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SN 1.46PTS (1st ed) SN 1.331 min read

Nymphs

Accharāsutta

To escape from the Forest of Delusion, one needs the vehicle of the Dhamma.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 1.46Linked Discourses 1.46
  • 0.25. Ādittavagga5. On Fire

0.3AccharāsuttaNymphs

1.1“Accharāgaṇasaṅghuṭṭhaṁ,“It’s resounding with a group of nymphs,11.2pisācagaṇasevitaṁ;but haunted by a gang of goblins!21.3Vanantaṁ mohanaṁ nāma,This grove is called ‘Deluding’.31.4kathaṁ yātrā bhavissatī”ti.How will I keep going?”

2.1“Ujuko nāma so maggo,“That path is called ‘the direct way’,42.2abhayā nāma sā disā;and it’s headed for the place called ‘fearless’.2.3Ratho akūjano nāma,The chariot is called ‘unswerving’,52.4dhammacakkehi saṁyuto.fitted with wheels of the teaching.6

3.1Hirī tassa apālambo,Conscience is its bench-back,3.2satyassa parivāraṇaṁ;mindfulness its upholstery.3.3Dhammāhaṁ sārathiṁ brūmi,I say the teaching is the driver,3.4sammādiṭṭhipurejavaṁ.with right view running out in front.

4.1Yassa etādisaṁ yānaṁ,Any woman or man4.2itthiyā purisassa vā;who has such a vehicle,4.3Sa ve etena yānena,by means of this vehicle4.4nibbānasseva santike”ti.has drawn near to extinguishment.”

Translator’s notes

  1. The nymphs (accharā, “aquatics”, perhaps originally cloud-deities) were known from Vedic times as beautiful dancers and musicians often romantically entwined with the gandhabba.

    ↩ sn1.46:1.1

  2. As horrifying as nymphs are seductive, the flesh-eating pisāca (Sanskrit piśāca) arises in troops under cover of night and slips through the air wreaking havoc.

    ↩ sn1.46:1.2

  3. Delusion contains both desire and aversion.

    ↩ sn1.46:1.3

  4. This Sutta contrasts the “direct” way with the “deluding” (mohana) way. This recalls the notion that the teaching shows the way to those who are lost (mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, SN 7.1:9.3). This echoes the common description of the Saṅgha as practicing the way that is “direct”, suggesting that they are proceeding directly along a known route (SN 11.3:11.2).

    ↩ sn1.46:2.1

  5. Verses connecting parts of the Dhamma to a chariot are also found at SN 41.5 and SN 45.4.

    Chariots appear throughout the Vedic literature as vehicles of gods and heroes, and in metaphors especially for the sun and the sacrifice. Rig Veda 10.135.3 speaks of a chariot created by the mind, with a single pole and facing all directions, which connects a grieving son with his departed father.

    ↩ sn1.46:2.3

  6. Normally dhammacakka, the “wheel of the teaching”, is singular, this being a unique plural. The commentary explains as mental and physical energy.

    ↩ sn1.46:2.4