Sakka's Praises

The Lord has worked for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, for the good, the happiness and the welfare of gods and humans, out of compassion of the world. Other than the Lord, we find no teacher like this in either the past or the present.

The Lord’s Dhamma is beautifully taught, immediately apparent, timeless, inviting investigation, progressive, to be realized by the wise each for himself or herself. Other than the Lord, we find no teacher of such a Dhamma in either the past or the present.

Clearly has the Lord taught that this is good and that bad, this is right and that wrong. Clearly has he shown that this should be followed and that avoided, that this is lofty and that low. Clearly has he explained that this is the light and that the darkness. Other than the Lord, we find no teacher who could explain things so well in either the past or the present.

Well has the Lord shown to his disciples the Way leading to Nirvana and that as the Ganges and the Yamuna flow together and go on united, so do Nirvana and the Way. Other than the Lord, we find no teacher of the Way and of Nirvana in either the past or the present.

Gifts given to the Lord are of great fruit so that people of noble birth seek him out and make offerings to him, and he accepts these without becoming proud. Other than the Lord, we find no teacher such as this in either the past or the future.

The Lord has disciples who walk the Way, those with one-pointed minds and who have reached the destination, and he does not abandon them but lives in fellowship with them. Other than the Lord we find no teacher thus dwelling in either the past or the present.

As the Lord speaks so he acts and as he acts so he speaks. He is true to the minor and major aspects of the Dhamma. Other than the Lord we find no teacher so consistent in either the past or the present. The Lord has crossed over the sea of doubt, he has gone beyond all ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ and fulfilled every goal of his high resolve. Other than the Lord we find no teacher so accomplished in either the past or the present (D.II,222-4).