The Young Man Dhotaka’s Questions (SNP5.6)

“I ask you, Gracious One, please tell this to me,” said venerable Dhotaka,
“I am waiting for a word of yours, Great Seer,
having heard your utterance I could train for my own Nibbāna.”

“Then you must become ardent, Dhotaka said the Gracious One,
“being prudent and mindful right here,
henceforth, after hearing this utterance you should train for your own Nibbāna.”

“I see in the world with its gods and men,” said venerable Dhotaka,
“a brahmin who moves about having nothing,
therefore I revere you, All-Seeing Visionary,
O Sakyan, please free me from my doubts.”

“I will not be able to free
anyone in the world who is having doubts, Dhotaka,
but knowing Nibbāna, the best thing,
in this way you can cross over the flood.”

“Brahmin! Being compassionate teach,” said venerable Dhotaka,
“the state of detachment that I should know,
then I, being undisturbed, just like the sky,
may live peaceful and independent right here.”

“I shall proclaim the peace to you, Dhotaka,” said the Gracious One,
“which is not hearsay here in the world,
which, having understood, and living mindfully, one can cross over clinging to the world.”

“I greatly rejoice in that supreme peace, Great Seer,
which, having understood, and living mindfully, one can cross over clinging to the world.”

“Whatever you know, Dhotaka,” said the Gracious One,
“above, below, and across the middle,
having understood this is called a shackle in the world,
you must not have craving for repeated existence.”

The Young Man Dhotaka’s Questions are Finished

Translated by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu.

Original translation 1999, revised, May 2007.

The text and translation, together with detailed notes and discussions, may be found in multiple formats on the translator’s website, Ancient Buddhist Texts.

Used by kind permission of Bhikkhu Ānandajoti.

The original translation was released under the following licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.