{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn10.12/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn10.12","id":"suttacentral_sn10.12","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn10.12/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near \u0100\u1e37av\u012b in the haunt of the native spirit \u0100\u1e37avaka. Then the native spirit \u0100\u1e37avaka went up to the Buddha, and said to him: \u201cGet out, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went out. \u201cGet in, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went in. And for a second time the native spirit \u0100\u1e37avaka said to the Buddha, \u201cGet out, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went out. \u201cGet in, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went in. And for a third time the native spirit \u0100\u1e37avaka said to the Buddha, \u201cGet out, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went out. \u201cGet in, ascetic!\u201d Saying, \u201cAll right, respectable sir,\u201d the Buddha went in. And for a fourth time the native spirit \u0100\u1e37avaka said to the Buddha, \u201cGet out, ascetic!\u201d \u201cNo, respectable sir, I won\u2019t get out. Do what you must.\u201d \u201cI will ask you a question, ascetic. If you don\u2019t answer me, I\u2019ll drive you insane, or explode your heart, or grab you by the feet and throw you to the far shore of the Ganges!\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t see anyone in this world with its gods, M\u0101ras, and divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans who could do that to me. But anyway, ask what you wish.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s a person\u2019s best wealth? What brings happiness when practiced well? What\u2019s the sweetest taste of all? The one they say has the best life: how do they live?\u201d \u201cFaith here is a person\u2019s best wealth. The teaching brings happiness when practiced well. Truth is the sweetest taste of all. The one they say has the best life lives by wisdom.\u201d \u201cHow do you cross the flood? How do you cross the deluge? How do you get over suffering? How do you get purified?\u201d \u201cBy faith you cross the flood, and by diligence the deluge. By energy you get past suffering, and you\u2019re purified by wisdom.\u201d \u201cHow do you get wisdom? How do you earn wealth? How do you get a good reputation? How do you hold on to friends? How do the departed not grieve when passing from this world to the next?\u201d \u201cOne who is diligent and discerning gains wisdom by wanting to learn, having faith in the perfected ones, and the teaching for becoming extinguished. Being responsible, acting appropriately, and working hard you earn wealth. Truthfulness wins you a good reputation. You hold on to friends by giving. That\u2019s how the departed do not grieve when passing from this world to the next. A faithful householder of discernment who possesses these four qualities does not grieve after passing away: truth, principle, steadfastness, and generosity. Go ahead, ask others as well, there are many ascetics and brahmins. See whether anything better is found than truth, principle, generosity, and patience.\u201d \u201cWhy now would I question the many ascetics and brahmins? Today I understand what\u2019s good for lives to come. It was truly for my benefit that the Buddha came to stay at \u0100\u1e37av\u012b. Today I understand where a gift is very fruitful. I myself will journey village to village, town to town, paying homage to the Buddha, and the clear rightness of the teaching!\u201d The Linked Discourses with Native Spirits are complete.","title":"With \u0100\u1e37avaka","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":555}