snp1.6:11 “He deceives with lies ascetics and brahmins and other supplicants, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:12 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the fifth downfall. Tell us the sixth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:13 “A man with plenty of wealth, including gold coin and food, eats delicacies alone, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:14 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the sixth downfall. Tell us the seventh, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:15 “Vain of birth, wealth, and clan, a man looks down on his own family, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:16 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the seventh downfall. Tell us the eighth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:17 “In womanizing, drinking, and gambling, a man wastes all that he has earned, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:18 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the eighth downfall. Tell us the ninth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:19 “Not content with his own partners, he debauches himself with prostitutes, and with others’ partners, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:20 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the ninth downfall. Tell us the tenth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:21 “A man well past his prime marries a girl with budding breasts; he cannot sleep for jealousy, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:22 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the tenth downfall. Tell us the eleventh, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:23 “He places in authority a woman or a man who’s a drunkard and a wastrel, and that leads to his downfall.”

snp1.6:24 “We understand what you’re saying, this is the eleventh downfall. Tell us the twelfth, Blessed One: what leads to downfall?”

snp1.6:25 “A man of little wealth and strong craving, born into an aristocratic family, sets his sights on kingship, and that leads to his downfall.

snp1.6:26 Seeing these downfalls in the world, an astute and noble person, accomplished in vision, will enjoy a world of grace.”

The Lowlife

snp1.7:1 So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Sāvatthī for alms. Now at that time in the brahmin Bhāradvāja the Fire-Keeper’s home the hearth had been kindled and the offering prepared. Wandering indiscriminately for almsfood in Sāvatthī, the Buddha approached Bhāradvāja the Fire-Keeper’s house.

snp1.7:2 Bhāradvāja the Fire-Keeper saw the Buddha coming off in the distance and said to him, “Stop right there, shaveling! Right there, fake ascetic! Right there, lowlife!”

snp1.7:3 When he said this, the Buddha said to him, “But brahmin, do you know what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife?” “No I do not, worthy Gotama. Please, worthy Gotama, teach me this matter so I can understand what is a lowlife or what are the qualities that make you a lowlife.” “Well then, brahmin, listen and apply your mind well, I will speak.” “Yes, worthy sir,” Bhāradvāja the Fire-Keeper replied. The Buddha said this:

snp1.7:4 “Irritable and acrimonious, wicked and offensive, a man deficient in view, deceitful: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:5 He harms living creatures born of womb or of egg, and has no kindness for creatures: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:6 He destroys and devastates villages and towns, a notorious oppressor: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:7 Whether in village or wilderness, he steals what belongs to others, taking what has not been given: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:8 Having fallen into debt, when pressed to pay up he flees, saying ‘I don’t owe you anything!’: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:9 Wanting some item or other, he attacks a person in the street and takes it: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:10 For his own sake or the sake of another, or for the sake of wealth, a man tells a lie when asked to bear witness: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:11 He is spied among the partners of relatives and friends, by force or seduction: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:12 Though able, he does not look after his mother and father when elderly, past their prime: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:13 He hits or verbally abuses his mother or father, brother, sister, or mother-in-law: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:14 When asked about the good, he teaches what is bad, giving secretive advice: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:15 Having done a bad deed, he wishes, ‘May no one find me out!’ His deeds are underhand: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:16 When visiting another family he eats their delicious food, but does not return the honor: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:17 He deceives with lies ascetics and brahmins and other supplicants: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:18 When time comes to offer a meal to brahmins or ascetics, he abuses them and does not give: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:19 He talks about what never happened, being wrapped up in delusion, chasing after some item or other: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:20 He extols himself and disparages others, brought down by his pride: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:21 He’s a bully and a miser, of corrupt wishes, stingy, and devious, shameless, imprudent: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:22 He insults the Buddha or his disciple, whether lay or renunciate: know him as a lowlife.

snp1.7:23 He claims to be a perfected one, when he really is no such thing. In the world with its angels, that crook is truly the lowest lowlife. These who are called lowlifes I have revealed to you.

snp1.7:24 You’re not a lowlife by birth, nor by birth are you a brahmin. You’re a lowlife by your deeds, by deeds you’re a brahmin.

snp1.7:25 And also you should know according to this example. A corpse-worker’s son of the dog-eating caste became renowned as Mātaṅga.

snp1.7:26 Mātaṅga achieved the highest fame so very hard to find. Lots of aristocrats and brahmins came to serve him.

snp1.7:27 He ascended the stainless highway that leads to the Garden; having discarded sensual desire, he was admitted to a lofty rank in the Garden. His birth did not prevent him from a lofty rank in the Garden.

