Aṇguttara Nikāya:
4. Catukka Nipāta
II. Cara Vaggo
The Book of the Fours
Sutta 13
Padhāna Suttaṃ
Commendable Effort
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Once upon a time the Lucky man, Vajji-land revisiting, Bhaṇḍagāma village.
There Bhagava said:
There are, beggars, these four commendable efforts.[1]
What four?
Here beggars, a beggar
generates desire,
exerts his heart,
seeks out the energy and self-control
to prevent the arising
of bad, unskillful things
not yet arisen;
generates desire,
exerts his heart,
seeks out the energy and self-control
to let go of
bad, unskillful things
that have arisen;
generates desire,
exerts his heart,
seeks out the energy and self-control
to give rise to
skillful things
not yet arisen;
generates desire,
exerts his heart,
seeks out the energy and self-control
for the non-confusion,
increased standing,
and completely fulfilled development of
skillful things
that have arisen.
These then beggars, are the four commendable efforts.
§
From the Realm of Mara, Destroyer of Beings
by commendable effort freed,
thrown off the fear of birth and death,
Mara and his weaponry.
From the Captor's[2] power escaped
well, happy, undisturbed is he.
[1] Samma-p-padhānāni. Samma here not Sammā. PED gives 'Hail' but suggests a relationship to Sammā. padhānā PED: exertion, energetic effort, striving, concentration of mind.
[2] Namuci. 'Not-enough'. Another name for Mara. PTS Text footnotes: Comy. on S. v, 1 explains it as na-muñcati, 'does not let go.'
