Sensual Pleasures

snp4.1:1 If a mortal desires sensual pleasure and their desire succeeds, they definitely become elated, having got what they want.

snp4.1:2 But for that personage in the throes of pleasure, aroused by desire, when those pleasures fade, it inflicts them like an arrow strike.

snp4.1:3 One who, being mindful, avoids sensual pleasures like side-stepping a snake’s head, transcends attachment to the world.

snp4.1:4 There are many objects of sensual desire: fields, lands, and gold; cattle and horses; slaves and servants; women and relatives. When a man lusts over these,

snp4.1:5 the weak overpower him and adversities crush him. Suffering follows him like water in a leaky boat.

snp4.1:6 That’s why a personage, ever mindful, should avoid sensual pleasures. Give them up and cross the flood, as a bailed-out boat reaches the far shore.

Eight on the Cave

snp4.2:1 Trapped in a cave, thickly overspread, sunk in delusion they stay. That sort is far from seclusion, for sensual pleasures in the world <j>are not easy to give up.

snp4.2:2 The chains of desire, the bonds of life’s pleasures are hard to escape, for one cannot free another. Looking to the past or the future, they pray for these pleasures or former ones.

snp4.2:3 Greedy, fixated, infatuated by sensual pleasures, they are incorrigible, habitually immoral. When led to suffering they lament, “What will become of us <j>when we pass away from here?”

snp4.2:4 That’s why a personage should train in this life: should you know that anything in the world is wrong, don’t act wrongly on account of that; for the attentive say this life is short.

snp4.2:5 I see the world’s population floundering, given to craving for worldly existence. Base men wail in the jaws of death, not rid of craving for life after life.

snp4.2:6 See them flounder over belongings, like fish in puddles of a dried-up stream. Seeing this, live unselfishly, forming no attachment to worldly existence.

snp4.2:7 Rid of desire for both ends, having completely understood contact, free of greed, doing nothing for which they’d blame themselves, the attentive don’t cling to the seen and the heard.

snp4.2:8 Having completely understood perception <j>and having crossed the flood, the sage, not clinging to possessions, with dart plucked out, living diligently, does not hope for this world or the next.

Eight on Malice

snp4.3:1 Some speak with malicious intent, while others speak set on truth. When disputes come up <j>a sage does not get involved, which is why they’ve no barrenness at all.

snp4.3:2 How can you transcend your own view when you’re led by preference, dogmatic in belief? Inventing your own undertakings, you’d speak according to your notion.

snp4.3:3 Some personages, unasked, tell others of their own precepts and vows. They have an ignoble nature, <j>say those who are skilled, since they speak on themselves of their own accord.

snp4.3:4 A mendicant, peaceful, quenched, never boasts “thus am I” of their precepts. They have a noble nature, say those who are skilled, who have no pretensions <j>about anything in the world.

snp4.3:5 For one who formulates and creates teachings, and promotes them despite their defects, if they see an advantage for themselves, they become dependent on that, <j>relying on unstable peace.

snp4.3:6 It’s not easy to get over dogmatic views adopted after judging among the teachings. That’s why, among all these dogmas, a person ditches one teaching and takes up another.

snp4.3:7 The cleansed one has no formulated view at all in the world about the different realms. Having given up illusion and conceit, by what path would they go? They are not involved.

snp4.3:8 For one who gets involved <j>is embroiled in disputes about teachings— but how to dispute with the uninvolved? <j>About what? For picking up and putting down <j>is not what they do; they have shaken off all views in this very life.

Eight on the Pure

snp4.4:1 “I see someone pure, perfectly healthy; it is vision that grants a person purity.” Recalling this notion of the ultimate, they believe in the notion <j>that there is one who observes purity.

snp4.4:2 If a person were granted purity through what is seen, or if by a notion they could give up suffering, then one with attachments is purified by another: their view betrays them as one who asserts thus.

snp4.4:3 The brahmin speaks not of purity from another in terms of what has been seen, heard, or thought; <j>or by precepts or vows. They are unsullied in the midst of good and evil, letting go what was picked up, <j>without creating anything new here.

snp4.4:4 Having let go the last they lay hold of the next; following impulse, they don’t pass the chain. They grab on and let loose like a monkey grabbing and releasing a branch.

