Sn 5.16: Pingiya-manava-puccha

Pingiya-manava-puccha

Translated from the Pali by

Alternate translation:

Source: From The Discourse Collection: Selected Texts from the Sutta Nipata (WH 82), translated by John D. Ireland (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1983). Copyright © 1983 Buddhist Publication Society. Used with permission.

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The Venerable Pingiya:

"I am old and feeble, the comeliness of youth has vanished. My sight is weak and I am hard of hearing. I do not wish to perish whilst still confused. Teach me the Dhamma by understanding which I may abandon birth and decay."1

The Lord:

"Seeing heedless people afflicted and suffering through their bodies, Pingiya, you should be heedful and renounce body so as to not come again to birth."

The Venerable Pingiya:

"In the ten directions — the four quarters, four between, and those above and below — there is nothing in the world not seen, heard, sensed or understood by you. Teach me the Dhamma by understanding which I may abandon birth and decay."

The Lord:

"Seeing men caught in craving, Pingiya, tormented and afflicted by old age, you should be heedful and renounce craving so as to not come again to birth."

Note

1. Jara: decay, decrepitude, old age.