“I’m old, weak, my complexion’s gone,”
said the venerable Piṅgiya,
“my eyes aren’t clear, hearing isn’t easy.
Let me not perish bewildered by the way-side!
Explain the teaching such that I could understand,
the leaving behind of birth and aging here.”
“See them in forms being beaten down, Piṅgiya,”
said the Auspicious One,
“see that heedless folk are broken in forms.
For that reason, Piṅgiya, being heedful,
for no further being, leave behind form.”
“The four directions, the four in-between,
above, below — these ten directions —
in the world there is nothing by you unseen, unheard, unthought or uncognized.
Explain the teaching such that I could understand,
the leaving behind of birth and aging here.”
“Behold mankind overcome by craving, Piṅgiya,”
said the Auspicious One,
“born in torment, overwhelmed by aging.
For that reason, Piṅgiya, being heedful,
for no further being, leave behind craving.”
Notes
In the translators’ booklet this is Snp 5.17, following SuttaCentral’s numbering.