SN 29.21

Jalābujādidānūpakārasuttattiṁsaka

Sāvatthinidānaṁ. Ekamantaṁ nisinno kho so bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “ko nu kho, bhante, hetu, ko paccayo, yena midhekacco kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā jalābujānaṁ nāgānaṁ …pe… saṁsedajānaṁ nāgānaṁ …pe… opapātikānaṁ nāgānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī”ti?

Thirty Discourses On How Giving Helps to Become Womb-Born, Etc.

At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, what is the cause, what is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the womb-born dragons … moisture-born dragons … spontaneously-born dragons?”

“Idha, bhikkhu, ekacco kāyena dvayakārī hoti, vācāya dvayakārī, manasā dvayakārī. Tassa sutaṁ hoti: ‘opapātikā nāgā dīghāyukā vaṇṇavanto sukhabahulā’ti. Tassa evaṁ hoti: ‘aho vatāhaṁ kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā opapātikānaṁ nāgānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjeyyan’ti. So annaṁ deti …pe… pānaṁ deti …pe… padīpeyyaṁ deti. So kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā opapātikānaṁ nāgānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjati. Ayaṁ kho, bhikkhu, hetu, ayaṁ paccayo, yena midhekacco kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā opapātikānaṁ nāgānaṁ sahabyataṁ upapajjatī”ti.

“Mendicant, it’s when someone does both kinds of deeds by body, speech, and mind. And they’ve heard: ‘The spontaneously-born dragons are long-lived, beautiful, and very happy.’ They think: ‘If only, when my body breaks up, after death, I would be reborn in the company of the spontaneously-born dragons!’ They give food … drink … a lamp. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in the company of the spontaneously-born dragons. This is the cause, this is the reason why someone, when their body breaks up, after death, is reborn in the company of the spontaneously-born dragons.”

(Iminā peyyālena dasa dasa suttantā kātabbā. Evaṁ catūsu yonīsu cattālīsaṁ veyyākaraṇā honti. Purimehi pana dasahi suttantehi saha honti paṇṇāsasuttantāti.)

(Each set of ten discourses of this series should be told in full the same way.)