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# The First Word

[SN 1.3.17] Saṁyutta Nikāya, I. Sagatha Vagga 3. Kosalasamyutta 17

#### Appamāda[1]

I HEAR TELL:

Once Upon a Time, the Great Teacher, Savatthi-town, Anāthapiṇḍika Park, Jeta Grove came a revisiting.

There the King, the Kosalan Pasenadi, came to call, and after the exchange of friendly greetings, polite talk and common courtesies, he sat down at a respectful distance, on a lower seat, to one side.

There he spoke to The Great Teacher, saying:

"Is there any one thing, Great Teacher, that will gain one's getting of attainment both in the here and now and in the hereafter?"

"Yes Great King, there is such a one thing."

"But what is that one thing, Great Teacher?"

"'Appamāda',[2] Great King, is that one thing that will gain one's getting of attainment both in the here and now and in the hereafter."

"In the same way, Great King, as all the tracks of breathing things that walk are encompassed by the track of the elephant,
and of tracks, on account of its size, the elephant's is number one,
in the same way, Great King, this one Dhamma, on account of its scope, gains one's getting of attainment both in the here and now and in the hereafter."

Mrs. Rhys Davids rendering of the Gatha is very nice:

Whoso to length of days aspires, to health,
To beauty, or to heaven, or to the joys
Of the highborn, if he in virtuous deeds
Show diligence, he wins the wise man's praise.
He that is wise and diligent doth win
Twofold advantage: wins that which is good
In this life and wins good in life to come.
The strong in mind doth win the name of Wise,
Because he grasps wherein his vantage lies.

The following is a probably-incorrect rendering of "Appamāda" in a Brahmi font I was developing but which has been put on hold because of my lack of understanding as to an acceptable way to produce double consonants.

The first character is the "a" as used when it is the first letter of a word (tip it to one side in your mind to see how closely it resembles our "A"); the second and third characters are the two "p" characters which according to some sources should be joined in some way, and according to other sources were not originally joined — all consonants are pronounced as though followed by the short "A" except in the case of double consonants, and in this case, at least according to some sources, the first "p" is inserted simply because it is not possible to join the "a" to the "p" without making the "p" sound twice (flip the characters upside down to see the resemblance to our "p"); the fourth character is the "m" where the straight line leading from the top right of the ribbon indicates that in stead of the short "a" it should be pronounced with the long "ā" sound, and the final character is the "da" (again notice the resemblance to our "d").

Here is a more recent [Friday, March 01, 2013 5:59 PM] stab at this. This is the way I believe the word would have been written although the small circle representing the 'm' would just as easily have been the 'ribbon' form indicating that it was to be considered more than a transitional sound. Otherwise the consonants are presumed to be pronounced with the short 'a' sound unless as in the second case here, there is an indication by way of a short horizontal line or dot that it should be 'long ā'.

This word is a "Manta" (Sanskrit: Mantra). To get this word to reveal its secrets, it should be taken as a subject of meditation, researched in the dictionaries and wherever it occurs in the suttas, and then repeated silently. It should be repeated as a whole word, it should be "spelled out" ... "a" "p" (say "ph") "pa" "ma" "da"; it should be spelled out pronouncing each syllable twice: "a" "a" "p" "p" "pa" "pa" "ma" "ma" "da" "da"; it should be spelled out backwards; where it is possible to break apart the sounds, break them apart (e.g.,"pa" to "ph - ah", "ma" to "mh - ah", "da" to "dh - ah"); and in any other way you can think of.

[1] Footnote in Rhys Davids translation:
'Appamāda' is a negative term, meaning non-carelessness, not-delay, not-dalliance, non-infatuation, from the root, or roots, mad, mand, 'to be exhilarated.' (See Whitney, Sanskrit Roots, 118) From this source we get both the terms for such a state and those for its results and by-products: — intoxication, obsession, insanity, want of concentration and earnestness, etc. Cf. below, VI, 2, §5. B. qualifies the term by the (unusual) word kārāpaka-: diligence in making [others] do their work.

[2] In my opinion best left untranslated. See: Glossology: Appamāda, but if it is to be translated, it should be in the negative form "not-careless", not the positive, "careful".

[AN 10.15] Anguttara Nikāya X.15

#### Appamāda Sutta

# Heedfulness

Translated from the Pāḷi by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Reprinted from Access to Insight — For free distribution only.

"To the extent that there are animals — footless, two-footed, four-footed, many footed; with form or formless; percipient, non-percipient, or neither percipient nor non-percipient — the Tathāgata, worthy and rightly self-awakened, is reckoned the foremost among them. In the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is reckoned the foremost among them in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as the rafters in a peak-roofed house all go to the roof-peak, incline to the roof-peak, converge at the roof-peak, and the roof-peak is reckoned the foremost among them; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as, of all root fragrances, black aloes-root is reckoned the foremost; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as, of all wood fragrances, red sandalwood is reckoned the foremost; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as, of all flower fragrances, jasmine is reckoned the foremost; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as all wattle-and-daub-town princes fall subject to a wheel-turning emperor, and the wheel-turning emperor is reckoned the foremost among them; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as all the light of the constellations does not equal one sixteenth of the light of the moon, and the light of the moon is reckoned the foremost among them; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as in the last month of the rains, in autumn, when the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun, on ascending the sky, overpowers the space immersed in darkness, shines, blazes, and dazzles; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them.

"Just as the great rivers -- such as the Ganges, the Yamuna, the Aciravati, the Sarabhu, and the Mahi -- all go to the ocean, incline to the ocean, slope to the ocean, tend toward the ocean, and the ocean is reckoned the foremost among them; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, converge in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned the foremost among them."

#### Famous Last Words

Then the Blessed One addressed the brethren, and said, 'Behold now, brethren, I exhort you, saying, "Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!"'
This was the last word of the Tathāgata!

—Mahā PariNibbāna Sutta, Rhys Davids, trans. [DN 16]

The Pāḷi: [DN 16]

Handa dāni bhikkhave āmantayāmi vo:
"Vaya-dhammā saṅkhārā, appamādena sampādethi" ti.

MO's translation of these lines:

There you are, then, Beggars! I craft this counsel for you:

The own-made is a flighty thing, I say
get yourselves out of this sputtering madness!

References:

See the Closely Related Topic under Give Ear: Brahmi.

[SN 1.3.17] Saṁyutta Nikāya, I.iii: Kosala-samyutta 17: Appamāda;
PTS: The Book of the Kindred Sayings I.iii.2.7: Diligence, Mrs. Rhys Davids, trans, pp111;
WP: The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, I.III.ii.7: Diligence, Bodhi, trans., pp179

Saṁyutta Nikāya III.17 Appamāda Sutta Heedfulness Translated from the Pāḷi by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Anguttara Nikāya X.15 Appamāda Sutta Heedfulness Translated from the Pāḷi by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Buddhist Suttas, Translated from Pāli by T. W. Rhys Davids: Dīgha Nikāya #16: The Book of the Great Decease, Part VI, —10

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