At that time, Anāthapiṇḍika the householder was the brother-in-law of the Rājagaha moneylender. Then he traveled to Rājagaha on some business. And at that time, the moneylender had invited the Saṅgha, headed by the Buddha, for the next day’s meal. The moneylender was ordering his slaves & workers: “In that case, I say, getting up in time, cook rice-gruel & main dishes; fix some sauces & condiments.”
The thought occurred to Anāthapiṇḍika the householder. “Before, when I would come, this householder would drop all of his business and exchange greetings with just me. Now, he’s seemingly scatterbrained, ordering his slaves & workers: ‘In that case, I say, getting up in time, cook rice-gruel & main dishes; fix some sauces & condiments.’ Is he holding a wedding for a son, holding a wedding for a daughter, holding a great sacrifice, or has he invited the King of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisāra, along with the army, for tomorrow’s meal?”
Then the moneylender, having ordered his slaves & workers, went to Anāthapiṇḍika the householder and, on arrival, having exchanged greetings, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Anāthapiṇḍika the householder said to him, “Before, when I would come, you would drop all of your business and exchange greetings with just me. Now, you’re seemingly scatterbrained, ordering your servants & workers: ‘In that case, I say, getting up in time, cook rice-gruel & main dishes; fix some sauces & condiments.’ Are you holding a wedding for a son, holding a wedding for a daughter, holding a great sacrifice, or have you invited the King of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisāra, along with the army, for tomorrow’s meal?”
“Householder, I’m not holding a wedding for a son, or holding a wedding for a daughter, and I haven’t invited the King of Magadha, Seniya Bimbisāra, along with the army, for tomorrow’s meal. But I am holding a great sacrifice—I’ve invited the Saṅgha, headed by the Buddha, for tomorrow’s meal.”
“You say, ‘Buddha’?”
“I say, ‘Buddha’.”
“You say, ‘Buddha’?”
“I say, ‘Buddha’.”
“You say, ‘Buddha’?”
“I say, ‘Buddha’.”
“Even this sound—‘Buddha’—is hard to come by in the world. Could I go at this time to see the Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened?”
“This is not the proper time to go to see the Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened. Tomorrow, at the proper time, go to see the Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened.”
Then Anāthapiṇḍika the householder, (thinking,) “Tomorrow, at the proper time, I’ll go to see the Blessed One, worthy & rightly self-awakened,” with his mindfulness immersed in the Awakened One, lay down to sleep. Three times he got up during the night, thinking it was light.
Then he went to the Sītavana [Cool Forest] Gate. Non-human beings opened the gate. When Anāthapiṇḍika the householder had left the city, the light vanished and darkness appeared. Fear, terror, & horripilation arose, and because of that he wanted to turn back. Then Sivaka the yakkha, invisible, proclaimed:
“A hundred elephants,
a hundred horses,
a hundred mule-drawn carts,
a hundred-thousand maidens
adorned with jewels & earrings
aren’t worth one-sixteenth
of one step forward.
Go forward, householder!
Go forward, householder!
Going forward is better for you,
not back!”
The darkness then vanished for Anāthapiṇḍika and the light appeared. The fear, terror, & horripilation that had arisen subsided.
For a second time… a third time, the light vanished and darkness appeared. Fear, terror, & horripilation arose, and because of that Anāthapiṇḍika wanted to turn back. Then for a third time, Sivaka the yakkha, invisible, proclaimed:
“A hundred elephants,
a hundred horses,
a hundred mule-drawn carts,
a hundred-thousand maidens
adorned with jewels & earrings
aren’t worth one-sixteenth
of one step forward.
Go forward, householder!
Go forward, householder!
Going forward is better for you,
not back!”
The darkness then vanished for Anāthapiṇḍika and the light appeared. The fear, terror, & horripilation that had arisen subsided.
So Anāthapiṇḍika went to the Cool Forest. Now at that time, the Blessed One—having gotten up as the night was ending—was pacing back & forth in the open air. He saw Anāthapiṇḍika the householder coming from afar. On seeing him, he got down from his meditation path and sat on a seat laid out. Seated, he said to Anāthapiṇḍika, “Come, Sudatta.”
Then Anāthapiṇḍika, (thinking,) “The Blessed One is calling me by name!”—thrilled and exultant—put his head down right there at the Blessed One’s feet and said to him, “Lord, I hope the Blessed One has slept in ease.”
“Always, always,
he sleeps in ease:
the brahman totally unbound,
who doesn’t adhere
to sensual pleasures,
who’s without acquisitions
& cooled.
Having cut all ties
& subdued fear in the heart,
calmed,
he sleeps in ease,
having reached peace
of awareness.”
Then the Blessed One gave Anāthapiṇḍika the householder a graduated talk: a talk on giving, a talk on virtue, a talk on heaven; he proclaimed the drawbacks of, degradation in, & defilement in sensuality, and the rewards of renunciation. Then—when he knew that Anāthapiṇḍika the householder was of ready mind, malleable mind, unhindered mind, exultant mind, confident mind—he proclaimed to him the distinctive teaching of the Buddhas: stress, origination, cessation, path. Just as a clean piece of cloth, free from grime, would properly take dye, in the same way, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye arose for Anāthapiṇḍika the householder as he was sitting right there:
“Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.”
Then, having seen the Dhamma… said to the Blessed One, “Magnificent, lord! Magnificent! … May the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from this day forward, for life. Lord, may the Blessed One acquiesce to my meal tomorrow, together with the Saṅgha of monks.”
The Blessed One acquiesced with silence. Then Anāthapiṇḍika the householder, understanding the Blessed One’s acquiescence, got up from his seat, bowed down to the Blessed One, circumambulated him, keeping him to his right, and left.
Overthinking doesn’t protect you.
