Why trouble one gone forth?
765 “When, by breaking ignorance with knowledge
And by destruction of the taints,
He is sorrowless, beyond despair,
Why trouble one gone forth?
766 “When he is energetic and resolute,
Always firm in his exertion,
Aspiring to attain Nibbāna,
Why trouble one gone forth?”
On one occasion the Venerable Kassapagotta was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when he had gone for his day’s abiding, the Venerable Kassapagotta exhorted a certain hunter. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Kassapagotta, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
767 “The Bhikkhu strikes me as a dolt
Who out of season exhorts a hunter
Roaming in the rugged mountains
With little wisdom, devoid of sense.
768 “He listens but does not understand,
He looks but does not see;
Though the Dhamma is being spoken,
The fool does not grasp the meaning.
769 “Even if you would bring ten lamps
[Into his presence], Kassapa,
Still he would not see forms,
For he does not have eyes to see.”
Then the Venerable Kassapagotta, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a number of Bhikkhus were dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then, when they had spent the rains there, after the three months had passed those Bhikkhus set out on tour. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, not seeing those Bhikkhus, lamenting, on that occasion recited this verse:
770 “Today discontent appears to me
When I see here so many vacant seats.
Where have they gone, Gotama’s disciples,
Those splendid speakers rich in learning?”
When this was said, another devatā replied in verse:
771 “They’ve gone to Magadha, gone to Kosala,
And some are in the Vajjīan land.
Like deer that roam free from ties,
The Bhikkhus dwell without abode.”
On one occasion the Venerable Ānanda was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion the Venerable Ānanda was excessively involved instructing lay people. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Ānanda, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
772 “Having entered the thicket at the foot of a tree,
Having placed Nibbāna in your heart,
Meditate, Gotama, and don’t be negligent!
What will this hullabaloo do for you?”
Then the Venerable Ānanda, stirred up by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion the Venerable Anuruddha was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then a certain devatā of the Tāvatiṃsa host named Jālinī, a former consort of the Venerable Anuruddha, approached him and addressed him in verse:
773 “Direct your mind there [to that realm]
Where you dwelt in the past
Among the Tāvatiṃsa devas
For whom all desires are fulfilled.
You will shine forth highly honoured,
Surrounded by celestial maidens.”
[Anuruddha:]
774 “Miserable are celestial maidens
Established in identity,
And miserable too are those beings
Attached to celestial maidens.”
[Jālinī:]
775 “They do not know bliss
Who have not seen Nandana,
The abode of the glorious male devas
Belonging to the host of Thirty.”
[Anuruddha:]
776 “Don’t you know, you fool,
That maxim of the arahants?
Impermanent are all formations;
Their nature is to arise and vanish.
Having arisen, they cease:
Their appeasement is blissful.
777 “Now I will never again dwell
Among the deva host, Jālinī!
The wandering on in birth is ended:
Now there is no more renewed existence.”
On one occasion the Venerable Nāgadatta was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion the Venerable Nāgadatta had been entering the village too early and returning too late in the day. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Nāgadatta, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
778 “Entering the village early,
Returning late in the day,
Nāgadatta associates too closely with lay folk,
Sharing their happiness and suffering.
779 “I am afraid for Nāgadatta,
So impudent, bound to families.
Do not come under the End-maker’s control,
[In the grip] of the powerful King of Death.”
Then the Venerable Nāgadatta, stirred up by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion that Bhikkhu had become excessively intimate with a certain family. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, manifested herself in the form of the mistress of that family. Having approached that Bhikkhu, she addressed him in verse:
780 “By the riverbanks and in the rest house,
In the meeting halls and along the roads,
People meet and gossip about this:
What’s going on between you and me?”
[The Bhikkhu:]
781 “There are many disagreeable sounds
That an ascetic must patiently endure.
One should not be dismayed because of that,
For it is not by this one is defiled.
782 “If one is frightened by random sounds
Like an antelope dwelling in the woods,
They call him ‘one with a fickle mind’:
His practice does not succeed.”
