8.
The Discourse on Homage by the Householder
264.
At Sāvatthī.
There, etc.
said this -
"Once in the past, monks, Sakka, the lord of the gods, addressed Mātali the charioteer -
'Harness, my dear Mātali, the chariot yoked with a thousand thoroughbreds.
Let us go to the pleasure ground to see the beautiful grounds.'
'Yes, venerable sir,' monks, Mātali the charioteer, having assented to Sakka, the lord of the gods, having yoked the chariot harnessed to a thousand thoroughbreds, announced to Sakka, the lord of the gods -
'The chariot yoked with a thousand thoroughbreds has been harnessed for you, sir.
Now do as you think fit.'
Then, monks, Sakka, the lord of the gods, descending from the Vejayanta palace, having made salutation with joined palms, paid homage to the various directions.
Then, monks, Mātali the charioteer addressed Sakka, the lord of the gods, in verse -
And the four great kings, and the glorious gods of the Thirty-three;
Then who is that demon whom you, Sakka, pay homage to?"
And the four great kings, and the glorious gods of the Thirty-three.
I venerate those rightly gone forth, whose goal is the holy life.
Who support their wives righteously, I pay homage to them, Mātali."
I too pay homage to those whom you pay homage to, Vāsava."
Having paid homage to the various directions, the chief one mounted the chariot."