With Ānanda
At one time Venerable Ānanda was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove.
Now at that time Ānanda was spending too much time persuading lay people. [1]
Then the deity haunting that forest had sympathy for Ānanda, wanting what’s best for him. So they approached him wanting to stir him up, and recited these verses: [2]
“You’ve left for the jungle, the root of a tree,
having laid extinguishment in your heart. [3]
Meditate, Gotama, don’t be negligent!
What use is this hullabaloo to you?”
Impelled by that deity, Venerable Ānanda was struck with a sense of urgency.