At Sāvatthi. “Monks, once in the past the gods and the titans were in battle. In that battle the titans won and the gods were defeated. Monks, in defeat, the gods fled towards the north while the titans chased after them. Then, monks, Sakka, lord of the gods, addressed his charioteer Mātali in verse:

“‘Watch out, O Mātali, there may be bird nests in the silk-cotton woods. Avoid them and turn the chariot back. Let’s surrender our lives to the titans rather than make these birds be without nests.’

“‘Yes, as you wish lord,’ Mātali the charioteer replied, and he turned back the chariot with its team of one thousand of the best horses.

“Then, monks, it occurred to the titans: ‘Now that Sakka’s chariot with its team of one thousand of the best horses has turned back, it seems that the gods will have a battle with the titans for a second time.’ Struck by fear, they fled to the city of the titans. In this way, monks, Sakka, lord of the gods won a victory by righteousness itself.”

This discourse was taught by the Blessed One, taught by the Arahant, the fully enlightened Supreme Buddha. This is as I heard,

“Monks, I am a Brāhmin (one who has abandoned all evil) and am always responsive to requests for the Dhamma and open-handed in giving the Dhamma. I bear my last body and am the supreme doctor and surgeon for removing the arrow of suffering. You are my children, my sons, born from my heart, born from the mouth of Dhamma, created by the Dhamma, heirs to the Dhamma, not heirs of material things.

Monks, there are two kinds of giving: giving material things and giving of the Dhamma. Monks, of these two kinds of giving, giving of the Dhamma is supreme.

Monks, there are two kinds of sharing: sharing material things and sharing the Dhamma. Monks, of these two kinds of sharing, sharing the Dhamma is supreme.

Monks, there are two kinds of help: help with material things and help with the Dhamma. Monks, of these two kinds of help, help with the Dhamma is supreme.”

This is the meaning of what the Blessed One said. So, with regard to this, it was said:

The Tathāgatha, unselfish and compassionate towards all beings, has given the gift of Dhamma; gods and humans pay homage to him; he is the best of gods and humans – the Buddha who crossed over the cycle of rebirths.

This, too, is the meaning of what was said by the Blessed One. This is exactly as I heard.

Supreme Buddha:

Lady, I am Gautama Supreme Buddha standing before you out of compassion. I am the seventh Buddha who has appeared in the last hundred eons. Worship the feet of the famous Buddha. I am an Arahant and I am not shaken by the ups and downs of life. Let your mind be confident in me. Worship me immediately because you have little time to live.

In this way, the Supreme Buddha, with a developed mind and in his final body, encouraged the low-caste woman to collect merit. Having understood the words of the famous Gautama Buddha, she worshiped his sacred feet.

This world is covered with the darkness of ignorance. It is illuminated only by the true sunlight called the Four Noble Truths. She worshipped that Supreme Buddha who gives true light to the world.

Worshiping by putting her hands together, the woman gazed at the Buddha as he walked away. Soon after that, a cow attacked her and she died instantly.

Devata:

Oh Pure One, Arahant, Great Hero, the Supreme Buddha who meditates alone in the forest. I was born in heaven. Now I have come here to worship you.

Supreme Buddha:

Devata, you shine like gold and are surrounded by many goddesses. Having climbed down from your mansion, you worship me. Who are you?

Devata:

Bhante, I was a low-caste woman in the human world. Great Hero, Gautama Buddha, you encouraged me to collect merit. I worshiped your sacred feet. After my death, I was born in a divine mansion in Nandana Park.

This mansion is extremely beautiful. I have one hundred thousand goddesses as my attendants. I surpass all of them in beauty, fame, and long life. Bhante, I did lots of good deeds with mindfulness and full awareness. Now I have come here to worship you, the compassionate Supreme Buddha.

The devata was very grateful. She recalled the Supreme Buddha’s compassionate help. Having explained how she went to heaven, she worshiped the sacred feet of the Supreme Buddha and disappeared.

Maha Kaccana Bhante was living in the forest. One day, he saw a prince and spoke to him in this way.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

You are holding a bow that is made from hardwood, pushing on one end with your foot. Are you a king, a prince, or a hunter in the forest? Who are you?

Prince:

Bhante, I am the son of King Assaka traveling in this forest. I can tell you my name. Everyone knows me as Sujata. I came into this forest looking for deer, but I have not found any. I saw you and stopped here.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

You have great merit. It is very good that you came here. Your arrival here is not in vain. Take this water and wash your feet. See this cool water I brought from a mountain cave. Drink it and sit on this mat.

Prince:

Great Sage, your words are pleasing, friendly, meaningful, and sweet. Great Ascetic, why do you like to live in this forest? I ask you so that having listened to you and understood, I can follow your Dhamma.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

Dear Prince, we desire to spread thoughts of harmlessness and compassion towards all living beings. We do not steal, behave badly, or drink alcohol. We abstain from those bad things. Instead we practice the Dhamma, remember much Dhamma, and pay gratitude. These are the things praised in this very life. Truly, these are the things that should be praised.

