At the city of Sāvatthī…
Now at that time, a person named Paccanīka of the brahmin caste was living in the city of Sāvatthī. Then Paccanīka thought, “I should go to the monk Gotama and speak against everything he says.”
At that time the Buddha was walking up and down in the open air. Then Paccanīka went up to the Buddha, and said to him while walking, “Monk, preach the Dhamma.”
The Buddha:
“Some people’s minds are corrupted.
They retaliate against good people.
Such hostile people can’t understand
the well-preached Dhamma.
“However, those people who abandon hostility,
unfriendliness, and anger can certainly understand
the well-preached Dhamma.”
When the Buddha taught the Dhamma like this, Paccanīka said to the Buddha, “Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent! Just as if someone turned upright, what was upside down, revealed what was hidden, pointed out the path to whoever was lost, or lit a lamp in the dark so people with good eyes could see what’s there, Master Gotama taught me the Dhamma, which is clear in many ways. I go for refuge to Master Gotama, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha. From this day forth, may Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge to the Triple Gem for as long as I live.”
