Sutta Nipāta – Daily Sutta Reading

Snp 1.1 From… Uragasutta: The Serpent

When anger surges, they drive it out,
as with medicine a snake’s spreading venom.
Such a mendicant sheds the near shore and the far,
as a serpent its old worn-out skin.

NOTE: This verse clearly indicates that the Buddha wanted us to remove anger (and all unwholesome states of mind) and not just observe them.

Read the entire translation of Snp 1.1 Uragasutta: The Serpent by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Snp 3.3 Subhāsitasutta: Well-Spoken Words

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!” “Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, speech that has four factors is well spoken, not poorly spoken. It’s blameless and is not criticized by sensible people. What four? It’s when a mendicant speaks well, not poorly; they speak on the teaching, not against the teaching; they speak pleasantly, not unpleasantly; and they speak truthfully, not falsely. Speech with these four factors is well spoken, not poorly spoken. It’s blameless and is not criticized by sensible people.” That is what the Buddha said. Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

“Good people say well-spoken words are foremost;
second, speak on the teaching, not against it;
third, speak pleasantly, not unpleasantly;
and fourth, speak truthfully, not falsely.”

Then Venerable Vaṅgīsa got up from his seat, arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his joined palms toward the Buddha, and said, “I feel inspired to speak, Blessed One! I feel inspired to speak, Holy One!” “Then speak as you feel inspired,” said the Buddha. Then Vaṅgīsa extolled the Buddha in his presence with fitting verses:

“Speak only such words
that do not hurt yourself
nor harm others;
such speech is truly well spoken.

Speak only pleasing words,
words gladly welcomed.
Pleasing words are those
that bring nothing bad to others.

Truth itself is the undying word:
this is an eternal truth.
Good people say that the teaching and its meaning
are grounded in the truth.

The words spoken by the Buddha
for realizing the sanctuary, extinguishment,
for the attainment of vision,
this really is the best kind of speech.”

Read this translation of Snp 3.3 Subhāsitasutta: Well-Spoken Words Subhāsitasutta by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Snp 4.6 Jarāsutta: Old Age

Short, alas, is this life;
you die before a hundred years.
Even if you live a little longer,
you still die of old age.

People grieve over belongings,
yet there is no such thing as permanent possessions.
Separation is a fact of life; when you see this,
you wouldn’t stay living at home.

Whatever a person thinks of as belonging to them,
that too is given up when they die.
Knowing this, an astute follower of mine
would not be bent on ownership.

Just as, upon awakening, a person does not see
what they encountered in a dream;
so too you do not see your loved ones
when they are dead and gone.

You used to see and hear those folk,
and call them by their name.
Yet the name is all that’s left to tell
of a person when they’re gone.

Those who are greedy for belongings
don’t give up sorrow, lamentation, and stinginess.
That’s why the sages, seers of sanctuary,
left possessions behind and wandered.

For a mendicant who lives withdrawn,
frequenting a secluded seat,
they say it’s fitting
to not show themselves in a home.

The sage is independent everywhere,
they don’t form likes or dislikes.
Lamentation and stinginess
slip off them like water from a leaf.

Like a droplet slips from a lotus-leaf,
like water from a lotus flower;
the sage doesn’t cling to that
which is seen or heard or thought.

For the one who is cleansed does not conceive
in terms of things seen, heard, or thought.
They do not wish to be purified by another;
they are neither passionate nor growing dispassioned.

Read this translation of Snp 4.6 Jarāsutta: Old Age by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Snp 3.8 Sallasutta: The Dart

Unforeseen and unknown
is the extent of this mortal life—
hard and short
and bound to pain.

There is no way that
those born will not die.
On reaching old age death follows:
such is the nature of living creatures.

As ripe fruit
are always in danger of falling,
so mortals once born
are always in danger of death.

As clay pots
made by a potter
all end up being broken,
so is the life of mortals.

Young and old,
foolish and wise—
all go under the sway of death;
all are destined to die.

When those overcome by death
leave this world for the next,
a father cannot protect his son,
nor relatives their kin.

See how, while relatives look on,
wailing profusely,
mortals are led away one by one,
like a cow to the slaughter.

And so the world is stricken
by old age and by death.
That is why the wise do not grieve,
for they understand the way of the world.

For one whose path you do not know—
not whence they came nor where they went—
you lament in vain,
seeing neither end.

If a bewildered person,
lamenting and self-harming,
could extract any good from that,
then those who see clearly would do the same.

For not by weeping and wailing
will you find peace of heart.
It just gives rise to more suffering,
and distresses your body.

Growing thin and pale,
you hurt yourself.
It does nothing to help the dead:
your lamentation is in vain.

