Paṭhamaaputtakasutta
Childless (1st)
Atha kho rājā pasenadi kosalo divā divassa yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi. Ekamantaṁ nisinnaṁ kho rājānaṁ pasenadiṁ kosalaṁ bhagavā etadavoca:
Then King Pasenadi of Kosala went up to the Buddha in the middle of the day, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him,
“handa kuto nu tvaṁ, mahārāja, āgacchasi divā divassā”ti?
“So, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”
“Idha, bhante, sāvatthiyaṁ seṭṭhi gahapati kālaṅkato.
“Sir, here in Sāvatthī a financier householder has passed away.
Tamahaṁ aputtakaṁ sāpateyyaṁ rājantepuraṁ atiharitvā āgacchāmi.
Since he died childless, I have come after transferring his fortune to the royal compound.
Asīti, bhante, satasahassāni hiraññasseva, ko pana vādo rūpiyassa.
There was eight million in gold coin, not to mention the silver coin.
Tassa kho pana, bhante, seṭṭhissa gahapatissa evarūpo bhattabhogo ahosi—
And yet that financier ate meals of
kaṇājakaṁ bhuñjati bilaṅgadutiyaṁ.
rough gruel with pickles.
Evarūpo vatthabhogo ahosi—
He wore clothes consisting of
sāṇaṁ dhāreti tipakkhavasanaṁ.
three pieces of sunn hemp.
Evarūpo yānabhogo ahosi—
He traveled around in a vehicle that was
jajjararathakena yāti paṇṇachattakena dhāriyamānenā”ti.
a dilapidated little cart, holding a leaf as sunshade.”
“Evametaṁ, mahārāja, evametaṁ, mahārāja.
“That’s so true, great king! That’s so true!
Asappuriso kho, mahārāja, uḷāre bhoge labhitvā nevattānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, na puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, na mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, na samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
When an untrue person has acquired exceptional wealth they don’t make themselves happy and pleased. Nor do they make their mother and father, partners and children, bondservants, workers, and staff, and friends and colleagues happy and pleased. And they don’t establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven.
Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamāne rājāno vā haranti corā vā haranti aggi vā ḍahati udakaṁ vā vahati appiyā vā dāyādā haranti.
Because they haven’t made proper use of that wealth, rulers or bandits take it, or fire consumes it, or flood sweeps it away, or unloved heirs take it.
Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā aparibhuñjiyamānā parikkhayaṁ gacchanti, no paribhogaṁ.
Since that wealth is not properly utilized, it’s wasted, not used.
Seyyathāpi, mahārāja, amanussaṭṭhāne pokkharaṇī acchodakā sītodakā sātodakā setodakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā.
Suppose there was a lotus pond in an uninhabited region with clear, sweet, cool water, clean, with smooth banks, delightful.
Taṁ jano neva hareyya na piveyya na nahāyeyya na yathāpaccayaṁ vā kareyya.
But people don’t collect it or drink it or bathe in it or use it for any purpose.
Evañhi taṁ, mahārāja, udakaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamānaṁ parikkhayaṁ gaccheyya, no paribhogaṁ.
Since that water is not properly utilized, it’s wasted, not used.
Evameva kho, mahārāja, asappuriso uḷāre bhoge labhitvā nevattānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, na puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, na dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, na mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, na samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
In the same way, when an untrue person has acquired exceptional wealth …
Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā aparibhuñjiyamāne rājāno vā haranti, corā vā haranti, aggi vā ḍahati, udakaṁ vā vahati, appiyā vā dāyādā haranti.
Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā aparibhuñjiyamānā parikkhayaṁ gacchanti, no paribhogaṁ.
it’s wasted, not used.
Sappuriso ca kho, mahārāja, uḷāre bhoge labhitvā attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
When a true person has acquired exceptional wealth they make themselves happy and pleased. And they make their mother and father, partners and children, bondservants, workers, and staff, and friends and colleagues happy and pleased. And they establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven.
Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamāne neva rājāno haranti, na corā haranti, na aggi ḍahati, na udakaṁ vahati, na appiyā dāyādā haranti.
Because they make proper use of that wealth, rulers or bandits don’t take it, fire doesn’t consume it, flood doesn’t sweep it away, and unloved heirs don’t take it.
Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā paribhuñjiyamānā paribhogaṁ gacchanti, no parikkhayaṁ.
Since that wealth is properly utilized, it’s used, not wasted.
Seyyathāpi, mahārāja, gāmassa vā nigamassa vā avidūre pokkharaṇī acchodakā sītodakā sātodakā setodakā supatitthā ramaṇīyā.
Suppose there was a lotus pond not far from a town or village with clear, sweet, cool water, clean, with smooth banks, delightful.
Tañca udakaṁ jano hareyyapi piveyyapi nahāyeyyapi yathāpaccayampi kareyya.
And people collected it and drank it and bathed in it and used it for their own purpose.
Evañhi taṁ, mahārāja, udakaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamānaṁ paribhogaṁ gaccheyya, no parikkhayaṁ.
Since that water is properly utilized, it’s used, not wasted.
Evameva kho, mahārāja, sappuriso uḷāre bhoge labhitvā attānaṁ sukheti pīṇeti, mātāpitaro sukheti pīṇeti, puttadāraṁ sukheti pīṇeti, dāsakammakaraporise sukheti pīṇeti, mittāmacce sukheti pīṇeti, samaṇabrāhmaṇesu uddhaggikaṁ dakkhiṇaṁ patiṭṭhāpeti sovaggikaṁ sukhavipākaṁ saggasaṁvattanikaṁ.
In the same way, when a true person has acquired exceptional wealth …
Tassa te bhoge evaṁ sammā paribhuñjiyamāne neva rājāno haranti, na corā haranti, na aggi ḍahati, na udakaṁ vahati, na appiyā dāyādā haranti.
Evaṁsa te, mahārāja, bhogā sammā paribhuñjiyamānā paribhogaṁ gacchanti, no parikkhayan”ti.
it’s used, not wasted.
“Amanussaṭṭhāne udakaṁva sītaṁ, As cool water in an uninhabited region
Tadapeyyamānaṁ parisosameti; evaporates when not drunk;
Evaṁ dhanaṁ kāpuriso labhitvā, so too when a sinner acquires wealth,
Nevattanā bhuñjati no dadāti. they neither use it themselves nor give it away.
Dhīro ca viññū adhigamma bhoge, But when an attentive and sensible person gets hold of wealth,
So bhuñjati kiccakaro ca hoti; they use it and do their duty.
So ñātisaṅghaṁ nisabho bharitvā, That head, having supported the family unit,
Anindito saggamupeti ṭhānan”ti. blameless, goes to a heavenly place.”
