The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [329]
(2) “‘[Life in] any world has no shelter and no protector’:803 this is the second summary of the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One who knows and sees…
(3) “‘[Life in] any world has nothing of its own; one has to leave all and pass on’:804 this is the third summary of the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One who knows and sees…
(4) “‘[Life in] any world is incomplete, insatiate, the slave of craving’:805 this is the fourth summary of the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One who knows and sees…
37. “Great king, these are the four summaries of the Dhamma that have been taught by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened. [69] Knowing and seeing and hearing them, I went forth from the home life into homelessness.”
38. “Master Raṭṭhapāla said: ‘[Life in] any world is unstable, it is swept away.’ How should the meaning of that statement be understood?”
“What do you think, great king? When you were twenty or twenty-five years old, were you an expert rider of elephants, an expert horseman, an expert charioteer, an expert archer, an expert swordsman, strong in thighs and arms, sturdy, capable in battle?”
“When I was twenty or twenty-five years old, Master Raṭṭhapāla, I was an expert rider of elephants…strong in thighs and arms, sturdy, capable in battle. Sometimes I wonder if I had supernormal power then. I do not see anyone who could equal me in strength.”
“What do you think, great king? Are you now as strong in thighs and arms, as sturdy and as capable in battle?”
“No, Master Raṭṭhapāla. Now I am old, aged, burdened with years, advanced in life, come to the last stage; my years have turned eighty. Sometimes I mean to put my foot here and I put my foot somewhere else.”
“Great king, it was on account of this that the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened, said: ‘[Life in] any world is unstable, it is swept away’; and when I knew and saw and heard this, I went forth from the home life into homelessness.”
“It is wonderful, Master Raṭṭhapāla, it is marvellous how well that has been expressed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened: ‘[Life in] any world is unstable, it is swept away.’ It is indeed so!
39. “Master Raṭṭhapāla, there exist in this court elephant troops and cavalry and chariot troops and infantry, which will serve to subdue any threats to us. [70] Now Master Raṭṭhapāla said: ‘[Life in] any world has no shelter and no protector.’ How should the meaning of that statement be understood?”
“What do you think, great king? Do you have any chronic ailment?”
“I have a chronic wind ailment, Master Raṭṭhapāla. Sometimes my friends and companions, kinsmen and relatives, stand around me, thinking: ‘Now King Koravya is about to die, now King Koravya is about to die!’”
“What do you think, great king? Can you command your friends and companions, your kinsmen and relatives: ‘Come, my good friends and companions, my kinsmen and relatives. All of you present share this painful feeling so that I may feel less pain’? Or do you have to feel that pain yourself alone?”
“I cannot command my friends and companions, my kinsmen and relatives thus, Master Raṭṭhapāla. I have to feel that pain alone.”
“Great king, it was on account of this that the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened, said: ‘[Life in] any world has no shelter and no protector’; and when I knew and saw and heard this, I went forth from the home life into homelessness.”
“It is wonderful, Master Raṭṭhapāla, it is marvellous how well that has been expressed by the Blessed One who knows and sees, accomplished and fully enlightened: ‘[Life in] any world has no shelter and no protector.’ It is indeed so!
40. “Master Raṭṭhapāla, there exist in this court abundant gold coins and bullion stored away in vaults and lofts. Now Master