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SN 45.34PTS SN 5.241 min read

Going to the Far Shore

Pāraṅgamasutta

The eightfold path leads from the near to the far shore. With a long set of verses.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 45.34Linked Discourses 45.34
  • 0.24. Paṭipattivagga4. Practice

0.3PāraṅgamasuttaGoing to the Far Shore

1.1Sāvatthinidānaṁ.At Sāvatthī.

1.2“Aṭṭhime, bhikkhave, dhammā bhāvitā bahulīkatā apārā pāraṁ gamanāya saṁvattanti.“Mendicants, when these eight things are developed and cultivated they lead to going from the near shore to the far shore.1.3Katame aṭṭha?What eight?1.4Seyyathidaṁ—sammādiṭṭhi …pe… sammāsamādhi.They are right view, right purpose, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion.1.5Ime kho, bhikkhave, aṭṭha dhammā bhāvitā bahulīkatā apārā pāraṁ gamanāya saṁvattantī”ti.When these eight things are developed and cultivated they lead to going from the near shore to the far shore.”

2.1Idamavoca bhagavā.That is what the Buddha said.2.2Idaṁ vatvāna sugato athāparaṁ etadavoca satthā:Then the Holy One, the Teacher, went on to say:

3.1“Appakā te manussesu,“Few are those among humans13.2ye janā pāragāmino;who cross to the far shore.3.3Athāyaṁ itarā pajā,The rest just run3.4tīramevānudhāvati.around on the near shore.

4.1Ye ca kho sammadakkhāte,When the teaching is well explained,4.2dhamme dhammānuvattino;the people who practice accordingly4.3Te janā pāramessanti,will cross over4.4maccudheyyaṁ suduttaraṁ.Death’s dominion so hard to pass.

5.1Kaṇhaṁ dhammaṁ vippahāya,Rid of dark qualities,25.2sukkaṁ bhāvetha paṇḍito;an astute person would develop the bright.35.3Okā anokamāgamma,Having left home for homelessness45.4viveke yattha dūramaṁ.in seclusion, where joy is hard,

6.1Tatrābhiratimiccheyya,they’d long for satisfaction there.6.2hitvā kāme akiñcano;Forsaking sensual pleasures, owning nothing,6.3Pariyodapeyya attānaṁ,an astute person would cleanse themselves6.4cittaklesehi paṇḍito.of mental corruptions.

7.1Yesaṁ sambodhiyaṅgesu,And those whose minds are rightly developed7.2sammā cittaṁ subhāvitaṁ;in the awakening factors;57.3Ādānapaṭinissagge,who, letting go of attachments,7.4anupādāya ye ratā;delight in not grasping—7.5Khīṇāsavā jutimanto,with defilements ended, brilliant,7.6te loke parinibbutā”ti.they are quenched in this world.”

7.7Catutthaṁ.

Translator’s notes

  1. These verses also occur in the context of the seven awakening factors (SN 46.17:2.1), the tenfold path (AN 10.117:2.1, AN 10.118:3.1), the ten ways of skillful deeds (AN 10.169:3.1, AN 10.170:2.1), and as independent verses (Dhp 85–89).

    ↩ sn45.34:3.1

  2. While the text has the singular dhamma here, the commentary explains it by way of the contrast between “dark” qualities and “bright” qualities, which are typically in plural. And indeed, the Sanskrit parallels of this verse have the plural form. See Norman’s note on Dhp 87 in his The Word of the Doctrine.

    ↩ sn45.34:5.1

  3. Bhāvetha here is a rare reflexive form for the third person optative singular, agreeing with pariyodapeyya below.

    ↩ sn45.34:5.2

  4. The Pali for “home” is oka, which I elsewhere disambiguate by rendering as “bastion”.

    ↩ sn45.34:5.3

  5. For “awakening factors” the Pali has sambodhiyaṅga, which is a different spelling of sambojjhaṅga, familiar from the “seven awakening factors”.

    ↩ sn45.34:7.2