Sāvatthinidānaṁ.
At Sāvatthi.
“Sīho, bhikkhave, migarājā sāyanhasamayaṁ āsayā nikkhamati; āsayā nikkhamitvā vijambhati; vijambhitvā samantā catuddisā anuviloketi; samantā catuddisā anuviloketvā tikkhattuṁ sīhanādaṁ nadati; tikkhattuṁ sīhanādaṁ naditvā gocarāya pakkamati. Ye hi keci, bhikkhave, tiracchānagatā pāṇā sīhassa migarañño nadato saddaṁ suṇanti; yebhuyyena bhayaṁ saṁvegaṁ santāsaṁ āpajjanti; bilaṁ bilāsayā pavisanti; dakaṁ dakāsayā pavisanti; vanaṁ vanāsayā pavisanti; ākāsaṁ pakkhino bhajanti. Yepi te, bhikkhave, rañño nāgā gāmanigamarājadhānīsu, daḷhehi varattehi baddhā, tepi tāni bandhanāni sañchinditvā sampadāletvā bhītā muttakarīsaṁ cajamānā, yena vā tena vā palāyanti. Evaṁ mahiddhiko kho, bhikkhave, sīho migarājā tiracchānagatānaṁ pāṇānaṁ, evaṁ mahesakkho, evaṁ mahānubhāvo.
“Bhikkhus, the lion, the king of animals, in the evening time, leaves his lair; having left his lair, he stretches; having stretched, he looks around in all four directions; having looked around in all four directions, he roars his lion’s roar three times; having roared his lion’s roar three times, he departs to search for food. When the lion, the king of animals, roars, whatever animals hear the sound of his roar are for the most part filled with fear, a sense of urgency, and dread. Those who live in the holes enter their holes; those who live in the water enter the water; those who live in the forest enter the forest; and the birds flee to the sky. Even those royal elephants, bhikkhus, that are bound with strong ropes in the villages, market towns, and royal capitals, they too, having broken and smashed those bonds, afraid, excreting dung and urine, flee here and there. Thus, bhikkhus, the lion, the king of animals, among the animals, is indeed possessed of great power, influence, and majesty.
Evameva kho, bhikkhave, yadā tathāgato loke uppajjati arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathi satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā. So dhammaṁ deseti: ‘iti rūpaṁ, iti rūpassa samudayo, iti rūpassa atthaṅgamo; iti vedanā, iti vedanāya samudayo, iti vedanāya atthaṅgamo; iti saññā, iti saññāya samudayo, iti saññāya atthaṅgamo; iti saṅkhārā, iti saṅkhārānaṁ samudayo, iti saṅkhārānaṁ atthaṅgamo; iti viññāṇaṁ, iti viññāṇassa samudayo, iti viññāṇassa atthaṅgamo’ti.
In the same way, bhikkhus, when the Tathāgata arises in the world, the Arahant, perfectly Awakened One, accomplished in wisdom and conduct, who has reached the destination, knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide of trainable persons, the teacher of gods and humans, Buddha, Fortunate One, he teaches the Dhamma thus: ‘Such is |form::materiality, material existence, experience of the material world, i.e. encompassing both one’s body and external objects, whether near or far, gross or subtle, deficient or refined; first of the five aggregates [rūpa]|, such is the |arising::appearance, origination [samudaya]| of form, such is the |passing away::disappearance, vanishing, subsiding [atthaṅgama]| of form; such is |felt experience::pleasant, neutral, or painful sensation, feeling felt on contact through eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; second of the five aggregates [vedanā]|, such is the arising of felt experience, such is the passing away of felt experience; such is |perception::The mental process of recognizing and giving meaning to experience. It marks sensory information by signs, labels, or associations drawn from memory and the field of contact. Perception shapes how one experiences the world; third of the five aggregates [sañña]|, such is the arising of perception, such is the passing away of perception; such are |intentional constructs::intentions, volitions, choices; mental and bodily volitional activities; thought formations and constructed experiences (including proliferative tendencies); kamma-producing processes; fourth of the five aggregates [saṅkhāra]|, such is the arising of intentional constructs, such is the passing away of intentional constructs; such is |consciousness::quality of awareness — distinctive knowing that arises in dependence on the meeting of eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odor, tongue and taste, body and tangible object, mind and mind object; fifth of the five aggregates [viññāṇa]|, such is the arising of consciousness, such is the passing away of consciousness.’
