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AN 9.15PTS AN 4.386Gaṇḍa1 min read

The Simile of the Boil

Gaṇḍasutta

The body is compared to a boil with nine orifices.

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

  • 0.1Aṅguttara Nikāya 9.15Numbered Discourses 9.15
  • 0.22. Sīhanādavagga2. The Lion’s Roar

0.3GaṇḍasuttaThe Simile of the Boil

1.1“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, gaṇḍo anekavassagaṇiko.“Mendicants, suppose there was a boil that was many years old.1.2Tassassu gaṇḍassa nava vaṇamukhāni nava abhedanamukhāni.And that boil had nine orifices that were continually open wounds.1.3Tato yaṁ kiñci pagghareyya—Whatever oozed out of them1.4asuciyeva pagghareyya, duggandhaṁyeva pagghareyya, jegucchiyaṁyeva pagghareyya;would be filthy, stinking, and disgusting.1.5yaṁ kiñci pasaveyya—Whatever exuded from them1.6asuciyeva pasaveyya, duggandhaṁyeva pasaveyya, jegucchiyaṁyeva pasaveyya.would be filthy, stinking, and disgusting.

2.1PTS 4.387Gaṇḍoti kho, bhikkhave, imassetaṁ cātumahābhūtikassa kāyassa adhivacanaṁ mātāpettikasambhavassa odanakummāsūpacayassa aniccucchādanaparimaddanabhedanaviddhaṁsanadhammassa.‘Boil’ is a term for this body made up of the four principal states, produced by mother and father, built up from rice and porridge, liable to impermanence, to wearing away and erosion, to breaking up and destruction.2.2Tassassu gaṇḍassa nava vaṇamukhāni nava abhedanamukhāni.And that boil has nine orifices that are continually open wounds.2.3Tato yaṁ kiñci paggharati—Whatever oozes out of them2.4asuciyeva paggharati, duggandhaṁyeva paggharati, jegucchiyaṁyeva paggharati;is filthy, stinking, and disgusting.2.5yaṁ kiñci pasavati—Whatever exudes from them2.6asuciyeva pasavati, duggandhaṁyeva pasavati, jegucchiyaṁyeva pasavati.is filthy, stinking, and disgusting.2.7Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, imasmiṁ kāye nibbindathā”ti.So, mendicants, have no illusion about this body.”

2.8Pañcamaṁ.