SN 45-56 The Group of Connected Discourses on the Path – Mahāvaggasaṁyutta > SN 47 Linked Discourses on Mindfulness Meditation – Satipaṭṭhānasaṁyutta > SN 47.20 The Finest Lady in the Land

Linked Discourses 47.20 – Saṁyutta Nikāya 47.20

2. At Nālandā – 2. Nālandavagga

SN 47.20 The Finest Lady in the Land – Janapadakalyāṇīsutta

So I have heard.

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—

At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sumbhas, near the town of the Sumbhas called Sedaka.

ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sumbhesu viharati sedakaṁ nāma sumbhānaṁ nigamo.

There the Buddha addressed the bhikkhū,

Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi:

“Bhikkhū!”

“bhikkhavo”ti.

“Venerable sir,” they replied.

“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ.

The Buddha said this:

Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Bhikkhū, suppose that on hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land! The finest lady in the land!’ a large crowd would gather.

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ‘janapadakalyāṇī, janapadakalyāṇī’ti kho, bhikkhave, mahājanakāyo sannipateyya.

And the finest lady in the land would dance and sing in a most thrilling way.

‘Sā kho panassa janapadakalyāṇī paramapāsāvinī nacce, paramapāsāvinī gīte.

On hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing! The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing!’ an even larger crowd would gather.

Janapadakalyāṇī naccati gāyatī’ti kho, bhikkhave, bhiyyoso mattāya mahājanakāyo sannipateyya.

Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain.

Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhappaṭikūlo.

They’d say to him,

Tamenaṁ evaṁ vadeyya:

‘Mister, this is a bowl full to the brim with oil. You must carry it in between this large crowd and the finest lady in the land.

‘ayaṁ te, ambho purisa, samatittiko telapatto antarena ca mahāsamajjaṁ antarena ca janapadakalyāṇiyā pariharitabbo.

And a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you.

Puriso ca te ukkhittāsiko piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandhissati.

Wherever you spill even a drop, he’ll chop off your head right there.’

Yattheva naṁ thokampi chaḍḍessati tattheva te siro pātessatī’ti.

What do you think, bhikkhū?

Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,

Would that person lose focus on that bowl, and negligently get distracted outside?”

api nu so puriso amuṁ telapattaṁ amanasikaritvā bahiddhā pamādaṁ āhareyyā”ti?

“No, sir.”

“No hetaṁ, bhante”.

“I’ve made up this simile to make a point.

“Upamā kho myāyaṁ, bhikkhave, katā atthassa viññāpanāya.

And this is what it means.

Ayaṁ cevettha attho—

‘A bowl of oil filled to the brim’ is a term for mindfulness of the body.

samatittiko telapattoti kho, bhikkhave, kāyagatāya etaṁ satiyā adhivacanaṁ.

So you should train like this:

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:

‘We will develop mindfulness of the body. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’

‘kāyagatā sati no bhāvitā bhavissati bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā’ti.

That’s how you should train.”

Evañhi kho, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

Dasamaṁ.

Nālandavaggo dutiyo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Mahāpuriso nālandaṁ,

Cundo celañca bāhiyo;