The Discourse on the Snake Simile (Alagaddūpama Sutta) ~ Majjhima Nikāya 22 Translated by Ñānaponika Thera Originally published by Buddhist Publication Society, 1974. Reprinted with permission. Click here for Introduction and Notes or to access other BPS articles. The Snake Simile Thus have I heard. Once the Blessed One lived at Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Ariṭṭha’s Wrong View Now, on that occasion a monk called Ariṭṭha, formerly of … [Read more...]
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Skinny Gotamī and the Mustard Seed
February 10, 2016After flowing-on for a hundred thousand ages, she evolved in this Buddha-era among gods and men in a poor family in Sāvatthi. Her name was Gotamī-tissa, but because her body was very skinny she was called 'Skinny Gotamī'. When she went to her husband's family, she was scorned [and called] 'daughter of a poor family'. Then she gave birth to a son, and with the arrival of the son she was treated with respect. But that son, running back and forth and … [Read more...]
Māra Meets His Match (Samyutta Nikāya 1.5.2)
October 20, 2015The nun Somā has entered Andhavana (Blind Man's Grove) near Sāvatthi to practice meditation. Māra, the embodiment of delusion, sees her there and desires to make her waver and abandon her concentration. He addresses her with a verse: This, in my view, is the definitive statement in the Buddhist tradition regarding the equality of the sexes. Whatever other words have crept into the literature—from ancient times to the present—whatever attitudes may have been expressed by Theras, Lamas, Roshis … [Read more...]
A Tree Called Steadfast (Anguttara Nikaya 6.5.54)
October 20, 2015Once upon a time there was a royal fig tree called Steadfast, belonging to king Koravya, whose five outstretched branches provided a cool and pleasing shade. Its girth extended a hundred miles, and its roots spread out for forty miles. And the fruits of that tree were indeed great: As large as harvest baskets—such were its succulent fruits—and as clear as the honey of bees. One portion was enjoyed by the king, along with his household of women; one portion was enjoyed by the army; one … [Read more...]
Directed and Undirected Meditation (Satipatthana Samyutta 47.1.10)
October 20, 2015The venerable Ānanda arose early one morning, and taking up his robe and bowl approached a certain settlement of nuns, where he sat down on a seat that had been prepared. A number of nuns approached the venerable Ānanda, and after greeting him, sat down to one side. So seated, these nuns said this to the venerable Ānanda: ‘There are here, Ānanda sir, a number of nuns who abide with minds well established in the four foundations of mindfulness. Their understanding is becoming ever greater … [Read more...]
The Foolish Monkey (Samyutta Nikāya 47.7)
October 20, 2015There is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a rugged and uneven land where monkeys do not wander —and nor do men. And there is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a rugged and uneven land where monkeys do indeed wander –but men do not. And there is, on Himavat, king of mountains, a level stretch of ground, quite pleasing, where monkeys do wander –and so do men. There a hunter set a trap on the trails used by the monkeys, in order to capture those monkeys. There were monkeys there who … [Read more...]
Practicing the Middle Way: Devadaha Sutta
October 16, 2015On one occasion, when he was visiting his homeland among the Sakya clans, the Buddha is said to have given a significant discourse on the nature of exertion and striving. The context of the discussion was his criticism of the Jain ascetic practices, so common in ancient India, but his remarks on the subject are of immense importance to the contemporary practice of insight meditation. And how is exertion fruitful, bhikkhus, how is striving fruitful? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu is not … [Read more...]
Upon the Tip of a Needle (Mahā Niddesa 1.42)
October 16, 2015This remarkable and powerful poem, found buried amid the rather dry linguistic commentary of the Niddesa (a canonical commentary on the Aṭṭhakavagga of the Sutta Nipāta attributed to Sāriputta), speaks to the dual themes of impermanence and selflessness. In the later systematic psychology called Abhidhamma, these themes are developed into the doctrine of momentariness and the thorough enumeration of impersonal phenomena. All human experience is ever-changing, but is … [Read more...]
The Thorn in Your Heart (Selections from the Attadaṇḍa Sutta)
October 16, 2015The Sutta Nipāta is probably one of the most diverse collections of discourses to be found in the Pali Tipitaka, and the chapter from which this sutta is taken, the Atthaka-vagga, may well be the oldest portion of the entire canon. It is composed mostly in verse, and includes some lovely poetry. There is something particularly moving for me about this poem, perhaps because it is composed in the first person and appears to reveal the process through which the Buddha himself came to … [Read more...]
Three Views of Transience
October 13, 2015–The Diamond Sutra –Saṃyutta Nikāya 22:95 This famous verse serves as a climax to the Diamond Sutra, a foundation text of the Mahāyāna tradition. Here we see the Sanskrit version in its original script, along with a transliteration and literal translation, as well as a version translated from the Chinese (quoted in Mu Soeng, The Diamond Sutra, p. 135). The same sentiment is articulated in the Pali verse on the right, taken from the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Notice that the Pali verse … [Read more...]
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