62(9)Do Not Be Afraid of Merit
Ee does not count this as a separate sutta,though it encloses the whole sutta in brackets.The uddāna verse in Ee does not include a mnemonic for this sutta,which may explain the error.Ce uses mā puñña as the mnemonic;Be has mettā and titles it"Metta-sutta."
“Bhikkhus,do not be afraid of merit.
This is a designation for happiness,[89]that is,merit.
"I recall that for a long time I experienced the desirable,lovely,agreeable result of merit that had been made over a long time.
For seven years I developed a mind of loving-kindness.
As a consequence,for seven eons of world-dissolution and evolution I did not come back to this world.
When the world was dissolving I fared on to the[realm of]streaming radiance.When the world was evolving,I was reborn in an empty mansion of Brahma.
On the evolution of a new world system after a period of dissolution, see DN1.2.2-4, I17,24-18,4.
There I was Brahmā,
Ce has in brackets sattakkhattum,"seven times,"not in Be or Ee.The addition may have been intended to make the prose match the verse. the Great Brahma,the vanquisher,the unvanquished,the universal seer,the wielder of mastery.
I was Sakka,ruler of the devas,thirty-six times.
Many hundreds of times I was a wheel-turning monarch,a righteous king who ruled by the Dhamma,a conqueror whose rule extended to the four boundaries,one who had attained stability in his country,who possessed the seven gems.
I had these seven gems,that is:the wheel-gem,the elephant-gem,the horse-gem,the jewel-gem,the woman-gem,the treasurer-gem,and the adviser-gem as the seventh.
I had over a thousand sons who were heroes,vigorous,able to crush the armies of their enemies.
I reigned after conquering this earth as far as its ocean1553boundaries,not by force and weapons but by the Dhamma.
This is a stock description of a wheel-turning monarch.On the seven gems,see MN 129.34-41,III 172-76.“If one seeks happiness,look to the result of merit,[the result of]wholesome deeds.
For seven years,I developed a loving mind,[90]
O bhikkhus,and for seven eons of dissolution and evolution,I did not come back again to this world.
"When the world was dissolving,
I fared on to [the realm of]streaming radiance.
When the world was evolving,I fared on to an empty Brahmā[mansion].
"Seven times I was Great Brahmā,the wielder of mastery;
thirty-six times I was ruler of the devas,exercising rulership over the devas.
"I was a wheel-turning monarch,the lord of Jambudipa,
Ee has Jambusandassa,Ce Jambudipassa (perhaps a normalization),Be Jambumandassa Jambusandassa is at Sn 552=Th 822.I use the familiar name Jambudipa,the"Rose-Apple Island,"the greater Indian subcontinent.
a head-anointed khattiya,the sovereign among human beings.
"Without force,without weapons I conquered this earth.
I ruled it by righteousness,
without violence,by Dhamma,
I read with Ce and Ee asahasena dhammena,as against Be asahasena kammena.
exercising rulership by Dhamma over this sphere of the earth.
"I was born into a rich family,
with abundant wealth and property,
[a family]endowed with all sense pleasures,and possessing the seven gems.
This is well-taught by the Buddhas,the benefactors of the world:
this is the cause of greatness by which one is called a lord of the earth.
Ce pathavyo [Ee pathabyo]yena vuccati.Be is less satisfactory:pathabyo me na vipajjati.
"I was
I read with Ce and Ee homi here and in the first line of the next verse.Be has hoti in both places.a king bright with splendor,
one with abundant wealth and commodities.I was a lord of Jambudipa,powerful and glorious.
Who,even though of a low birth,would not place trust on hearing this?[91]
"Therefore one desiring the good,aspiring for greatness,
should deeply revere the good Dhamma,"
The verse is also in 4:21.recollecting the Buddhas' teaching.