Ud 3.7 — Sakka’s Heartfelt Saying | Ru-Yi Meditation Center

Reading guide

Two heartfelt sayings in one discourse

This is the only discourse in the chapter whose title names a heartfelt saying that isn’t the Buddha’s. Sakka, king of the gods, proclaims his own udāna three times in a row while sitting cross-legged in midair: “Oh the gift, the best gift is well established in Kassapa!” Only afterward, hearing this from a distance with “clairaudience that is purified and superhuman,” does the Buddha add a heartfelt saying of his own. The discourse layers one spontaneous utterance inside another.

A refusal, then a trick, then a recognition

Mahākassapa emerges from seven unmoving days of meditation and decides simply to go begging in Rājagaha. Five hundred deities, eager for the merit of feeding him, are turned down outright. Sakka wants to give too — but rather than ask directly, he disguises himself as an ordinary embroiderer, with his wife Sujā feeding the shuttle, and offers alms to Mahākassapa as he passes by. Only after tasting the unusually fine food does Mahākassapa work out what happened, and confront Sakka directly: “This is your doing, Kosiya; don’t do such a thing again.” Sakka’s answer is disarmingly simple: “we too need merit! We too ought to make merit.”

The verse, used twice in this chapter

The Buddha’s closing verse — “a mendicant who relies on alms, self-supported, providing for no other; the unaffected one is envied by even the gods, calm and ever mindful” — reappears in the very next discourse with one line changed. Read here, right after Sakka’s own proclamation, the phrase “envied by even the gods” lands almost literally: a god has just gone to some trouble, and even some subterfuge, for the chance to give this particular mendicant alms.

Key terms

Sakka / Kosiya — Sakka, ruler of the gods of the Thirty-Three, is addressed here by Mahākassapa using his clan name, Kosiya — a familiar, slightly pointed form of address once the disguise is uncovered.

“wandered indiscriminately for almsfood” — a specific ascetic practice (sapadāna) of accepting alms from each house along the way in order, without skipping over the poor in favor of the wealthy.

puñña — “merit” — what Sakka says he and the other deities need, and why he engineered the chance to give alms even by deception.

Sujā — the titan maiden who plays the weaver’s role alongside Sakka in his disguise, feeding the shuttle at the loom.

udāna (Sakka’s) — the heartfelt saying this discourse is named for — unusually, not the Buddha’s but Sakka’s own, proclaimed three times from midair before the Buddha ever responds.

The text

The discourse in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. Now at that time Venerable Mahākassapa was staying in the Pipphali cave. Having entered a certain state of immersion, he sat cross-legged for seven days without moving. When seven days had passed, Mahākassapa emerged from that state of immersion. It occurred to him, “Why not enter Rājagaha for almsfood?”

§2Now at that time five hundred deities were ready and eager for the chance to offer alms to Mahākassapa. But Mahākasspa turned down those deities. In the morning, he robed up, took his bowl and robe, and entered Rājagaha for alms. Now at that time Sakka, lord of gods, wished to give alms to Mahākassapa.

§3Having manifested in the appearance of an embroiderer, he worked the loom while the titan maiden Sujā fed the shuttle. Then, as Mahākassapa wandered indiscriminately for almsfood in Rājagaha, he approached Sakka’s house. Seeing Mahākassapa coming off in the distance, Sakka came out of his house, greeted him, and took the bowl from his hand. He re-entered the house and filled the bowl with rice from the pot. That almsfood had many tasty soups and sauces. Then it occurred to Mahākassapa, “Now, what being is this who has such psychic power?” It occurred to him, “This is Sakka, lord of gods.” Knowing this, he said to Sakka, “This is your doing, Kosiya; don’t do such a thing again.” “But Honorable Kassapa, we too need merit! We too ought to make merit.”

§4Then Sakka bowed and respectfully circled Mahākassapa, keeping him on his right. Then he rose into the air and, sitting cross-legged in midair, expressed this heartfelt sentiment three times: “Oh the gift, the best gift is well established in Kassapa! Oh the gift, the best gift is well established in Kassapa! Oh the gift, the best gift is well established in Kassapa!” With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, the Buddha heard Sakka express this heartfelt sentiment while sitting in the sky.

§5Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

§6“A mendicant who relies on alms,
self-supported, providing for no other;
the unaffected one is envied by even the gods,
calm and ever mindful.”

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Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10

Where is this discourse set?

Correct: B. The same Bamboo Grove setting as the previous discourse, Ud 3.6.

Question 2 of 10

What had Mahākassapa been doing for seven days before this episode?

Correct: B. This seven-day, motionless immersion opens the discourse.

Question 3 of 10

What does Mahākassapa do instead of accepting the five hundred deities’ offer of alms?

Correct: B. He declines the deities and goes begging in the ordinary way.

Question 4 of 10

How does Sakka manage to give alms to Mahākassapa?

Correct: B. This elaborate disguise is how Sakka manages to give alms unnoticed at first.

Question 5 of 10

What does Mahākassapa say to Sakka once he realizes the deception?

Correct: B. He addresses Sakka by his clan name, Kosiya, in this direct rebuke.

Question 6 of 10

How does Sakka justify the trick?

Correct: B. Sakka openly explains his motive rather than apologizing.

Question 7 of 10

What does Sakka do after Mahākassapa’s rebuke?

Correct: B. This sequence of respect followed by joyful proclamation closes their exchange.

Question 8 of 10

What does Sakka’s heartfelt saying declare?

Correct: A. He repeats this exact line three times from midair.

Question 9 of 10

How does the Buddha come to hear Sakka’s proclamation?

Correct: B. The text specifies this ability explicitly.

Question 10 of 10

What does the Buddha’s own closing verse say about the mendicant who relies on alms?

Correct: B. This four-line verse closes the discourse.

Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Sakka’s Heartfelt Saying

Why this discourse, seventh of the Nandavagga