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Sure Bet

Перевод: Бхиккху Суджато

kn / ja

Stories of Past Lives 1 · The Book of the Ones

Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!

Some stand on a sure bet, ^[1]

while sophists speak of a second way. ^[2]

An intelligent person, knowing this,

would take up the sure bet. ^[3]

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[1] Apaṇṇaka (“sure bet”) is a gambling term, where paṇṇa appears as a form of the number five. While a hand of four dice was “perfect” (kaṭa), the fifth “losing” (kali) die was all-powerful, since just one extra die meant you lose everything (Rig Veda 10.34.2, Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 5.4.4.6). Apaṇṇaka is therefore literally a “set without a fifth” and metaphorically “without fail”, a “sure bet”. See further note on MN 60:12.5.

[2] In the prose story, the “sophists” (takkikā) are compared to a native spirit (yakkha) who tried to persuade a caravan to abandon its water in the desert.

[3] This line draws on the gambling imagery: one would “take up” (gaṇhe) a “sure bet”, namely a “winning hand” (kaṭaggāha). In the ancient Vedic game of chance, a large quantity of vibhītaka (“bedda”) nuts were placed in a hollow, from which players would take a handful. If the number of nuts was divisible by four, it was said to be a “perfect” (kaṭa) “hand” (gāha).