The Finest Lady in the Land

So I have heard. At one time the BuddhaBuddhaEl nombre dado a quien redescubre por sí mismo el sendero liberador del Dhamma, tras un largo período de haber sido olvidado por el mundo. Según la tradición, una larga línea de Buddhas se extiende hasta el pasado distante. El Buddha más reciente nació como Siddhattha Gotama en la India alrededor del año 500 a.e.c. Un joven bien educado y acomodado, renunció a su familia y su herencia principesca en la flor de la vida para buscar la verdadera libertad y el fin del sufrimiento (dukkha). Después de siete años de austeridades en el bosque, redescubrió el «camino medio» y alcanzó su meta, convirtiéndose en el Buddha.Ver en el glosario was staying in the land of the Sumbhas, near the town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!”

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sumbhesu viharati sedakaṁ nāma sumbhānaṁ nigamo. Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “bhikkhavo”ti.

So I have heard. Evaṁ me sutaṁ—At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Sumbhas, near the town of the Sumbhas named Sedaka. ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sumbhesu viharati sedakaṁ nāma sumbhānaṁ nigamo. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, Tatra kho bhagavā bhikkhū āmantesi: “Mendicants!” “bhikkhavo”ti.

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Venerable sir,” they replied. “Bhadante”ti te bhikkhū bhagavato paccassosuṁ. The Buddha said this: Bhagavā etadavoca:

“Mendicants, suppose that on hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land! The finest lady in the land!’ a large crowd would gather.*The introduction to Ja 96 quotes from this Sutta.And the finest lady in the land would dance and sing in a most thrilling way.*Janapadakalyāṇī is typically rendered as “the most beautiful lady in the land”, but here we see her talents as a dazzling singer and dancer. While she was famed for her beauty (Ud 3.2:9.1), the word kalyāṇa normally means “(morally) good, fine, lovely” and does not refer solely to her appearance.On hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing! The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing!’ an even larger crowd would gather.

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ‘janapadakalyāṇī, janapadakalyāṇī’ti kho, bhikkhave, mahājanakāyo sannipateyya. ‘Sā kho panassa janapadakalyāṇī paramapāsāvinī nacce, paramapāsāvinī gīte. Janapadakalyāṇī naccati gāyatī’ti kho, bhikkhave, bhiyyoso mattāya mahājanakāyo sannipateyya.

“Mendicants, suppose that on hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land! The finest lady in the land!’ a large crowd would gather.*The introduction to Ja 96 quotes from this Sutta.“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, ‘janapadakalyāṇī, janapadakalyāṇī’ti kho, bhikkhave, mahājanakāyo sannipateyya. And the finest lady in the land would dance and sing in a most thrilling way.*Janapadakalyāṇī is typically rendered as “the most beautiful lady in the land”, but here we see her talents as a dazzling singer and dancer. While she was famed for her beauty (Ud 3.2:9.1), the word kalyāṇa normally means “(morally) good, fine, lovely” and does not refer solely to her appearance.‘Sā kho panassa janapadakalyāṇī paramapāsāvinī nacce, paramapāsāvinī gīte. On hearing, ‘The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing! The finest lady in the land is dancing and singing!’ an even larger crowd would gather. Janapadakalyāṇī naccati gāyatī’ti kho, bhikkhave, bhiyyoso mattāya mahājanakāyo sannipateyya.

Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. They’d say to him, ‘My man, this is a bowl full to the brim with oil. You must carry it in between this large crowd and the finest lady in the land. And a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you. Wherever you spill even a drop, he’ll chop off your head right there.’

Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhappaṭikūlo. Tamenaṁ evaṁ vadeyya: ‘ayaṁ te, ambho purisa, samatittiko telapatto antarena ca mahāsamajjaṁ antarena ca janapadakalyāṇiyā pariharitabbo. Puriso ca te ukkhittāsiko piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandhissati. Yattheva naṁ thokampi chaḍḍessati tattheva te siro pātessatī’ti.

Then a person would come along who wants to live and doesn’t want to die, who wants to be happy and recoils from pain. Atha puriso āgaccheyya jīvitukāmo amaritukāmo sukhakāmo dukkhappaṭikūlo. They’d say to him, Tamenaṁ evaṁ vadeyya: ‘My man, this is a bowl full to the brim with oil. You must carry it in between this large crowd and the finest lady in the land. ‘ayaṁ te, ambho purisa, samatittiko telapatto antarena ca mahāsamajjaṁ antarena ca janapadakalyāṇiyā pariharitabbo. And a man with a drawn sword will follow right behind you. Puriso ca te ukkhittāsiko piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandhissati. Wherever you spill even a drop, he’ll chop off your head right there.’ Yattheva naṁ thokampi chaḍḍessati tattheva te siro pātessatī’ti.

What do you think, mendicants? Would that person lose focus on that bowl, and negligently get distracted outside?”

Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, api nu so puriso amuṁ telapattaṁ amanasikaritvā bahiddhā pamādaṁ āhareyyā”ti?

What do you think, mendicants? Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave, Would that person lose focus on that bowl, and negligently get distracted outside?” api nu so puriso amuṁ telapattaṁ amanasikaritvā bahiddhā pamādaṁ āhareyyā”ti?

“I’ve made up this simile to make a point. And this is what it means. ‘A bowl of oil filled to the brim’ is a term for mindfulnesssatiAtención plena, memoria, poderes de referencia y retención. En algunos contextos, la palabra sati cuando se usa sola cubre también la alerta (sampajañña).Ver en el glosario of the body.

“Upamā kho myāyaṁ, bhikkhave, katā atthassa viññāpanāya. Ayaṁ cevettha attho—samatittiko telapattoti kho, bhikkhave, kāyagatāya etaṁ satiyā adhivacanaṁ.

“I’ve made up this simile to make a point. “Upamā kho myāyaṁ, bhikkhave, katā atthassa viññāpanāya. And this is what it means. Ayaṁ cevettha attho—‘A bowl of oil filled to the brim’ is a term for mindfulness of the body. samatittiko telapattoti kho, bhikkhave, kāyagatāya etaṁ satiyā adhivacanaṁ.

So you should train like this: ‘We will develop mindfulness of the body. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’ That’s how you should train.”

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘kāyagatā sati no bhāvitā bhavissati bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā’ti. Evañhi kho, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

So you should train like this: Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘We will develop mindfulness of the body. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’ ‘kāyagatā sati no bhāvitā bhavissati bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā’ti. That’s how you should train.” Evañhi kho, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.