Āṇisutta

Saṁyutta Nikāya 20.7

Linked Discourses 20.7

1. Opammavagga

1. Similes

Āṇisutta

The Drum Called Plugger

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

At Sāvatthī.

“Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, dasārahānaṁ ānako nāma mudiṅgo ahosi.

“Once upon a time, mendicants, the Dasārahas had a mridangam drum called the Plugger.

Tassa dasārahā ānake ghaṭite aññaṁ āṇiṁ odahiṁsu.

When the Plugger cracked, the Dasārahas patched it with another plug.

Ahu kho so, bhikkhave, samayo yaṁ ānakassa mudiṅgassa porāṇaṁ pokkharaphalakaṁ antaradhāyi.

Eventually, there came a time when the old wooden shell for the drumskin disappeared

Āṇisaṅghāṭova avasissi.

and all that was left of the mridangam Plugger was a mass of plugs.

Evameva kho, bhikkhave, bhavissanti bhikkhū anāgatamaddhānaṁ, ye te suttantā tathāgatabhāsitā gambhīrā gambhīratthā lokuttarā suññatappaṭisaṁyuttā, tesu bhaññamānesu na sussūsissanti na sotaṁ odahissanti na aññā cittaṁ upaṭṭhāpessanti na ca te dhamme uggahetabbaṁ pariyāpuṇitabbaṁ maññissanti.

In the same way, in a future time there will be mendicants who won’t want to listen when discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited. They won’t actively listen or try to understand, nor will they think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.

Ye pana te suttantā kavikatā kāveyyā cittakkharā cittabyañjanā bāhirakā sāvakabhāsitā, tesu bhaññamānesu sussūsissanti, sotaṁ odahissanti, aññā cittaṁ upaṭṭhāpessanti, te ca dhamme uggahetabbaṁ pariyāpuṇitabbaṁ maññissanti.

But when discourses composed by poets—poetry, with fancy words and phrases, composed by outsiders or spoken by disciples—are being recited they will want to listen. They’ll actively listen and try to understand, and they’ll think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.

Evametesaṁ, bhikkhave, suttantānaṁ tathāgatabhāsitānaṁ gambhīrānaṁ gambhīratthānaṁ lokuttarānaṁ suññatappaṭisaṁyuttānaṁ antaradhānaṁ bhavissati.

And that is how the discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—will disappear.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:

So you should train like this:

‘ye te suttantā tathāgatabhāsitā gambhīrā gambhīratthā lokuttarā suññatappaṭisaṁyuttā, tesu bhaññamānesu sussūsissāma, sotaṁ odahissāma, aññā cittaṁ upaṭṭhāpessāma, te ca dhamme uggahetabbaṁ pariyāpuṇitabbaṁ maññissāmā’ti.

‘When discourses spoken by the Realized One—deep, profound, transcendent, dealing with emptiness—are being recited we will want to listen. We will actively listen and try to understand, and we will think those teachings are worth learning and memorizing.’

Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

That’s how you should train.”

Sattamaṁ.