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Below are suttas that have been sent in the past, starting with the most recent. To see the suttas published in a specific month, try using the Archive page.

Dhp 209–220 Piya Vagga: The Dear

  1. Some people practice what they should not; they do not practice the greatest thing, the Dhamma. Clinging to what is dear, they abandon what is beneficial, but later they envy those who have succeeded in Dhamma practice.
  2. Do not get too attached, even to your loved ones. Have no fellowship with disagreeable people. Not seeing your loved ones is suffering; seeing the disagreeable is also suffering.
  3. Therefore, hold nothing dear, for separation from all that is dear is painful. There are no bonds for those who have nothing agreeable or disagreeable.
  4. Longing gives rise to sorrow; longing gives rise to fear. For someone released from longing, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  5. Affection gives rise to sorrow; affection gives rise to fear. For someone released from affection, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  6. Desire gives rise to sorrow; desire gives rise to fear. For someone released from desire, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  7. Sense desire gives rise to sorrow; sense desire gives rise to fear. For someone released from sense desire, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  8. Craving gives rise to sorrow; craving gives rise to fear. For someone released from craving, there is no sorrow; so, from what would fear arise?
  9. If someone is virtuous, has insight into the Four Noble Truths, is established in the Dhamma, is truthful, and is endowed with righteous living—people hold that person dear.
  10. The person who aspires to Nibbāna, though he does not reveal his goal to anyone, experiences Nibbāna in his mind. He is not bound by sense pleasures. Such a person is called “one bound up stream.”
  11. Relatives, friends, and companions welcome a long-absent person returning from abroad.
  12. Like wise in passing from this world to the next, the merit one has collected welcomes him.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 16 Piya Vagga: The Dear (209-220) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 197–208 Sukhavagga: Happy

How very happily we live,
free from hostility
among those who are hostile.
Among hostile people,
free from hostility we dwell.

How very happily we live,
free from misery
among those who are miserable.
Among miserable people,
free from misery we dwell.

How very happily we live,
free from busyness
among those who are busy.
Among busy people,
free from busyness we dwell.

How very happily we live,
we who have nothing.
We will feed on rapture
like the Radiant gods.
197-200

Winning gives birth to hostility.
Losing, one lies down in pain.
The calmed lie down with ease,
     having set
     winning & losing
          aside.
201

There’s no fire like passion,
no loss like anger,
no pain like the aggregates,
no ease other than peace.

Hunger: the foremost illness.
Fabrications: the foremost pain.
For one knowing this truth
as it has come to be,
     Unbinding
is the foremost ease.

Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
Trust: the foremost kinship.
Unbinding: the foremost ease.
202–204

Drinking the nourishment,
          the flavor,
of seclusion & calm,
one is freed from evil, devoid
     of distress,
refreshed with the nourishment
of rapture in the Dhamma.
205

It’s good to see Noble Ones.
Happy their company–always.
Through not seeing fools
constantly, constantly
     one would be happy.

For, living with a fool,
one grieves a long time.
Painful is communion with fools,
as with an enemy–
     always.
Happy is communion
with the enlightened,
as with a gathering of kin.

     So:
the enlightened man–
discerning, learned,
enduring, dutiful, noble,
intelligent, a man of integrity:
     follow him
     –one of this sort–
     as the moon, the path
     of the zodiac stars.
206–208

Read this translation of Dhp 197–208 Sukhavagga: Happy by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 179–196 Buddhavagga:

He whose victory may not be undone,
a victory unrivaled in all the world;
by what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

Of craving, the weaver, the clinger, he has none:
so where can he be traced?
By what track would you trace that Buddha,
who leaves no track in his infinite range?

The wise intent on absorption,
who love the peace of renunciation,
the Buddhas, ever mindful,
are envied by even the gods.

It’s hard to gain a human birth;
the life of mortals is hard;
it’s hard to hear the true teaching;
the arising of Buddhas is hard.

Not to do any evil;
to embrace the good;
to purify one’s mind:
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Patient acceptance is the ultimate fervor.
Extinguishment is the ultimate, say the Buddhas.
No true renunciate injures another,
nor does an ascetic hurt another.

Not speaking ill nor doing harm;
restraint in the monastic code;
moderation in eating;
staying in remote lodgings;
commitment to the higher mind—
this is the instruction of the Buddhas.

Even if it were raining money,
you’d not be sated in sensual pleasures.
An astute person understands that sensual pleasures
offer little gratification and much suffering.

Thus they find no delight
even in celestial pleasures.
A disciple of the fully awakened Buddha
delights in the ending of craving.

So many go for refuge
to mountains and forest groves,
to tree-shrines in tended parks;
those people are driven by fear.

But such refuge is no sanctuary,
it is no supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re not released from suffering.

One gone for refuge to the Buddha,
to his teaching and to the Saṅgha,
sees the four noble truths
with right understanding:

suffering, suffering’s origin,
suffering’s transcendence,
and the noble eightfold path
that leads to the stilling of suffering.

Such refuge is a sanctuary,
it is the supreme refuge.
By going to that refuge,
you’re released from all suffering.

It’s hard to find a thoroughbred man
they’re not born just anywhere.
A family where that sage is born
prospers in happiness.

Happy, the arising of Buddhas!
Happy, the teaching of Dhamma!
Happy is the harmony of the Saṅgha,
and the striving of the harmonious is happy.

When a person venerates the worthy—
the Buddha or his disciple,
who have transcended proliferation,
and have left behind grief and lamentation,

quenched, fearing nothing from any quarter—
the merit of one venerating such as these,
cannot be calculated by anyone,
saying it is just this much.


Read this translation of Dhammapada 179–196 Buddhavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 167–178 Lokavagga: The World

  1. Follow not the vulgar way; live not in heedlessness; hold not false views; linger not long in worldly existence.
  2. Arise! Do not be heedless! Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  3. Lead a righteous life; lead not a base life. The righteous live happily both in this world and the next.
  4. One who looks upon the world as a bubble and a mirage, him the King of Death sees not.
  5. Come! Behold this world, which is like a decorated royal chariot. Here fools flounder, but the wise have no attachment to it.
  6. He who having been heedless is heedless no more, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  7. He, who by good deeds covers the evil he has done, illuminates this world like the moon freed from clouds.
  8. Blind is the world; here only a few possess insight. Only a few, like birds escaping from the net, go to realms of bliss.
  9. Swans fly on the path of the sun; men pass through the air by psychic powers; the wise are led away from the world after vanquishing Mara and his host.
  10. For a liar who has violated the one law (of truthfulness) who holds in scorn the hereafter, there is no evil that he cannot do.
  11. Truly, misers fare not to heavenly realms; nor, indeed, do fools praise generosity. But the wise man rejoices in giving, and by that alone does he become happy hereafter.
  12. Better than sole sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better even than lordship over all the worlds is the supramundane Fruition of Stream Entrance.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 167–178 Lokavagga: The World by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 157-166 Atta Vagga: Oneself