snp1.7:28 Those born in a brahmin family who recite as kinsmen of the hymns, are often discovered in the midst of wicked deeds.

snp1.7:29 Blameworthy in this very life, and in lives to come, a bad destination. Their birth does not prevent them from blame or bad destiny.

snp1.7:30 You’re not a lowlife by birth, nor by birth are you a brahmin. You’re a lowlife by your deeds, by deeds you’re a brahmin.”

snp1.7:31 When he had spoken, the brahmin Bhāradvāja the Fire-Keeper said to the Buddha, “Excellent, worthy Gotama! Excellent! … From this day forth, may the worthy Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”

The Discourse on Love

snp1.8:1 Those who are skilled in the meaning of scripture should practice as follows <j>to realize the state of peace. Let them be capable and upright, very upright, easy to speak to, gentle and humble;

snp1.8:2 content and unburdensome, unbusied, living lightly, alert, with senses calmed, courteous, not fawning on families.

snp1.8:3 Let them not do the slightest thing that others who are wise would blame. May they be happy and safe! May all beings be happy!

snp1.8:4 Whatever living creatures there are with not a one left out— frail or firm, long or large, medium, small, tiny or round,

snp1.8:5 seen or unseen, living far or near, those who have been born <j>and those about to be born— may all beings be happy!

snp1.8:6 Let none deceive another, nor look down on anyone anywhere. Though provoked or aggrieved, let them not wish pain on each other.

snp1.8:7 Even as a mother would protect with her life her child, her only child, so too for all creatures unfold a boundless heart.

snp1.8:8 With love for the whole world, unfold a boundless heart: above, below, all round, unconstricted, without enmity or foe.

snp1.8:9 When standing, walking, sitting, or lying down while yet unweary, keep this ever in mind; for this, they say, is a divine meditation <j>in this life.

snp1.8:10 Avoiding harmful views, virtuous, accomplished in insight, with desire for sensual pleasures dispelled, they never return to a womb again.

With Hemavata

snp1.9:1 “Today is the fifteenth day sabbath,” said Sātāgira, the jinn of mount Sātā, “a holy night is at hand. Come now, let us see Gotama, the Teacher of peerless name.”

snp1.9:2 “Isn’t his mind well-disposed,” said Hemavata, the jinn of the Himalayas, “impartial toward all creatures? And aren’t his thoughts under control when it comes to likes and dislikes?”

snp1.9:3 “His mind is well-disposed,” said Sātāgira, “impartial toward all creatures. His thoughts are under control when it comes to his likes and dislikes.”

snp1.9:4 “Doesn’t he not steal?” said Hemavata, “And doesn’t he harm not a creature? Isn’t he far from negligence? And doesn’t he not neglect absorption?”

snp1.9:5 “He does not take what is not given,” said Sātāgira, “and he harms not a creature. He is far from negligence— the Buddha does not neglect absorption.”

snp1.9:6 “Doesn’t he avoid lying?” said Hemavata, “And doesn’t he not speak sharply? Doesn’t he avoid backbiting, as well as speaking nonsense?”

snp1.9:7 “He does not lie,” said Sātāgira, “nor does he speak sharply. He avoids backbiting, and thoughtfully speaks wise counsel.”

snp1.9:8 “Doesn’t he find sensual pleasures unattractive?” said Hemavata, “And isn’t his mind unclouded? Hasn’t he escaped delusion? Does his eye see clearly in all things?”

snp1.9:9 “He does not find sensual pleasures attractive,” said Sātāgira, “and his mind is unclouded. He has escaped all delusion— the Buddha, whose eye sees clearly in all things.”

snp1.9:10 “Isn’t he accomplished in knowledge?” said Hemavata, “And doesn’t he live a pure life? Aren’t his defilements all ended? Isn’t he secure in the hereafter?”

snp1.9:11 “He is accomplished in knowledge,” said Sātāgira, “and he does live a pure life. His defilements are all ended, he is secure in the hereafter.”

snp1.9:12 “Accomplished is the sage’s mind in action and in speech, and he’s accomplished in knowledge and conduct as per the teaching you praise.”

snp1.9:13 “Accomplished is the sage’s mind in action and in speech, and he’s accomplished in knowledge and conduct as per the teaching you rejoice in.

snp1.9:14 Accomplished is the sage’s mind in action and in speech, and he’s accomplished in knowledge and conduct: come now, let us see Gotama.”

