21.2. Upatissa

At Savatthi. There the Venerable Sāriputta addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Friends, bhikkhus!”

“Friend!” those bhikkhus replied. The Venerable Sāriputta said this:

“Here, friends, when I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus: ‘Is there anything in the world through the change and alteration of which sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair might arise in me?’ Then it occurred to me: ‘There is nothing in the world through the change and alteration of which sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair might arise in me.’”

When this was said, the Venerable Ānanda said to the Venerable Sāriputta: “Friend Sāriputta, even if the Teacher himself were to undergo change and alteration, wouldn’t sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise in you?”

“Friend, even if the Teacher himself were to undergo change and alteration, still sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair would not arise in me. However, it would occur to me: ‘The Teacher, so influential, so powerful and mighty, has passed away. If the Blessed One had lived for a long time, that would have been for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare, and happiness of devas and humans.’”

“It must be because I-making, mine-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the Venerable Sāriputta for a long time that even if the Teacher himself were to undergo change and alteration, still sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair would not arise in him.”