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SN 10.4PTS (1st ed) SN 1.2081 min read

With Maṇibhadda

Maṇibhaddasutta

The spirit Maṇibhadda speaks in praise of mindfulness, opining that a mindful one is free of hate. The Buddha responds that yes, mindfulness is wonderful, but only through developing love is one free of hate.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 10.4Linked Discourses 10.4
  • 0.21. Indakavagga1. With Indaka

0.3MaṇibhaddasuttaWith Maṇibhadda

1.1Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā magadhesu viharati maṇimālike cetiye maṇibhaddassa yakkhassa bhavane.At one time the Buddha was staying in the land of the Magadhans at the Maṇimālika Shrine, the haunt of the native spirit Maṇibhadda.1

1.2Atha kho maṇibhaddo yakkho yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavato santike imaṁ gāthaṁ abhāsi:Then the native spirit Maṇibhadda went up to the Buddha, and spoke this verse in the Buddha’s presence:2

2.1“Satīmato sadā bhaddaṁ,“It’s always auspicious for the mindful;32.2satimā sukhamedhati;the mindful prosper in happiness.2.3Satīmato suve seyyo,Each new day is better for the mindful,2.4verā ca parimuccatī”ti.and they are freed from enmity.”

3.1“Satīmato sadā bhaddaṁ,“It’s always auspicious for the mindful;3.2satimā sukhamedhati;the mindful prosper in happiness.3.3Satīmato suve seyyo,Each new day is better for the mindful,3.4verā na parimuccati.but they’re not freed from enmity.

4.1Yassa sabbamahorattaṁ,But someone whose mind delights in harmlessness,44.2ahiṁsāya rato mano;all day and all night,4.3Mettaṁso sabbabhūtesu,with love for all living creatures—4.4veraṁ tassa na kenacī”ti.they have no enmity for anyone.”

Translator’s notes

  1. Maṇimālika means “garland of jewels”.

    ↩ sn10.4:1.1

  2. Maṇibhadda means “auspicious jewel”. Yakkhas of this name are found in both Brahmanism and Jainism as bestowers of wealth. Hindu texts identify him as brother of Kuvera, king of yakkhas, and tutellary deity of merchants and travellers. Mahāvīra was once said to have stayed at a Maṇibhadra shrine, but that was in Mithila, north of the Ganges.

    ↩ sn10.4:1.2

  3. Maṇibhadda plays on his own name, taking mindfulness to be auspicious, rather than jewels.

    ↩ sn10.4:2.1

  4. The Buddha does not advocate mindfulness as the sole solution for all difficulties. Rather, specific problems require relevant antidotes, though of course mindfulness is always present.

    ↩ sn10.4:4.1