snp1.9:15 “The hero so lean, with antelope calves, not greedy, eating little, the sage meditating alone in the forest, come now, let us see Gotama.

snp1.9:16 A giant, wandering alone like a lion, unconcerned for sensual pleasures, let’s approach him and ask about release from the snare of death.”

snp1.9:17 “The communicator, the instructor, who has gone beyond all things, Awakened, beyond enmities and fears, let us ask Gotama.”

snp1.9:18 “What has the world arisen in?” said Hemavata, “What does it get close to? By grasping what is the world troubled in what?”

snp1.9:19 “The world’s arisen in six,” said the Buddha to Hemavata. “It gets close to six. Derived from the six, the world’s troubled in six.”

snp1.9:20 “What is that grasping by which the world is troubled? Tell us the exit when asked: how is one released from all suffering?”

snp1.9:21 “The world has five kinds of sensual stimulation, and the mind is said to be the sixth. When you’ve discarded desire for these, you’re released from all suffering.

snp1.9:22 This is the exit from the world, explained in accord with the truth. The way I’ve explained it is how you’re released from all suffering.”

snp1.9:23 “Who here crosses the flood, Who crosses the deluge? Who, not standing and unsupported, does not sink in the deep?”

snp1.9:24 “Someone who is always endowed with ethics, wise and serene, inwardly reflective, mindful, crosses the flood so hard to cross.

snp1.9:25 Someone who desists from sensual perception, who has escaped all fetters, and has ended relish for worldly existence, does not sink in the deep.”

snp1.9:26 “Behold him of wisdom deep <j>who sees the subtle meaning, who has nothing, unattached to sensual life, everywhere free, the great seer treading the holy road.

snp1.9:27 Behold him of peerless name <j>who sees the subtle meaning, giver of wisdom, <j>unattached to the realm of sensuality: the all-knower, so very intelligent, the great seer treading the noble road.

snp1.9:28 It was a fine sight for us today, a good sunup, a good rising, to see the Awakened One, the undefiled one who has crossed the flood.

snp1.9:29 These thousand jinn powerful and glorious, all go to you for refuge, you are our supreme Teacher.

snp1.9:30 We shall journey village to village, peak to peak, paying homage to the Buddha, and the clear rightness of the teaching!”

With Āḷavaka

snp1.10:1 So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Āḷavī in the haunt of the jinn Āḷavaka. Then the jinn Āḷavaka went up to the Buddha, and said to him: “Get out, ascetic!” Saying, “All right, respectable sir,” the Buddha went out. “Get in, ascetic!” Saying, “All right, respectable sir,” the Buddha went in.

snp1.10:2 For a second time … And for a third time the jinn Āḷavaka said to the Buddha, “Get out, ascetic!” Saying, “All right, respectable sir,” the Buddha went out. “Get in, ascetic!” Saying, “All right, respectable sir,” the Buddha went in.

snp1.10:3 And for a fourth time the jinn Āḷavaka said to the Buddha, “Get out, ascetic!” “No, respectable sir, I won’t get out. Do what you must.”

snp1.10:4 “I will ask you a question, ascetic. If you don’t answer me, I’ll drive you insane, or explode your heart, or grab you by the feet and throw you to the far shore of the Ganges!”

snp1.10:5 “I don’t see anyone in this world with its angels, devils, and heavenly hosts, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its angels and humans who could do that to me. But anyway, ask what you wish.” Then the jinn Āḷavaka addressed the Buddha in verse:

snp1.10:6 “What’s a person’s best wealth? What brings happiness when practiced well? What’s the sweetest taste of all? The one they say has the best life: how do they live?”

snp1.10:7 “Faith here is a person’s best wealth. The teaching brings happiness when practiced well. Truth is the sweetest taste of all. The one they say has the best life lives by wisdom.”

snp1.10:8 “How do you cross the flood? How do you cross the deluge? How do you get over suffering? How do you get purified?”

snp1.10:9 “By faith you cross the flood, and by diligence the deluge. By energy you get past suffering, and you’re purified by wisdom.”

snp1.10:10 “How do you get wisdom? How do you earn wealth? How do you get a good reputation? How do you hold on to friends? How do the departed not grieve when passing from this world to the next?”

snp1.10:11 “One who is diligent and discerning gains wisdom by wanting to learn, having faith in the perfected ones, and the teaching for becoming extinguished.

snp1.10:12 Being responsible, acting appropriately, and working hard you earn wealth. Truthfulness wins you a good reputation. You hold on to friends by giving.

snp1.10:13 A faithful householder of discernment who possesses these four qualities does not grieve after passing away: truth, principle, steadfastness, and generosity.

snp1.10:14 Go ahead, ask others as well, there are many ascetics and brahmins. See whether anything better is found than truth, principle, generosity, and patience.”

snp1.10:15 “Why now would I question the many ascetics and brahmins? Today I understand what’s good for lives to come.

snp1.10:16 It was truly for my benefit that the Buddha came to stay at Āḷavī. Today I understand where a gift is very fruitful.

snp1.10:17 I myself will journey village to village, town to town, paying homage to the Buddha, and the clear rightness of the teaching!”

