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Saṁyutta Nikāya 11.1 Linked Discourses 11.1
1. Paṭhamavagga Chapter One
Suvīrasutta With Suvīra Suvīra
Evaṁ me sutaṁ—So I have heard. Thus have I heard.
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, There the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus thus:
“bhikkhavo”ti. “Mendicants!” “Bhikkhus!”
“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. “Venerable sir,” they replied. “Venerable sir!” those bhikkhus replied.
Bhagavā etadavoca: The Buddha said this: The Blessed One said this:
“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, asurā deve abhiyaṁsu. “Once upon a time, mendicants, the titans marched against the gods. The gods (deva) stem from Proto Indo-European dyew, “shining, sky, heavens” (cf. Pali diva, “day”; English “day”, however, is a false friend), while the titans (asura) are the negative form of Proto Indo-European sóh₂wl, “sun”, so asura is “sunless, night”. As the day vanquishes the dark of night each dawn, the gods defeat the titans. Victory is sweet but short-lived, for soon follows dusk, at which the titans prevail and plunge the world into darkness once more (Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 1.2.5.1, Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa 3.2.9.7). Note: The Vedas know the sense of asura as (human) “lord”; but given that the opposition between deva and asura is known to the Avesta, I assume that is the older sense and the sense “lord” derivative; cf. English “titan of industry”.“Bhikkhus, once in the past the asuras marched against the devas.
Atha kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo suvīraṁ devaputtaṁ āmantesi: Then Sakka, lord of gods, addressed the godling Suvīra, Suvīra (“good hero”) appears only here.Then Sakka, lord of the devas, addressed Suvīra, a young deva, thus:
‘ete, tāta suvīra, asurā deve abhiyanti. ‘Dear Suvīra, the titans march against the gods! ‘Dear Suvīra, these asuras are marching against the devas.
Gaccha, tāta suvīra, asure paccuyyāhī’ti. Go, and march against the titans!’ Go, dear Suvīra, launch a counter-march against the asuras.’
‘Evaṁ, bhaddantavā’ti kho, bhikkhave, suvīro devaputto sakkassa devānamindassa paṭissutvā pamādaṁ āpādesi. ‘Yes, lord,’ replied Suvīra. But he fell into negligence. Sakka himself is accused of negligence by Moggallāna at MN 37:11.2. Sakka or Indra is a heroic deity associated with the accomplishment of great deeds, and accordingly here he extols energy. | As a historical curio, in the earliest mention of Sanskrit pramāda (Rig Veda 8.2.18), it is the “exhilaration” from drinking Soma which grants the gods led by Indra unsleeping tirelessness. This passage lends support to the idea that Soma was originally a stimulant, perhaps ephedra. Nonetheless, pamāda became associated with drunkenness and hence “negligence”.‘Yes, your lordship,’ Suvīra replied, but he became negligent.
Dutiyampi kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo suvīraṁ devaputtaṁ āmantesi: For a second time Sakka addressed Suvīra, A second time Sakka addressed Suvīra,
‘ete, tāta suvīra, asurā deve abhiyanti. ‘Dear Suvīra, the titans march against the gods! ‘Dear Suvīra, these asuras are marching against the devas.
Gaccha, tāta suvīra, asure paccuyyāhī’ti. Go, and march against the titans!’ Go, dear Suvīra, launch a counter-march against the asuras.’
‘Evaṁ, bhaddantavā’ti kho, bhikkhave, suvīro devaputto sakkassa devānamindassa paṭissutvā dutiyampi pamādaṁ āpādesi. ‘Yes, lord,’ replied Suvīra. But for a second time he fell into negligence. ‘Yes, your lordship,’ Suvīra replied, but he became negligent.
Tatiyampi kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo suvīraṁ devaputtaṁ āmantesi: For a third time Sakka addressed Suvīra, A third time Sakka addressed Suvīra,
‘ete, tāta suvīra, asurā deve abhiyanti. ‘Dear Suvīra, the titans march against the gods! ‘Dear Suvīra, these asuras are marching against the devas.
Gaccha, tāta suvīra, asure paccuyyāhī’ti. Go, and march against the titans!’ Go, dear Suvīra, launch a counter-march against the asuras.’
‘Evaṁ, bhaddantavā’ti kho, bhikkhave, suvīro devaputto sakkassa devānamindassa paṭissutvā tatiyampi pamādaṁ āpādesi. ‘Yes, lord,’ replied Suvīra. But for a third time he fell into negligence. ‘Yes, your lordship,’ Suvīra replied, but he became negligent.