Oh, dear Prince, listen to me carefully. Within five months, you will die. Before that happens, protect yourself from rebirth in hell.

Prince:

Oh, Bhante, to which country should I run away? What should I do? What kind of effort should I make? What kind of knowledge would help me to escape from this aging and death?

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

Prince, it is impossible to find the place, the effort, or the knowledge by which you can escape from aging and death.

Even kings, those with great wealth and many possessions, are not free from aging and death. Have you heard of soldiers like Andhaka and Venhuputta? Mighty like the sun and moon, they defeated enemies with great strength and bravery. Eventually, when they reached the end of their lifespan, they too died.

Kings, brahmins, merchants, servants, and low-caste people – all of them are not free from old age and death. Even those great ascetics, coming from a famous lineage, who had learned spells and many things, are not freed from old age and death.

Other tranquil and virtuous ascetics with austere practices will leave their bodies too when death arrives. Even in the case of Arahants who have completed the path to Nibbana, who are freed from defilements and have overcome both merit and demerit – they too leave this body when the time comes.

Prince:

Great Sage, the Dhamma you preach is very meaningful and well taught. I understood your teaching. Please be my protection. I would go for refuge to you.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

Dear Prince, do not go for refuge to me. I myself have gone for refuge to the Great Teacher, Gautama Supreme Buddha. You should also go for refuge to that great hero.

Prince:

Oh, Bhante, where is the Great Teacher staying now? I would like to go see the Great Victor, the Unmatchable Teacher.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

Prince, that excellent teacher who was born in the Okkaka family, lived in the eastern province. Now that Great Teacher attained final Nibbana at passing away.

Prince:

Oh Bhante, if your great teacher was still alive, I would have traveled even for many miles to see him. Bhante, right here, I go for refuge to your great teacher, the Great Hero to whom you have gone for refuge.

I go for refuge to the Supreme Buddha, the excellent Supreme Dhamma, and the Great Teacher’s community of monks, the Supreme Sangha. From now on, I abstain from killing, stealing, drinking alcohol, and telling lies. I abstain from sexual misconduct and am content with my own wife.

One day a deva, having dismounted from his divine chariot appeared in front of Maha Kaccana Bhante and paid homage to him.

Maha Kaccana Bhante:

Your chariot travels in the sky shining in all ten directions like the sun that shines with a thousand rays. The chariot is over seventy kilometers long. It is decorated all around with golden plates. Its front is decorated with pearls and gems. Gold and silver carvings beautify your vehicle even further. The head of the chariot is made of beryl gemstones. The yoke is made of red gems. Horses are attached to the chariot with gold and silver ropes. These beautiful horses travel as fast as the mind thinks.

Famous God, you are sitting in this golden chariot pulled by a thousand horses like the god Sakka. I ask you, skilled Deva, how did you gain all these wonderful things?

Deva:

Bhante, in my previous life, I was a prince named Sujata. You were the one who was compassionate towards me and taught me the great Dhamma.

You understood that my life was about to end, gave me a bodily relic of the Supreme Buddha, and told me to worship it. I respected that sacred relic, offering fragrances and flowers respectfully. When I passed away, I was born in this Tavatimsa Heaven in the Nandana Park.

This delightful Nandana Park is filled with various types of birds. I enjoy living there, surrounded by dancing and singing goddesses.

Moggallana Bhante upon seeing a deva, asked him a question.

Moggallana Bhante:

Dear Deva, you are living in a long-lasting mansion and your hands are decorated with various ornaments. You are mighty and shine like the moon in your mansion.

You are extremely beautiful. You are dressed beautifully in divine clothes. You are wearing divine flower-garlands and your hands are decorated with divine ornaments. Most importantly, beautiful ornaments decorate your hair and beard. You are famous and shine like the moon in your mansion.

The sweet music of divine guitars plays throughout the complex. Well-trained devatas delight in dancing and singing.

Powerful Deva, you have become a leader among devas. The pure radiance of your body and limbs is stainless and shines in all directions.

Tell me Deva, what kind of meritorious action did you do when you were in the human world to have gained this beauty that shines in all directions, and to have earned all these wonderful things?

That deva, delighted at being questioned by Arahant Moggallana, gladly explained what he had done that resulted in such great happiness.

Deva:

In my previous life, I lived in the human world. My job was to gather other people’s cows into one place and guard them. One day, a monk approached me on his almsround. At the same time, the cows ran towards a field of beans.

Bhante, suddenly I had to do two things and both had to be done at once. I was wise and realized what I had to do. I dropped my wrapped parcel of rice cake on the ground saying, “Bhante, I offer this to you.”

Then I chased after the cows before they damaged the bean field. While I was running, a deadly poisonous snake bit my foot. I was in great pain as I lay there on the ground.

Out of compassion for me, that monk unwrapped the parcel of rice cake and ate it. I died of the snake bite at that moment and was reborn as a deva.

That was the only meritorious action I did. Bhante, it was you who was very compassionate to me. That is why today I experience the happy results of my action. I know the importance of gratitude, and so, I worship you.

