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Buddhism

SN 1:56 · Engendered (2) (Jana 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

“What engenders a person?

What does one have that runs around?

What rushes toward the wandering-on?

From what is one not yet released?”

The Buddha:

“Craving           engenders a person.

One’s mind           is what runs around.

A being           rushes toward the wandering-on.

From suffering           one’s not yet released.”

See also: SN 22:22


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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