THE QUESTIONS OF SAKKA (A DISCOURSE ON THE SAKKAPAÑHA SUTTA) – MAHĀSI SAYĀDAW

THE QUESTIONS OF SAKKA

MAHĀSI SAYĀDAW

Preface
This is the abridged translation of Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw’s discourse on the Sakkapañha Sutta. The discourse was given in December 1977 at the request of U Pwin Kaung, the President of the Buddha Sāsanānuggaha Organisation, on the occasion of the annual gathering of Buddhist devotees from all over Burma, who came to pay their respects to the Sayādaw and to hear his teaching.

The President requested the Venerable Sayādaw to give a Buddhist discourse that would be universally applicable, so Mahāsī Sayādaw chose to give a series of talks on the Sakkapañha Sutta, which was the subject of a manuscript that he had been preparing for publication. This discourse tells us about the Buddha’s dialogue with Sakka, the king of the gods, and of his penetrating analysis into the causes of conflicts, frustrations and suffering that beset all living beings. The Sayādaw rightly describes the discourse as the Buddha’s teaching on world peace, and indeed it has an important message for people all over the world.