{"collection":"Samyutta Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_sn47.9/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_sn47.9","id":"suttacentral_sn47.9","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/sn47.9/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Early Buddhist Texts","Samyutta Nikaya"],"text":"So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Ves\u0101l\u012b, at the little village of Beluva. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants: \u201cMendicants, please enter the rainy season residence with whatever friends or acquaintances you have around Ves\u0101l\u012b. I\u2019ll commence the rainy season residence right here in the little village of Beluva.\u201d \u201cYes, sir,\u201d those mendicants replied. They did as the Buddha said, while the Buddha commenced the rainy season residence right there in the little village of Beluva. After the Buddha had commenced the rainy season residence, he fell severely ill, struck by dreadful pains, close to death. But he endured unbothered, with mindfulness and situational awareness. Then it occurred to the Buddha: \u201cIt would not be appropriate for me to be fully extinguished before informing my supporters and taking leave of the mendicant Sa\u1e45gha. Why don\u2019t I forcefully suppress this illness, stabilize the life force, and live on?\u201d So that is what he did. Then the Buddha\u2019s illness died down. Soon after the Buddha had recovered from that sickness, he left his dwelling and sat in the shade of the porch on the seat spread out. Then Venerable \u0100nanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: \u201cSir, it\u2019s fantastic that the Buddha is comfortable, that he\u2019s keeping well, and that he\u2019s getting by. Because when the Buddha was sick, my body felt like it was drugged. I was disorientated, and the teachings didn\u2019t spring to mind. Still, at least I was consoled by the thought that the Buddha won\u2019t be fully extinguished without bringing something up regarding the Sa\u1e45gha of mendicants.\u201d \u201cBut what could the mendicant Sa\u1e45gha expect from me now, \u0100nanda? I\u2019ve taught the Dhamma without making any distinction between secret and public teachings. The Realized One doesn\u2019t have the closed fist of a tutor when it comes to the teachings. If there\u2019s anyone who thinks: \u2018I shall lead the mendicant Sa\u1e45gha,\u2019 or \u2018the Sa\u1e45gha of mendicants is meant for me,\u2019 let them bring something up regarding the Sa\u1e45gha. But the Realized One doesn\u2019t think like this, so why should he bring something up regarding the Sa\u1e45gha? Now I am old, elderly and senior. I\u2019m advanced in years and have reached the final stage of life. I\u2019m currently eighty years old. Just as a decrepit old cart is kept going by a rope, in the same way, the Realized One\u2019s body is kept going as if by a rope. Sometimes the Realized One, not focusing on any signs, and with the cessation of certain feelings, enters and remains in the signless immersion of the heart. Only then does the Realized One\u2019s body become more comfortable. So \u0100nanda, live as your own island, your own refuge, with no other refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other refuge. And how does a mendicant do this? It\u2019s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body\u2014keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings \u2026 mind \u2026 principles\u2014keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. That\u2019s how a mendicant lives with themselves as island and refuge, without other refuge; with the teachings as island and refuge, without other refuge. Whether now or after I have passed, any who shall live as their own island, their own refuge, with no other refuge; with the teaching as their island and their refuge, with no other refuge\u2014those mendicants of mine eager to train shall be among the best of the best.\u201d","title":"Sick","tradition":"Samyutta Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":601}