sn.11.4 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Vepacitti or Patience

At Savatthī. The Blessed One said this:

“Once in the past, bhikkhus, the devas and the asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, addressed the asuras thus: ‘Dear sirs, in the impending battle between the devas and the asuras, if the asuras win and the devas are defeated, bind Sakka, lord of the devas, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the city of the asuras.’ And Sakka, lord of the devas, addressed the Tavatiṁsa devas thus: ‘Dear sirs, in the impending battle between the devas and the asuras, if the devas win and the asuras are defeated, bind Vepacitti, lord of the asuras, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the Sudhamma assembly hall.’

“In that battle, bhikkhus, the devas won and the asuras were defeated. Then the Tavatiṁsa devas bound Vepacitti by his four limbs and neck and brought him to Sakka in the Sudhamma assembly hall. When Sakka was entering and leaving the Sudhamma assembly hall, Vepacitti, bound by his four limbs and neck, abused and reviled him with rude, harsh words. Then, bhikkhus, Matali the charioteer addressed Sakka, lord of the devas, in verse:

“‘When face to face with Vepacitti
Is it, Maghava, from fear or weakness
That you endure him so patiently,
Listening to his harsh words?’

Sakka:

“‘It is neither through fear nor weakness
That I am patient with Vepacitti.
How can a wise person like me
Engage in combat with a fool?’

Matali:

“‘Fools would vent their anger even more
If no one would keep them in check.
Hence with drastic punishment
The wise man should restrain the fool.’

Sakka:

“‘I myself think this alone
Is the way to check the fool:
When one knows one’s foe is angry
One mindfully maintains one’s peace.’

Matali:

“‘I see this fault, O Vasava,
In practising patient endurance:
When the fool thinks of you thus,
“He endures me out of fear,”
The dolt will chase you even more
As a bull does one who flees.’

Sakka:

“‘Let it be whether or not he thinks,
“He endures me out of fear,”
Of goals that culminate in one’s own good
None is found better than patience.

“‘When a person endowed with strength
Patiently endures a weakling,
They call that the supreme patience;
The weakling must be patient always.

“‘They call that strength no strength at all—
The strength that is the strength of folly—
But no one can reproach a person
Who is strong because guarded by Dhamma.

“‘One who repays an angry man with anger
Thereby makes things worse for himself.
Not repaying an angry man with anger,
One wins a battle hard to win.

“‘He practises for the welfare of both,
His own and the other’s,
When, knowing that his foe is angry,
He mindfully maintains his peace.

“‘When he achieves the cure of both—
His own and the other’s—
The people who consider him a fool
Are unskilled in the Dhamma.’

“So, bhikkhus, if Sakka, lord of the devas, subsisting on the fruit of his own merit, exercising supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tavatiṁsa devas, will be one who speaks in praise of patience and gentleness, then how much more would it be fitting here for you, who have gone forth in such a well-expounded Dhamma and Discipline, to be patient and gentle.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh

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With Vepacitti

At Sāvatthī.
“Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the demons.
Then Vepacitti, lord of demons, addressed the demons,
‘My good sirs, if the demons defeat the gods in this battle, bind Sakka, the lord of gods, by his limbs and neck and bring him to my presence in the citadel of the demons.’
Meanwhile, Sakka, lord of gods, addressed the gods of the Thirty-Three,
‘My good sirs, if the gods defeat the demons in this battle, bind Vepacitti by his limbs and neck and bring him to my presence in the Sudhamma hall of the gods.’
In that battle the gods won and the demons lost.
So the gods of the Thirty-Three bound Vepacitti by his limbs and neck and brought him to Sakka’s presence in the Sudhamma hall of the gods.
And as Sakka was entering and leaving the hall, Vepacitti abused and insulted him with rude, harsh words.
So Mātali the charioteer addressed Sakka in verse,
‘O Maghavā, O Sakka,
is it from fear or from weakness
that you put up with such harsh words
in the presence of Vepacitti?’
‘It’s not out of fear or weakness
that I’m patient with Vepacitti.
For how can a sensible person like me
get in a fight with a fool?’
‘Fools would vent even more
if there’s no-one to put a stop to them.
So a wise one should stop
a fool with forceful punishment.’
‘I think that this is the only way
to put a stop to a fool,
when you know that the other is upset,
be mindful and stay calm.’
‘I see this fault, Vāsava,
in just being patient.
When a fool thinks,
“He puts up with me out of fear,”
the idiot will go after you even harder,
like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’
‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not—
“He puts up with me out of fear.”
Of goals culminating in one’s own good,
none better than patience is found.
When a strong person
puts up with a weakling,
they call that the ultimate patience,
for a weakling must always be patient.
The strength of folly
is really just weakness, they say.
But no-one can challenge a person
who’s strong, guarded by the teaching.
When you get angry at an angry person
you just make things worse for yourself.
When you don’t get angry at an angry person
you win a battle hard to win.
When you know that the other is angry,
you act for the good of both
yourself and the other
if you’re mindful and stay calm.
People unfamiliar with the teaching
consider one who heals both
oneself and the other
to be a fool.’
So, mendicants, even Sakka, lord of gods—while living off of the fruit of his good and bad deeds, and ruling as sovereign lord over these gods of the Thirty-Three—will speak in praise of patience and gentleness.
But since you have gone forth in such a well explained teaching and training, it would be truly beautiful for you to be patient and gentle!”