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SN 56.33PTS SN 5.4391 min read

A Stick

Daṇḍasutta

Beings who have not seen the four noble truths roam on from one birth to another, like a stick thrown end to end.

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

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.33Linked Discourses 56.33
  • 0.24. Sīsapāvanavagga4. In a Rosewood Forest

0.3DaṇḍasuttaA Stick

1.1“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, daṇḍo uparivehāsaṁ khitto sakimpi mūlena nipatati, sakimpi aggena nipatati;“Mendicants, suppose a stick was tossed up in the air. Sometimes it’d fall on its bottom and sometimes the top.1.2evameva kho, bhikkhave, avijjānīvaraṇā sattā taṇhāsaṁyojanā sandhāvantā saṁsarantā sakimpi asmā lokā paraṁ lokaṁ gacchanti, sakimpi parasmā lokā imaṁ lokaṁ āgacchanti.It’s the same for sentient beings roaming and transmigrating, shrouded by ignorance and fettered by craving. Sometimes they go from this world to the other world, and sometimes they come from the other world to this world.1.3Taṁ kissa hetu?Why is that?1.4Adiṭṭhattā, bhikkhave, catunnaṁ ariyasaccānaṁ.It’s because they haven’t seen the four noble truths.1.5Katamesaṁ catunnaṁ?What four?1.6Dukkhassa ariyasaccassa …pe… dukkhanirodhagāminiyā paṭipadāya ariyasaccassa.The noble truths of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

2.1PTS 5.440Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.That’s why you should practice meditation …”

2.2Tatiyaṁ.