snp4.4:5 Having undertaken their own vows, a personage visits various teachers, <j>being attached to perception. One who knows, having comprehended the truth <j>through the knowledges, does not visit various teachers, being of vast wisdom.

snp4.4:6 They are remote from all things seen, heard, or thought. Seeing them living openly, how could anyone in this world judge them?

snp4.4:7 They don’t make things up or promote them, or speak of the uttermost purity. After untying the tight knot of grasping they long for nothing in the world.

snp4.4:8 The brahmin has stepped over the perimeter; knowing and seeing, they adopt nothing. Neither in love with passion <j>nor besotted by dispassion, there is nothing here they adopt as the ultimate.

Eight on the Ultimate

snp4.5:1 If, maintaining that theirs is the “ultimate” view, a personage makes it out to be highest in the world; then they declare all others are “lesser”; that’s why they’re not beyond disputes.

snp4.5:2 If they see an advantage for themselves in what’s seen, heard, or thought; <j>or in precepts or vows, in that case, having adopted that one alone, they see all others as inferior.

snp4.5:3 Those who are skilled say that, too, is a knot, relying on which people see others as lesser. That’s why a mendicant ought not rely on what’s seen, heard, or thought, <j>or on precepts and vows.

snp4.5:4 Nor would they form a view about the world through a notion or through precepts and vows. They would never represent themselves as “equal”, nor conceive themselves “worse” or “better”.

snp4.5:5 What was picked up has been set down <j>and is not grasped again; they form no dependency even on notions. They follow no side among the factions, and believe in no view at all.

snp4.5:6 One here who has no wish for either end— for any state of existence in this life or the next— has adopted no dogma at all after judging among the teachings.

snp4.5:7 For them not even the tiniest idea is formulated here regarding what is seen, heard, or thought. That brahmin does not grasp any view— how could anyone in this world judge them?

snp4.5:8 They don’t make things up or promote them, and don’t subscribe to any of the doctrines. The brahmin has no need to be led by precept or vow; gone to the far shore, one such does not return.

Old Age

snp4.6:1 Short, alas, is this life; you die before a hundred years. Even if you live a little longer, you still die of old age.

snp4.6:2 People grieve over belongings, yet there is no such thing as permanent possessions. Separation is a fact of life; when you see this, you wouldn’t stay living at home.

snp4.6:3 Whatever a person thinks of as belonging to them, that too is given up when they die. Knowing this, an astute follower of mine would not be bent on ownership.

snp4.6:4 Just as, upon awakening, a person does not see what they encountered in a dream; so too you do not see your loved ones when they are dead and gone.

snp4.6:5 You used to see and hear those folk, and call them by their name. Yet the name is all that’s left to tell of a personage when they’re gone.

snp4.6:6 Those who are greedy for belongings don’t give up sorrow, lamentation, and stinginess. That’s why the sages, seers of sanctuary, left possessions behind and wandered.

snp4.6:7 For a mendicant who lives withdrawn, frequenting a secluded seat, they say it’s fitting to not show themselves in a home.

snp4.6:8 The sage is independent everywhere, they don’t form likes or dislikes. Lamentation and stinginess slip off them like water from a leaf.

snp4.6:9 Like a droplet slips from a lotus-leaf, like water from a lotus flower; the sage doesn’t cling to that which is seen or heard or thought.

snp4.6:10 For the one who is cleansed does not conceive in terms of things seen, heard, or thought. They do not wish to be purified by another; they are neither passionate <j>nor growing dispassioned.

With Tissametteyya

snp4.7:1 “When someone indulges in sex,” said Venerable Tissametteyya, “tell us, good fellow: what trouble befalls them? After hearing your instruction, we shall train in seclusion.”

snp4.7:2 “When someone indulges in sex,” replied the Buddha, “they forget their instructions and go the wrong way— that is something ignoble in them.

snp4.7:3 Someone who formerly lived alone and then resorts to sex is like a chariot careening off-track; in the world they call them a low, ordinary person.

snp4.7:4 Their former fame and reputation also fall away. Seeing this, they’d train to give up sex.

snp4.7:5 Oppressed by thoughts, they brood like a wretch. When they hear what others are saying, that sort is embarrassed.

snp4.7:6 Then they lash out with verbal daggers when reproached by others. This is their great blind spot; they sink to lies.

snp4.7:7 They once were considered astute, committed to the solitary life. But then they indulged in sex, dragged along by desire like a dullard.

snp4.7:8 Knowing this danger in falling from a former state here, a sage would firmly resolve to wander alone, and would not resort to sex.

snp4.7:9 They’d train themselves only in seclusion; this, for the noble ones, is highest. One who’d not think themselves ‘best’ due to that has truly drawn near to extinguishment.

snp4.7:10 People tied to sensual pleasures envy them: the isolated, wandering sage who has crossed the flood, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.”

