The venerable Mogharāja asks the Buddha how to look upon the world so that the King of Death does not see one. The Buddha advises to look upon the world as empty, being ever mindful, and to uproot the sense of self.

Mogharājamāṇavapucchā - Mogharāja’s Question

“Twice I have asked Sakka,”
(said the venerable Mogharāja),
“but the One with Vision did not answer me;
Yet I have heard that the divine sage,
answers upon the third request.

As to this world, the other world,
the Brahma world together with the gods,
I do not know your view,
O renowned Gotama.

Thus, (to) one of excellent vision,
I have come in need with a question;
How does one look upon the world,
so that the King of Death does not see one?”

“Look upon the world as empty,
Mogharāja, being ever mindful;
Having uprooted the sense of self,
one might thus cross over death;
The King of Death does not see,
one who looks upon the world in this way.”

Last updated on April 2, 2025

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