Saṃyutta Nikāya
5. Mahā-Vagga
55. Sot'Āpatti Saṃyutta
4. Puññ-ā-bhisanda Vagga
The Book of the Kindred Sayings
5. The Great Chapter
55. Kindred Sayings on Streamwinning
4. Flood of Merit
Sutta 36
Sabhāgata Suttaṃ
Joined the Company[1][ed1]
Translated by F. L. Woodward
Edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids
Copyright The Pali Text Society
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[1] THUS have I heard:
Once the Exalted One was staying near Sāvatthī,
at Jeta Grove,
in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park.
Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying:
"Monks."
"Yes, lord," replied those monks to the Exalted One.
The Exalted One said:
"Monks, the devas are glad to talk
to one who is blessed with four things.
What four?
Herein, monks, the Ariyan disciple is blessed
with unwavering loyalty to the Buddha
thus:
'He it is, the Exalted One,
Arahant,
a fully Enlightened One,
perfect in knowledge and practice,
a Happy One,
world-knower,
unsurpsassed charioteer of men to be tamed,
teacher of devas and mankind,
a Buddha,
an Exalted One.'
Now those devas[2] who,
being likewise blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Buddha,
have deceased here
and risen up there,
think thus:
'The Ariyan disciple is blessed
with just the same unwavering loyalty to the Buddha as ourselves,
who deceased there
and rose up here.'
So they say to him:
'Come hither[ed1] into the company of the devas.'
■
Again, monks, the Ariyan disciple is blessed
with unwavering loyalty to the Norm
thus:
'Well proclaimed by the Exalted One is the Norm,
seen in this very life,
a thing not involving time,
inviting one to come and see,
leading onward,
to be known for themselves by the wise.'
Now those devas who,
being likewise blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Norm,
have deceased here
and risen up there,
think thus:
'The Ariyan disciple is blessed
with just the same unwavering loyalty to the Norm as ourselves,
who deceased there
and rose up here.'
So they say to him:
'Come hither into the company of the devas.'
■
Again, monks, the Ariyan disciple is blessed
with unwavering loyalty to the Order
thus:
'Walking righteously is the Exalted One's Order,
walking uprightly,
walking in the right way,
walking dutifully
is the Exalted One's Order of Disciples:
namely,
the four pairs of men,
the eight sorts of men.
That is the Exalted One's Order of Disciples.
Worthy of honour are they,
worthy of reverence,
worthy of offerings,
worthy of salutations with clasped hands, -
a field of merit unsurpassed for the world.'
Those devas who,
being likewise blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Order,
have deceased here
and risen up there,
think thus:
'The Ariyan disciple is blessed
with just the same unwavering loyalty to the Order as ourselves,
who deceased there
and rose up here.'
So they say to him:
'Come hither into the company of the devas.'
■
Then one is blessed with the virtues dear to the Ariyans,
virtues unbroken,
whole,
unspotted,
untarnished,
giving freedom,
praised by the wise:
virtues untainted (by craving or delusion),
which lead to concentration of the mind.'
Those devas who,
being likewise blessed the virtues dear to the Ariyans,
have deceased here
and risen up there,
think thus:
'The Ariyan disciple is blessed
with just the same virtues dear to the Ariyans, as ourselves,
who deceased there
and rose up here.'
So they say to him:
'Come hither into the company of the devas.'
"Monks, the devas are glad to talk to one who is blessed with these four things."
[1] Sabhāgataṇ (like parisa-gato, and explebo numerum of Virgil, Aen. vi, 545; and deva-nasgaraṇ or deva-puraṇ or sagga-padaṇ puresi).
[2] Devatā, here one who has died and gone to Devaloka.
[ed1] Bhk. Bodhi notes: Woodward understands sabhāgataṃ to be resolvable into sabhā + gataṃ, "joined the company," but it is actually the accusative singular of the abstract noun sabhāgatā, "similarity." He also notes regarding the concluding sentences: Be and Ee have ehi ti, presumably understood as an imperative, while Se has etīti, which seems hard to explain. I suggest reading the singular future ehiti and he constructs this sutta thus: "... When the noble disciple possesses four things, the devas are elated and speak of his similarity [to themselves]. ...'As the noble disciple possesses the same confirmed confidence in the Buddha ~ that we possessed when we passed away there and were reborn here, he will come into the presence of the devas.'