With Pasūra

snp4.8:1 “Here alone is purity,” they say, denying that there is purification in other teachings. Speaking of the beauty <j>in that which they depend on, each one is dogmatic about <j>their own idiosyncratic interpretation.

snp4.8:2 Desiring debate, they plunge into an assembly, where each takes the other as a fool. Relying on others they state their contention, desiring praise while claiming to be skilled.

snp4.8:3 Addicted to debating in the midst of the assembly, their need for praise makes them nervous. But when they’re repudiated they get embarrassed; upset at criticism, they find fault in others.

snp4.8:4 If their doctrine is said to be weak, and judges declare it repudiated, the loser weeps and wails, moaning, “They beat me.”

snp4.8:5 When these disputes come up among ascetics, they get excited or dejected. Seeing this, refrain from contention, for the only purpose is praise and profit.

snp4.8:6 But if, having declared their doctrine, they are praised there in the midst of the assembly, they laugh and gloat because of it, having got what they wanted.

snp4.8:7 Their pride is their downfall, yet they speak from conceit and arrogance. Seeing this, one ought not dispute, for those who are skilled say this is no way to purity.

snp4.8:8 As a warrior, after feasting on royal food, goes roaring, looking for someone to fight— go off and find an opponent, Sūra, for here, as before, there is no one to combat.

snp4.8:9 When someone disputes about a view they’ve adopted, saying, “This is the only truth,” say to them, “Here you’ll have no adversary when a dispute has come up.”

snp4.8:10 There are those who live far from the crowd, not countering views with view. Who is there to argue with you, Pasūra, among those who grasp nothing here as the highest?

snp4.8:11 And so you come along speculating, thinking up theories in your mind. Now that you’ve challenged <j>someone who is cleansed, you’ll not be able to respond.

With Māgaṇḍiya

snp4.9:1 “Even when I saw the sirens <j>Craving, Malignancy, and Lust, I had no desire for sex. What is this body full of piss and shit? I wouldn’t even want to touch it with my foot.”

snp4.9:2 “If you do not want a gem such as this, a lady desired by many lords of men, then what manner of theory, <j>precepts and vows, livelihood, and the hereafter do you assert?”

snp4.9:3 “After judging among the teachings,” said the Buddha to Māgaṇḍiya, “none have been adopted thinking, ‘I assert this.’ Seeing views without adopting any, searching, I saw inner peace.”

snp4.9:4 “O sage, you speak of judgments you have formed,” said Māgaṇḍiya, “without having adopted any of those views. As to that matter of ‘inner peace’— how is that described by the attentive?”

snp4.9:5 “Purity is spoken of not as due to view,” said the Buddha to Māgaṇḍiya, “learning, knowledge, or precepts and vows; nor without view, learning, knowledge, or precepts and vows. Having relinquished these, not adopting them, peaceful, independent, one would not pray <j>for worldly gain.”

snp4.9:6 “It seems purity is spoken of not as due to view,” said Māgaṇḍiya, “learning, knowledge, or precepts and vows; nor without view, learning, knowledge, or precepts and vows. If so, I think this teaching is sheer folly; some believe that purity comes from view.”

snp4.9:7 “Continuing to question while relying on a view,” said the Buddha to Māgaṇḍiya, “you’ve become confused by all you’ve adopted. From this you’ve not glimpsed the slightest idea, which is why you consider the teaching folly.

snp4.9:8 If you think that ‘I’m equal, special, or worse’, you’ll dispute about that. Not wavering due to the three discriminations, they have no thought, ‘I’m equal or special’.

