Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Imañca, bhikkhave, rattiṁ sambahulā devatā abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇā kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yenāhaṁ tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā maṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhaṁsu. Ekamantaṁ ṭhitā kho, bhikkhave, tā devatā maṁ etadavocuṁ:
“Mendicants, tonight, several glorious deities, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, came to me, bowed, stood to one side, and said to me:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha, no ca kho abhivādimha.
We politely rose for them, but we didn’t bow.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha, no ca tesaṁ āsanaṁ adamha.
We politely rose for them and bowed, but we didn’t offer a seat.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha āsanaṁ adamha, no ca kho yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha …pe…
We politely rose for them, bowed, and offered a seat, but we didn’t share as best we could. …’
yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha, no ca kho upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya …pe…
‘… we didn’t sit nearby to listen to the teachings. …’
upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya, no ca kho ohitasotā dhammaṁ suṇimha …pe…
‘… we didn’t actively listen to the teachings. …’
ohitasotā ca dhammaṁ suṇimha, no ca kho sutvā dhammaṁ dhārayimha …pe…
‘… we didn’t memorize the teachings. …’
sutvā ca dhammaṁ dhārayimha, no ca kho dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha …pe…
‘… we didn’t examine the meaning of teachings we’d memorized. …’
dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha, no ca kho atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammaṁ paṭipajjimha.
‘… not having understood the meaning and the teaching, we didn’t practice in line with the teaching.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha, āsanaṁ adamha, yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha, upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya, ohitasotā ca dhammaṁ suṇimha, sutvā ca dhammaṁ dhārayimha, dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha, atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammaṁ paṭipajjimha.
We politely rose, bowed, and offered them a seat. We shared as best we could. We sat nearby to listen to the teachings, lent an ear, memorized them, and examined their meaning. Understanding the teaching and the meaning we practiced in line with the teaching.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, paripuṇṇakammantā avippaṭisāriniyo apaccānutāpiniyo paṇītaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
And so, having fulfilled our duty, free of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a superior realm.’
Etāni, bhikkhave, rukkhamūlāni etāni suññāgārāni. Jhāyatha, bhikkhave, mā pamādattha, mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha seyyathāpi tā purimikā devatā”ti.
Here, mendicants, are these roots of trees, and here are these empty huts. Practice absorption, mendicants! Don’t be negligent! Don’t regret it later, like those former deities.”
Navamaṁ.
Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).
“Mendicants, tonight, several glorious deities, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, came to me, bowed, stood to one side, and said to me:
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
We politely rose for them, but we didn’t bow.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
We politely rose for them and bowed, but we didn’t offer a seat.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
We politely rose for them, bowed, and offered a seat, but we didn’t share as best we could. …’
‘… we didn’t sit nearby to listen to the teachings. …’
‘… we didn’t actively listen to the teachings. …’
‘… we didn’t memorize the teachings. …’
‘… we didn’t examine the meaning of teachings we’d memorized. …’
‘… not having understood the meaning and the teaching, we didn’t practice in line with the teaching.
And so, having not fulfilled our duty, full of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a lesser realm.’
Then several other deities came to me and said:
‘Sir, formerly when we were human beings, renunciates came to our homes.
We politely rose, bowed, and offered them a seat. We shared as best we could. We sat nearby to listen to the teachings, lent an ear, memorized them, and examined their meaning. Understanding the teaching and the meaning we practiced in line with the teaching.
And so, having fulfilled our duty, free of remorse and regret, we were reborn in a superior realm.’
Here, mendicants, are these roots of trees, and here are these empty huts. Practice absorption, mendicants! Don’t be negligent! Don’t regret it later, like those former deities.”
“Imañca, bhikkhave, rattiṁ sambahulā devatā abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇā kevalakappaṁ jetavanaṁ obhāsetvā yenāhaṁ tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā maṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ aṭṭhaṁsu. Ekamantaṁ ṭhitā kho, bhikkhave, tā devatā maṁ etadavocuṁ:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha, no ca kho abhivādimha.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha, no ca tesaṁ āsanaṁ adamha.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha āsanaṁ adamha, no ca kho yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha …pe…
yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha, no ca kho upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya …pe…
upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya, no ca kho ohitasotā dhammaṁ suṇimha …pe…
ohitasotā ca dhammaṁ suṇimha, no ca kho sutvā dhammaṁ dhārayimha …pe…
sutvā ca dhammaṁ dhārayimha, no ca kho dhātānaṁ dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha …pe…
dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha, no ca kho atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammaṁ paṭipajjimha.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, aparipuṇṇakammantā vippaṭisāriniyo paccānutāpiniyo hīnaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
Aparāpi maṁ, bhikkhave, sambahulā devatā upasaṅkamitvā etadavocuṁ:
‘upasaṅkamiṁsu no, bhante, pubbe manussabhūtānaṁ pabbajitā agārāni.
Te mayaṁ, bhante, paccuṭṭhimha abhivādimha, āsanaṁ adamha, yathāsatti yathābalaṁ saṁvibhajimha, upanisīdimha dhammassavanāya, ohitasotā ca dhammaṁ suṇimha, sutvā ca dhammaṁ dhārayimha, dhātānañca dhammānaṁ atthaṁ upaparikkhimha, atthamaññāya dhammamaññāya dhammānudhammaṁ paṭipajjimha.
Tā mayaṁ, bhante, paripuṇṇakammantā avippaṭisāriniyo apaccānutāpiniyo paṇītaṁ kāyaṁ upapannā’ti.
Etāni, bhikkhave, rukkhamūlāni etāni suññāgārāni. Jhāyatha, bhikkhave, mā pamādattha, mā pacchā vippaṭisārino ahuvattha seyyathāpi tā purimikā devatā”ti.
Navamaṁ.