Unless a person gives up grief,
they fall into suffering all the more.
Bewailing those whose time has come,
you fall under the sway of grief.

See, too, other folk departing
to fare after their deeds;
fallen under the sway of death,
beings flounder while still here.

For whatever you imagine it is,
it turns out to be something else.
Such is separation:
see the way of the world!

Even if a human lives
a hundred years or more,
they are parted from their family circle,
they leave this life behind.

Therefore, having learned from the Perfected One,
dispel lamentation.
Seeing the dead and departed, think:
“I cannot escape this.”

As one would extinguish
a blazing refuge with water,
so too a sage—a wise,
astute, and skilled person—
would swiftly blow away grief that comes up,
like the wind a tuft of cotton.

One who seeks their own happiness
would pluck out the dart from themselves—
the wailing and moaning,
and sadness inside.

With dart plucked out, unattached,
having found peace of mind,
overcoming all sorrow,
one is sorrowless and extinguished.

Read this translation of Snp 3.8 Sallasutta: The Dart by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Snp 2.8 Dhamma (nāvā) sutta: The Boat

Honor the person from whom you would learn the teaching,
as the gods honor Inda.
Then they will have confidence in you,
and being learned, they reveal the teaching.

Heeding well, a wise pupil
practicing in line with that teaching
grows intelligent, discerning, and subtle
through diligently sticking close to such a person.

But associating with a petty fool
who falls short of the goal, jealous,
then unable to discern the teaching in this life,
one proceeds to death still plagued by doubts.

It’s like a man who has plunged into a river,
a rushing torrent in spate.
As they are swept away downstream,
how could they help others across?

Just so, one unable to discern the teaching,
who hasn’t studied the meaning under the learned,
not knowing it oneself, still plagued by doubts,
how could they help others to contemplate?

But one who has embarked on a strong boat
equipped with rudder and oar,
would bring many others across there
with skill, care, and intelligence.

So too one who understands—a knowledge master,
evolved, learned, and unflappable—
can help others to contemplate,
so long as they are prepared to listen carefully.

That’s why you should spend time with a good person,
intelligent and learned.
Having understood the meaning, putting it into practice,
one who has realized the teaching may find happiness.

Read this translation of Snp 2.8 Dhamma (nāvā) sutta: The Boat by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Snp 1.1 Uragasutta: The Snake

When anger surges, they drive it out, as with medicine a snake’s spreading venom. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve cut off greed entirely, like a lotus plucked flower and stalk. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve cut off craving entirely, drying up that swift-flowing stream. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve swept away conceit entirely, as a fragile bridge of reeds by a great flood. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

In future lives they find no substance, as an inspector of fig trees finds no flower. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They hide no anger within, gone beyond any kind of existence. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

Their mental vibrations are cleared away, internally clipped off entirely. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, but have gone beyond all this proliferation. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, for they know that nothing in the world is what it seems. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of greed. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of lust. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of hate. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have not run too far nor run back, knowing nothing is what it seems, free of delusion. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have no underlying tendencies at all, and are rid of unskillful roots, Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have nothing born of distress at all, that might cause them to come back to this world. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They have nothing born of entanglement at all, that would shackle them to a new life. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

They’ve given up the five hindrances, untroubled, rid of doubt, free of thorns. Such a mendicant sheds this world and the next, as a snake its old worn-out skin.

Read this translation of Snp 1.1 Uragasutta: The Snake by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org.

Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Snp 3.11 Nālakasutta: Nālaka the Seer

Asita the seer, in his mid-day meditation,
saw the Group of Thirty—
Sakka the king, and devas dressed in pure white
exultant, ecstatic—
holding up banners, cheering wildly,
& on seeing the devas so joyful & happy,
having paid his respects, he said:

“Why is the deva community
     so wildly elated?
Why are they holding up banners
& waving them around?
Even after the war with the Asuras
     —when victory was the devas’,
     the Asuras defeated—
even then there was nothing hair-raising like this.
Seeing what marvel
are the devas so joyful?
     They whistle,
     they sing,
     play music,
     clap their hands,
     dance.
So I ask you, who live on Mount Meru’s summit.
Please dispel my doubt quickly, dear sirs.”

“The Bodhisatta, the foremost jewel,
     unequaled,
has been born for welfare & happiness
     in the human world,
in a town in the Sakyan countryside,
     Lumbini.
That’s why we’re contented, so wildly elated.
He, the highest of all beings,
the ultimate person,
a bull among men, highest of all people,
will set turning the Wheel [of Dhamma]
in the forest named after the seers,
like a strong, roaring lion,
the conqueror of beasts.”