snp4.9:9 Why would that brahmin say, ‘It’s true’, or with whom would they dispute, ‘It’s false’? There is no equal or unequal in them, so who would they take on in debate?

snp4.9:10 After leaving their bastion to migrate without abode, a sage doesn’t get close to anyone in town. Rid of sensual pleasures, not expecting, they wouldn’t get in arguments with people.

snp4.9:11 A spiritual giant would not take up for debate the things in the world from which they live secluded. As a prickly lotus born in the water is unsullied by water and mud, so the greedless sage, proponent of peace, is unsmeared by sensuality and the world.

snp4.9:12 A knowledge master does not become conceited due to view or thought, <j>for they are not determined by that. They’ve no need for deeds or learning, they’re not indoctrinated in dogmas.

snp4.9:13 There are no ties for one detached from ideas; there are no delusions for one freed by wisdom. But those who have adopted ideas and views wander the world causing conflict.”

Before the Breakup

snp4.10:1 “Seeing how, behaving how, is one said to be at peace? When asked, Gotama, please tell me about the ultimate person.”

snp4.10:2 “Rid of craving before the breakup,” said the Buddha, “not dependent on the first beginning, unfathomable in the middle, they are not governed by anything.

snp4.10:3 Unangry, unafraid, not boastful or regretful, thoughtful in counsel, not restless— truly that sage is controlled in speech.

snp4.10:4 Rid of attachment to the future, they don’t grieve for the past. A seer of seclusion in the midst of contacts is not led astray among views.

snp4.10:5 Withdrawn, free of deceit, they’re not envious or stingy, nor rude or disgusting, or given to slander.

snp4.10:6 Not swept up in pleasures, or given to arrogance, they’re gentle and articulate, neither hungering nor growing dispassionate.

snp4.10:7 Not training for desire for profit, nor getting annoyed at lack of profit; they are not hostile due to craving, for they are not greedy for flavors.

snp4.10:8 Equanimous, ever mindful, they never conceive themselves in the world as equal, special, or less than; they have no pretensions.

snp4.10:9 They have no dependencies, understanding the teaching, they are independent. No craving is found in them to continue existence or to end it.

snp4.10:10 I declare them to be at peace, unconcerned for sensual pleasures. No ties are found in them, they have crossed over clinging.

snp4.10:11 They have no children or livestock, nor possess fields or lands. No picking up or putting down is found in them.

snp4.10:12 That by which one might describe an ordinary person or ascetics and brahmins has no importance to them, which is why they’re unperturbed by words.

snp4.10:13 Freed of greed, not stingy, a sage doesn’t speak of themselves as being among superiors, inferiors, or equals. One not prone to creation <j>does not return to creation.

snp4.10:14 They who have nothing in the world of their own do not grieve for that which is not, or drift among the teachings; that’s who is said to be at peace.”

Quarrels and Disputes

snp4.11:1 “Where do quarrels and disputes come from? And lamentation and sorrow, and stinginess? What of conceit and arrogance, and slander too— tell me please, where do they come from?”

snp4.11:2 “Quarrels and disputes come from what we hold dear, as do lamentation and sorrow, stinginess, conceit and arrogance. Quarrels and disputes are linked to stinginess, and when disputes have arisen there is slander.”

snp4.11:3 “So where do things held dear <j>in the world spring from? And the lusts that are loose in the world? Where spring the hopes and aims a man has for lives to come?”

snp4.11:4 “What we hold dear in the world spring from desire, as do the lusts that are loose in the world. From there spring the hopes and aims a man has for lives to come.”

snp4.11:5 “So where does desire in the world spring from? And evaluations, too, where do they come from? And anger, lies, and indecision, and other things spoken of by the Ascetic?”

snp4.11:6 “What they call pleasure and pain in the world— based on that, desire comes about. Seeing the manifestation and vanishing of forms, a personage makes evaluations in the world.

snp4.11:7 Anger, lies, and indecision— these things are, too, when that pair is present. One who is indecisive should train <j>in the path of knowledge; it is from knowledge <j>that the Ascetic speaks of these things.”

snp4.11:8 “Where do pleasure and pain spring from? When what is absent do these things not occur? And also, on the topic of <j>manifesting and vanishing— tell me where they spring from.”

