Mallikaa Sutta
Mallikaa
translated from the Pali by
Maurice O'Connell Walshe
[The Blessed One was at Saavatthii]
At this time King Pasenadi of Kosala was on the upper terrace of the palace with Queen Mallikaa. And the king asked her: "Mallikaa, is there anyone dearer to you than yourself?"[1]
"Your Majesty, there is no one dearer to me than myself. And you, sire, is anyone dearer to you than yourself?"
"Nor is there anyone dearer to me, Mallikaa, than myself."
Then the king went down from the palace and visited the Blessed One [and told him the whole story.] And the Blessed One, understanding, thereupon uttered this verse:
Though in thought we range throughout the world, We'll nowhere find a thing more dear than self. So, since others hold the self so dear, He who loves himself should injure none.
Notes
1. Attaa. Used in everyday speech this word most often simply means "myself, yourself," etc. with absolutely no "metaphysical" implications; a point frequently overlooked by those who wish at all costs to prove that Buddhism teaches the existence of some kind of "self." Here we have the Buddhist equivalent of "Do as you would be done by." Cf. Dhp 157.