  1. If one holds oneself dear, one should guard oneself with care. Avoiding evil, the wise person should watch over himself at least in one of these three stages of life—childhood, adulthood, or old age.
  2. One should first establish oneself in good qualities; then only should one instruct others. Thus, the wise person will not be stained.
  3. As one instructs others, so should one act; if one would tame others, one should first be well tamed. Truly, it is very hard to tame oneself.
  4. Oneself, indeed, is one’s own protector. Who else could the protector be? With oneself well tamed, one can obtain the protection of Dhamma which is hard to obtain.
  5. The evil a foolish person does by himself, born of himself, and produced by himself, grinds him as the diamond which was produced by the gems grinds similar types of gems.
  6. The plant vines with big leaves cover the sal tree on which it grows. As a result, eventually the tree breaks down. In the same way, the person who completely covers himself with his own corrupt conduct does to himself what an enemy wishes for him.
  7. Easy to do are things that are bad and harmful to oneself. However, it is very difficult to do things that are good and beneficial for oneself.
  8. The fool, relying on evil views, scorns the teaching of the liberated ones who live righteously. The fool produces fruit that destroys himself, like the bamboo tree produces fruit bringing its own destruction.
  9. Through one’s own evil deeds one is defiled. By avoiding evil deeds one is purified. Purity or impurity entirely depends on oneself; no one can purify another.
  10. Do not lose your own welfare for the sake of others’ welfare. Clearly understand your own welfare which is the attainment of enlightenment. Therefore, work hard to be a liberated one.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 12 Atta Vagga: Oneself (157-166) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 146-156 Jarāvagga: Aging

What laughter, why joy,
when constantly aflame?
     Enveloped in darkness,
don’t you look for a lamp?
146

Look at the beautified image,
a heap of festering wounds, shored up:
ill, but the object
     of many resolves,
where there is nothing
     lasting or sure.
147

Worn out is this body,
a nest of diseases, dissolving.
This putrid conglomeration
is bound to break up,
for life is hemmed in with death.
148

On seeing these bones
     discarded
like gourds in the fall,
     pigeon-gray:
          what delight?
149

A city made of bones,
plastered over with flesh & blood,
whose hidden treasures are:
     pride & contempt,
     aging & death.
150

Even royal chariots
well-embellished
get run down,
and so does the body
succumb to old age.
But the Dhamma of the good
doesn’t succumb to old age:
the good let the civilized know.
151

This unlistening man
matures like an ox.
His muscles develop,
his discernment      not.
152

Through the round of many births I roamed
     without reward,
     without rest,
seeking the house-builder.
     Painful is birth again
          & again.

House-builder, you’re seen!
You will not build a house again.
All your rafters broken,
the ridge pole dismantled,
immersed in dismantling, the mind
has attained to the end of craving.
153-154

Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they waste away like old herons
in a dried-up lake
depleted of fish.

Neither living the chaste life
nor gaining wealth in their youth,
they lie around,
misfired from the bow,
sighing over old times.
155-156

Read this translation of Dhp 146-156 Jarāvagga: Aging by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 129–145 Daṇḍavagga: The Rod

All tremble at the rod,
all fear death.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

All tremble at the rod,
all love life.
Treating others like oneself,
neither kill nor incite to kill.

Creatures love happiness,
so if you harm them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you won’t find happiness.

Creatures love happiness,
so if you don’t hurt them with a stick
in search of your own happiness,
after death you will find happiness.

Don’t speak harshly,
they may speak harshly back.
For aggressive speech is painful,
and the rod may spring back on you.

If you still yourself
like a broken gong,
you’re quenched
and conflict-free.

As a cowherd drives the cows
to pasture with the rod,
so too old age and death
drive life from living beings.

The fool does not understand
the evil that they do.
But because of those deeds, that dullard
is tormented as if burnt by fire.

One who violently attacks
the peaceful and the innocent
swiftly falls
to one of ten bad states:

harsh pain; loss;
the breakup of the body;
serious illness;
mental distress;

hazards from rulers;
vicious slander;
loss of kin;
destruction of wealth;

or else their home
is consumed by fire.
When their body breaks up, that witless person
is reborn in hell.

Not nakedness, nor matted hair, nor mud,
nor fasting, nor lying on bare ground,
nor wearing dust and dirt, or squatting on the heels,
will cleanse a mortal not free of doubt.

Dressed-up they may be, but if they live well—
peaceful, tamed, committed to the spiritual path,
having laid aside violence towards all creatures—
they are a brahmin, an ascetic, a mendicant.

Can a person constrained by conscience
be found in the world?
Who shies away from blame,
like a fine horse from the whip?

Like a fine horse under the whip,
be keen and full of urgency.
With faith, ethics, and energy,
immersion, and investigation of principles,
accomplished in knowledge and conduct, mindful,
give up this vast suffering.

While irrigators guide water,
fletchers shape arrows,
and carpenters carve timber—
those true to their vows tame themselves.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 129–145 Daṇḍavagga: The Rod by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 116–128 Papavagga: Evil

  1. Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil.
  2. Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil.
  3. Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.
  4. It may be well with the evil-doer as long as the evil ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the evil-doer sees (the painful results of) his evil deeds.
  5. It may be ill with the doer of good as long as the good ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the doer of good sees (the pleasant results of) his good deeds.
  6. Think not lightly of evil, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil.
  7. Think not lightly of good, saying, “It will not come to me.” Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
  8. Just as a trader with a small escort and great wealth would avoid a perilous route, or just as one desiring to live avoids poison, even so should one shun evil.
  9. If on the hand there is no wound, one may carry even poison in it. Poison does not affect one who is free from wounds. For him who does no evil, there is no ill.
  10. Like fine dust thrown against the wind, evil falls back upon that fool who offends an inoffensive, pure and guiltless man.
  11. Some are born in the womb; the wicked are born in hell; the devout go to heaven; the stainless pass into Nibbana.
  12. Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one may escape from the results of evil deeds.
  13. Neither in the sky nor in mid-ocean, nor by entering into mountain clefts, nowhere in the world is there a place where one will not be overcome by death.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 116–128 Papavagga: Evil by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 100-115 Sahassa Vagga: The Thousands

  1. Better than a thousand unbeneficial words is one beneficial word which, having been heard, brings peace.
  2. Better than a thousand unbeneficial verses is one beneficial line of verse which, having been heard, brings peace.
  3. Better than reciting a hundred unbeneficial verses is one line of Dhamma which, having been heard, brings peace.
  4. Greater than a person who conquers a thousand people in battle a thousand times is the person who conquers himself in the battle of defilements.
  5. Certainly it is better to conquer oneself than others. The person who tames himself and always restrains sense faculties wins the battle.
  6. Neither a god, nor a divine musician, nor Māra, nor brahma, can turn into defeat the victory of a person who has conquered himself.
  7. Better than a thousand ritual sacrifices offered every month for a hundred years is one moment’s gift offered to a liberated one who has fully developed his mind.
  8. Better than a hundred years in the forest tending a ritual fire is one moment’s gift offered to a liberated one who has fully developed his mind.
  9. Whatever gift or offering a merit seeker might perform in an entire year is not worth one-fourth as much as worshipping the liberated ones.
  10. For the person who worships virtuous people and always reveres and serves the elders, four things increase: long life, beauty, happiness, and power.
  11. Better it is to live one day virtuous and meditative than to live a hundred years without virtue and stillness of mind.
  12. Better it is to live one day wise and meditative than to live a hundred years without wisdom and stillness of mind.
  13. Better it is to live one day energetic and resolute than to live a hundred years lazy and sluggish.
  14. Better it is to live one day seeing the arising and passing of the five groups of clinging than to live a hundred years without ever seeing their arising and passing.
  15. Better it is to live one day experiencing Nibbāna than to live a hundred years without ever experiencing Nibbāna.
  16. Better it is to live one day realizing the Supreme Dhamma than to live a hundred years without ever realizing the Supreme Dhamma.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 8 Sahassa Vagga: The Thousands (100-115) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 90–99 Arahantavagga: Arahants

    In one who
has gone the full distance,
is free from sorrow,
is everywhere
    fully released,
has abandoned all bonds:
    no fever is found.
90

The mindful keep active,
don’t delight in settling back.
They renounce every home,
        every home,
like swans taking off from a lake.
91

Not hoarding,
having comprehended food,
their pasture–emptiness
& freedom without sign:
    their course,
like that of birds through space,
    can’t be traced.

