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Buddhism

Iti 107 · uttaka 107

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

This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, brahmans & householders are very helpful to you, as they provide you with the requisites of robes, alms food, lodgings, & medical requisites for the sick. And you, monks, are very helpful to brahmans & householders, as you teach them the Dhamma admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; as you expound the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely complete, surpassingly pure. In this way the holy life is lived in mutual dependence, for the purpose of crossing over the flood, for making a right end to stress.”

Householders & the homeless

in mutual dependence

both reach the true Dhamma:

the unsurpassed safety from bondage.

From householders, the homeless

receive requisites: robes, lodgings,

protection from inclemencies.

While in dependence on those well-gone,

home-loving householders

have conviction in Arahants

of noble discernment,

absorbed in jhāna.

Having practiced the Dhamma here–

the path leading to good destinations–

delighting in the deva world,

they rejoice,

enjoying sensual pleasures.


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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