Connected Discourses 11.5

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1. Linked Discourses 11.5
2. Chapter One
3. Victory by Good Speech
4. At Sāvatthī.
5. “Once upon a time, mendicants, a battle was fought between the gods and the titans.
6. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods,
7. ‘Lord of gods, let there be victory by fine words!’
8. ‘Vepacitti, let there be victory by fine words!’
9. Then the gods and the titans appointed a panel of judges, saying,
10. ‘These will understand our good and bad statements.’
11. Then Vepacitti, lord of titans, said to Sakka, lord of gods,
12. ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’
13. When he said this, Sakka said to him,
14. ‘Vepacitti, you are the elder god here.
15. Recite a verse.’
16. So Vepacitti recited this verse:
17. ‘Fools would vent even more
18. if there’s no-one to put a stop to them.
19. So an intelligent person should stop
20. a fool with forceful punishment.’
21. The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent.
22. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka,
23. ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’
24. So Sakka recited this verse:
25. ‘I think that this is the only way
26. to put a stop to a fool,
27. when you know that the other is upset,
28. be mindful and stay calm.’
29. The gods applauded Sakka’s verse, while the titans kept silent.
30. Then Sakka said to Vepacitti,
31. ‘Vepacitti, recite a verse!’
32. So Vepacitti recited this verse:
33. ‘I see this fault, Vāsava,
34. in just being patient.
35. When a fool thinks,
36. “He puts up with me out of fear,”
37. the simpleton will go after you even harder,
38. like a cow chasing someone who runs away.’
39. The titans applauded Vepacitti’s verse, while the gods kept silent.
40. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka,
41. ‘Lord of gods, recite a verse!’
42. So Sakka recited this verse:
43. ‘Let him think this if he wishes, or not—
44. “He puts up with me out of fear.”
45. Of goals culminating in one’s own good,
46. none better than patience is found.
47. When a strong person
48. puts up with a weakling,
49. they call that the ultimate patience,
50. for a weakling must always be patient.
51. The strength of folly
52. is really just weakness, they say.
53. But no-one can challenge a person
54. who’s strong, guarded by the teaching.
55. When you get angry at an angry person
56. you just make things worse for yourself.
57. When you don’t get angry at an angry person
58. you win a battle hard to win.
59. When you know that the other is angry,
60. you act for the good of both
61. yourself and the other
62. if you’re mindful and stay calm.
63. People unfamiliar with the teaching
64. consider one who heals both
65. oneself and the other
66. to be a fool.’
67. The gods applauded Sakka’s verses, while the titans kept silent.
68. Then the panel of judges consisting of both gods and titans said this,
69. ‘The verses spoken by Vepacitti
70. evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you get arguments, quarrels, and disputes.
71. The verses spoken by Sakka
72. don’t evoke punishment and violence. That’s how you stay free of arguments, quarrels, and disputes.
73. Sakka, lord of gods, wins victory by fine words!’
74. And that’s how Sakka came to win victory by fine words.”