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Buddhism

AN 3:115 · Rare (Dullabha Sutta)

Thai temple painting: Prince Vessantara gives away the white elephant
Vessantara Jātaka, Chapter 2 (Himavanta Forest) · Thai, Rattanakosin, c. 1850–1870 · Walters Art Museum

“Monks, the appearance of three [persons] is rare in the world. Which three? The appearance of the Tathāgatha, worthy & rightly self-awakened, is rare in the world. A person who teaches the Dhamma & Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathāgata is rare in the world. A person who is grateful & thankful is rare in the world.

“Monks, the appearance of these three is rare in the world.”

See also: DN 16; AN 2:31; AN 3:24


Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence, for free distribution only. Source: dhammatalks.org (Metta Forest Monastery).

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