4. The Chapter about Flowers
Pupphavagga
4.1 The Story about 500 Bhikkhus Engaged in Talking about the Soil
Paṭhavikathāpasutapañcasatabhikkhūnaṁ Vatthu
Dhp 44-45
CST4: Pathavikathāpasutapañcasatabhikkhuvatthu
Burlingame: The Soil of the Heart
Five hundred bhikkhus went on walkabout, and when they returned talked about the various kinds of earth they had seen; the Buddha told them to reflect on the earthiness in their own hearts, and spoke some verses.
Keywords: Similes
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“Who will know this earth and the lower realm,”
One evening, it appears, these bhikkhus returned to Jetavana after a journey through the country with the Teacher, and assembling in the attendance hall, began to talk about the various kinds of soil they had seen in going from one village to another, such as even and uneven, abounding in mud, abounding in gravel, black clay, red clay.
The Teacher approached and asked them: “Bhikkhus, what is it that you are sitting here now talking about?” – “Venerable Sir,” they replied, “we were talking about the different kinds of soil we saw in the places we visited.” – “Bhikkhus,” said the Teacher, “this is the outer soil. It is necessary for you rather to cleanse the inner soil of the heart.” So saying, he pronounced the two following verses:
44. Kŏ imaṁ paṭhaviṁ vicessati
yamalokañ-ca imaṁ sadevakaṁ?
Ko dhammapadaṁ sudesitaṁ
kusalo puppham-ivappacessati?
Who will know this earth and the lower realm,
together with the gods? Who will try to
reflect on the well-taught verse of Dhamma
as a good man reflects on a flower?
45. Sekho paṭhaviṁ vicessati
yamalokañ-ca imaṁ sadevakaṁ.
Sekho dhammapadaṁ sudesitaṁ
kusalo puppham-ivappacessati.
The trainee knows this earth and the lower realm,
together with the gods. The trainee will
reflect on the well-taught verse of Dhamma
as a good man reflects on a flower.
At the end of the teaching the 500 bhikkhus reached Arahatship, together with the analytic knowledges, and there was benefit to the assembly from the Dhamma teaching.
