This is as I heard from the Blessed One. Those days, the Blessed One was living in the province of Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Park, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. King Pasenadi of Kosala had gone with Queen Mallikā to the upper floor of the royal palace. Then the king asked her, “Mallikā, is there anyone dearer to you than yourself?”
“No, great king. There is no one dearer to me than myself. And what about you, great king? Is there anyone dearer to you than yourself?”
“No, Mallikā. There is no one dearer to me than myself.”
Then the king, coming down from the upper floor of the palace, went to the Blessed One and, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One, “Just now, when I had gone with Queen Mallikā to the upper floor of the palace, I asked her, ‘Mallikā, is there anyone dearer to you than yourself?’
“When this was asked, she said to me, ‘No, great king. There is no one dearer to me than myself. And what about you, great king? Is there anyone dearer to you than yourself?’
“When this was said, I said to her, ‘No, Mallikā. There is no one dearer to me than myself.'”
Then, on realizing the benefit of harmlessness, the Blessed One spoke the following inspired verse:
“Searching all directions with your mind,
you find no one dearer than yourself.
It is the same for others.
Therefore, you shouldn’t harm others
if you wish for your own happiness.”