Hearing these words,
Asita quickly descended [from heaven]
and went to Suddhodana’s dwelling.
There, taking a seat, he said to the Sakyans:
     “Where is the prince?
     I, too, want to see him.”
The Sakyans then showed
to the seer named Asita
     their son, the prince,
     like gold aglow,
burnished by a most skillful smith
in the mouth of the furnace,
blazing with glory, flawless in color.
On seeing the prince blazing like flame,
pure like the bull of the stars
going across the sky
     —the burning sun,
     released from the clouds of autumn—
he was exultant, filled with abundant rapture.
The devas held in the sky
a many-spoked sunshade
of a thousand circles.
Gold-handled whisks
waved up & down,
but those holding the whisks & the sunshade
     couldn’t be seen.

The coiled-haired seer
named Dark Splendor,
seeing the boy, like an ornament of gold
on the red woolen blanket,
a white sunshade held over his head,
received him, joyful in mind & pleased.
And on receiving the bull of the Sakyans,
longingly, the master of mantras & signs
exclaimed with a confident mind:
“This one is unsurpassed,
the highest of the biped race.”

Then, foreseeing his own imminent departure,
he, dejected, shed tears.
On seeing him weeping,
the Sakyans asked:
     “But surely there will be
     no danger for the prince?”
On seeing the Sakyans’ concern
he replied, “I foresee for the prince
     no harm.
Nor will there be any danger for him.
This one’s not insignificant: Be assured.
     This prince will touch
     the ultimate self-awakening.
He, seeing the utmost purity,
will set rolling the Wheel of Dhamma
through sympathy for the welfare of many.
His holy life will spread far & wide.

     But as for me,
my life here has no long remainder.
My death will take place before then.
     I won’t get to hear
the Dhamma of this one with the peerless role.
That’s why I’m stricken,
     afflicted, & pained.”

He, having brought the Sakyans
abundant rapture,
the follower of the holy life
left the inner chamber and,
out of sympathy for his nephew,
urged him on toward the Dhamma
of the one with the peerless role:
“When you hear from another the word,
‘Awakened One,’
or ‘Attaining self-awakening,
he lays open the path of the Dhamma,’
go there and, asking him yourself,
follow the holy life
under that Blessed One.”

Instructed by the one
whose mind was set on his benefit,
Such,
seeing in the future the utmost purity,
Nālaka, who had laid up a store of merit,
awaited the Victor expectantly,
guarding his senses.
On hearing word of the Victor’s
turning of the foremost wheel,
he went, he saw
the bull among seers. Confident,
he asked the foremost sage
about the utmost sagacity,
now that Asita’s forecast
had come to pass.

Nālaka:
“Now that I know
Asita’s words to be true,
I ask you, Gotama,
you who have gone
to the beyond of all dhammas.
I’m intent on the homeless life;
I long for the almsround.
Tell me sage, when asked,
the highest state of sagacity.”

The Buddha:
“I’ll teach you
a sagacity          hard to do,
          hard to master.
Come now, I’ll tell you.
Be steadfast. Be firm.
Practice even-mindedness,
for in a village
there’s praise & abuse.
Ward off any flaw in the heart.
Go about calmed & not haughty.
High & low things will come up
like fire-flames in a forest.
Women seduce a sage.
     May they not seduce you.
Abstaining from sexual intercourse,
abandoning various sensual pleasures,
be unopposed, unattached,
to beings moving & still.
     ‘As I am, so are these.
     As are these, so am I.’
Drawing the parallel to
     yourself,
neither kill nor get others to kill.
Abandoning the wants & greed
where people run-of-the-mill are stuck,
     practice with vision,
     cross over this hell.

Stomach not full,
moderate in food,
modest,
not being greedy,
always not hungering for wants:
One without hunger
is one who’s unbound.

Having gone on his almsround, the sage
should then go to the forest,
     approaching the root of a tree,
     taking a seat.
The enlightened one, intent on jhāna,
should find delight in the forest,
should practice jhāna at the foot of a tree,
attaining his own satisfaction.
Then, at the end of the night,
he should go to the village,
     not delighting in an invitation
     or gift from the village.
Having gone to the village,
the sage should not go
forcing his way among families.
Cutting off chatter,
he shouldn’t utter a scheming word.
     ‘I got something,
     that’s fine.
     I got nothing,
     that, too, is good.’
Being such with regard to both,
he returns to the very same tree.
Wandering with his bowl in hand
     —not dumb,
     but seemingly dumb—
he shouldn’t despise a piddling gift
nor disparage the giver.
High & low are the practices
proclaimed by the contemplative.
They don’t go twice to the further shore.
This [unbinding] isn’t sensed only once.
In one who has no attachment—
the monk who has cut the stream,
abandoning what is
& isn’t a duty—
     no fever is found.

