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Greed

Lobhasutta

Abandon greed, and you’re guaranteed non-return.

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

  • 0.1Itivuttaka 1So It Was Said 1
  • 0.2EkakanipātaThe Book of the Ones
  • 0.3PaṭhamavaggaChapter One

0.4LobhasuttaGreed

1.1Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ:This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.

2.1“Ekadhammaṁ, bhikkhave, pajahatha;“Mendicants, give up one thing2.2ahaṁ vo pāṭibhogo anāgāmitāya.and I guarantee you non-return.2.3Katamaṁ ekadhammaṁ?What one thing?2.4Lobhaṁ, bhikkhave, ekadhammaṁ pajahatha;Greed is the one thing. Give it up,2.5ahaṁ vo pāṭibhogo anāgāmitāyā”ti.and I guarantee you non-return.”

2.6Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca.The Buddha spoke this matter.2.7Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:On this it is said:

3.1“Yena lobhena luddhāse,“When overcome by greed3.2sattā gacchanti duggatiṁ;beings go to a bad place.3.3Taṁ lobhaṁ sammadaññāya,Having rightly understood that greed,3.4pajahanti vipassino;the discerning give it up.3.5Pahāya na punāyanti,Once they’ve given it up,3.6imaṁ lokaṁ kudācanan”ti.they never return to this world.”

4.1Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.1

4.2Paṭhamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. We find the same tag in Ud 1.10, except with udāno in place of attho. This confirms that attha here refers to the “substance” or “main matter” of the text (rather than the “meaning”). In other words, this indicates the portion that was spoken by the Buddha, specifically the preceding verses.

    ↩ iti1:4.1