{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn21.3/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn21.3","id":"suttacentral_sn21.3","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn21.3/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. At that time the venerables S\u0101riputta and Moggall\u0101na were staying near R\u0101jagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels\u2019 feeding ground. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable S\u0101riputta came out of retreat, went to Venerable Moggall\u0101na, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, S\u0101riputta sat down to one side, and said to Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na: \u201cReverend Moggall\u0101na, your faculties are so very clear, and your complexion is pure and bright. Have you spent the day in a peaceful meditation?\u201d \u201cReverend, I\u2019ve spent the day in a coarse meditation. But I have had some Dhamma talk.\u201d \u201cWho did you have a Dhamma talk with?\u201d \u201cWith the Buddha.\u201d \u201cBut Reverend, the Buddha is far away. He\u2019s staying near S\u0101vatth\u012b in Jeta\u2019s Grove, An\u0101thapi\u1e47\u1e0dika\u2019s monastery. Did you go to him with your psychic power, or did he come to you?\u201d \u201cNo reverend, I didn\u2019t go to him with my psychic power, nor did he come to me. Rather, the Buddha cleared his clairvoyance and clairaudience toward me, and I cleared my clairvoyance and clairaudience toward him.\u201d \u201cBut what manner of Dhamma talk did you have together?\u201d \u201cWell, reverend, I said to the Buddha, \u2018Sir, they speak of one who is energetic. How is an energetic person defined?\u2019 When I said this, the Buddha said, \u2018Moggall\u0101na, it\u2019s when a mendicant lives with energy roused up: \u201cGladly, let only skin, sinews, and bones remain! Let the flesh and blood waste away in my body! I will not stop trying until I have achieved what is possible by human strength, energy, and vigor.\u201d That\u2019s how an individual is energetic.\u2019 That\u2019s the Dhamma talk I had together with the Buddha.\u201d \u201cReverend, next to Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na I\u2019m like a few pieces of gravel next to the Himalayas, the king of mountains. Venerable Mah\u0101moggall\u0101na is so mighty and powerful he could, if he wished, live on for the proper lifespan.\u201d \u201cReverend, next to Venerable S\u0101riputta I\u2019m like a few grains of salt next to a mound of salt. Venerable S\u0101riputta has been commended, complimented, and praised by the Buddha: \u2018S\u0101riputta is full of wisdom, ethics, and peace. Even a mendicant who has crossed over might at best equal him.\u2019\u201d And so these two spiritual giants agreed with each other\u2019s fine words.","title":"A Mound of Salt","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":393}