I’ll teach you
sagacity:Be like a razor’s edge.
Pressing tongue against palate,
     restrain your stomach.
Neither be lazy in mind,
nor have many thoughts.
Be free of raw stench,
     independent,
having the holy life as your aim.
Train in     solitude
          & the contemplative’s task,
     Solitude
     is called
     sagacity.
Alone, you truly delight
     & shine in the ten directions.

On hearing the fame of the enlightened
     —those who practice jhāna,
     relinquishing sensuality—
my disciple should foster
     all the more
     shame & conviction.

Know from the rivers
in clefts & in crevices:
Those in small channels flow
                    noisily,
     the great
     flow silent.

Whatever’s deficient
makes noise.
Whatever is full
is quiet.
The fool is like a half-empty pot;
one who is wise, a full lake.

A contemplative who speaks a great deal
     endowed with meaning:
     Knowing, he teaches the Dhamma;
     knowing, he speaks a great deal.
But he who,
     knowing, is restrained,
     knowing, doesn’t speak a great deal:
He is a sage
     worthy of sagehood.
He is a sage,
     his sagehood attained.”

Read this translation of Sn 3.11 Nālaka by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net.

Snp 3.2 Padhānasutta: Exertion

To me—
     my mind resolute in exertion
     near the river Nerañjarā,
     making a great effort,
     doing jhāna
     to attain rest from the yoke—

Nāmuci came,
     speaking words of compassion:
“You are ashen, thin.
     Death is in
     your presence.
Death
has 1,000 parts of you.
Only one part
is your life.
Live, good sir!
Life is better.
          Alive,
     you can do
     acts of merit.
Your living the holy life
and performing the fire sacrifice
will heap up much merit.
     What use is exertion to you?
Hard to follow
—the path of exertion—
hard to do, hard
to sustain.”

Saying these verses,
Māra stood in the Awakened One’s presence.
And to that Māra, speaking thus,
the Blessed One
said this:

“Kinsman of the heedless,
Evil One,
come here for whatever purpose:
I haven’t, for merit,
even the least bit of need.
Those who have need of merit:
Those are the ones
Māra’s fit to address.

In me are
          conviction
          austerity,
          persistence,
          discernment.
Why, when my mind is resolute,
do you petition me
     to live?
This wind could burn up
     even river currents.
Why, when my mind is resolute,
shouldn’t my blood dry away?
As my blood dries up,
gall & phlegm dry up,
as muscles waste away,
the mind grows clearer;
mindfulness, discernment,
concentration stand
     more firm.
Staying in this way,
attaining the ultimate feeling,
the mind has no interest
in sensuality.
     See:
     a being’s
     purity!

Sensual passions are your first army.
Your second     is called Discontent.
Your third     is Hunger & Thirst.
Your fourth     is called Craving.
Fifth     is Sloth & Torpor.
Sixth     is called Cowardice.
Your seventh     is Uncertainty.
Hypocrisy & Stubbornness, your eighth.
Gains, Offerings, Fame, & Status
     wrongly gained,
and whoever would praise self
& disparage others:

That, Nāmuci, is your army,
the Dark One’s commando force.
A coward can’t defeat it,
but one having defeated it
     gains bliss.
Do I carry muñja grass?
I spit on my life.
Death in battle would be better for me
     than that I, defeated,
          survive.

Sinking here, they don’t appear,
some brahmans & contemplatives.
They don’t know the path
by which those with good practices
go.

Seeing the bannered force
     on all sides—
the troops, Māra
along with his mount—
I go into battle.
May they not budge me
     from
     my spot.
That army of yours,
that the world with its devas
     can’t overcome,
I will smash          with discernment—
as an unfired pot     with a stone.

Making my     resolve mastered,
               mindfulness well-established,
I will go about, from kingdom to kingdom,
training many disciples.
They—heedful, resolute in mind,
doing my bidding—
despite your wishes, will go
     where, having gone,
     there’s no grief.”

Māra:
“For seven years, I’ve dogged
the Blessed One’s steps,
but haven’t gained an opening
in the One Self-Awakened
     & glorious.
A crow circled a stone
the color of fat
     —’Maybe I’ve found
     something tender here.
     Maybe there’s something delicious’—
but not getting anything delicious there,
the crow went away.
Like the crow attacking the rock,
I weary myself with Gotama.”

