Ud 3.9

Sippasutta

Evaṁ me sutaṁ— ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme. Tena kho pana samayena sambahulānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantānaṁ maṇḍalamāḷe sannisinnānaṁ sannipatitānaṁ ayamantarākathā udapādi: “ko nu kho, āvuso, sippaṁ jānāti? Ko kiṁ sippaṁ sikkhi? Kataraṁ sippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti?

Professions

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time, after the meal, on return from almsround, several mendicants sat together in the pavilion and this discussion came up among them: “Who knows a craft? Who is studying which craft? Which is the best craft?”

Tatthekacce evamāhaṁsu: “hatthisippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “assasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “rathasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “dhanusippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “tharusippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “muddāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “gaṇanāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “saṅkhānasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “lekhāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “kāveyyasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “lokāyatasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: “khattavijjāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan”ti. Ayañcarahi tesaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ antarākathā hoti vippakatā.

In answer, some said that elephant-craft is the best of crafts. Others said that the best craft is horse-craft, or chariot-craft, or archery, or swordsmanship, or arithmetic, or accounting, or calculating, or writing, or poetry, or cosmology, or geomancy. At that point the conversation among those mendicants was left unfinished.

Atha kho bhagavā sāyanhasamayaṁ paṭisallānā vuṭṭhito yena maṇḍalamāḷo tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā paññatte āsane nisīdi. Nisajja kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “kāya nuttha, bhikkhave, etarahi kathāya sannisinnā, kā ca pana vo antarākathā vippakatā”ti?

Then in the late afternoon, the Buddha came out of retreat and went to the assembly hall. He sat down on the seat spread out, and addressed the mendicants: “Mendicants, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was left unfinished?”

“Idha, bhante, amhākaṁ pacchābhattaṁ piṇḍapātapaṭikkantānaṁ maṇḍalamāḷe sannisinnānaṁ ayamantarākathā udapādi: ‘ko nu kho, āvuso, sippaṁ jānāti? Ko kiṁ sippaṁ sikkhi? Kataraṁ sippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti? Tatthekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘hatthisippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘assasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘rathasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘dhanusippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘tharusippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘muddāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘gaṇanāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘saṅkhānasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘lekhāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘kāveyyasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘lokāyatasippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ekacce evamāhaṁsu: ‘khattavijjāsippaṁ sippānaṁ aggan’ti. Ayaṁ kho no, bhante, antarākathā hoti vippakatā, atha bhagavā anuppatto”ti.

So the mendicants told him what they had been talking about when the Buddha arrived. The Buddha said,

“Na khvetaṁ, bhikkhave, tumhākaṁ patirūpaṁ kulaputtānaṁ saddhā agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitānaṁ yaṁ tumhe evarūpiṁ kathaṁ katheyyātha. Sannipatitānaṁ vo, bhikkhave, dvayaṁ karaṇīyaṁ— dhammī vā kathā ariyo vā tuṇhībhāvo”ti.

“Mendicants, it is not appropriate for you gentlemen who have gone forth out of faith from the lay life to homelessness to talk about such things. When you’re sitting together you should do one of two things: discuss the teachings or keep noble silence.”

Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

“Asippajīvī lahu atthakāmo, Yatindriyo sabbadhi vippamutto; Anokasārī amamo nirāso, Hitvā mānaṁ ekacaro sa bhikkhū”ti.

“Living without a craft, light, wanting what is best, with senses controlled, everywhere free; a migrant with no bastion, unselfish, with no need for hope, having given up conceit, wandering alone: that is a mendicant.”