Academic Sutta Name Notes PSA Plae Vagga Nikaya PTS Keywords
DhA.

II:5 Kassapa wants to know the number of births and deaths

On one occasion, Venerable Maha Kassapa, while staying at Pipphali cave, used his power of supernatural vision to find out beings who were mindful and beings who were negligent, and also those who were about to die and those who were about to be reborn.

From his monastery, the Buddha saw through his Divine Vision what Kassapa was doing and wanted to advise him that he was wasting his time.* So, he sent forth his radiance and appeared before Kassapa and exhorted him thus: 'My son Kassapa, the knowledge of the cycle of births and deaths of living beings is incomprehensible. It is beyond your wisdom to understand. Only Enlightened Buddhas can understand and explain the cycle of births and deaths of living beings.'

 

55/170 Dhammapada & Commentary Khuddhaka J.i.106ff. despair


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Last modified on: Sunday, 13 August 2000.