At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain. Now at that time Venerable Sāriputta was walking together with several mendicants not far from the Buddha. Venerable Mahāmoggallāna was doing likewise, as were Venerable Mahākassapa, Venerable Anuruddha, Venerable Puṇṇa son of Mantāṇī, Venerable Upāli, Venerable Ānanda, and Devadatta.
Then the Buddha said to the mendicants, “Mendicants, do you see Sāriputta walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants have great wisdom. Do you see Moggallāna walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants have great psychic power. Do you see Kassapa walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants advocate austerities. Do you see Anuruddha walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants have clairvoyance. Do you see Puṇṇa son of Mantāṇī walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants are Dhamma speakers. Do you see Upāli walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants are experts in monastic law. Do you see Ānanda walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants are very learned. Do you see Devadatta walking together with several mendicants?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All of those mendicants have corrupt wishes.
Sentient beings come together and converge because of an element. Those who have bad convictions come together and converge with those who have bad convictions. Those who have good convictions come together and converge with those who have good convictions.
In the past, in the future, and also in the present, sentient beings come together and converge because of an element. Those who have bad convictions come together and converge with those who have bad convictions. Those who have good convictions come together and converge with those who have good convictions.”
Read this translation of Saṁyutta Nikāya 14.15 Caṅkamasutta: Walking Together by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.
Or read a translation in Deutsch, বাংলা, Bahasa Indonesia, 日本語, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Norsk, Русский, සිංහල, ไทย, Tiếng Việt, or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.