4. Vật thể không có ở thế gian

“Bhante nāgasena, dissanti loke buddhā, dissanti paccekabuddhā, dissanti tathāgatassa sāvakā, dissanti cakkavattirājāno, dissanti padesarājāno, dissanti devamanussā, dissanti sadhanā, dissanti adhanā, dissanti sugatā, dissanti duggatā, dissati purisassa itthiliṅgaṁ pātubhūtaṁ, dissati itthiyā purisaliṅgaṁ pātubhūtaṁ, dissati sukataṁ dukkataṁ kammaṁ, dissanti kalyāṇapāpakānaṁ kammānaṁ vipākūpabhogino sattā, atthi loke sattā aṇḍajā jalābujā saṁsedajā opapātikā, atthi sattā apadā dvipadā catuppadā bahuppadā, atthi loke yakkhā rakkhasā kumbhaṇḍā asurā dānavā gandhabbā petā pisācā, atthi kinnarā mahoragā nāgā supaṇṇā siddhā vijjādharā, atthi hatthī assā gāvo mahiṁsā oṭṭhā gadrabhā ajā eḷakā migā sūkarā sīhā byagghā dīpī acchā kokā taracchā soṇā siṅgālā, atthi bahuvidhā sakuṇā, atthi suvaṇṇaṁ rajataṁ muttā maṇi saṅkho silā pavāḷaṁ lohitaṅko masāragallaṁ veḷuriyo vajiraṁ phalikaṁ kāḷalohaṁ tambalohaṁ vaṭṭalohaṁ kaṁsalohaṁ, atthi khomaṁ koseyyaṁ kappāsikaṁ sāṇaṁ bhaṅgaṁ kambalaṁ, atthi sāli vīhi yavo kaṅgu kudrūso varako godhūmo muggo, māso tilaṁ kulatthaṁ, atthi mūlagandho sāragandho pheggugandho tacagandho pattagandho pupphagandho phalagandho sabbagandho, atthi tiṇalatāgaccharukkhaosadhivanappatinadīpabbatasamuddamacchakacchapā sabbaṁ loke atthi.

Yaṁ, bhante, loke natthi, taṁ me kathehī”ti.

“Tīṇimāni, mahārāja, loke natthi.

Katamāni tīṇi?

Sacetanā vā acetanā vā ajarāmarā loke natthi, saṅkhārānaṁ niccatā natthi, paramatthena sattūpaladdhi natthi, imāni kho, mahārāja, tīṇi loke natthī”ti.

“Sādhu, bhante nāgasena, evametaṁ tathā sampaṭicchāmī”ti.

Loke natthibhāvapañho catuttho.

PTS cs 11 ‘Venerable Nāgasena, there are to be seen in the world Buddhas, and Pacceka-Buddhas, and disciples of the Tathāgatas, and sovran overlords, and kings over one country, and gods and men;—we find rich and poor, happy and miserable;—we find men who have become women, and women who have become men—there are good deeds and evil, and beings experiencing the result of their virtue or their vice;—we find creatures born from eggs, and in the water, and in sediment, or springing into life by the mere apparitional birth; creatures without feet, bipeds and quadrupeds, and creatures with many feet;—we find Yakkhas and Rakkhasas, and Kumbhaṇḍas, and Asuras, and Dānavas, and Gandhabbas, and Petas and Pisācas, and Kinnaras, and Mahoragas, and Nāgas and Supaṇṇas, and magicians and sorcerers;—there are elephants, and horses, and cattle, and buffaloes, and camels, and asses, and goats, and sheep, and deer, and swine, and lions, and tigers, and leopards, and bears, and wolves, and hyenas, and dogs, and jackals, and many kinds of birds;—there is gold and silver, and the pearl, and PTS vp En 102 The diamond, and the chauk, and rock, and coral, and the ruby, and the Masāra stone, and the cat’s-eye, and crystal, and quartz, and iron ore, and copper, and brass, and bronze;—there is flax, and silk, and cotton, and hemp, and wool;—there is rice, and paddy, and barley, and millet, and kudrūsa grain, and beans, and wheat, and oilseed, and vetches;—there are perfumes prepared from roots, and sap, and pith, and bark, and PTS vp Pali 268 leaves, and flowers, and fruit, and of all other sorts;—we find grass, and creepers, and shrubs, and trees, and medicinal herbs, and forests, and rivers, and mountains, and seas, and fish, and tortoises—all is in the world. Tell me, Sir, what there is, then, which is not in the world.’

PTS cs 12 ‘There are three things, O king, which you cannot find in the world. And what are the three? That which, whether conscious or unconscious, is not subject to decay and death—that you will not find. That quality of anything, (organic or inorganic), which is not impermanent—that you will not find. And in the highest sense there is no such thing as being possessed of being.’ PTS vp En 103

‘Very good, Nāgasena! That is so, and I accept it as you say.’

Here ends the puzzle as to what is not in the world.