With Kassapagotta

SN 9.3 · Kassapagottasutta

A small woodland cascade flowing into a shaded pool.

At one time Venerable Kassapagotta was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove.

Now at that time Venerable Kassapagotta, having withdrawn for his day’s meditation, tried to advise a nimrod. Then the deity haunting that forest approached Kassapagotta wanting to stir him up, and recited these verses:

“A nimrod wandering the rugged hills is unintelligent, unthinking. It’s a waste of time to advise him, mendicant; he strikes me as a dullard.
He listens without understanding, looks without seeing. Though the teaching is spoken, the fool doesn’t get it.
Even if you lit ten lamps and brought them to him, Kassapa, he wouldn’t see anything, for he has no eyes to see.”

Impelled by that deity, Venerable Kassapagotta was struck with a sense of urgency.

Connections

Collection & context

Saṃyutta NikāyaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

Books

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition
Handful of Leaves: an Anthology from the Sutta PiṭakaEarly Buddhist discourses; Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (translator and compiler) · Included in anthology

About this edition

Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.