The Numerical Discourses

Chapter 13: Profit

4. Nakula

1. Thus I have heard:[1] One time, the Buddha was staying in the Deer Park of the Yakṣiṇī’s Grove at Śiśumāragiri in the country of Bharga.[2]

2. It was then that the wealthy man Grandfather Nakula[3] came to the Bhagavān, bowed at his feet, and sat to one side. Immediately upon withdrawing to his seat, he said to the Bhagavān, “I’m old and weak and wrapped in illness on top of that. My miseries are many. Please, Bhagavān, give instruction on this occasion so that sentient beings will obtain their safety for the long night.”

3. The Bhagavān then said to that wealthy man, “As you say, how can one depend upon a body with its many infirmities? It has just this thin skin covering it. Wealthy man, you should know that, even when happy momentarily, relying on this body is a foolish idea not valued by the wise.

4. “Therefore, wealthy man, although the body has its illness, make your heart healthy. Thus, wealthy man, you should train yourself.”

5. Upon hearing these words, that wealthy man then rose from his seat, bowed at the Bhagavān’s feet, withdrew, and departed. That wealthy man then thought, “Now, I could go over to Venerable Śāriputra and ask him the meaning of this.” Śāriputra had departed, but he was sitting not far away under a tree. Grandfather Nakula went to Śāriputra, bowed his head at his feet, and then sat to one side.

6. Śāriputra then asked the wealthy man, “You are looking cheerful today. What’s caused your faculties to be so peaceful? Could it be, wealthy man, that you’ve heard Dharma from the Buddha?”

The wealthy man then said to Śāriputra, “How is it, Venerable Śāriputra? Has my appearance become cheerful? Why would that be? A while ago, the Bhagavān watered my heart with the Dharma of ambrosia.”

7. Śāriputra asked, “How does a wealthy man’s heart get watered with the Dharma of ambrosia?”

8. The wealthy man replied, “Here, Śāriputra, I went to the Bhagavān, bowed my head at his feet, and sat to one side. Then, I said to him, ‘I’ve grown old and weak, and I’m always wrapped in illness. My many pains are indescribable. Please, Bhagavān, discern this body so that sentient beings everywhere will obtain their safety.’[4]

9. “The Bhagavān then told me, ‘So it is, wealthy man. This body has many infirmities, and it has just this thin skin covering it. Wealthy man, you should know that, even when momentarily happy, one who relies on this body doesn’t know the long night of suffering they’ve experienced, which is measureless. Therefore, wealthy man, though this body has its troubles, you should make your heart untroubled. Thus, wealthy man, you should train yourself.’ That was how the Bhagavān watered me with the Dharma of ambrosia.”

10. Śāriputra said, “How is it, wealthy man? Did you not ask more questions of the Tathāgata about what he meant? ‘How can the body have its troubles but the mind not be troubled? How can the body have its illness but the mind be healthy?’”

11. The wealthy man said to Śāriputra, “It’s true that I didn’t ask the Bhagavān questions about the body having its troubles and the mind being troubled, or about the body having its troubles but the mind being untroubled. But Venerable Śāriputra surely has an explanation. I would like a complete analysis of this.”

12. Śāriputra said, “Listen closely! Listen closely, and consider it well. I will give you a detailed explanation of what he meant.”

He replied, “Yes, Śāriputra,” and accepted a teaching from him.

13. Śāriputra told the wealthy man, “Here, wealthy man, there’s an ordinary person who doesn’t meet a noble person. They don’t receive the noble teaching or follow its instruction. They don’t meet good friends or accompany good friends. As a result of this, they imagine that form is self, that form belongs to self, that self belongs to form, that self is in form, or that form is in self. [They imagine that] other form and self form combine in one place, or that other form and self form collect in one place. Form then deteriorates, changes, and doesn’t remain. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, and trouble arise from that.

14. “Regarding feeling … conception … volition … consciousness, they observe that self possesses consciousness … that self is in consciousness, or that consciousness is in self. [They observe] that other consciousness and self consciousness combine in one place or that other consciousness and self consciousness collect in one place. Consciousness deteriorates, changes, and doesn’t remain. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, and trouble arise from that. In this way, wealthy man, the body has its troubles, and the mind is also troubled.”

