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Buddhism

SN 1:21 · A Sword (Satti 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

As she was standing there, the devatā recited this verse in the Blessed One’s presence:

“As if struck by a sword,
as if his head were on fire,
a monk should live the wandering life
	—mindful—
for the abandoning of sensual passion.”

The Buddha:

“As if struck by a sword,
as if his head were on fire,
a monk should live the wandering life
	—mindful—
for the abandoning of self-identity.”

See also: SN 22:1; AN 10:51; Thag 1:39


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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