Dhammapada Verse 41
Putigattatissatthera Vatthu
Aciram vata' yam kayo
pathavim adhisessati
chuddho apetavinnano
niratthamva kalingaram.
Verse 41: Before long, alas, this body, deprived of consciousness, will lie
on the earth, discarded like a useless log.
The Story of Tissa, the Thera with a Stinking Body
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (41) of
this book, with reference to Thera Tissa.
After taking a subject of meditation from the Buddha, Thera Tissa was
diligently practising meditation when he was afflicted with a disease. Small
boils appeared all over his body and these developed into big sores. When these
sores burst, his upper and lower robes became sticky and stained with pus and
blood, and his whole body was stinking. For this reason, he was known as
Putigattatissa, Tissa the thera with stinking body.
As the Buddha surveyed the universe with the light of his own intellect, the
thera appeared in his vision. He saw the sorrowful state of the thera, who had
been abandoned by his resident pupils on account of his stinking body. At the
same time, he also knew that Tissa would soon attain arahatship. So, the Buddha
proceeded to the fire-shed, close to the place where the thera was staying.
There, he boiled some water, and then going, to where the thera was lying down,
took hold of the edge of the couch. It was then only that the resident pupils
gathered round the thera, and as instructed by the Buddha, they carried the
thera to the fire-shed, where he was washed and bathed. While he was being
bathed, his upper and lower robes were washed and dried. After the bath, the
thera became fresh in body and mind and soon developed one-pointedness of
concentration. Standing at the head of the couch, the Buddha said to him that
this body when devoid of life would be as useless as a log and would be laid on
the earth.
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 41: Before long, alas, this body, deprived of consciousness,
will lie on the earth, discarded like a useless log. |
At the end of the discourse Thera Tissa attained arahatship together with
Analytical Insight, and soon passed away.