snp4.11:9 “Pleasure and pain spring from contact; when contact is absent they do not occur. And on the topic of <j>manifesting and vanishing— I tell you they spring from there.”

snp4.11:10 “So where does contact in the world spring from? And possessions, too, where do they come from? When what is absent is there no possessiveness? When what vanishes do contacts not strike?”

snp4.11:11 “Name and form cause contact; possessions spring from wishing; when wishing is absent there is no possessiveness; when form vanishes, contacts don’t strike.”

snp4.11:12 “Form vanishes for one proceeding how? And how do happiness and suffering vanish? Tell me how they vanish; I think we ought to know these things.”

snp4.11:13 “Without normal perception <j>or distorted perception; not lacking perception, <j>nor perceiving what has vanished. Form vanishes for one proceeding thus; for judgments due to proliferation <j>spring from perception.”

snp4.11:14 “Whatever I asked you have explained to me. I ask you once more, please tell me this: Do some astute folk here say that this <j>is the highest extent of purity of the spirit? Or do they say it is something else?”

snp4.11:15 “Some astute folk do say that this <j>is the highest extent of purity of the spirit. But some of them, claiming to be experts, speak of an occasion when there is no residue.

snp4.11:16 Knowing that these states are dependent, and knowing what they depend on, <j>the inquiring sage, having understood, is freed, and enters no dispute. The attentive do not proceed to life after life.”

The Shorter Discourse on Arrayed For Battle

snp4.12:1 “Each maintaining their own view, those who are skilled disagree, arguing: ‘Whoever sees it this way <j>understands the teaching; those who reject this are inadequate.’

snp4.12:2 So arguing, they dispute, saying, ‘The other is a fool, an amateur!’ Which of these is a true statement, for all of them profess to be experts?”

snp4.12:3 “If not accepting another’s teaching makes you a useless fool lacking wisdom, then they’re all fools lacking wisdom, for they all maintain their own view.

snp4.12:4 But if having your own view makes you pristine— pure in wisdom, expert and thoughtful— then none of them lack wisdom, for such is the view they have all embraced.

snp4.12:5 I do not say that it is correct when they call each other fools. Each has built up their own view to be the truth, which is why they take the other as a fool.”

snp4.12:6 “What some say is true and correct, others say is hollow and false. So arguing, they dispute; why don’t ascetics say the same thing?”

snp4.12:7 “The truth is one, there is no second, understanding which folk would not dispute. But those ascetics each boast of different truths; that’s why they don’t say the same thing.”

snp4.12:8 “But why do they speak of different truths, these proponents who profess to be experts? Are there really so many different truths, or do they just follow their own lines of reasoning?”

snp4.12:9 “No, there are not many different truths that, apart from perception, <j>are lasting in the world. Having formed their reasoning <j>regarding different views, they say there are two things: true and false.

snp4.12:10 The seen, heard, or thought, <j>or precepts or vows— based on these they show disdain. Standing in judgment, they scoff, saying, ‘The other is a fool, an amateur!’

snp4.12:11 They take the other as a fool on the same grounds that they speak of themselves as an expert. Professing to be expert on their own authority, they disdain the other while saying the same thing.

snp4.12:12 They are perfect, <j>according to their own extreme view; drunk on conceit, imagining themselves proficient. They have anointed themselves in their own mind, for such is the view they have embraced.

snp4.12:13 If the word of your opponent makes you deficient, then they too are lacking wisdom. But if on your own authority <j>you’re a knowledge master, an attentive one, then there are no fools among the ascetics.

snp4.12:14 ‘Those who proclaim a teaching other than this have fallen short of purity, and are inadequate’: so say each one of the sectarians, for they are deeply attached to their own view.

snp4.12:15 ‘Here alone is purity,’ they say, denying that there is purification in other teachings. Thus each one of the sectarians, being dogmatic, speaks forcefully within the context <j>of their own journey.

snp4.12:16 But in that case, so long as they are speaking forcefully <j>of their own journey, how can they take the other as a fool? They are the ones who provoke conflict when they call the other a fool <j>with an impure teaching.

snp4.12:17 Standing in judgment, <j>measuring by their own standard, they dispute with the world more and more. But a personage who has given up all judgments creates no conflict in the world.”

