Theragāthā – Page 3 – Daily Sutta Reading

Thag 4.8 Rāhulattheragāthā: Rāhula

I am known as “Fortunate Rāhula”,
because I’m accomplished in both ways:
I am the son of the Buddha,
and I am seer of truths.

Since my defilements have ended,
since there are no more future lives—
I’m perfected, worthy of offerings,
master of the three knowledges, seer of the deathless.

Blinded by sensual pleasures, trapped in a net,
they are smothered over by craving;
bound by the Kinsman of the Negligent,
like a fish caught in a funnel-net trap.

Having thrown off those sensual pleasures,
having cut Māra’s bond,
and having plucked out craving, root and all:
I’m cooled, extinguished.

To learn about the triple knowledges, read Itv 99 Tevijja Sutta: The Triple Knowledge.

“Kinsman of the Negligent” is another name for Māra.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 4.8 Rāhulattheragāthā: Rāhula by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena

I’ll cage you, mind,
like an elephant in a stockade.
Born of the flesh, that net of the senses,
I won’t urge you to do bad.

Caged, you won’t go anywhere,
like an elephant who can’t find an open gate.
Demon-mind, you won’t wander again and again,
bullying, in love with wickedness.

Just as a strong trainer with a hook
takes a wild, newly captured elephant
and wins it over against its will,
so I’ll win you over.

Just as a fine charioteer, skilled in the taming
of fine horses, tames a thoroughbred,
so I’ll tame you,
firmly established in the five powers.

I’ll bind you with mindfulness;
devout, I shall tame you;
kept in check by harnessed energy,
mind, you won’t go far from here.

To learn about the five powers, see AN 5.14: Vitthatasutta.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 5.9 Vijitasenattheragāthā: Vijitasena by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 14.1 Khadiravaniyarevatattheragāthā: Khadiravaniyarevata

Since I’ve gone forth
from the lay life to homelessness,
I’m not aware of any intention
that is ignoble and hateful.

“May these beings be killed!
May they be slaughtered! May they suffer!”—
I’m not aware of having any such intentions
in all this long while.

I have been aware of loving-kindness,
limitless and well-developed;
gradually consolidated
as it was taught by the Buddha.

I’m friend and comrade to all,
compassionate for all beings!
I develop a mind of love,
always delighting in harmlessness.

Unfaltering, unshakable,
I gladden the mind.
I develop the divine meditation,
which sinners do not cultivate.

Having entered a meditation state without thought,
a disciple of the Buddha
is at that moment blessed
with noble silence.

As a rocky mountain
is unwavering and well grounded,
so when delusion ends,
a monk, like a mountain, doesn’t tremble.

To the man who has not a blemish
who is always seeking purity,
even a hair-tip of evil
seems as big as a cloud.

As a frontier city
is guarded inside and out,
so you should ward yourselves—
don’t let the moment pass you by.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
like a worker waiting for their wages.

I don’t long for death;
I don’t long for life;
I await my time,
aware and mindful.

I’ve served the teacher
and fulfilled the Buddha’s instructions.
The heavy burden is laid down,
the conduit to rebirth is eradicated.

I’ve attained the goal
for the sake of which I went forth
from the lay life to homelessness—
the ending of all fetters.

Persist with diligence:
this is my instruction.
Come, I’ll be fully extinguished—
I’m liberated in every way.

divine meditation: Brahmavihāra (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity)

Read this translation of Theragāthā 14.1 Khadiravaniyarevatattheragāthā: Khadiravaniyarevata by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 6.12 Brahmadattattheragāthā: Brahmadatta

From where would anger come for one free of anger,
tamed, living justly,
freed by right knowledge,
peaceful and poised?

When you get angry at an angry person
you just make things worse for yourself.
When you don’t get angry at an angry person
you win a battle hard to win.

When you know that the other is angry,
you act for the good of both
yourself and the other
if you’re mindful and stay calm.

People unfamiliar with the teaching
consider one who heals both
oneself and the other
to be a fool.

If anger arises in you,
reflect on the simile of the saw;
if craving for flavors arises in you,
remember the simile of the child’s flesh.

If your mind runs off
to sensual pleasures and future lives,
quickly curb it with mindfulness,
as one would curb a greedy cow eating corn.