Yepi te, bhikkhave, devā dīghāyukā vaṇṇavanto sukhabahulā uccesu vimānesu ciraṭṭhitikā tepi tathāgatassa dhammadesanaṁ sutvā yebhuyyena bhayaṁ saṁvegaṁ santāsaṁ āpajjanti: ‘aniccāva kira, bho, mayaṁ samānā niccamhāti amaññimha. Addhuvāva kira, bho, mayaṁ samānā dhuvamhāti amaññimha. Asassatāva kira, bho, mayaṁ samānā sassatamhāti amaññimha. Mayampi kira, bho, aniccā addhuvā asassatā sakkāyapariyāpannā’ti. Evaṁ mahiddhiko kho, bhikkhave, tathāgato sadevakassa lokassa, evaṁ mahesakkho, evaṁ mahānubhāvo”ti.
Even those deities, bhikkhus, who are long-lived, possessed of beauty, abundant in happiness, dwelling in high celestial mansions for a long time, they too, having heard the Tathāgata’s teaching of the Dhamma, are for the most part filled with fear, a sense of urgency, and dread: “It seems, sir, that we are |unstable::impermanent, transient, unreliable [anicca]|, though we thought ourselves to be |stable::continuous, immutable, permanent [nicca]|; it seems, sir, that we are |not enduring::not eternal [addhuva]|, though we thought ourselves to be enduring; it seems, sir, that we are |not everlasting::not endless, not perpetual [asassata]|, though we thought ourselves to be everlasting. It seems, sir, that we are unstable, not enduring, not everlasting, |embodied in an individual identity::contained in a personal existence [sakkāyapariyāpanna]|. Thus, bhikkhus, the |Tathāgata::one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of a perfectly Awakened One [tathāgata]| is indeed possessed of great power, influence, and majesty over the world with its gods.”
Idamavoca bhagavā. Attamanā te bhikkhū bhagavato bhāsitaṁ abhinandunti. Etadavoca satthā:
The Blessed One spoke this. The bhikkhus were delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words. The Teacher said this:
“Yadā buddho abhiññāya,
dhammacakkaṁ pavattayi;
Sadevakassa lokassa,
satthā appaṭipuggalo.
“When the Buddha, having directly realized,
sets in motion the wheel of Dhamma;
For the world with its gods,
he is the peerless teacher.
Sakkāyañca nirodhañca,
sakkāyassa ca sambhavaṁ;
Ariyañcaṭṭhaṅgikaṁ maggaṁ,
dukkhūpasamagāminaṁ.
He teaches the cessation of |personal existence::individual identity, embodied being, view that one is the owner of the body and mind [sakkāya]|,
and the arising of personal existence;
And the Noble Eightfold path,
leading to the alleviation of |suffering::discomfort, unpleasantness, discontentment, dissatisfaction, stress, pain, disease, i.e. mild or intense suffering [dukkha]|.
Yepi dīghāyukā devā,
vaṇṇavanto yasassino;
Bhītā santāsamāpāduṁ,
sīhassevitare migā.
Then even those long-lived deities,
possessed of beauty and celebrated;
Are filled with fear, and dread,
like animals before the lion’s roar.
Avītivattā sakkāyaṁ,
aniccā kira bho mayaṁ;
Sutvā arahato vākyaṁ,
vippamuttassa tādino”ti.
‘We’ve not transcended personal existence,
It seems, sir, we’re not stable;’
Thus they say, having heard the words of the |Arahant::a worthy one, a fully awakened being, epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|,
the |steadfast::unmoved, unaffected [tādī]|, fully liberated one.”