SN 9:9 · The Vajjian Princeling (Vajjīputta Sutta)
On one occasion a certain monk, a Vajjian princeling, was staying near Vesālī in a forest grove. And on that occasion an all-night festival was being held in Vesālī. The monk—lamenting as he heard the resounding din of wind music, string music, & gongs coming from Vesālī, on that occasion recited this verse:
“I live in the wilderness
all alone
like a log cast away in the forest.
On a night like this,
who could there be
more miserable
than me?”
Then the devatā inhabiting the forest grove, feeling sympathy for the monk, desiring his benefit, desiring to bring him to his senses, approached him and addressed him with this verse:
“As you live in the wilderness all alone
like a log cast away in the forest,
many are those who envy you,
as hell-beings do,
those headed for heaven.”
The monk, chastened by the devatā, came to his senses.
See also: MN 130; SN 35:135; Dhp 181
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).
