Dhaniya the cattleman:
“The rice is cooked,
my milking done.
I live with my people
along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut is roofed, my fire lit.
So if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“Free from anger,
my rigidity gone,
I live for one night along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut’s roof is open, my fire out.
So if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“No mosquitoes or gadflies are to be found.
The cows range in the marshy meadow where the grasses flourish.
They could stand the rain if it came. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“A raft, well-made, has been lashed together.
Having crossed over, gone to the far shore,
I’ve subdued the flood.
No need for a raft is to be found.
So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“My wife is composed, not wanton, is charming, has lived with me long.
I hear no evil about her at all. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“My mind is composed, released, has long been nurtured, well tamed.
No evil is to be found in me. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“I support myself on my earnings. My sons live in harmony, free from disease.
I hear no evil about them at all. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“I’m in no one’s employ, I wander the whole world on the reward [of my Awakening].
No need for earnings is to be found. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“There are cows, young bulls, cows in calf, & breeding cows, & a great bull,
the leader of the herd. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“There are no cows, no young bulls, no cows in calf or breeding cows, no great bull, the leader of the herd. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
Dhaniya:
“The stakes are dug-in, immovable.
The new muñja-grass halters, well-woven, not even young bulls could break.
So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The Buddha:
“Having broken my bonds like a great bull,
like a great elephant tearing a rotting vine,
I never again will lie in the womb. So if you want, rain-god, go ahead & rain.”
The great cloud rained down straightaway, filling the lowlands & high.
Hearing the rain-god pour down, Dhaniya said:
“How great our gain that we’ve gazed
on the Blessed One!
We go to him,the One with Eyes, for refuge.
May you be our teacher, Great Sage.
My wife & I are composed.
Let’s follow the holy life
under the One Well-Gone.
Gone to the far shore
of aging & death,
let’s put an end
to suffering & stress.”
Māra:
“Those with children delight because of their children.
Those with cattle delight because of their cows.
A person’s delight comes from acquisitions, for a person with no acquisitions doesn’t delight.”
The Buddha:
“Those with children grieve precisely because of their children.
Those with cattle grieve precisely because of their cows.
A person’s grief comes from acquisitions,
for a person with no acquisitions doesn’t grieve.”
Citation from www.dhammatalks.org
https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/SuttaNipata160803.pdf