Effluents ended,
independent of nutriment,
their pasture–emptiness
& freedom without sign:
    their trail,
like that of birds through space,
    can’t be traced.
92-93

He whose senses are steadied
    like stallions
well-trained by the charioteer,
his conceit abandoned,
    free of effluent,
    Such:
even devas adore him.

Like the earth, he doesn’t react–
    cultured,
    Such,
like Indra’s pillar,
like a lake free of mud.
For him
    –Such–
there’s no traveling on.
Calm is his mind,
calm his speech
     & his deed:
one who’s released through right knowing,
    pacified,
    Such.
94-96

        The man
faithless / beyond conviction
ungrateful / knowing the Unmade
a burglar / who has severed connections
    who’s destroyed
his chances / conditions
who eats vomit: / has disgorged expectations:
    the ultimate person.
97

In village or wilds,
valley, plateau:
that place is delightful
where arahants dwell.
98

Delightful wilds
where the crowds don’t delight,
those free from passion
    delight,
for they’re not searching
for sensual pleasures.
99

Read this translation of Dhammapada VII . Arahants by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Tiếng Việt, Català, Čeština, Español, Français, עִבְֿרִיתּ, Magyar, Italiano, 日本語, Latine, मराठी, မြန်မာဘာသာ, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, සිංහල, Slovenščina, தமிழ், or 汉语. Learn how to find your language.

Dhp 76–89 Paṇḍitavagga: The Astute

Regard one who sees your faults
as a guide to a hidden treasure.
Stay close to one so wise and astute
who corrects you when you need it.
Sticking close to such an impartial person,
things get better, not worse.

Advise and instruct;
curb wickedness:
for you shall be loved by the good,
and disliked by the bad.

Don’t mix with bad friends,
nor with the worst of men.
Mix with spiritual friends,
and with the best of men.

Through joy in the teaching you sleep at ease,
with clear and confident heart.
An astute person always delights in the teaching
proclaimed by the Noble One.

Irrigators guide water,
fletchers straighten arrows,
carpenters carve timber,
the astute tame themselves.

As the wind cannot stir
a solid mass of rock,
so too blame and praise
do not affect the wise.

Like a deep lake,
clear and unclouded,
so clear are the astute
when they hear the teachings.

True persons give up everything,
they don’t cajole for the things they desire.
Though touched by sadness or happiness,
the astute appear neither depressed nor elated.

Never wish for success by unjust means,
for your own sake or that of another,
desiring children, wealth, or nation;
rather, be virtuous, wise, and just.

Few are those among humans
who cross to the far shore.
The rest just run around
on the near shore.

When the teaching is well explained,
those who practice accordingly
will cross over
Death’s domain so hard to pass.

Rid of dark qualities,
an astute person should develop the bright.
Leaving home behind
for the seclusion so hard to enjoy,

find delight there,
having left behind sensual pleasures.
With no possessions, an astute person
would cleanse themselves of mental corruptions.

Those whose minds are rightly developed
in the awakening factors;
who, letting go of attachments,
delight in not grasping:
with defilements ended, brilliant,
they in this world are quenched.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 76–89 Paṇḍitavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 60–75 Bālavagga: The Fool

  1. Long is the night to the sleepless; long is the league to the weary. Long is worldly existence to fools who know not the Sublime Truth.
  2. Should a seeker not find a companion who is better or equal, let him resolutely pursue a solitary course; there is no fellowship with the fool.
  3. The fool worries, thinking, “I have sons, I have wealth.” Indeed, when he himself is not his own, whence are sons, whence is wealth?
  4. A fool who knows his foolishness is wise at least to that extent, but a fool who thinks himself wise is a fool indeed.
  5. Though all his life a fool associates with a wise man, he no more comprehends the Truth than a spoon tastes the flavor of the soup.
  6. Though only for a moment a discerning person associates with a wise man, quickly he comprehends the Truth, just as the tongue tastes the flavor of the soup.
  7. Fools of little wit are enemies unto themselves as they move about doing evil deeds, the fruits of which are bitter.
  8. Ill done is that action of doing which one repents later, and the fruit of which one, weeping, reaps with tears.
  9. Well done is that action of doing which one repents not later, and the fruit of which one reaps with delight and happiness.
  10. So long as an evil deed has not ripened, the fool thinks it as sweet as honey. But when the evil deed ripens, the fool comes to grief.
  11. Month after month a fool may eat his food with the tip of a blade of grass, but he still is not worth a sixteenth part of the those who have comprehended the Truth.
  12. Truly, an evil deed committed does not immediately bear fruit, like milk that does not turn sour all at once. But smoldering, it follows the fool like fire covered by ashes.
  13. To his own ruin the fool gains knowledge, for it cleaves his head and destroys his innate goodness.
  14. The fool seeks undeserved reputation, precedence among monks, authority over monasteries, and honor among householders.
  15. “Let both laymen and monks think that it was done by me. In every work, great and small, let them follow me” — such is the ambition of the fool; thus his desire and pride increase.
  16. One is the quest for worldly gain, and quite another is the path to Nibbana. Clearly understanding this, let not the monk, the disciple of the Buddha, be carried away by worldly acclaim, but develop detachment instead

Read this translation of Dhammapada 60–75 Bālavagga: The Fool by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 44-59 Puppha Vagga: Flowers

  1. Who will overcome this earth? Who will overcome this plane of misery? Who will overcome this world with its gods? Who will realize the well-taught words of the Dhamma, as an expert garland maker selects beautiful flowers?
  2. The trainee in the Dhamma path will overcome this earth. He will overcome the plane of misery. He will overcome this world with its gods. The trainee will realize the well-taught words of the Dhamma, as an expert garland maker selects beautiful flowers.
  3. Understanding that this body is fragile like foam, realizing life’s mirage-like nature, cutting off Māra’s flowers of defilements, go beyond the sight of Māra!
  4. The person obsessed by sense pleasures chases after them as a garland maker searches for flowers. Māra carries away that person to the plane of misery like a great flood sweeps away a sleeping village.
  5. The person obsessed by sense pleasures chases after them as a garland maker searches for flowers. Although he has not fully satisfied himself with sense pleasures, Māra brings him under his control.
  6. As a bee gathers nectar from the flower and flies away without harming the flower’s beauty or its fragrance, just so the sage goes on his alms round in the village.
  7. Do not consider what is false in what others say or what they have or have not done. Consider instead what you have or have not done.
  8. A beautiful flower that is colourful but without fragrance is not perfect. In the same way, the well spoken-words of the Buddha become fruitless for the person who does not practice them.
  9. A beautiful flower that is colourful and also fragrant is perfect. In the same way, the well-spoken words of the Buddha become fruitful for the person who practices them.
  10. As an expert garland maker makes many garlands from a heap of flowers, you who obtained the human life should do many wholesome deeds.
  11. The scent of flowers does not go against the wind. The scent of sandalwood, jasmine, and rosebay does not go against the wind. But the scent of a grateful person does travel against the wind. The scent of his virtues spreads in all directions.
  12. Of all the fragrances—sandalwood, rosebay, water lily, and jasmine—the fragrance of virtue is the sweetest.
  13. Slight is the scent of rosebay or sandalwood, but the scent of the virtuous is supreme, drifting even to heaven.
  14. The liberated ones are virtuous and practice the Dhamma diligently. They are freed from suffering by the realization of the Noble Truths. Māra never finds the path by which they are liberated.
  15. In the roadside ditch, in a heap of rubbish, blooms a lotus, sweet smelling and pleasing to the eyes.
  16. In the same way, among the rubbish heap of unaware ordinary people, the disciple of the Supreme Buddha shines brightly with wisdom.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 4 Puppha Vagga: Flowers (44-59) by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnananda Thero on SuttaFriends.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 33–43 Cittavagga: The Mind

Quivering, wavering,
hard to guard,
to hold in check:
     the mind.
The sage makes it straight–
like a fletcher,
the shaft of an arrow.