As he was overcome with sorrow,
his lute fell from under his arm.
Then he, the despondent spirit,
right there
disappeared.

Read this translation of Snp 3.2 Padhānasutta: Exertion by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net.

Snp 3.1 Pabbajjāsutta: The Going Forth

I will praise the Going Forth,
how he went forth, the One with Eyes,
how he reasoned and chose the Going Forth.
     “Household life is confining,
          a realm of dust,
     while going forth
          is the open air.”
Seeing this, he went forth.

On going forth,
     he avoided evil deeds in body.
     Abandoning verbal misconduct,
     he purified his livelihood.
Then he, the Buddha, went to Rājagaha,
the mountain fortress of the Magadhans,
     and wandered for alms,
teeming with the foremost marks.
King Bimbisāra, standing in his palace, saw him,
and on seeing him, consummate in marks,
     said this:
“Look at this one, sirs.
How handsome, stately, pure!
How consummate his demeanor!
Mindful, his eyes downcast,
looking only a plow-length before him.
This one’s not like one
from a lowly lineage:
Have the royal messengers hurry
to see where this monk will go.”

They—the messengers dispatched—
followed behind him.
     “Where will this monk go?
     Where will his dwelling place be?”
As he went from house to house—
well-restrained, his sense-doors guarded,
     mindful, alert—
his bowl filled quickly.
Then he, the sage, completing his alms round,
left the city, headed for Mount Paṇḍava.
     “That’s where his dwelling will be.”
Seeing him go to his dwelling place,
three messengers sat down,
while one returned to tell the king.
“That monk, your majesty,
on the flank of Paṇḍava,
sits like a tiger, a bull,
a lion in a mountain cleft.”

Hearing the messenger’s words,
the noble-warrior king
straight away set out by royal coach,
for Mount Paṇḍava.
Going as far as the coach would go,
the noble-warrior king
got down from the coach,
went up on foot,
and on arrival sat down.
Sitting there,
he exchanged courteous greetings,
and after giving friendly greetings,
     said this:
“Young you are, and youthful,
in the first stage of youth,
consummate in stature & coloring
     like a noble-warrior by birth.
You would look glorious
     in the vanguard of an army,
     arrayed with an elephant squadron.
I offer you wealth : Enjoy it.
I ask your birth : Inform me.”

“Straight ahead, your majesty,
by the foothills of the Himalayas,
is a country consummate
in energy & wealth,
inhabited by Kosalans:
     Solar by clan,
     Sakyans by birth.
From that lineage I have gone forth,
but not in hope of sensuality.
Seeing the danger in sensuality
—and renunciation as rest—
          I go to strive.

That’s where my heart delights.”

Read this translation of Snp 3.1 The Going Forth by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net or SuttaFriends.org.

PLEASE NOTE:
The email for this sutta contained an error in the footer that gave the title and links to sutta SN 3.1 instead of Snp 3.1. For errors like this emails will not be resent. Please always refer to the website for the most up to date versions. Apologies for any confusion this has caused. SN 3.1 is a great sutta too!

Snp 4.5 Paramaṭṭhakasutta: The Supreme Octet

When dwelling on views
as “supreme,”
a person makes them
the utmost thing in the world,
&, from that, calls
all others inferior
and so he’s not gone beyond disputes.
When he sees his own advantage
in what’s seen, heard, sensed,
or in habits & practices,
seizing it there
he sees all else, all others,

as inferior.

That, too, say the skilled,
is a binding knot: that
in dependence on which
you regard another
     as inferior.
So a monk shouldn’t be dependent
     on what’s seen, heard, or sensed,
     or on habits & practices;
nor should he theorize a view in the world
     in connection with knowledge
     or habits & practices;
shouldn’t take himself
     to be “equal”;
shouldn’t think himself
     inferior or superlative.

Abandoning what he’d embraced,
not clinging,
he doesn’t make himself dependent
even in connection with knowledge;
doesn’t follow a faction
among those who are split;
doesn’t fall back
on any view whatsoever.

One who isn’t inclined
toward either side
     —becoming or not-,
     here or beyond—
who has no entrenchment
when considering what’s grasped among doctrines,
hasn’t the least
theorized perception
with regard to what’s seen, heard, or sensed.
By whom, with what,
should he be pigeonholed
here in the world?
     —this brahman
     who hasn’t adopted views.

They don’t theorize, don’t yearn,
don’t adhere even to doctrines.

A brahman not led
by habits or practices,
gone to the beyond
—Such—
doesn’t fall back.

Read Sutta Nipāta 4.5 The Supreme Octet translated by Ṭhanissaro Bhikkhu on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net.

Sign up for free daily suttas by email