15. The wealthy man asked Śāriputra, “How does the body have its trouble but the mind is untroubled?”

16. Śāriputra said, “Here, wealthy man, a noble disciple serves a noble, cultivates the discipline, and accompanies good friends. From this, they are close to good friends. They don’t observe self as possessing form, and they don’t view self as being in form or that form is in self. They don’t view form as belonging to self or that self belongs to form. That form [deteriorates,] changes, and doesn’t remain. The changing of that form doesn’t give rise to the suffering of sorrow, lamentation, pain, and trouble.

17. “They don’t view feeling … conception … volition … consciousness [as self], and they don’t view that self as being in consciousness or that consciousness is in self. They don’t view consciousness as belonging to self or that self belongs to consciousness. [They don’t view] other consciousness and self consciousness as combining in one place … Consciousness then deteriorates … This doesn’t give rise to sorrow, lamentation, pain, and trouble. In this way, wealthy man, the body has its troubles, but the mind is untroubled.

18. “Therefore, wealthy man, you should perform this training: Let go of the body, leave behind the mind, and have no attachments. Thus, wealthy man, you should train yourself.”

19. When Grandfather Nakula heard what Śāriputra had taught, he rejoiced and approved.

Notes

1. This sūtra is parallel with SN 22.1. [back]
2. the Yakṣiṇī’s Grove. C. 鬼林, P. bhesakaḷāvana, S. bhīsanikāvana. In both the P. and S. tradition, this grove was named after a female yakṣa which was considered to be the forest’s guardian. 鬼 (“demon”) typically translated S. yakṣa, so I’ve chosen to translate the placename as the Yakṣiṇī’s Grove.
   Śiśumāragiri. 尸牧摩羅山 (EMC ʃɪi-mɪuk-mua-la + C. “mountain” = G. śimukamara = S. śiśumāragiri, “crocodile”), P. susumāra. This was the name of the capitol city of Bharga. It would seem that a corruption of the translit. has taken place, either in the original Pkt. or the C. text. The Taisho reading has -muk- where we would expect -śu-. The 翻梵語 (T2130.54.1043a2) tells us that 尸牧摩羅 means “child killer,” which is the lit. meaning of S. śiśumāra (śiśu- = child and -māra = killing). This confirms that it was the same placename (which idiomatically means “Mount Crocodile” in S.). Later C. editors corrected the translit. to 尸收摩羅 (EMC ʃɪi-ʃɪəu-mua-la = G. śiśumara), indicating that they were aware of the S. pronunciation.
   the country of Bharga. C. 拔祇國 (EMC bʌt-giĕ + C. “country” = G. *bhaga), P. Bhagga, S. Bharga. I’ve adopted the S. attestation for the G., which lacks an attestation. Gāndhārī generally didn’t allow double consonants like S. -rg- and P. -gg-, so it likely would have been G. bhaga. [back]
3. Grandfather Nakula. C. 那憂羅公 (EMC na-•ɪəu-la + C. “grandfather”? = G. na’ulapida? = S. nakulapitā, “Grandfather Nakula”?), P. nakulapitā. Another parallel is SĀ 1.175 (T99.107), where his name is translit. as 那拘羅 (EMC na-kɪu-la = G. nakula = S. nakula), which lacks the addition of P. pitā. 公 means “grandfather” or an “official” rather than simply “father,” indicating that perhaps the addition of pitā was more a comment on Nakula’s advanced years than a relationship to someone else. However, in the Theravāda suttas there is a pair of characters called P. Nakulapitā (“Nakula’s father”) and P. Nakulamātā (“Nakula’s mother”), so perhaps the stories surrounding them differed from one tradition to the next. [back]
4. There are a couple notable differences between this translation of Nakula’s request and the one at the start of the sūtra. My assumption is that this is a case of inconsistent translation or perhaps the result of later editing and/or textual corruption, which are problems that we often contend with throughout EĀ. This version, though, appears to be closer to the original, given that here Nakula directly asks the Buddha about the nature of the body and its infirmities. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 24 July 2023