5.19. Piṅgiya’s Song of the Way to the Beyond (SNP5.19)

Piṅgiya
“Going to the Further Shore”, I’ll chant—
As He had Seen so did He teach,
that pure One of wisdom profound,
rid of desire and (interior) jungle—
falsehood—for what reason would he speak?

Now therefore I shall eulogize
those words profoundly beautiful,
of One who has renounced the stains
of delusion, pride, hypocrisy.

All-seer, Awake, Dispeller of dark,
beyond all being gone, gone to world’s end,
with no inflows left, let go of all dukkha-causes,
that one is “brahmin” rightly named: him do I serve.

As bird that leaves behind a copse,
might then in fruit-filled forest live,
so have I left those of wisdom lean,
as swan to a great lake arrived.

Those who explained to me before,
I heard the Buddha’s utterance,
said “thus it was”, “thus will be”—
all that was only oral lore,
all that promoted more disputes.

Dispeller of darkness, seated alone,
the well-born, him the maker of Light,
Gotama, him profoundly wise,
Gotama, greatly intelligent—

the Dharma to me he pointed out,
which can be seen right here and now,
by time, not limited at all,
craving’s exhaustion, troubles’ end,
with which naught can compare.

Brahmin
How can you live apart from him,
Even for a minute, Piṅgiya?
Gotama of such profound wisdom,
Gotama of such profound sagacity.

Who pointed out the Dhamma to you,
Apparent in this very life,
The ending of craving, free of distress,
With which naught can compare.

Piṅgiya
I never live apart from him,
Even for a minute, brahmin
Gotama of such profound wisdom,
Gotama of such profound sagacity.

Who pointed out the Dhamma to me,
Apparent in this very life,
The ending of craving, free of distress,
With which naught can compare.

I see him with my mind’s eye, brahmin,
Being heedful night and day;
I spend the night revering him,
So I think I am never apart from him.

The mind of faith and rapture, mindfulness,
from Gotama’s teachings never does depart,
for in whoever way the Deeply-Wise One goes,
to that very direction do I bow down.

I am old, my strength is gone,
So my body cannot carry me there.
But my thoughts always travel there,
For my mind, brahmin, is devoted to him.

Floundering in the mud, I lay,
Swimming from island to island,
Then I saw the Awakened Buddha,
Crossed over the flood, free of inflows.

Buddha
Just as Vakkali was sure in faith,
Bhadrāvudha, and Āḷavigotama, too,
In the same way, you too should be sure of your faith,
And, Piṅgiya, you will go to the far shore of death.

Piṅgiya
Thus my inspiration grows even more,
Hearing the voice of the Sage;
The Buddha, who drew back the veil of the world,
Without heartlessness, of inspired speech,

Knows what is beyond the gods,
Knows all, both high and low,
The Teacher who puts and end to questions
Of those who declare their doubts.

The immovable, unshakeable,
That to which there is no compare:
For sure, I will go there,
I have no doubt of that.
You may remember me
As one whose mind is made up.

Translated by Laurence Khantipalo Mills.

This translation was edited by Bhikkhu Sujato as part of the full translation of the Sutta Nipāta with commentary prepared from a draft handwritten and typed manuscript of Laurence Khantipalo Mills in 2015. The project was managed by Laurence’s students Michael Wells and Gary Dellora, and initial digitizing of the text was by Sean Read. Full text is available at https://suttacentral.net/downloads

In addition to the suttas noted, Bhikkhu Sujato also translated verses 46, 78, 232, 465, 500, 589–597, 865, 885–890, 894–5, 897–901, 902–916, and 919–921.

This text is released dedicated to the Public Domain by way of Creative Commons Zero. No rights reserved.