Atha kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo suvīraṁ devaputtaṁ gāthāya ajjhabhāsi: Then Sakka addressed the godling Suvīra in verse: Then, bhikkhus, Sakka addressed Suvīra in verse:
‘Anuṭṭhahaṁ avāyāmaṁ, ‘Suvīra, go to that place ‘Where one need not toll and strive,
sukhaṁ yatrādhigacchati; where you can achieve happiness Yet still may attain to bliss:
Suvīra tattha gacchāhi, without working for it or trying hard—Go there, Suvīra,
mañca tattheva pāpayā’ti. and take me with you!’ And take me along with you!’
‘Alasvassa anuṭṭhātā, ‘That a lazy man who does no work, ‘That a lazy man who does not toil,
na ca kiccāni kāraye; and doesn’t do his duty, Nor attend to his duties,
Sabbakāmasamiddhassa, can fulfill all his desires: Might still have all desires fulfilled:
taṁ me sakka varaṁ disā’ti. Sakka, render me this boon!’ Disa is imperative of disati (“show”) in the sense “render, bestow, confer”.Grant me that, Sakka, as a boon,’
‘Yatthālaso anuṭṭhātā, ‘Suvīra, go to that place ‘Where a lazy man who does not toil,
accantaṁ sukhamedhati; where a lazy man who does no work Might achieve unending bliss:
Suvīra tattha gacchāhi, prospers in unending happiness—Go there, Suvīra,
mañca tattheva pāpayā’ti. and take me with you!’ And take me along with you!’
‘Akammunā devaseṭṭha, ‘O Sakka, first among gods, ‘The bliss, supreme deva, we might find
sakka vindemu yaṁ sukhaṁ; that we might find the happiness Without doing work,
Asokaṁ anupāyāsaṁ, that’s sorrowless, unstressed: Oh Sakka, The sorrowless state without despair:
taṁ me sakka varaṁ disā’ti. Sakka, render me this boon!’ Grant me that, Sakka, as a boon.’
‘Sace atthi akammena, ‘If there exists anywhere a place ‘If there exists any place anywhere
koci kvaci na jīvati; where one can live happily without working, The Chinese texts at both SA2 43 (活) and SA 1114 (生) appears to support jīvati rather than jīyati. Bingenheimer at SA2 43 has, “Have you ever seen or heard of someone who, without effort, attains happiness in life?” Both Chinese texts have more lines than the Pali; given that the Pali has five lines, it seems likely the text has suffered loss. I translate according to what I guess the meaning to have been.Where without work one won't decline,
Nibbānassa hi so maggo, that surely would be extinguishment’s path! That is indeed Nibbana's path:
suvīra tattha gacchāhi; Go there, Suvīra, Go there, Suvīra,
Mañca tattheva pāpayā’ti. and take me with you!’ And take me along with you!’
So hi nāma, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo sakaṁ puññaphalaṁ upajīvamāno devānaṁ tāvatiṁsānaṁ issariyādhipaccaṁ rajjaṁ kārento uṭṭhānavīriyassa vaṇṇavādī bhavissati. Since, mendicants, even that Sakka, lord of gods—while living off of the fruit of his good deeds, and ruling as sovereign lord over these gods of the thirty-three—will speak in praise of initiative and energy, So, bhikkhus, if Sakka, lord of the devas, subsisting on the fruit of his own merit, exercising supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tavatimsa devas, will be one who speaks in praise of initiative and energy,
Idha kho taṁ, bhikkhave, sobhetha, yaṁ tumhe evaṁ svākkhāte dhammavinaye pabbajitā samānā uṭṭhaheyyātha ghaṭeyyātha vāyameyyātha appattassa pattiyā anadhigatassa adhigamāya, asacchikatassa sacchikiriyāyā”ti. you can excel at this, for you who have gone forth in such a well explained teaching and training can try hard, strive, and make an effort to attain the unattained, achieve the unachieved, and realize the unrealized.” This is a tricky construction. The idiom idha kho taṁ, bhikkhave, sobhetha occurs several times, always in the same context: someone is said to have some quality, and the mendicants are encouraged to have it even more so. The preceding clause usually includes hi nāma, suggesting a dependent clause (SN 11.2:8.2, SN 11.4:13.2, SN 35.103:5.7, Kd 16:6.4.2, Kd 5:4.3.1). Sobhetha is second plural optative in the sense “you all can (out)shine or excel”.then how much more would it be fitting here for you, who have gone forth in such a well-expounded Dhamma and Discipline, to toil, struggle, and strive for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved,