Dhaniya Sutta

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 stubbornness 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 compliant, not careless,
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 compliant, 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 vision,
for refuge.
May you be our teacher, Great Sage.
My wife & I are compliant.
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."

Mara:

"Those with children
delight
because of their children.
Those with cattle
delight
because of their cows.
A person's delight
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn't delight."

The Buddha:

"Those with children
grieve
because of their children.
Those with cattle
grieve
because of their cows.
A person's grief
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn't grieve."


Adepted from Dhaniya Sutta in the Sutta Nipatha of Kuddaka Nikaya translated from Pali by Thanissara Bikku.