Thag 5:10 · Yasadatta
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He’s as far from the True Dhamma
as the ground is from the sky.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He wanes from the True Dhamma
like the moon in the dark half of the month.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He dries up in the True Dhamma
like a fish in next to no water.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He doesn’t grow in the True Dhamma,
like a rotten seed in a field.
But whoever hears the Conqueror’s teaching
with guarded1 intent,
doing away with effluents
—all—
realizing the unshakable,
attaining the foremost peace,
—effluent-free—
totally unbinds.
Note
1. Reading guttena with the Thai edition. Other editions have tuṭṭhena, “contented.”
See also: AN 6:86–88
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).