The Longer Discourse on Arrayed for Battle

snp4.13:1 “Regarding those who maintain their own view, disputing that, ‘This is the only truth’: are all of them subject only to criticism, or do some also win praise for that?”

snp4.13:2 “That is a small thing, insufficient for peace, these two fruits of dispute, I say. Seeing this, one ought not dispute, looking for sanctuary in the land of no dispute.

snp4.13:3 One who knows does not get involved with any of the many different conventions. Why would the uninvolved get involved, since they do not believe <j>based on the seen or the heard?

snp4.13:4 Those for whom ethics are the highest speak of purity through self-control; having undertaken a vow, they stick to it: ‘Let us train right here, then we will be pure.’ Professing to be experts, they are led astray.

snp4.13:5 If they fall away from their precepts and vows, they tremble, having failed in their task. They pray and long for purity, like one who has lost their caravan <j>while journeying far from home.

snp4.13:6 But having given up all precepts and vows, and these deeds blameworthy or blameless; not longing for ‘purity’ or ‘impurity’, live detached, fostering peace.

snp4.13:7 Relying on mortification in disgust of sin, or else on what is seen, heard, or thought, they moan that purification <j>comes through heading upstream, not rid of craving for life after life.

snp4.13:8 For one who longs there are muttered prayers, and trembling too over ideas they have formed. But one here for whom there is no fear <j>or anxiety: why would they tremble? For what would they pray?”

snp4.13:9 “The very same teaching that some say is ‘ultimate’, others say is inferior. Which of these statements is true, for all of them profess to be experts?”

snp4.13:10 “They say their own teaching is perfect, while the teaching of others is inferior. So arguing, they dispute, each saying their own conventions are the truth.

snp4.13:11 If someone else’s disparagement makes you inferior, no one in any teaching would be distinguished. For each of them says the other’s teaching is lacking, while forcefully advocating their own.

snp4.13:12 But if they honor their own teachings just as they praise their own journeys, then all doctrines would be equally valid, and purity would be specific to them.

snp4.13:13 After judging among the teachings, <j>a brahmin has adopted nothing that requires interpretation by another. That’s why they’ve gotten over disputes, for they see no other doctrine as best.

snp4.13:14 Saying, ‘I know, I see, that’s how it is’, some believe that purity stems from view. But if they’ve really seen, <j>what use is that view to them? Overlooking what matters, <j>they say purity comes from another.

snp4.13:15 When a person sees, they see name and form, and having seen, they will know just these things. Gladly let them see much or little, for those who are skilled say this is no way to purity.

snp4.13:16 It’s not easy to educate someone who is dogmatic, promoting a view they have formulated. Speaking of the beauty <j>in that on which they depend, they talk of purity in accord with what they saw there.

snp4.13:17 The brahmin does not get involved <j>with formulating and calculating; they’re not followers of views, <j>nor kinsmen of notions. Having understood the many different conventions, they look on when others grasp.

snp4.13:18 Having untied the knots here in the world, the sage takes no side among disputes. Peaceful among the peaceless, equanimous, they don’t grasp when others grasp.

snp4.13:19 Having given up former defilements <j>and not making new ones, not swayed by preference, <j>nor a proponent of dogma, that attentive one is released from views, not clinging to the world, <j>nor reproaching themselves.

snp4.13:20 They are remote from all things seen, heard, or thought. With burden put down, the sage is released: not formulating, not abstaining, not longing.”

Speedy

snp4.14:1 “Great seer, I ask you, the Kinsman of the Sun, about seclusion and the state of peace. How, having seen, is a mendicant extinguished, not grasping anything in this world?”

snp4.14:2 “They would cut off the idea, ‘I am the thinker’,” said the Buddha, “which is the root of all judgments <j>that emerge from proliferation. Ever mindful, they would train to remove any internal cravings.

snp4.14:3 Regardless of what things they know, whether internal or external, they wouldn’t be proud because of that, for that is not quenching, say the good.

snp4.14:4 They wouldn’t let that make them conceited, thinking themselves better or worse or alike. When questioned in many ways, they wouldn’t keep justifying themselves.

snp4.14:5 A mendicant would be settled internally, and not seek peace from another. For one at peace inside themselves, there’s no picking up, whence putting down?

snp4.14:6 Just as, in the middle of the ocean, no waves arise, it stays still; so too one unstirred is still— a mendicant would make <j>no pretension regarding anything.”