There is no other sage more compassionate than you in this world with its gods and Mara. You are extremely compassionate. I know the importance of gratitude, and so, I worship you.

There is no other sage more compassionate than you in this world or any other worlds. You are extremely compassionate. I know the importance of gratitude, and so, I worship you.

A son is crying over the death of his ox. His father questions him:

Father:

Are you crazy son? Why are you trying to feed grass to a dead ox saying, “Eat, eat!”? Food and drink will not make it come back to life. You are childish, a fool, and an idiot.

Son:

But father, there are these legs, this head, this body with its tail, and the eyes are the same—this ox might come back to life. But our dead grandfather’s hands, legs, body, and head are not seen. But yet you still cry over the pile of earth that was built over his body. Is it not you that is foolish?

Father:

My heart was burning with sadness over the death of my father like when ghee is poured onto a fire. But now, all my sorrow has been extinguished as if I had been sprayed with water. I was struck with an arrow of grief, but you have removed it from me, my son. Having heard your advice, I have become tranquil and cool, with the arrow of sorrow removed. I no longer grieve or weep.

If someone feels compassion towards others, they should try to help them escape from sorrow like the son Sujāta to his father.

Sāriputta Bhante sees a female ghost and asks,

Sāriputta Bhante:

You are naked and very ugly, your veins are popping out. You thin person, with your ribs sticking out, who are you?

Ghost:

I am a ghost, sir. I am suffering in the world of Yama. I have done an evil deed as a human and have been reborn in the world of ghosts.

Sāriputta Bhante:

Now what evil deed have you done by body, speech, or mind for you to have been born in the world of ghosts?

Ghost:

Nobody had sympathy for me. Neither my father, mother, nor relatives encouraged me to give alms to monks. Therefore, I did not give alms. I must wander around the world naked and always hungry for five hundred years. This is the result of my evil deed.

I pay respect to you good sir with a very happy mind. Please have compassion towards me, oh noble monk. Please offer something and share the merits with me. Please release me from this state of misery.

Sāriputta Bhante:

Very well.

Out of kindness Sāriputta Bhante offered a handful of rice, a piece of cloth and a bowl of water to monks. He then shared the merits with the female ghost. The result of that merit was received by the female ghost immediately in the form of food, drink, and clothing. She became clean and fresh with the cleanest and finest clothes. She approached Sāriputta Bhante.

Sāriputta Bhante:

Who are you, with heavenly beauty, shining in all directions like a star? Why are you so beautiful? What merit have you collected when you were a human?

Ghost:

Sāriputta Bhante, you were very compassionate when you saw me in a miserable state: thin, starved, and naked with rough skin. You offered the monks a handful of rice, a piece of cloth, and a bowl of water then dedicated the merit to me.

Now look at the result of offering a handful of rice. For a thousand years I will eat delicious food whenever I want.

Look at the result of offering a piece of cloth. I have as many clothes as King Nanda. Still I have more clothes than that, made from silk, wool, linen, and cotton. There are lots of expensive clothes, so many they even hang from the sky. I can wear whatever I want.

Look at the result of offering a bowl of water. I have gained a beautiful pond with clear and cool water. It is surrounded by fine sand and there are fragrant lotuses and lilies with flower petals floating in the water. I am very happy playing in the water. I am not afraid of anything. You were very compassionate to me Bhante. I have come to worship you.

Sāriputta Bhante sees a female ghost and asks,

Sāriputta Bhante:

You are naked and very ugly. Your veins are popping out. You thin person, with your ribs sticking out, who are you?

Ghost:

I was your mother in a previous life. Now I am living in the ghost world suffering from hunger and thirst. My food is saliva, mucus, phlegm, the fat of burning bodies, the blood of women giving birth, blood of wounds, pus, and the blood from shaving wounds. I can only feed on the pus and blood of humans and animals. I do not have a house of my own, therefore I stay in the cemetery. Oh my son, please offer alms to monks and dedicate that merit to me. Then I will be free from eating pus and blood.

Having heard what his mother said, the compassionate Sāriputta Bhante called Moggallāna Bhante, Nārada Bhante, and Kappina Bhante. Sāriputta Bhante built four huts and offered those huts along with food and drink to the whole community of monks and dedicated the merit to his mother.

The result of this donation immediately took effect in the form of food, drink, and clothing for the ghost. She became pure, wearing the cleanest and finest clothes with jewelry. Then she approached Sāriputta Bhante.

Sāriputta Bhante:

Who are you, with heavenly beauty, shining in all directions like a star? Why are you so beautiful? What merit have you collected when you were a human?

Ghost:

I was your mother in a previous life. I was reborn in the ghost world suffering from hunger and thirst. My food was saliva, mucus, phlegm, the fat of burning bodies, the blood of women giving birth, the blood of wounds, pus, and the blood from shaving wounds. I could only feed on the pus and blood of humans and animals. I did not have a house of my own, therefore I stayed in the cemetery.

I am very happy now, rejoicing in Sāriputta Bhante’s gift. I do not fear anything. I have come here to worship the compassionate Sāriputta Bhante.