Saṃyutta Nikāya
II. Nidāna Vagga
20. Opamma Saṃuttaṃ

Sutta 6

Dhanu-g-Gaha Suttaṃ

The Archer

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Proofed against and modified in accordance with the revised edition at dhammatalks.org
Provenance, terms and conditons

 

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[1][bodh][olds]Staying near Sāvatthi.

[2][pts][bodh][olds] "Monks, suppose there were four strong archers — well-trained, practiced, and drilled — standing in the four directions, [3][pts][bodh][olds] and a man were to come along saying, 'I will catch and bring down the arrows let fly by these four strong archers — well-trained, practiced, and drilled — before they have fallen to the ground.'

[4][pts][bodh][olds] What do you think?

Would that be enough to call him a swift man, endowed with the foremost speed?"

[5][pts][bodh][olds] "Even if he were to catch and bring down the arrows let fly by one archer — well-trained, practiced, and drilled — before they fell to the ground, lord, that would be enough to call him a swift man, endowed with the foremost speed, to say nothing of four such archers."

[6][pts][bodh][olds] "Faster than the speed of that man, monks, is the speed of the sun and moon.

Faster than the speed of that man, faster than the speed of the sun and moon, is the speed of the devas who rush ahead of the sun and moon.

Faster than the speed of that man, faster than the speed of the sun and moon, faster than the speed of the devas who rush ahead of the sun and moon, the force of one's life span comes to an end.

[7][pts][bodh][olds] Thus you should train yourselves:

'We will live heedfully.'

That's how you should train yourselves."

 

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Of Related Interest:

SN 2.19
AN 4:113;
AN 5:78;
AN 6:19–20;
AN 7:70;
AN 10:15;
Iti 23;
SN 2.19;