Skip to content
True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 13.2PTS SN 2.1331 min read

A Lotus Pond

Pokkharaṇīsutta

For someone who has seen the truth, the suffering eliminated is like the water in a massive dam; what remains is like a few drops on a blade of grass.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 13.2Linked Discourses 13.2
  • 0.21. Abhisamayavagga1. Comprehension

0.3PokkharaṇīsuttaA Lotus Pond

1.1Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.At Sāvatthī.

1.2“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, pokkharaṇī paññāsayojanāni āyāmena paññāsayojanāni vitthārena paññāsayojanāni ubbedhena, puṇṇā udakassa samatittikā kākapeyyā.“Mendicants, suppose there was a lotus pond that was fifty leagues long, fifty leagues wide, and fifty leagues deep, full to the brim so a crow could drink from it.11.3Tato puriso kusaggena udakaṁ uddhareyya.Then a person would pick up some water on the tip of a blade of grass.

1.4Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,What do you think, mendicants?1.5katamaṁ nu kho bahutaraṁ, yaṁ vā kusaggena udakaṁ ubbhataṁ yaṁ vā pokkharaṇiyā udakan”ti?Which is more: the water on the tip of the blade of grass, or the water in the lotus pond?”

2.1“Etadeva, bhante, bahutaraṁ, yadidaṁ pokkharaṇiyā udakaṁ.“Sir, the water in the lotus pond is certainly more.2.2Appamattakaṁ kusaggena udakaṁ ubbhataṁ.The water on the tip of a blade of grass is tiny.2.3Neva satimaṁ kalaṁ upeti na sahassimaṁ kalaṁ upeti na satasahassimaṁ kalaṁ upeti pokkharaṇiyā udakaṁ upanidhāya kusaggena udakaṁ ubbhatan”ti.Compared to the water in the lotus pond, it’s not nearly a hundredth, a thousandth, or a hundred thousandth part.”

3.1“Evameva kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvakassa diṭṭhisampannassa puggalassa abhisametāvino etadeva bahutaraṁ dukkhaṁ yadidaṁ parikkhīṇaṁ pariyādiṇṇaṁ; appamattakaṁ avasiṭṭhaṁ.“In the same way, for an individual with comprehension, a noble disciple accomplished in view, the suffering that’s over and done with is more, what’s left is tiny.3.2Neva satimaṁ kalaṁ upeti na sahassimaṁ kalaṁ upeti na satasahassimaṁ kalaṁ upeti purimaṁ dukkhakkhandhaṁ parikkhīṇaṁ pariyādiṇṇaṁ upanidhāya, yadidaṁ sattakkhattuṁparamatā.Compared to the mass of suffering in the past that’s over and done with, it’s not nearly a hundredth, a thousandth, or a hundred thousandth part, since there are at most seven more lives.3.3Evaṁ mahatthiyo kho, bhikkhave, dhammābhisamayo; evaṁ mahatthiyo dhammacakkhupaṭilābho”ti.That’s how very beneficial it is to comprehend the teaching and gain the vision of the teaching.”

3.4Dutiyaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. Also at SN 56.52.

    ↩ sn13.2:1.2