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AN 3.82PTS AN 1.2291 min read

The Donkey

Gadrabhasutta

A donkey tries to moo like a cow. It doesn’t end well.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 3.82Numbered Discourses 3.82
  • 0.29. Samaṇavagga9. Ascetics

0.3GadrabhasuttaThe Donkey

1.1“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gadrabho gogaṇaṁ piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandho hoti:“Suppose, mendicants, a donkey followed behind a herd of cattle, thinking:1.2‘ahampi dammo, ahampi dammo’ti.‘I can moo too! I can moo too!’1.3Tassa na tādiso vaṇṇo hoti seyyathāpi gunnaṁ, na tādiso saro hoti seyyathāpi gunnaṁ, na tādisaṁ padaṁ hoti seyyathāpi gunnaṁ.But it doesn’t look like a cow, or sound like a cow, or leave a footprint like a cow.1.4So gogaṇaṁyeva piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandho hoti:Still it follows behind a herd of cattle, thinking:1.5‘ahampi dammo, ahampi dammo’ti.‘I can moo too! I can moo too!’

2.1Evamevaṁ kho, bhikkhave, idhekacco bhikkhu bhikkhusaṅghaṁ piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandho hoti:In the same way, some mendicant follows behind the mendicant Saṅgha, thinking:2.2‘ahampi bhikkhu, ahampi bhikkhū’ti.‘I’m a monk too! I’m a monk too!’2.3Tassa na tādiso chando hoti adhisīlasikkhāsamādāne seyyathāpi aññesaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ, na tādiso chando hoti adhicittasikkhāsamādāne seyyathāpi aññesaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ, na tādiso chando hoti adhipaññāsikkhāsamādāne seyyathāpi aññesaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ.But they don’t have the same enthusiasm for undertaking the training in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom as the other mendicants.2.4So bhikkhusaṅghaṁyeva piṭṭhito piṭṭhito anubandho hoti:Still they follow behind the mendicant Saṇgha, thinking:2.5‘ahampi bhikkhu, ahampi bhikkhū’ti.‘I’m a monk too! I’m a monk too!’

3.1Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:So you should train like this:3.2‘tibbo no chando bhavissati adhisīlasikkhāsamādāne, tibbo no chando bhavissati adhicittasikkhāsamādāne, tibbo no chando bhavissati adhipaññāsikkhāsamādāne’ti.‘We will have keen enthusiasm for undertaking the training in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom.’3.3Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.That’s how you should train.”

3.4Dutiyaṁ.