King Pasenadi of Kosalaperson

King Pasenadi asks Ānanda if the Buddha engages in conduct criticizable by the wise. Ānanda explains the Buddha has abandoned all unwholesome, afflictive conduct, possessing only wholesome, blameless conduct. Pleased, the king offers Ānanda a valuable Bāhitika cloth.

Can anyone know everything all at once? Does birth define spiritual potential? King Pasenadi questions the Buddha on omniscience, the spiritual equality of castes, and the nature of deities, exploring whether true liberation is identical for all who strive.

When King Pasenadi of Kosala asks the Buddha if he has also awakened to the unsurpassed perfect awakening, the Buddha affirms that he has.

Who treats themselves as dear and who treats themselves as a foe?

Even if protected by an entire army, one who engages in misconduct is unprotected. But one who engages in good conduct protects themselves, even without external protection.

King Pasenadi of Kosala and Queen Mallikā ask each other who is more dearer to them than themselves.

When King Ajātasattu defeats King Pasenadi in battle over Kāsi, the Buddha contrasts Ajātasattu’s bad companions with Pasenadi’s good friends, explaining that victory breeds hatred while the peaceful sleep at ease.

The Buddha teaches King Pasenadi that good friendship is the entire spiritual life, fostering the Noble Eightfold Path. He then advises the king to rely on diligence in wholesome states to secure benefits in this life and the hereafter.

King Pasenadi recounts an heirless miser who hoarded millions yet lived on scraps. The Buddha then explains the past deeds that dictated both his vast fortune and his inability to enjoy it.

King Pasenadi expresses deep sorrow over his grandmother’s death. The Buddha teaches him that all beings, without exception, are subject to death and cannot escape it, likening it to a potter’s pots that are all bound to break.

Comparing renunciates to archers chosen for skill rather than birth, the Buddha explains to King Pasenadi that gifts bear greatest fruit when given to ethical, fully liberated disciples.

In response to a king’s grief over his queen's death, the Buddha teaches that aging, illness, death, and loss are inevitable. He contrasts the self-torment of an ordinary person who resists these truths with the peace a learned disciple of the Noble Ones finds through acceptance, thereby removing the “poisonous dart of sorrow.”

King Pasenadi of Kosala and Queen Mallikā discuss who is dearer to them.

The Buddha explains to King Pasenadi of Kosala how to recognize the character of another person.