Like a fish
pulled from its home in the water
& thrown on land:
this mind flips & flaps about
     to escape Mara’s sway.

Hard to hold down,
     nimble,
alighting wherever it likes:
     the mind.
Its taming is good.
The mind well-tamed
     brings ease.

So hard to see,
so very, very subtle,
alighting wherever it likes:
     the mind.
The wise should guard it.
The mind protected
     brings ease.

Wandering far,
going alone,
bodiless,
lying in a cave:
     the mind.
Those who restrain it:
     from Mara’s bonds
     they’ll be freed.
33-37

For a person of unsteady mind,
not knowing true Dhamma,
     serenity
     set     adrift:
discernment doesn’t grow full.
38

For a person of unsoddened mind,
          unassaulted awareness,
abandoning merit & evil,
     wakeful,
there is
     no danger
     no fear.
39

Knowing this body
     is like a clay jar,
securing this mind
     like a fort,
          attack Mara
     with the spear of discernment,
then guard what’s won
     without settling there,
     without laying claim.
40

All too soon, this body
will lie on the ground
     cast off,
bereft of consciousness,
like a useless scrap
     of wood.
41

Whatever an enemy might do
to an enemy,
or a foe to a foe,
the ill-directed mind
can do to you
     even worse.

Whatever a mother, father
or other kinsman
might do for you,
the well-directed mind
can do for you
     even better.
42-43

Read this translation of Dhammapada III . The Mind by Bhikkhu Ṭhanissaro on DhammaTalks.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 21–32 Appamādavagga: Diligence

Heedfulness is the state free of death;
heedlessness is the state of death.
The heedful do not die,
while the heedless are like the dead.

Understanding this distinction
when it comes to heedfulness,
the astute rejoice in heedfulness,
happy in the noble ones’ domain.

They who regularly meditate,
always staunchly vigorous;
those wise ones realize quenching,
the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

For the hard-working and mindful,
pure of deed and attentive,
restrained, living righteously, and diligent,
their reputation only grows.

By hard work and diligence,
by restraint and by self-control,
a smart person would build an island
that the floods cannot overflow.

Fools and half-wits
devote themselves to negligence.
But the wise protect diligence
as their best treasure.

Don’t devote yourself to negligence,
or delight in sexual intimacy.
For if you’re diligent and meditate,
you’ll attain abundant happiness.

When the astute dispel negligence
by means of diligence,
ascending the palace of wisdom,
sorrowless, they behold this generation of sorrow,
as a wise man on a mountain-top
beholds the fools below.

Heedful among the heedless,
wide awake while others sleep—
a true sage leaves them behind,
like a swift horse passing a feeble.

Maghavā became chief of the gods
by means of diligence.
People praise diligence,
while negligence is always deplored.

A mendicant who loves to be diligent,
seeing fear in negligence—
advances like fire,
burning up fetters big and small.

A mendicant who loves to be diligent,
seeing fear in negligence—
such a one can’t decline,
and has drawn near to extinguishment.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 21–32 Appamādavagga: by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Dhp 1–20 Yamakavagga: Pairs

  1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
  2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.
  3. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.
  4. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.
  5. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.
  6. There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels.
  7. Just as a storm throws down a weak tree, so does Mara overpower the man who lives for the pursuit of pleasures, who is uncontrolled in his senses, immoderate in eating, indolent, and dissipated.
  8. Just as a storm cannot prevail against a rocky mountain, so Mara can never overpower the man who lives meditating on the impurities, who is controlled in his senses, moderate in eating, and filled with faith and earnest effort.
  9. Whoever being depraved, devoid of self-control and truthfulness, should don the monk’s yellow robe, he surely is not worthy of the robe.
  10. But whoever is purged of depravity, well-established in virtues and filled with self-control and truthfulness, he indeed is worthy of the yellow robe.
  11. Those who mistake the unessential to be essential and the essential to be unessential, dwelling in wrong thoughts, never arrive at the essential.
  12. Those who know the essential to be essential and the unessential to be unessential, dwelling in right thoughts, do arrive at the essential.
  13. Just as rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, so passion penetrates an undeveloped mind.
  14. Just as rain does not break through a well-thatched house, so passion never penetrates a well-developed mind.
  15. The evil-doer grieves here and hereafter; he grieves in both the worlds. He laments and is afflicted, recollecting his own impure deeds.
  16. The doer of good rejoices here and hereafter; he rejoices in both the worlds. He rejoices and exults, recollecting his own pure deeds.
  17. The evil-doer suffers here and hereafter; he suffers in both the worlds. The thought, “Evil have I done,” torments him, and he suffers even more when gone to realms of woe.
  18. The doer of good delights here and hereafter; he delights in both the worlds. The thought, “Good have I done,” delights him, and he delights even more when gone to realms of bliss.
  19. Much though he recites the sacred texts, but acts not accordingly, that heedless man is like a cowherd who only counts the cows of others — he does not partake of the blessings of the holy life.
  20. Little though he recites the sacred texts, but puts the Teaching into practice, forsaking lust, hatred, and delusion, with true wisdom and emancipated mind, clinging to nothing of this or any other world — he indeed partakes of the blessings of a holy life.

Read this translation of Dhammapada 1–20 Yamakavagga: Pairs by Acharya Buddharakkhita on accesstoinsight.org. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net, SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, or Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Thag 1.37 Kumāputtasahāyakattheragāthā: Kumāputtasahāyaka

Some travel to different countries,
wandering undisciplined.
If they lose their meditation,
what will such rotten conduct achieve?
So you should dispel pride,
practicing absorption undistracted.

Read this translation of Theragāthā 1.37 Kumāputtasahāyakattheragāthā: Kumāputtasahāyaka by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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SN 54.11 Icchānaṅgalasutta: Icchānaṅgala

[Note: To see all the steps of mindfulness of breathing, see SN 54.1 Ekadhamma]

At one time the Buddha was staying in a forest near Icchānaṅgala. There he addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants, I wish to go on retreat for three months. No-one should approach me, except for the one who brings my almsfood.”

“Yes, sir,” replied those mendicants. And no-one approached him, except for the one who brought the almsfood.

Then after three months had passed, the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants, if wanderers who follow another religion were to ask you: ‘Reverends, what was the ascetic Gotama’s usual meditation during the rainy season residence?’ You should answer them like this. ‘Reverends, the ascetic Gotama’s usual meditation during the rainy season residence was immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.’

In this regard: mindful, I breathe in. Mindful, I breathe out.

