Saṃyutta Nikāya
I. Sagātha Vagga
1. Devatā-Saṃyutta
II. Nandana Vagga
Sutta 17
Dukkara (or Kumma) Suttaṃ
Hard to Do
Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Sourced from dhammatalks.org
For free distribution only.
For the inexperienced,
the contemplative life is
hard to do,
hard to endure,
for many are the confinements there
in which a fool sinks.
How many days can you follow
the contemplative life
if you don’t block the mind?
Step by step you’d sink
under the sway of your resolves.[1]
As a tortoise would draw
its limbs
into its shell,
so a monk should—
the thoughts of his heart.
Independent, not mistreating others,
totally unbound,
he shouldn’t disparage
anyone at all.
[1]
The passion for his resolves is a
man’s sensuality,
not the beautiful sensual pleasures
found in the world.
The passion for his resolves is a man’s sensuality.
The beauties remain as they are in the world,
while, in this regard,
the enlightened
subdue their desire.
— AN 6:63
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