Udāna 1: Bodhivaggo
The Chapter (including the Discourses) about the Awakening (Tree)



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6: The Discourse about Kassapa

 

Thus I heard:
at one time the Fortunate One was dwelling near Rājagaha, in Bamboo Wood, at the Squirrels’ Feeding Place.

Then at that time venerable Mahākassapa was dwelling in the Pepper Cave, and was afflicted, suffering, and very sick. Then venerable Mahākassapa at another time arose from that affliction. Then this occured to venerable Mahākassapa when he arose from that affliction: “Well now, I should enter Rājagaha for alms.”

Then at that time five hundred devatās were ready and eager to offer almsfood to venerable Mahākassapa. But venerable Mahākassapa, after refusing those five hundred devatās, having dressed in the morning time, after picking up his bowl and robe, entered Rājagaha for alms, (going) to the poor streets, to the wretched streets, to the weaver’s streets.

The Fortunate One saw venerable Mahākassapa walking for alms in Rājagaha, (going) to the poor streets, to the wretched streets, to the weaver’s streets.

Then the Fortunate One, having understood the significance of it, on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:

“Not nourishing another, well-known, controlled, established in the essential, The Commentary states that anaññaposiṁ here can also mean not nourished by another, though it is hard to see how such an epithet can apply to an almsman! The Commentary defines aññāta as meaning either well-known, or its opposite, unknown! Udānavarga (33-23) reads: Ananyapoṣī hy ājñātā, which suggests that the Sanskrit redactor(s) understood that the first meaning was the original.
With pollutants destroyed, rid of faults: him I call a brāhmaṇa.” Āsava is literally an outflow or overflow; pollutant, which is the translation adopted here, is semantically identical in meaning, from Latin polluere, to wash over, to defile.