Astounding
Abbhūta Sutta (AN 4:128)
“Monks, with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One—four amazing & astounding things appear. Which four?
“People find pleasure in longing, delight in longing, rejoice in longing. But when the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma of non-longing, they want to listen; they lend ear and set their minds on understanding it. This is the first amazing & astounding thing that appears with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.
“People find pleasure in conceit, delight in conceit, rejoice in conceit. But when the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma for the subduing of conceit, they want to listen; they lend ear and set their minds on understanding it. This is the second amazing & astounding thing that appears with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.
“People find pleasure in commotion, delight in commotion, rejoice in commotion. But when the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma for stilling, they want to listen; they lend ear and set their minds on understanding it. This is the third amazing & astounding thing that appears with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.
“People are immersed in ignorance, blinded,1 entirely enveloped. But when the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma for the subduing of ignorance, they want to listen; they lend ear and set their minds on understanding it. This is the fourth amazing & astounding thing that appears with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One.
“Monks, with the appearance of the Tathāgata—the Worthy One, the Rightly Self-awakened One—these four amazing & astounding things appear.”
Note
1. Reading andhabhūtā with the Thai and PTS editions. The Burmese and Sri Lankan editions read aṇḍabhūtā, “become like an egg.”