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu, a Vajjīan prince, was dwelling at Vesālī in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion an all-night festival was being held in Vesālī. Then that Bhikkhu, lamenting as he heard the clamour of instruments, gongs, and music coming from Vesālī, on that occasion recited this verse:
783 “We dwell in the forest all alone
Like a log rejected in the woods.
On such a splendid night as this
Who is there worse off than us?”
Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
784 “As you dwell in the forest all alone
Like a log rejected in the woods,
Many are those who envy you,
As hell-beings envy those going to heaven.”
Then that Bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion that Bhikkhu had been excessively engrossed in recitation, but on a later occasion he passed the time living at ease and keeping silent. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, no longer hearing that Bhikkhu recite the Dhamma, approached him and addressed him in verse:
785 “Bhikkhu, why don’t you recite Dhamma-stanzas,
Living in communion with other Bhikkhus?
Hearing the Dhamma, one gains confidence;
In this very life [the reciter] gains praise.”
[The Bhikkhu:]
786 “In the past I was fond of Dhamma-stanzas
So long as I had not achieved dispassion.
But from the time I achieved dispassion
[I dwell in what] the good men call
‘The laying down by final knowledge
Of whatever is seen, heard, or sensed.’”
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when that Bhikkhu had gone for the day’s abiding, he kept on thinking evil unwholesome thoughts, that is, thoughts of sensuality, ill will, and harming. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:
787 “Because of attending carelessly,
You, sir, are eaten by your thoughts.
Having relinquished the careless way,
You should reflect carefully.
788 “By basing your thoughts on the Teacher,
On Dhamma, Saṅgha, and your own virtues,
You will surely attain to gladness,
And rapture and happiness as well.
Then when you are suffused with gladness,
You’ll make an end to suffering.”
Then that Bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket approached that Bhikkhu and recited this verse in his presence:
789 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How fearful that appears to me!”
[The Bhikkhu:]
790 “When the noon hour sets in
And the birds have settled down,
The mighty forest itself murmurs:
How delightful that appears to me!”
On one occasion a number of Bhikkhus were dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. They were restless, puffed up, personally vain, rough-tongued, rambling in their talk, muddle-minded, without clear comprehension, unconcentrated, scatter-brained, loose in their sense faculties. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for those Bhikkhus, desiring their good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in them, approached them and addressed them with verses:
791 “In the past the Bhikkhus lived happily,
The disciples of Gotama.
Without wishes they sought their alms,
Without wishes they used their lodgings.
Having known the world’s impermanence,
They made an end to suffering.
792 “But now like headmen in a village
They make themselves hard to maintain.
They eat and eat and then lie down,
Infatuated in others’ homes.
793 “Having reverently saluted the Saṅgha,
I here speak only about some:
They are rejected, without protector,
Become just like the dead.
794 “My statement is made with reference
To those who dwell in negligence.
As for those who dwell in diligence,
To them I humbly pay homage.”
Then those Bhikkhus, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.
On one occasion a certain Bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when he had returned from his alms round, after his meal that Bhikkhu used to descend into a pond and sniff a red lotus. Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that Bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse:
795 “When you sniff this lotus flower,
An item that has not been given,
This is one factor of theft:
You, dear sir, are a thief of scent.”
[The Bhikkhu:]
796 “I do not take,
I do not damage,
I sniff the lotus from afar;
So for what reason do you say
That I am a thief of scent?
797 “One who digs up the lotus stalks,
One who damages the flowers,
One of such rough behaviour:
Why is he not spoken to?”
[The devatā:]
798 “When a person is rough and fierce,
Badly soiled like a nursing cloth,
I have nothing to say to him;
But it’s to you that I ought to speak.
799 “For a person without blemish,
Always in quest of purity,
Even a mere hair’s tip of evil
Appears as big as a cloud.”
[The Bhikkhu:]
800 “Surely, spirit, you understand me,
And you have compassion for me.
Please, O spirit, speak to me again,
Whenever you see such a deed.”
[The devatā:]
801 “We don’t live with your support,
Nor are we your hired servant.
You, Bhikkhu, should know for yourself
The way to a good destination.”
Then that Bhikkhu, stirred by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency.