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SN 1.3PTS (1st ed) SN 1.21 min read

Led On

Upanīyasutta

Life is short, so we should drop the world’s bait.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 1.3Linked Discourses 1.3
  • 0.21. Naḷavagga1. A Reed

0.3UpanīyasuttaLed On

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“Upanīyati jīvitamappamāyu,“This life, so very short, is led onward.2.2Jarūpanītassa na santi tāṇā;One led on to old age has no shelter.2.3Etaṁ bhayaṁ maraṇe pekkhamāno,Seeing this peril in death,2.4Puññāni kayirātha sukhāvahānī”ti.do good deeds that bring you joy.”

3.1“Upanīyati jīvitamappamāyu,“This life, so very short, is led onward.3.2Jarūpanītassa na santi tāṇā;One led on to old age has no shelter.3.3Etaṁ bhayaṁ maraṇe pekkhamāno,Seeing this peril in death,3.4Lokāmisaṁ pajahe santipekkho”ti.a seeker of peace would drop the world’s bait.”1

Translator’s notes

  1. Whereas the first two discourses saw the deity asking a question, here they propose a conventional good, and the Buddha elevates it to the transcendental.

    ↩ sn1.3:3.4