Breathing in heavily I know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily I know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’ When breathing in lightly I know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly I know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’ I know: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ …

I know: ‘I’ll breathe in observing letting go.’ I know: ‘I’ll breathe out observing letting go.’

For if anything should be rightly called ‘a noble meditation’, or else ‘a divine meditation’, or else ‘a realized one’s meditation’, it’s immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.

For those mendicants who are trainees—who haven’t achieved their heart’s desire, but live aspiring to the supreme sanctuary from the yoke—the development and cultivation of immersion due to mindfulness of breathing leads to the ending of defilements.

For those mendicants who are perfected—who have ended the defilements, completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their own goal, utterly ended the fetters of rebirth, and are rightly freed through enlightenment—the development and cultivation of immersion due to mindfulness of breathing leads to blissful meditation in the present life, and to mindfulness and awareness.

For if anything should be rightly called ‘a noble meditation’, or else ‘a divine meditation’, or else ‘a realized one’s meditation’, it’s immersion due to mindfulness of breathing.”

Read this translation of Saṁyutta Nikāya 54.11 Icchānaṅgalasutta: Icchānaṅgala by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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AN 4.94 Tatiyasamādhisutta: Immersion (3rd)

“Mendicants, these four people are found in the world. What four?

One person has internal serenity of heart, but not the higher wisdom of discernment of principles. One person has the higher wisdom of discernment of principles, but not internal serenity of heart. One person has neither internal serenity of heart, nor the higher wisdom of discernment of principles. One person has both internal serenity of heart, and the higher wisdom of discernment of principles.

As for the person who has serenity but not discernment: they should approach someone who has discernment and ask: ‘Reverend, how should conditions be seen? How should they be comprehended? How should they be discerned?’ That person would answer from their own experience: ‘This is how conditions should be seen, comprehended, and discerned.’ After some time they have both serenity and discernment.

As for the person who has discernment but not serenity: they should approach someone who has serenity and ask: ‘Reverend, how should the mind be stilled? How should it be settled? How should it be unified? How should it be immersed in samādhi?’ That person would answer from their own experience: ‘Reverend, this is how the mind should be stilled, settled, unified, and immersed in samādhi.’ After some time they have both discernment and serenity.

As for the person who has neither serenity nor discernment: they should approach someone who has serenity and discernment and ask: ‘Reverend, how should the mind be stilled? How should it be settled? How should it be unified? How should it be immersed in samādhi?’ How should conditions be seen? How should they be comprehended? How should they be discerned?’ That person would answer as they’ve seen and known: ‘Reverend, this is how the mind should be stilled, settled, unified, and immersed in samādhi. And this is how conditions should be seen, comprehended, and discerned.’ After some time they have both serenity and discernment.

As for the person who has both serenity and discernment: grounded on those skillful qualities, they should practice meditation further to end the defilements.

These are the four people found in the world.”

Read this translation of Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.94 Tatiyasamādhisutta: Immersion (3rd) by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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MN 10 From… Satipaṭṭhānasutta: Mindfulness Meditation—Part 2

[Note: This is the second half of the sutta. You can find a more detailed explanation of the Noble Truths in DN 22 Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna.]

2. Observing the Feelings

…And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of feelings?

It’s when a mendicant who feels a pleasant feeling knows: ‘I feel a pleasant feeling.’

When they feel a painful feeling, they know: ‘I feel a painful feeling.’

When they feel a neutral feeling, they know: ‘I feel a neutral feeling.’

When they feel a pleasant feeling of the flesh, they know: ‘I feel a pleasant feeling of the flesh.’

When they feel a pleasant feeling not of the flesh, they know: ‘I feel a pleasant feeling not of the flesh.’

When they feel a material painful feeling, they know: ‘I feel a material painful feeling.’

When they feel a painful feeling not of the flesh, they know: ‘I feel a painful feeling not of the flesh.’

When they feel a material neutral feeling, they know: ‘I feel a material neutral feeling.’

When they feel a neutral feeling not of the flesh, they know: ‘I feel a neutral feeling not of the flesh.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of feelings internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing feelings as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that feelings exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of feelings.

3. Observing the Mind

And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of the mind?

It’s when a mendicant understands mind with greed as ‘mind with greed,’ and mind without greed as ‘mind without greed.’ They understand mind with hate as ‘mind with hate,’ and mind without hate as ‘mind without hate.’ They understand mind with delusion as ‘mind with delusion,’ and mind without delusion as ‘mind without delusion.’ They know constricted mind as ‘constricted mind,’ and scattered mind as ‘scattered mind.’ They know expansive mind as ‘expansive mind,’ and unexpansive mind as ‘unexpansive mind.’ They know mind that is not supreme as ‘mind that is not supreme,’ and mind that is supreme as ‘mind that is supreme.’ They know mind immersed in samādhi as ‘mind immersed in samādhi,’ and mind not immersed in samādhi as ‘mind not immersed in samādhi.’ They know freed mind as ‘freed mind,’ and unfreed mind as ‘unfreed mind.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the mind internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the mind as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the mind exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the mind.

4. Observing Principles

4.1. The Hindrances

And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles?

It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five hindrances. And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five hindrances?

It’s when a mendicant who has sensual desire in them understands: ‘I have sensual desire in me.’ When they don’t have sensual desire in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have sensual desire in me.’ They understand how sensual desire arises; how, when it’s already arisen, it’s given up; and how, once it’s given up, it doesn’t arise again in the future.

When they have ill will in them, they understand: ‘I have ill will in me.’ When they don’t have ill will in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have ill will in me.’ They understand how ill will arises; how, when it’s already arisen, it’s given up; and how, once it’s given up, it doesn’t arise again in the future.

When they have dullness and drowsiness in them, they understand: ‘I have dullness and drowsiness in me.’ When they don’t have dullness and drowsiness in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have dullness and drowsiness in me.’ They understand how dullness and drowsiness arise; how, when they’ve already arisen, they’re given up; and how, once they’re given up, they don’t arise again in the future.

When they have restlessness and remorse in them, they understand: ‘I have restlessness and remorse in me.’ When they don’t have restlessness and remorse in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have restlessness and remorse in me.’ They understand how restlessness and remorse arise; how, when they’ve already arisen, they’re given up; and how, once they’re given up, they don’t arise again in the future.

When they have doubt in them, they understand: ‘I have doubt in me.’ When they don’t have doubt in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have doubt in me.’ They understand how doubt arises; how, when it’s already arisen, it’s given up; and how, once it’s given up, it doesn’t arise again in the future.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the principles as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five hindrances.

4.2. The Aggregates

Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five grasping aggregates. And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five grasping aggregates? It’s when a mendicant contemplates: ‘Such is form, such is the origin of form, such is the ending of form. Such is feeling, such is the origin of feeling, such is the ending of feeling. Such is perception, such is the origin of perception, such is the ending of perception. Such are choices, such is the origin of choices, such is the ending of choices. Such is consciousness, such is the origin of consciousness, such is the ending of consciousness.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally …

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the five grasping aggregates.

4.3. The Sense Fields

Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the six interior and exterior sense fields. And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles with respect to the six interior and exterior sense fields?

It’s when a mendicant understands the eye, sights, and the fetter that arises dependent on both of these. They understand how the fetter that has not arisen comes to arise; how the arisen fetter comes to be abandoned; and how the abandoned fetter comes to not rise again in the future.

