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Buddhism

SN 1:64 · Fettered (Saññojana 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

“With what         is the world fettered?

What         is its exploration?

With the abandoning

of what

is there said,

‘unbinding’?”

The Buddha:

“Fettered with delight         is the world.

Directed thought         is its exploration.

With the abandoning

of craving

is there said,

‘unbinding.’”


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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