snp4.14:7 “He whose eyes are open has explained the truth he witnessed, <j>where adversities are removed. Please now speak of the practice, sir, the monastic code and immersion in samādhi.”

snp4.14:8 “With eyes not wanton, they’d turn their ears from village gossip. They wouldn’t be greedy for flavors, nor possessive about anything in the world.

snp4.14:9 Though struck by contacts, a mendicant would not lament at all. They wouldn’t pray for worldly gain, nor tremble in the face of dangers.

snp4.14:10 When they receive food and drink, edibles and clothes, they wouldn’t store them up, nor worry about not getting them.

snp4.14:11 Meditative, not footloose, they’d avoid remorse and not be negligent. Then a mendicant would stay in quiet places to sit and rest.

snp4.14:12 They wouldn’t take much sleep, but, being keen, <j>would apply themselves to wakefulness. They’d give up sloth, illusion, mirth, and play, and sex and ornamentation.

snp4.14:13 They wouldn’t cast Artharvaṇa spells, <j>interpret dreams or omens, or practice astrology. My followers would not study ominous animal cries, work as a doctor, or treat an impacted fetus.

snp4.14:14 Not shaken by criticism, a mendicant would not gloat when praised. They’d cast aside greed and stinginess, anger, and slander.

snp4.14:15 They’d not stand for buying and selling; a mendicant would not speak ill at all. They wouldn’t linger in the village, nor cajole people from desire for profit.

snp4.14:16 A mendicant would be no boaster, nor would they speak suggestively. They wouldn’t train in impudence, nor speak argumentatively.

snp4.14:17 They wouldn’t be led into lying, nor be deliberately devious. And they’d never look down on another because of livelihood, wisdom, or precepts and vows.

snp4.14:18 Though provoked from hearing much talk from ascetics saying all different things, they wouldn’t react harshly, for the virtuous do not retaliate.

snp4.14:19 Having understood this teaching, inquiring, a mendicant would always train mindfully. Knowing quenching as peace, they’d not be negligent in Gotama’s bidding.

snp4.14:20 For he is the vanquisher, the unvanquished, seer of the truth as witness, not by legends— that’s why, being diligent, they would always train respectfully in the Buddha’s teaching.”

Taking Up Arms

snp4.15:1 Peril stems from those who take up arms— just look how people conflict! I shall extol how I came to be stirred with a sense of urgency.

snp4.15:2 I saw this population flounder, like a fish in a little puddle. Seeing them at odds with each other, fear came upon me.

snp4.15:3 The world around was volatile, all directions were in turmoil. Wanting a home for myself, I saw nowhere unsettled.

snp4.15:4 Yet even in their settlement they were at odds— seeing that, I grew uneasy. Then I saw a dart there, so hard to see, stuck in the heart.

snp4.15:5 When struck by that dart, you run around in all directions. But when that same dart has been plucked out, you neither run around nor sink down.

snp4.15:6 (On that topic, the trainings are recited.) Whatever attachments there are in the world, don’t pursue them. Having pierced through sensual pleasures <j>in every way, train yourself for extinguishment.

snp4.15:7 Be truthful, not rude, free of deceit, and rid of slander; without anger, a sage would cross over the evils of greed and avarice.

snp4.15:8 Prevail over sleepiness, sloth, and drowsiness, don’t abide in negligence, A person intent on quenching would not stand for arrogance.

snp4.15:9 Don’t be led into lying, or get caught up in affection for form. Completely understand conceit, and desist from hasty conduct.

snp4.15:10 Don’t relish the old, or welcome the new. Don’t grieve for what is running out, or get attached to things that pull you in.

snp4.15:11 Greed, I say, is the great flood, and longing is the current— the basis, the compulsion, the swamp of sensuality so hard to get past.

snp4.15:12 The sage never strays from the truth; the brahmin stands on solid ground. Having given up everything, they are said to be at peace.

snp4.15:13 They have truly known, they’re a knowledge master, understanding the teaching, they are independent. They rightly proceed in the world, not coveting anything here.

snp4.15:14 One who has crossed over sensuality here, the chain in the world so hard to get past, grieves not, nor hopes; they’ve cut the strings, they’re no longer bound.

