Subhāsitajayasutta

Sāvatthinidānaṁ. “Bhūtapubbaṁ, bhikkhave, devāsurasaṅgāmo samupabyūḷho ahosi. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘hotu, devānaminda, subhāsitena jayo’ti. ‘Hotu, vepacitti, subhāsitena jayo’ti. Atha kho, bhikkhave, devā ca asurā ca pārisajje ṭhapesuṁ: ‘ime no subhāsitadubbhāsitaṁ ājānissantī’ti. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘tumhe khvettha, vepacitti, pubbadevā. Bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

At Sāvatthī. “Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods, ‘Lord of gods, let there be victory by fine words!’ ‘Vepacitti, let there be victory by fine words!’ Then the gods and the titans appointed a panel of judges, saying, ‘These will understand our good and bad statements.’ Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ When he said this, Sakka said to him, ‘Vepacitti, you are the elder gods here. Recite a verse.’ So Vepacitti spoke this verse:

‘Bhiyyo bālā pabhijjeyyuṁ, no cassa paṭisedhako; Tasmā bhusena daṇḍena, dhīro bālaṁ nisedhaye’ti.

‘Fools would vent even more if there’s no one to put a stop to them. So an intelligent person should stop a fool with forceful punishment.’

Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ So Sakka spoke this verse:

‘Etadeva ahaṁ maññe, bālassa paṭisedhanaṁ; Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā, yo sato upasammatī’ti.

‘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.’

Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāya, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo vepacittiṁ asurindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, vepacitti, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:

The gods applauded Sakka’s verse, while the titans kept silent. Then Sakka said to Vepacitti, ‘Vepacitti, recite a verse!’ So Vepacitti spoke this verse:

‘Etadeva titikkhāya, vajjaṁ passāmi vāsava; Yadā naṁ maññati bālo, bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; Ajjhāruhati dummedho, gova bhiyyo palāyinan’ti.

‘In this mere endurance, Vāsava, I see a flaw. When a fool thinks, “He endures me out of fear,” the simpleton will go after you even harder, like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’

Bhāsitāya kho pana, bhikkhave, vepacittinā asurindena gāthāya asurā anumodiṁsu, devā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, vepacitti asurindo sakkaṁ devānamindaṁ etadavoca: ‘bhaṇa, devānaminda, gāthan’ti. Evaṁ vutte, bhikkhave, sakko devānamindo imā gāthāyo abhāsi:

The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’ So Sakka spoke this verse:

‘Kāmaṁ maññatu vā mā vā, bhayā myāyaṁ titikkhati; Sadatthaparamā atthā, khantyā bhiyyo na vijjati.

‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not— “He endures me out of fear.” For the highest goal, one’s own, naught better than patience is found.

Yo have balavā santo, dubbalassa titikkhati; Tamāhu paramaṁ khantiṁ, niccaṁ khamati dubbalo.

When a strong person endures a weakling, they call that the ultimate patience, for a weakling must always be patient.

Abalaṁ taṁ balaṁ āhu, yassa bālabalaṁ balaṁ; Balassa dhammaguttassa, paṭivattā na vijjati.

The strength of folly is really just weakness, they say. But no one can challenge a person who’s strong, guarded by the teaching.

Tasseva tena pāpiyo, yo kuddhaṁ paṭikujjhati; Kuddhaṁ appaṭikujjhanto, saṅgāmaṁ jeti dujjayaṁ.

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.

Ubhinnamatthaṁ carati, attano ca parassa ca; Paraṁ saṅkupitaṁ ñatvā, yo sato upasammati.

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.

Ubhinnaṁ tikicchantānaṁ, attano ca parassa ca; Janā maññanti bāloti, ye dhammassa akovidā’ti.

People inexpert in the teaching consider one who heals both oneself and the other to be a fool.’

Bhāsitāsu kho pana, bhikkhave, sakkena devānamindena gāthāsu, devā anumodiṁsu, asurā tuṇhī ahesuṁ. Atha kho, bhikkhave, devānañca asurānañca pārisajjā etadavocuṁ: ‘bhāsitā kho vepacittinā asurindena gāthāyo. Tā ca kho sadaṇḍāvacarā sasatthāvacarā, iti bhaṇḍanaṁ iti viggaho iti kalaho. Bhāsitā kho sakkena devānamindena gāthāyo. Tā ca kho adaṇḍāvacarā asatthāvacarā, iti abhaṇḍanaṁ iti aviggaho iti akalaho. Sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo’ti. Iti kho, bhikkhave, sakkassa devānamindassa subhāsitena jayo ahosī”ti.

The gods applauded Sakka’s verses, while the titans kept silent. Then the panel of judges consisting of both gods and titans said this, ‘The verses spoken by Vepacitti evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you get fights, arguments, and quarrels. The verses spoken by Sakka don’t evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you stay free of fights, arguments, and quarrels. Sakka, lord of gods, wins victory by fine words!’ And that’s how Sakka came to win victory by fine words.”