SN 1.12PTS (1st ed) SN 1.61 min read

Delight

Nandatisutta

We think our attachments bring us happiness, but they really bring sorrow.

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

0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 1.12Linked Discourses 1.12
0.22. Nandanavagga2. The Garden of Delight

0.3NandatisuttaDelight

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2Ekamantaṁ ṭhitā kho sā devatā bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Standing to one side, that deity spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:

2.1“Nandati puttehi puttimā,“Children bring you delight!2.2Gomā gohi tatheva nandati;Cattle also bring you delight!2.3Upadhīhi narassa nandanā,For attachments are a man’s delight;2.4Na hi so nandati yo nirūpadhī”ti.without attachments there’s no delight.”
3.1“Socati puttehi puttimā,“Children bring you sorrow.3.2Gomā gohi tatheva socati;Cattle also bring you sorrow.3.3Upadhīhi narassa socanā,For attachments are a man’s sorrow;¹3.4Na hi so socati yo nirūpadhī”ti.without attachments there are no sorrows.”

Translator’s notes

“Attachment” here is upadhi, which is both the things of the world to which we cling, and the inner clinging (see Snp 1.2, SN 12.66). The Jains defined upadhi similarly (Tattvārthasūtra 9.26). The dominant meaning in Sanskrit is “fraud”, which perhaps informs the Buddhist sense: the things we attach to give a false sense of security.
↩ sn1.12:3.3