SN 9:4 · Many (Sambahula Sutta)

On one occasion many monks were staying among the Kosalans in a forest grove. Then, at the end of the Rains, they left to go on a three-month wandering tour.

And at that time, the devatā living in that forest grove, lamenting from not seeing those monks, recited this verse:

“Today it’s as if discontent
is displayed to me,
as I see many empty seats.
They, brilliant speakers, learned:
	Where have those disciples
	of Gotama gone?”

When this was said, another devatā recited a verse for that devatā:

“They’ve gone to Magadha,
gone to Kosala,
& some to the land of the Vajjians.
	Like deer, 	wandering free from ties,
	the monks 	dwell without home.”

See also: Sn 1:3

Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).