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Dhanuggaha Sutta: The Archer

Dhanuggaha Sutta

Summary: How quickly life passes! Knowing this, how should we conduct our lives.

SN 20.6 PTS: S ii 265 CDB i 708

Dhanuggaha Sutta: The Archer

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Staying at Savatthi. “Monks, suppose there were four strong archers — well-trained, practiced, & drilled — standing in the four directions, and a man were to come along saying, 'I will catch & bring down the arrows let fly by these four strong archers — well-trained, practiced, & drilled — before they have fallen to the ground.' What do you think? Would that be enough to call him a swift man, endowed with the foremost speed?”

“Even if he were to catch & bring down the arrows let fly by one archer — well-trained, practiced, & 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.”

“Faster than the speed of that man, monks, is the speed of the sun & moon. Faster than the speed of that man, faster than the speed of the sun & moon, is the speed of the devas who rush ahead of the sun & moon. Faster than the speed of that man, faster than the speed of the sun & moon, faster than the speed of the devas who rush ahead of the sun & moon, the force of one's life span comes to an end. Thus you should train yourselves: 'We will live heedfully.' That's how you should train yourselves.”

See also: SN 2.19; Sn 4.6.


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en/tipitaka/sut/sn/sn20/sn20.006.than.txt · Last modified: 2019/10/30 13:27 by Johann