Victory Over Desire for the Body

snp1.11:1 Walking and standing, sitting and lying down, extending and contracting the limbs: these are the movements of the body.

snp1.11:2 Linked together by bones and sinews, plastered over with flesh and hide, and covered by the skin, the body is not seen as it is.

snp1.11:3 It’s full of guts and belly, liver and bladder, heart and lungs, kidney and spleen,

snp1.11:4 spit and snot, sweat and fat, blood and synovial fluid, bile and grease.

snp1.11:5 Then in nine streams the filth is always flowing. There is muck from the eyes, wax from the ears,

snp1.11:6 and snot from the nostrils. The mouth sometimes vomits bile and sometimes phlegm. And from the body, sweat and waste.

snp1.11:7 Then there is the hollow head all filled with brains. Governed by ignorance, the fool thinks it’s lovely.

snp1.11:8 And when it lies dead, bloated and livid, dumped in a charnel ground, the relatives forget it.

snp1.11:9 It’s devoured by dogs, by jackals, wolves, and worms. It’s devoured by crows and vultures, and any other creatures there.

snp1.11:10 A wise mendicant here, having heard the Buddha’s words, fully understands it, for they see it as it is.

snp1.11:11 “As this is, so is that, as that is, so is this.” They’d blanch desire for the body inside and out.

snp1.11:12 That wise mendicant here rid of desire and lust, has found the peace free of death, extinguishment, the state that does not pass.

snp1.11:13 This two-legged body is dirty and stinking, full of different carcasses, and oozing all over the place— but still it is cherished!

snp1.11:14 And if, on account of such a body, someone prides themselves or looks down on others— what is that but a failure to see?

The Sage

snp1.12:1 Peril stems from intimacy, dust comes from an abode. Freedom from abode and intimacy: that is the sage’s vision.

snp1.12:2 Having cut down what’s grown, <j>they wouldn’t replant, nor would they nurture what’s growing. That’s who they call a sage wandering alone, the great seer has seen the state of peace.

snp1.12:3 Having appraised the fields and measured the seeds, they wouldn’t nurture them with moisture. Truly that sage who sees the ending of craving has left speculation behind and is beyond reckoning.

snp1.12:4 Understanding all the planes of existence, not wanting a single one of them; truly that sage freed of greed need not swim, <j>for they have reached the far shore.

snp1.12:5 The vanquisher of all, knower of all, so very intelligent, unsullied in the midst of all things, has given up all, freed in the ending of craving: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:6 Strong in wisdom, <j>with precepts and observances intact, serene, loving absorption, mindful, released from chains, kind, undefiled: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:7 The diligent sage wandering alone, is unshaken by blame and praise— like a lion not startled by sounds, like wind not caught in a net, like water not sticking to a lotus. Leader of others, not by others led: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:8 Steady as a post in a bathing-place when others speak endlessly against them, freed of greed, with senses stilled: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:9 Steadfast, straight as a spindle, horrified by wicked deeds, discerning the just and the unjust: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:10 Restrained, they do no evil, young or middle-aged, the sage is self-controlled. Irreproachable, he does not insult anyone: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:11 When one who lives on charity receives alms, from the top, the middle, or the leftovers, they think it unworthy to praise or put down: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:12 The sage lives refraining from sex, even when young is not tied down, refraining from indulgence and negligence, freed: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:13 Understanding the world, <j>the seer of the ultimate goal, the unaffected one, <j>having crossed the flood and the ocean, has cut the ties, unattached and undefiled: that’s who the attentive know as a sage.

snp1.12:14 The two are not the same, <j>far apart in lifestyle and conduct— the householder providing for a wife, <j>and the selfless one true to their vows. The unrestrained householder kills other creatures, while the restrained sage <j>always protects living creatures.

snp1.12:15 As the crested blue-necked peacock <j>flying through the sky never approaches the speed of the swan, so the householder cannot compete <j>with the mendicant, the sage meditating secluded in the woods.