Forest

Translated by E. M. Hare

[1][than] Thus have I heard:

Once the Exalted One dwelt near Sāvatthī;
and there he addressed the monks, saying:

"Monks."

'Yes, lord,' they replied;
and the Exalted One said:

"Monks, possessed of five qualities a monk,
making much of awareness
in breathing in and breathing out,
will in no long time penetrate the immovable.

Of what five?

He is set on little,
busied in little,
frugal,
well content with life's necessities;

■

taking food in little,
he serves not his own belly;

■

slothful in little, he is heedful in vigilance;

■

he is a forest-dweller with outland bed and seat;

■

and he reflects on the mind as freed.

Monks, possessed of these five qualities,
making much of awareness
in breathing in and breathing out,
will in no long time penetrate the immovable.'