They understand the ear, sounds, and the fetter …

They understand the nose, smells, and the fetter …

They understand the tongue, tastes, and the fetter …

They understand the body, touches, and the fetter …

They understand the mind, ideas, and the fetter that arises dependent on both of these. They understand how the fetter that has not arisen comes to arise; how the arisen fetter comes to be abandoned; and how the abandoned fetter comes to not rise again in the future.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally …

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the six internal and external sense fields.

4.4. The Awakening Factors

Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the seven awakening factors. And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles with respect to the seven awakening factors?

It’s when a mendicant who has the awakening factor of mindfulness in them understands: ‘I have the awakening factor of mindfulness in me.’ When they don’t have the awakening factor of mindfulness in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have the awakening factor of mindfulness in me.’ They understand how the awakening factor of mindfulness that has not arisen comes to arise; and how the awakening factor of mindfulness that has arisen becomes fulfilled by development.

When they have the awakening factor of investigation of principles … energy … rapture … tranquility … immersion … equanimity in them, they understand: ‘I have the awakening factor of equanimity in me.’ When they don’t have the awakening factor of equanimity in them, they understand: ‘I don’t have the awakening factor of equanimity in me.’ They understand how the awakening factor of equanimity that has not arisen comes to arise; and how the awakening factor of equanimity that has arisen becomes fulfilled by development.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the principles as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the seven awakening factors.

4.5. The Truths

Furthermore, a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the four noble truths.

And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of principles with respect to the four noble truths? It’s when a mendicant truly understands: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of principles internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the principles as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that principles exist, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of principles with respect to the four noble truths.

Anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for seven years can expect one of two results: enlightenment in the present life, or if there’s something left over, non-return.

Let alone seven years, anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for six years … five years … four years … three years … two years … one year … seven months … six months … five months … four months … three months … two months … one month … a fortnight … Let alone a fortnight, anyone who develops these four kinds of mindfulness meditation in this way for seven days can expect one of two results: enlightenment in the present life, or if there’s something left over, non-return.

‘The four kinds of mindfulness meditation are the path to convergence. They are in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to discover the system, and to realize extinguishment.’ That’s what I said, and this is why I said it.”

That is what the Buddha said. Satisfied, the mendicants approved what the Buddha said.

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MN 10 From… Satipaṭṭhānasutta: Mindfulness Meditation—Part 1

[Note: A month of meditation suttas would not be complete without the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. Today’s selection is the first half of the sutta. We can also learn about mindfulness of the body in MN 119 Kāyagatāsati.]

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Kurus, near the Kuru town named Kammāsadamma. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Mendicants, the four kinds of mindfulness meditation are the path to convergence. They are in order to purify sentient beings, to get past sorrow and crying, to make an end of pain and sadness, to discover the system, and to realize extinguishment.

What four? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of the mind—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world.

1. Observing the Body

1.1. Mindfulness of Breathing

And how does a mendicant meditate observing an aspect of the body?

It’s when a mendicant—gone to a wilderness, or to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut—sits down cross-legged, sets their body straight, and establishes mindfulness in front of them. Just mindful, they breathe in. Mindful, they breathe out.

Breathing in heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing in heavily.’ Breathing out heavily they know: ‘I’m breathing out heavily.’

When breathing in lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing in lightly.’ Breathing out lightly they know: ‘I’m breathing out lightly.’

They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in experiencing the whole body.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out experiencing the whole body.’

They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe in stilling the physical process.’ They practice like this: ‘I’ll breathe out stilling the physical process.’

It’s like a deft carpenter or carpenter’s apprentice. When making a deep cut they know: ‘I’m making a deep cut,’ and when making a shallow cut they know: ‘I’m making a shallow cut.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the body as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the body exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That’s how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

1.2. The Postures

Furthermore, when a mendicant is walking they know: ‘I am walking.’ When standing they know: ‘I am standing.’ When sitting they know: ‘I am sitting.’ And when lying down they know: ‘I am lying down.’ Whatever posture their body is in, they know it.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the body as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the body exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

1.3. Situational Awareness

Furthermore, a mendicant acts with situational awareness when going out and coming back; when looking ahead and aside; when bending and extending the limbs; when bearing the outer robe, bowl and robes; when eating, drinking, chewing, and tasting; when urinating and defecating; when walking, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, speaking, and keeping silent.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally …

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

1.4. Focusing on the Repulsive

Furthermore, a mendicant examines their own body, up from the soles of the feet and down from the tips of the hairs, wrapped in skin and full of many kinds of filth. ‘In this body there is head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, diaphragm, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, undigested food, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, saliva, snot, synovial fluid, urine.’

It’s as if there were a bag with openings at both ends, filled with various kinds of grains, such as fine rice, wheat, mung beans, peas, sesame, and ordinary rice. And someone with clear eyes were to open it and examine the contents: ‘These grains are fine rice, these are wheat, these are mung beans, these are peas, these are sesame, and these are ordinary rice.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally …

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

1.5. Focusing on the Elements

Furthermore, a mendicant examines their own body, whatever its placement or posture, according to the elements: ‘In this body there is the earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element.’

It’s as if a deft butcher or butcher’s apprentice were to kill a cow and sit down at the crossroads with the meat cut into portions.

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally …

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

1.6. The Charnel Ground Contemplations

Furthermore, suppose a mendicant were to see a corpse discarded in a charnel ground. And it had been dead for one, two, or three days, bloated, livid, and festering. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’ And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally …

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

Furthermore, suppose they were to see a corpse discarded in a charnel ground being devoured by crows, hawks, vultures, herons, dogs, tigers, leopards, jackals, and many kinds of little creatures. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’ And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally …

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

Furthermore, suppose they were to see a corpse discarded in a charnel ground, a skeleton with flesh and blood, held together by sinews …

A skeleton without flesh but smeared with blood, and held together by sinews …

A skeleton rid of flesh and blood, held together by sinews …

Bones rid of sinews scattered in every direction. Here a hand-bone, there a foot-bone, here a shin-bone, there a thigh-bone, here a hip-bone, there a rib-bone, here a back-bone, there an arm-bone, here a neck-bone, there a jaw-bone, here a tooth, there the skull …

White bones, the color of shells …

Decrepit bones, heaped in a pile …

Bones rotted and crumbled to powder. They’d compare it with their own body: ‘This body is also of that same nature, that same kind, and cannot go beyond that.’

And so they meditate observing an aspect of the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. They meditate observing the body as liable to originate, as liable to vanish, and as liable to both originate and vanish. Or mindfulness is established that the body exists, to the extent necessary for knowledge and mindfulness. They meditate independent, not grasping at anything in the world.

That too is how a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body.

…

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AN 5.98 Āraññakasutta: In the Wilderness

“Mendicants, a mendicant practicing mindfulness of breathing who has five things will soon penetrate the unshakable. What five?

  1. It’s when a mendicant has few requirements and duties, and is unburdensome and contented with life’s necessities.
  2. They eat little, not devoted to filling their stomach.
  3. They are rarely drowsy, and are dedicated to wakefulness.
  4. They live in the wilderness, in remote lodgings.
  5. They review the extent of their mind’s freedom.

A mendicant practicing mindfulness of breathing who has these five things will soon penetrate the unshakable.”

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MN 127 From… Anuruddhasutta: With Anuruddha

…[Master builder Pañcakaṅga:] “Sir, some senior mendicants have come to me and said, ‘Householder, develop the limitless release of heart.’ Others have said, ‘Householder, develop the expansive release of heart.’ Now, the limitless release of the heart and the expansive release of the heart: do these things differ in both meaning and phrasing? Or do they mean the same thing, and differ only in the phrasing?”

