5:16 Piṅgiya’s Questions

The Buddha:

Seeing people suffering

on account of their bodies—

heedless people are afflicted

on account of their bodies—

then heedful, Piṅgiya,

let go of the body

for the sake of no further becoming.

Piṅgiya:

In the four cardinal directions,

the four intermediate,

above & below

—these ten directions—

there is nothing in the world

unseen, unheard,

unsensed, uncognized by you.

Teach me the Dhamma

so that I may know

the abandoning here

of birth & aging.

The Buddha:

Seeing people,

victims of craving—

inflamed, overwhelmed with aging—

then heedful, Piṅgiya,

let go of craving

for the sake of no further becoming.