snp.5.4 Suttanipata

The Questions of Puṇṇaka

“To the imperturbable, the seer of the root,”
said Venerable Puṇṇaka,
“I have come seeking with a question.
On what grounds have hermits and men,
aristocrats and brahmins here in the world
performed so many different sacrifices to the gods?
I ask you, Blessed One; please tell me this.”
“Whatever hermits and men,”
replied the Buddha,
“aristocrats and brahmins here in the world
have performed so many different sacrifices to the gods:
all performed sacrifices bound to old age,
hoping for some state of existence.”
“As to those hermits and men,”
said Venerable Puṇṇaka,
“and aristocrats and brahmins here in the world
who have performed so many different sacrifices to the gods:
being diligent in the methods of sacrifice,
have they crossed over rebirth and old age, good sir?
I ask you, Blessed One; please tell me this.”
“Hoping, invoking, praying, and worshiping,”
replied the Buddha,
“they pray for pleasure derived from profit.
Devoted to sacrifice, besotted by rebirth,
they’ve not crossed over rebirth and old age, I declare.”
“If those devoted to sacrifice,”
said Venerable Puṇṇaka,
“have not, by sacrificing, crossed over rebirth and old age,
then who exactly in the world of gods and humans
has crossed over rebirth and old age, good sir?
I ask you, Blessed One; please tell me this.”
“Having assessed the world high and low,”
replied the Buddha,
“there is nothing in the world that disturbs them.
Peaceful, unclouded, untroubled, with no need for hope—
they’ve crossed over rebirth and old age, I declare.”