[Venerable Anuruddha:] “Well then, householder, let me know what you think about this. Afterwards you’ll get it without fail.”

“Sir, this is what I think. The limitless release of the heart and the expansive release of the heart mean the same thing, and differ only in the phrasing.”

“The limitless release of the heart and the expansive release of the heart differ in both meaning and phrasing. This is a way to understand how these things differ in both meaning and phrasing.

And what is the limitless release of the heart? It’s when a mendicant meditates spreading a heart full of love to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. They meditate spreading a heart full of compassion … They meditate spreading a heart full of rejoicing … They meditate spreading a heart full of equanimity to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread a heart full of equanimity to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will. This is called the limitless release of the heart.

And what is the expansive release of the heart? It’s when a mendicant meditates determined on pervading the extent of a single tree root as expansive. This is called the expansive release of the heart. Also, a mendicant meditates determined on pervading the extent of two or three tree roots … a single village district … two or three village districts … a single kingdom … two or three kingdoms … this land surrounded by ocean. This too is called the expansive release of the heart. This is a way to understand how these things differ in both meaning and phrasing.…

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Iti 85 Asubhānupassīsutta: Observing Ugliness

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

“Mendicants, meditate observing the ugliness of the body. Let mindfulness of breathing be well-established internally in front of you. Meditate observing the impermanence of all conditions. As you meditate observing the ugliness of the body, you will give up desire for the body. When mindfulness of breathing is well-established internally in front of you, there will be no distressing external thoughts or wishes. When you meditate observing the impermanence of all conditions, ignorance is given up and knowledge arises.”

The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:

“Observing the ugliness of the body,
mindful of the breath,
one always keen sees
the stilling of all activities.

That mendicant sees rightly,
and when freed in regards to that,
that peaceful sage, with perfect insight,
has truly slipped their yoke.”

This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.

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SN 35.120 Sāriputtasaddhivihārikasutta: Sāriputta and the Pupil

At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then a certain mendicant went up to Venerable Sāriputta, and exchanged greetings with him.

When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side, and said to him, “Reverend Sāriputta, a mendicant pupil of mine has resigned the training and returned to a lesser life.”

“That’s how it is, reverend, when someone doesn’t guard the sense doors, eats too much, and is not committed to wakefulness. It’s quite impossible for such a mendicant to maintain the full and pure spiritual life for the rest of their life. But it is quite possible for a mendicant to maintain the full and pure spiritual life for the rest of their life if they guard the sense doors, eat in moderation, and are committed to wakefulness.

And how does someone guard the sense doors? When a mendicant sees a sight with the eyes, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of sight were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and displeasure would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of sight, and achieving its restraint. When they hear a sound with their ears … When they smell an odor with their nose … When they taste a flavor with their tongue … When they feel a touch with their body … When they know an idea with their mind, they don’t get caught up in the features and details. If the faculty of mind were left unrestrained, bad unskillful qualities of covetousness and displeasure would become overwhelming. For this reason, they practice restraint, protecting the faculty of mind, and achieving its restraint. That’s how someone guards the sense doors.

And how does someone eat in moderation? It’s when a mendicant reflects rationally on the food that they eat: ‘Not for fun, indulgence, adornment, or decoration, but only to sustain this body, to avoid harm, and to support spiritual practice. In this way, I shall put an end to old discomfort and not give rise to new discomfort, and I will live blamelessly and at ease.’ That’s how someone eats in moderation.

And how is someone committed to wakefulness? It’s when a mendicant practices walking and sitting meditation by day, purifying their mind from obstacles. In the evening, they continue to practice walking and sitting meditation. In the middle of the night, they lie down in the lion’s posture—on the right side, placing one foot on top of the other—mindful and aware, and focused on the time of getting up. In the last part of the night, they get up and continue to practice walking and sitting meditation, purifying their mind from obstacles. That’s how someone is committed to wakefulness.

So you should train like this: ‘We will guard the sense doors, eat in moderation, and be committed to wakefulness.’ That’s how you should train.”

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Dhp 110 From… Sahassavagga: The Thousands

Better to live a single day
ethical and absorbed in meditation
than to live a hundred years
unethical and lacking immersion.

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Ud 4.1 Meghiyasutta: With Meghiya

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Cālikā, on the Cālikā mountain. Now, at that time Venerable Meghiya was the Buddha’s attendant. Then Venerable Meghiya went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him, “Sir, I’d like to enter Jantu village for alms.” “Please, Meghiya, go at your convenience.”

Then Meghiya robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Jantu village for alms. After the meal, on his return from almsround in Jantu village, he went to the shore of Kimikālā river. As he was going for a walk along the shore of the river he saw a lovely and delightful mango grove. When he saw this he thought, “Oh, this mango grove is lovely and delightful! This is good enough for striving for a gentleman wanting to strive. If the Buddha allows me, I’ll come back to this mango grove to meditate.”

Then Venerable Meghiya went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and told him what had happened, adding,

“If the Buddha allows me, I’ll go back to that mango grove to meditate.”

When he had spoken, the Buddha said to him, “We’re alone, Meghiya. Wait until another mendicant comes.”

For a second time Meghiya said to the Buddha, “Sir, the Buddha has nothing more to do, and nothing that needs improvement. But I have. If you allow me, I’ll go back to that mango grove to meditate.” For a second time the Buddha said, “We’re alone, Meghiya. Wait until another mendicant comes.”

For a third time Meghiya said to the Buddha, “Sir, the Buddha has nothing more to do, and nothing that needs improvement. But I have. If you allow me, I’ll go back to that mango grove to meditate.” “Meghiya, since you speak of meditation, what can I say? Please, Meghiya, go at your convenience.”

Then Meghiya got up from his seat, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right. Then he went to that mango grove, and, having plunged deep into it, sat at the root of a certain tree for the day’s meditation. But while Meghiya was meditating in that mango grove he was beset mostly by three kinds of bad, unskillful thoughts, namely, sensual, malicious, and cruel thoughts.

Then he thought, “Oh, how incredible, how amazing! I’ve gone forth from the lay life to homelessness out of faith, but I’m still harassed by these three kinds of bad, unskillful thoughts: sensual, malicious, and cruel thoughts.”

Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Meghiya came out of retreat and went to the Buddha. He bowed, sat down to one side, and told the Buddha what had happened.

“Meghiya, when the heart’s release is not ripe, five things help it ripen. What five?

Firstly, a mendicant has good friends, companions, and associates. This is the first thing …

Furthermore, a mendicant is ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and seeking alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken. This is the second thing …

Furthermore, a mendicant gets to take part in talk about self-effacement that helps open the heart and leads solely to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment when they want, without trouble or difficulty. That is, talk about fewness of wishes, contentment, seclusion, aloofness, arousing energy, ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom.’ This is the third thing …

Furthermore, a mendicant lives with energy roused up for giving up unskillful qualities and embracing skillful qualities. They are strong, staunchly vigorous, not slacking off when it comes to developing skillful qualities. This is the fourth thing …

Furthermore, a mendicant is wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. This is the fifth thing that, when the heart’s release is not ripe, helps it ripen. These are the five things that, when the heart’s release is not ripe, help it ripen.

