Noble silence sutra: What about those kings?!

Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), CC Liu (eds.), Rājā Sutra: "Discourse on Kings" (Udana 2.2, PTS: Ud 10) based on Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), Wisdom Quarterly

I bet this king kicks that king's, ugh, butt, right? - H*ll no, I mean, heck no! (asianews.it)

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Noble silence is a better abiding.

Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One (the Buddha) was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta's Grove in Anāthapiṇḍika's monastery.

At that time a large number of wandering ascetics (Buddhist monks), returning from alms round, after their meal, gathered together in the assembly hall when this discussion arose:

"Friends, which king has more wealth, more possessions, a larger treasury, the bigger realm, more riding animals, the stronger army, more power, more might, King Seniya Bimbisāra of Magadha or King Pasenadi of Kosala?" This discussion went on and on but came to no conclusion.

Monks eat by going on alms round (tricycle.org)

Then the Blessed One, emerging from meditative seclusion in the late afternoon, came to the assembly hall and sat down on the seat prepared for him. He addressed those monks: "What topic are you sitting here together discussing, such discussion that came to no conclusion?"

"Venerable sir, just now, returning from alms round and the meal, we sat here gathered discussing who has more wealth and possessions...King Seniya Bimbisāra of Magadha or King Pasenadi of Kosala?' This was the discussion, and we came to no conclusion about it."

"It's improper, ascetics, that the offspring of good families, having gone forth out of confidence [in the enlightenment of their teacher] from the home-life to the home-free life, should talk about such things. When you gather you have two duties, talk of the Dharma or noble silence" [1].

Then, realizing the significance of this situation, the Blessed One exclaimed:

Any sensual bliss in the world

any heavenly bliss

is not worth one sixteenth-sixteenth part

of the bliss of the ending of craving.

• NOTE 1: SN 21.1 equates noble silence with the second meditative absorption (jhāna). This apparently relates to the fact that applied and sustained attention (vitakka and vicara, sometimes rendered "thinking and pondering"), which MN 44 identifies as "verbal fabrications," are abandoned when going from the first absorption into the second.
• See also: AN 10.69