For the simile of the saw, read MN 21. For the simile of the child’s flesh, read SN 12:63.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 6.12 Brahmadattattheragāthā: Brahmadatta by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 3.5 Mātaṅgaputta

     It’s too cold,
     too hot,
     too late in the evening—
people who say this,
shirking their work:
          The moment passes them by.

Whoever regards cold & heat
as no more than grass,
doing his manly duties,
won’t fall away
from ease.

With my chest
I push through wild grasses—
     spear-grass,
     ribbon-grass,
     rushes—
cultivating a heart
               bent on seclusion.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 3.5 Mātaṅgaputta by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 6.3 Mahānāgattheragāthā: Mahānāga

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
falls away from the true teaching,
like a fish in a little puddle.

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
doesn’t thrive in the true teaching,
like a rotten seed in a field.

Whoever has no respect
for their spiritual companions
is far from quenching,
in the teaching of the Dhamma king.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
doesn’t fall away from the true teaching,
like a fish in plenty of water.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
thrives in the true teaching,
like a fine seed in a field.

Whoever does have respect
for their spiritual companions
is close to quenching
in the teaching of the Dhamma king.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 6.3 Mahānāgattheragāthā: Mahānāga by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 2.11 The Verses of Arahant Mahācunda (141-142)

141. In one who desires to listen to the Dhamma,
knowledge of Dhamma increases.
His wisdom grows through that knowledge of Dhamma.
Reality can be understood through that wisdom.
Realizing the truth brings true happiness.

142. One should live in remote and solitary monasteries.
One should practice the Dhamma
with the intention of freeing oneself
from the bondage of saṁsāra.
But if one doesn’t like to live in a forest far away,
guarding his faculties well
and establishing mindfulness well,
one should live under respected senior monks.

These verses were said by Arahant Mahācunda.

Read Thag 2.11 The Verses of Arahant Mahācunda (141-142) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 17.3 From Ānandattheragāthā: Ānanda

“82,000 from the Buddha,
and 2,000 more from the monks:
84,000 teachings I’ve learned,
and these are what I promulgate.”

“A person of little learning
ages like an ox—
their flesh grows,
but not their wisdom.

A learned person who, on account of their learning,
looks down on someone of little learning,
seems to me like
a blind man holding a lamp.

You should stay close to a learned person—
don’t lose what you’ve learned.
It is the root of the spiritual life,
which is why you should memorize the teaching.

Knowing the sequence and meaning of the teaching,
expert in the interpretation of terms,
they make sure it is well memorized,
and then examine the meaning.

Accepting the teachings, they become enthusiastic;
making an effort, they weigh up the teaching.
When it’s time, they strive
serene inside themselves.

If you want to understand the teaching,
you should befriend the sort of person
who is learned and has memorized the teachings,
a wise disciple of the Buddha.

One who is learned and has memorized the teaching,
a keeper of the great hermit’s treasury,
is a visionary for the whole world,
learned and honorable.

Delighting in the teaching, enjoying the teaching,
contemplating the teaching,
a mendicant who recollects the teaching
doesn’t decline in the true teaching.”

Read the entire translation of Theragāthā 17.3 Ānandattheragāthā: Ānanda 17.3. Ānandattheragāthā by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 5.10 Yasadattattheragāthā: Yasadatta

With fault-finding mind, the dullard
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They’re as far from the true teaching
as the earth is from the sky.

With fault-finding mind, the dullard
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They fall away from the true teaching,
like the moon in the waning fortnight.

With fault-finding mind, the dullard
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They wither away in the true teaching,
like a fish in a little puddle.

With fault-finding mind, the dullard
listens to the victor’s instruction.
They don’t thrive in the true teaching,
like a rotten seed in a field.

But one with contented mind
who listens to the victor’s instruction—
having wiped out all defilements;
having witnessed the unshakable;
having arrived at ultimate peace—
they are quenched without defilements.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 5.10 Yasadattattheragāthā: Yasadatta by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

Thag 3.8 Vassikattheragāthā: Vassika

I was the only one in my family
who had faith and wisdom.
It’s good for my relatives that I’m
firm in principle, and ethical.

I corrected my family out of compassion,
telling them off out of love
for my family and relatives.
They performed a service for the monks

and then they passed away,
finding happiness in the heaven of the Thirty-three.
There, my brothers and mother
enjoy all the pleasures they desire.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 3.8 Vassikattheragāthā: Vassika by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on Voice.SuttaCentral.net.

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