A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to be ethical …

A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to take part in talk about self-effacement that helps open the heart …

A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to be energetic …

A mendicant with good friends, companions, and associates can expect to be wise …

But then, a mendicant grounded on these five things should develop four further things. They should develop the perception of ugliness to give up greed, love to give up hate, mindfulness of breathing to cut off thinking, and perception of impermanence to uproot the conceit ‘I am’. When you perceive impermanence, the perception of not-self becomes stabilized. Perceiving not-self, you uproot the conceit ‘I am’ and attain extinguishment in this very life.”

Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:

“Lesser thoughts and subtle thoughts
arise, springing up in the mind.
Not understanding these thoughts,
one with mind astray runs all over the place.

Having understood these thoughts
that arise, springing up in the mind,
an awakened one—keen, restrained, and mindful—
has given them up without remainder.”


Read this translation of Udāna 4.1 Meghiyasutta: With Meghiya by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaFriends.org, DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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SN 47.10 Bhikkhunupassayasutta: The Bhikkhunis’ Quarter

Then in the morning the Venerable Ānanda dressed and, taking bowl and robe, he approached the bhikkhunis’ quarters and sat down in the appointed seat. Then a number of bhikkhunis approached the Venerable Ānanda, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Here, Venerable Ānanda, a number of bhikkhunis, dwelling with their minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, perceive successively loftier stages of distinction.”

“So it is, sisters, so it is! It may be expected of anyone, sisters—whether bhikkhu or bhikkhuni—who dwells with a mind well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, that such a one will perceive successively loftier stages of distinction.”

Then the Venerable Ānanda instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened those bhikkhunis with a Dhamma talk, after which he rose from his seat and left. Then the Venerable Ānanda walked for alms in Savatthi. When he had returned from the alms round, after his meal he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported all that had happened. The Blessed One said:

“So it is, Ānanda, so it is! It may be expected of anyone, Ānanda—whether bhikkhu or bhikkhuni—who dwells with a mind well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, that such a one will perceive successively loftier stages of distinction.

“What four? Here, Ānanda, a bhikkhu dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. While he is contemplating the body in the body, there arises in him, based on the body, either a fever in the body or sluggishness of mind, or the mind is distracted outwardly. That bhikkhu should then direct his mind towards some inspiring sign. When he directs his mind towards some inspiring sign, gladness is born. When he is gladdened, rapture is born. When the mind is uplifted by rapture, the body becomes tranquil. One tranquil in body experiences happiness. The mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated. He reflects thus: ‘The purpose for the sake of which I directed my mind has been achieved. Let me now withdraw it.’ So he withdraws the mind and does not think or examine. He understands: ‘Without thought and examination, internally mindful, I am happy.’

“Again, a bhikkhu dwells contemplating feelings in feelings … mind in mind … phenomena in phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. While he is contemplating phenomena in phenomena, there arises in him, based on phenomena, either a fever in the body or sluggishness of mind, or the mind is distracted outwardly. That bhikkhu should then direct his mind towards some inspiring sign. When he directs his mind towards some inspiring sign … He understands: ‘Without thought and examination, internally mindful, I am happy.’

“It is in such a way, Ānanda, that there is development by direction.

“And how, Ānanda, is there development without direction? Not directing his mind outwardly, a bhikkhu understands: ‘My mind is not directed outwardly.’ Then he understands: ‘It is unconstricted after and before, liberated, undirected.’ Then he further understands: ‘I dwell contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful; I am happy.’

“Not directing his mind outwardly, a bhikkhu understands: ‘My mind is not directed outwardly.’ Then he understands: ‘It is unconstricted after and before, liberated, undirected.’ Then he further understands: ‘I dwell contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful; I am happy.’

“Not directing his mind outwardly, a bhikkhu understands: ‘My mind is not directed outwardly.’ Then he understands: ‘It is unconstricted after and before, liberated, undirected.’ Then he further understands: ‘I dwell contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful; I am happy.’

“Not directing his mind outwardly, a bhikkhu understands: ‘My mind is not directed outwardly.’ Then he understands: ‘It is unconstricted after and before, liberated, undirected.’ Then he further understands: ‘I dwell contemplating phenomena in phenomena, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful; I am happy.’

“It is in this way, Ānanda, that there is development without direction.

“Thus, Ānanda, I have taught development by direction, I have taught development without direction. Whatever should be done, Ānanda, by a compassionate teacher out of compassion for his disciples, desiring their welfare, that I have done for you. These are the feet of trees, Ānanda, these are empty huts. Meditate, Ānanda, do not be negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you.”

This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, the Venerable Ānanda delighted in the Blessed One’s statement.

Read this translation of Saṁyutta Nikāya 47.10 Bhikkhunupassayasutta: The Bhikkhunis’ Quarter by Bhikkhu Bodhi on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net or DhammaTalks.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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DN 16 From… Mahāparinibbānasutta: The Great Discourse on the Buddha’s Extinguishment—Live as an Island

…So Ānanda, live as your own island, your own refuge, with no other refuge. Let the teaching be your island and your refuge, with no other refuge. And how does a mendicant do this? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … mind … principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. That’s how a mendicant is their own island, their own refuge, with no other refuge. That’s how the teaching is their island and their refuge, with no other refuge.…

Read the entire translation of Dīgha Nikāya 16 Mahāparinibbānasutta: The Great Discourse on the Buddha’s Extinguishment by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on DhammaTalks.org, Ancient-Buddhist-Texts.net or AccessToInsight.org. Or listen on PaliAudio.com or SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

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Snp 2.11 Rāhulasutta: With Rāhula

[NOTE: This is a conversation between the Buddha and his son Ven. Rāhula. The “torch for all humanity” refers to the Arahant Sāriputta, who was often Ven. Rāhula’s teacher. This sutta is a good reminder that there are parts of the training to be developed in preparation for meditation.]

“Does familiarity breed contempt,
even for the man of wisdom?
Do you honor he who holds aloft
the torch for all humanity?”

“Familiarity breeds no contempt
for the man of wisdom.
I always honor he who holds aloft
the torch for all humanity.”

“One who’s given up the five sensual stimulations,
so pleasing and delightful,
and who’s left the home life out of faith—
let them make an end to suffering!

Mix with spiritual friends,
stay in remote lodgings,
secluded and quiet,
and eat in moderation.

Robes, almsfood,
requisites and lodgings:
don’t crave such things;
don’t come back to this world again.

Be restrained in the monastic code,
and the five sense faculties,
With mindfulness immersed in the body,
be full of disillusionment.

Turn away from the sign
that’s attractive, provoking lust.
With mind unified and serene,
meditate on the ugly aspects of the body.

Meditate on the signless,
give up the tendency to conceit;
and when you comprehend conceit,
you will live at peace.”

That is how the Buddha regularly advised Venerable Rāhula with these verses.

Read this translation of Snp 2.11 Rāhulasutta: With Rāhula by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net.

Thig 1.13 Visākhātherīgāthā: Visākhā

Do the Buddha’s bidding,
you won’t regret it.
Having quickly washed your feet,
sit in a discreet place to meditate.

Read this translation of Therīgāthā 1.13 Visākhātherīgāthā: Visākhā by Bhikkhu Sujato on SuttaCentral.net. Or read a different translation on SuttaCentral.net or SuttaFriends.org. Or listen on SC-Voice.net. Or explore the Pali on DigitalPaliReader.online.

Or read a translation in Deutsch, Magyar, Indonesian, 日本語, Norsk, සිංහල, or Tiếng Việt. Learn how to find your language.

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