Dhammapada Verse 287
Kisagotami Vatthu
Tam puttapasusammattam
byasattamanasam naram
suttam gamam mahoghova
maccu adaya gacchati.
Verse 287: The man who dotes on his children and his herds of cattle, whose
mind longs for and is attached to sensual pleasures, is carried away by Death
even as a sleeping village is swept away by a great flood.
The Story of Kisagotami*
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (287) of
this book, with reference to Kisagotami, the daughter of a rich man from
Savatthi.
Kisagotami came to the Buddha as she was stricken with grief due to the death
of her only son. To her the Buddha said, "Kisagotami, you think you are
the only one who has lost a son. Death comes to all beings; before their desires
are satiated Death takes them away."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
| Verse 287: The man who dotes on his children and his
herds of cattle, whose mind longs for and is attached to sensual
pleasures, is carried away by Death even as a sleeping village is
swept away by a great flood.
|
At the end of the discourse Kisagotami attained Sotapatti Fruition.
* This story has been given in Verse 114,
Chapter VIII - Story No. 13.