7.
The Discourse on the Linch-pin
229.
He was dwelling at Sāvatthī, etc.
"Once in the past, monks, there was a kettledrum of the Dasārahas named Ānaka.
When the Ānaka was damaged, the Dasārahas inserted another peg.
There came a time, monks, when the original lotus-wood drumhead of the Ānaka kettledrum disappeared.
Only the collection of pegs remained.
So too, monks, there will be monks in the future period of time, who, when those discourses spoken by the Truth-finder that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, connected with emptiness, are being recited, will not listen, will not lend an ear, will not apply their minds to final liberating knowledge, and will not think those teachings worth learning and mastering.
But when those discourses that are composed by poets, poetic, with elaborate syllables, with elaborate phrases, external, spoken by disciples, are being recited, they will listen, will lend an ear, will apply their minds to final liberating knowledge, and will think those teachings worth learning and mastering. Thus, monks, there will be the disappearance of those discourses spoken by the Truth-finder that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, connected with emptiness. Therefore, monks, you should train thus - 'When those discourses spoken by the Truth-finder that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, connected with emptiness, are being recited, we will listen, we will lend an ear, we will apply our minds to final liberating knowledge, and we will think those teachings worth learning and mastering.' Thus indeed, monks, should you train." The seventh.