snp4.15:15 What came before, let wither away, and after, let there be nothing. If you don’t grasp at the middle, you will live at peace.

snp4.15:16 One who has no sense of ownership in the whole realm of name and form, does not grieve for that which is not, they suffer no loss in the world.

snp4.15:17 If you don’t think of anything as belonging to yourself or others, not finding any possessiveness, you won’t grieve, thinking “I don’t have it”.

snp4.15:18 Not bitter, not fawning, unstirred, everywhere even; when asked about one who is unwavering, I declare that that is the benefit.

snp4.15:19 For the unstirred who understand, there’s no performance of deeds. Desisting from instigation, they see sanctuary everywhere.

snp4.15:20 A sage doesn’t speak of themselves as being among superiors, inferiors, or equals. Peaceful, rid of stinginess, they are neither ditching nor taking up.

With Sāriputta

snp4.16:1 “Never before have I seen,” said Venerable Sāriputta, “or heard from anyone about a teacher of such graceful speech, sent to lead a community.

snp4.16:2 To all the world with its angels he appears as a Clear-eyed One who has dispelled all darkness, and alone attained to bliss.

snp4.16:3 On behalf of the many here still bound, I have come seeking with a question to that Buddha, unattached and impartial, free of deceit, come to lead a community.

snp4.16:4 Suppose a mendicant who loathes attachment frequents a lonely lodging— the root of a tree, a charnel ground, on mountains, or in caves.

snp4.16:5 In these many different lodgings, how many dangers are there at which a mendicant in their silent lodging ought not tremble?

snp4.16:6 On their journey to the untrodden place, how many adversities are there in the world that must they overcome in their remote lodging?

snp4.16:7 What ways of speech should they have? Of what kind is their alms resort? What precepts and vows should a resolute mendicant uphold?

snp4.16:8 Having undertaken what training, unified, alert, and mindful, would they purge their own stains, like a smith smelting silver?”

snp4.16:9 “If one who loathes attachment <j>frequents a lonely lodging,” said the Buddha to Sāriputta, “in their search for awakening—<j>as accords with the teaching— I shall tell you, as I understand it, what is comfortable for them.

snp4.16:10 An attentive one, a mindful mendicant <j>living on the periphery should not be afraid of five perils: flies, mosquitoes, reptiles, human contact, or four-legged creatures.

snp4.16:11 Nor should they fear followers of other teachings, even having seen the many threats they pose. And then one seeking the good should overcome any other adversities.

snp4.16:12 Afflicted by illness and hunger, they should endure cold and excessive heat. Though afflicted by many such things, <j>the homeless one should exert energy, firmly striving.

snp4.16:13 They must not steal or lie; and should touch creatures firm or frail with love. If they notice any clouding of the mind, they should dispel it as Satan’s ally.

snp4.16:14 They must not fall under the sway <j>of anger or arrogance; having dug them out by the root, <j>they would stand firm. Then, faced with likes and dislikes, they would surely overcome.

snp4.16:15 Putting wisdom in the foremost place, <j>rejoicing in goodness, they would put an end to those adversities. They’d vanquish discontent in their remote lodging. And they’d vanquish the four lamentations:

snp4.16:16 ‘What will I eat? Where will I eat? Oh, I slept badly! Where will I sleep?’ The trainee, the migrant without abode, would dispel these lamentable thoughts.

snp4.16:17 Receiving food and clothes in due season, they would know moderation <j>for the sake of contentment. Guarded in these things, <j>walking restrained in the village, they wouldn’t speak harshly even when provoked.

snp4.16:18 Eyes downcast, not footloose, devoted to absorption, they’d be very wakeful. Grounded in equanimity, serene, they should cut off worrisome habits of thought.

snp4.16:19 A mindful one would welcome reproach, and would dissolve hard-heartedness <j>toward their spiritual companions. They may utter skillful speech, but not for too long, and they shouldn’t provoke people to blame.

snp4.16:20 And there are five more taints in the world, for the removal of which <j>the mindful one should train, vanquishing desire for sights, sounds, flavors, smells, and touches.

snp4.16:21 Having removed desire for these things, a mindful mendicant, their heart well freed, rightly investigating the Dhamma in good time, at one, would banish the darkness.”