Aṇguttara Nikāya
Chakka Nipāta
III: Anuttariya Vagga

The Book of Sixes

Sutta 24

Himavanta Suttaṃ

Breaking up Mount Himalaya

Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds

 

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[1][pts] I Hear Tell:

Once upon a time, The Lucky Man Sāvatthī Town revisiting, Anāthapiṇḍika Park, Jeta Grove.

There then the Lucky Man addressed the beggars:

"Beggars!"

And "Bhante!" the beggars responded.

Bhagava said this to them:

Possessing six things, beggars,
a beggar could break up Mount Himalaya, king of mountains,
not to speak of the corpus of blindness.^[1]

What six?

Here a beggar will have skill at attaining serenity;

will have skill at establishing serenity;

will have skill at arising from serenity;

will have skill at the pastures of serenity;

will have skill at conducting himself in serenity.

Possessing these six things, beggars,
a beggar could break up Mount Himalaya, king of mountains,
not to speak of the corpus of blindness."

 

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^[1] I have reversed the meaning of this last phrase from: "but who will say that of the corpus of blindness?" (following Hare). I now believe this was intended to show the power of the six things not the power of blindness.