True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 2.22PTS (1st ed) SN 1.571 min read

With Khema

Khemasutta

The deity Khema utters a series of verses in praise of good deeds. The Buddha responds with a simile for someone who departs the path of the good.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 2.22Linked Discourses 2.22
  • 0.23. Nānātitthiyavagga3. Various Sectarians

0.3KhemasuttaWith Khema

1.1Ekamantaṁ ṭhito kho khemo devaputto bhagavato santike imā gāthāyo abhāsi:Standing to one side, the godling Khema recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:1

2.1“Caranti bālā dummedhā,“Fools and simpletons behave2.2amitteneva attanā;like their own worst enemies,2.3Karontā pāpakaṁ kammaṁ,doing wicked deeds2.4yaṁ hoti kaṭukapphalaṁ.that ripen as bitter fruit.

3.1Na taṁ kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu,It’s not good to do a deed3.2yaṁ katvā anutappati;that plagues you later on,3.3Yassa assumukho rodaṁ,for which you weep and wail,3.4vipākaṁ paṭisevati.as its effect stays with you.

4.1Tañca kammaṁ kataṁ sādhu,It is good to do a deed4.2yaṁ katvā nānutappati;that doesn’t plague you later on,4.3Yassa patīto sumano,that gladdens and cheers,4.4vipākaṁ paṭisevati.as its effect stays with you.”2

5.1Paṭikacceva taṁ kayirā,“As a precaution, you should do5.2yaṁ jaññā hitamattano;what you know is for your own welfare.5.3Na sākaṭikacintāya,A thinker, an attentive one would not proceed5.4mantā dhīro parakkame.thinking like the cart driver.

6.1Yathā sākaṭiko maṭṭhaṁ,Suppose a cart driver leaves the highway,6.2samaṁ hitvā mahāpathaṁ;so even and well compacted.6.3Visamaṁ maggamāruyha,They enter upon a rough road,6.4akkhacchinnova jhāyati.and fret as soon as their axle is broken.

7.1Evaṁ dhammā apakkamma,So too, a dullard leaves the good7.2adhammamanuvattiya;to follow what’s against the good.7.3Mando maccumukhaṁ patto,Fallen in the jaws of death,37.4akkhacchinnova jhāyatī”ti.they fret like one whose axle is broken.”4

Translator’s notes

  1. Khema is a common name meaning “safety, blessedness, sanctuary”.

    ↩ sn2.22:1.1

  2. I follow Bodhi in finishing the godling’s verses at this point.

    ↩ sn2.22:4.4

  3. “Jaws of death” (maccumukha) is also at Snp 4.2:5.3. Compare Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.1.1, “he escapes from the jaws of death” (tanmṛtyumukhātpramucyate).

    ↩ sn2.22:7.3

  4. See Bodhi, Connected Discourses note 174 for readings in these verses.

    The final line here and in the previous verse are identical in Pali (akkhacchinnova jhāyati) but require different senses. The commentary reads the first as akkhacchinno avajhāyati (“frets with broken axle”) and the second akkhacchinno iva jhāyati (“frets like one whose axle is broken”). The prefixed verb is not necessary for the sense (cp. Snp 4.7:5.2, Dhp 155:3), so instead I take the first line as akkhacchinno eva jhāyati (“frets as soon as their axle is broken”).

    ↩ sn2.22:7.4