I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the Bamboo Forest Monastery near the town of Rajagriha.

At that time there was a bhikshu who, in the very early morning, came to the banks of the river, took off his upper robe and left it on the bank, and went down to the river to bathe. After bathing, he came out of the river, waited until his body was dry, and then put on his upper robe.

At that time a goddess appeared, whose body, surrounded by light, lit up the entire bank of the river.

I heard these words one time when the Buddha was staying at the Anathapindika Monastery in the Jeta Grove, near Shravasti.

At that time, the Bhikshu Arittha, who before being ordained had been a vulture trainer, had the wrong view that according to the teachings of the Buddha, sense pleasures are not an obstacle to the practice. After hearing this, many bhikshus went to Arittha and asked,

“Brother Arittha, do you really believe that the Buddha teaches that sense pleasures are not an obstacle to the practice?”

Arittha replied, “Yes, friends, it is true that I believe the Buddha does not regard sense pleasures as an obstacle to the practice.”

I
I heard these words of the Buddha one time when he was staying in Savatthi in the Eastern Park, with many well-known and accomplished disciples, including Sariputta, Mahamoggallana, Mahakassapa, Mahakacchayana, Mahakotthita, Mahakappina, Mahachunda,Anuradha, Revata, and Ananda.

The senior bhikkhus in the community were diligently instructing bhikkhus who were new to the practice — some instructing ten bhikkhus, some twenty, some thirty, and some forty; and in this way the bhikkhus who were new to the practice gradually made great progress.

This is what I heard one time when the Buddha was in the Anathapindika Monastery in the Jeta Grove near to the town of Shravasti.

That day the Buddha told the monks: “There are four kinds of nutriments which enable living beings to grow and maintain life. What are these four nutriments? The first is edible food, the second is the food of sense impressions, the third is the food of volition, and the fourth is the food of consciousness.”

With hearts established in mindfulness, we
are truly present
for sitting and walking meditation, and for
reciting the sutras.
May this practice center with its four-fold
Sangha be supported by the Three Jewels and
Holy Beings,
well-protected from the eight misfortunes and
the three paths of suffering.

From the depths of understanding, the flower
of great eloquence blooms:
The bodhisattva stands majestically upon
the waves of birth and death, free from all
afflictions.
Her great compassion eliminates all sickness,
even that once thought of as incurable.

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying in the Mango Grove in the cool shade of the mango trees along the bank of a river in the land of Magadha.

The elders Shariputra and Maudgalyayana had recently passed away. It was the full-moon day of the Uposatha Ceremony and the precepts were recited.

The Buddha spread out his sitting mat and sat facing the community.

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying in the monastery in the Jeta Grove in Anathapindika’s park, near Shravasti. At that time the householder Anathapindika was seriously ill. When the Venerable Shariputra was told this, he immediately went to Ananda and said,

“Brother Ananda, let us go and visit the layman Anathapindika.”

The Venerable Ananda replied, “Yes, let us go now.”

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was residing at Vaishali with his community of bhikshus.

One day, he told the community, “Do you know of the wonderful Dharma Seal? Today I would like to tell you about it and explain it to you. Please use your pure mind to listen and receive it with care, and make the best effort to remember and practice it.”

The community of bhikshus replied, “Wonderful, World-Honored One! Please teach us.We will listen carefully.”

I heard these words of the Buddha one time when the Lord was staying at the guest house in a forest of the district of Nala. At that time, the Venerable Kacchayana came to visit him and asked, “The Tathagata has spoken of Right View. How would the Tathagata describe Right View?”

The Buddha told the venerable monk, “People in the world tend to believe in one of two views: the view of being or the view of nonbeing. That is because they are bound to wrong perception. It is wrong perception that leads to the concepts of being and nonbeing.