THE STORY OF THE LAY DISCIPLE OF ALAVI - Dhammapada Verse 203

Welcome back to the Sutta Meditation Series Podcast.

Today we look at Dhammapada Verse 203 - Eka Upasaka Vatthu about a poor young man who realised the fruit of stream entry after listening to a teaching given by the Buddha. It is in The Chapter about Happiness (Sukha Vagga). In this saying, the Buddha highlights that "hunger is the greatest illness" as an explanation for why he ensured the young man (who was both hungry and tired by the time he arrived to see and hear the Buddha) was fed before giving the teaching.

The verse in Pali:

“Jighacchāparamā rogā,

saṅkhāraparamā dukkhā;

Etaṁ ñatvā yathābhūtaṁ,

nibbānaṁ paramaṁ sukhaṁ.”

To read the full chapter (Sukha Vagga) of the Dhammapada - https://suttacentral.net/dhp197-208/en/feldmeier

A video with presentation slides for this talk has been published to the Sutta Meditation Series YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17YWvUMun-0 AND on Spotify as a video podcast

Blessings of the Triple Gem. Theruwan saranai