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Buddhism

SN 1:71 · Having Killed (Chetvā 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 to one side, a devatā recited this verse to the Blessed One:

“Having killed what

do you sleep in ease?

Having killed what

do you not grieve?

Of the slaying

of what one thing

does Gotama approve?”

The Buddha:

“Having killed anger

you sleep in ease.

Having killed anger

you do not grieve.

The noble ones praise

the slaying of anger

—with its honeyed crest

& poison root—

for having killed it

you do not grieve.”

See also: MN 21; SN 7:2; AN 7:60


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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