sutta » sn » sn9 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 9.1

Vivekasutta

Seclusion Seclusion

Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
So I have heard.
Thus have I heard.

ekaṁ samayaṁ aññataro bhikkhu kosalesu viharati aññatarasmiṁ vanasaṇḍe.
At one time one of the mendicants was staying in the land of the Kosalans in a certain forest grove.
On one occasion a certain bhikkhu was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket.

Tena kho pana samayena so bhikkhu divāvihāragato pāpake akusale vitakke vitakketi gehanissite.
Now at that time that mendicant, during their day’s meditation, was thinking bad, unskillful thoughts to do with the domestic life.
Now on that occasion, while that bhikkhu had gone for his day’s abiding, he kept on thinking evil unwholesome thoughts connected with the household life.

Atha kho yā tasmiṁ vanasaṇḍe adhivatthā devatā tassa bhikkhuno anukampikā atthakāmā taṁ bhikkhuṁ saṁvejetukāmā yena so bhikkhu tenupasaṅkami; upasaṅkamitvā taṁ bhikkhuṁ gāthāhi ajjhabhāsi:
The deity haunting that forest had sympathy for that mendicant, and wanted what’s best for them. So they approached that mendicant wanting to stir them up, and addressed them in verse:
Then the devatā that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that bhikkhu, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses:

“Vivekakāmosi vanaṁ paviṭṭho,
“You entered the woods desiring seclusion,
Desiring seclusion you entered the woods,

Atha te mano niccharatī bahiddhā;
yet your mind strays to outward things.
Yet your mind gushes outwardly.

Jano janasmiṁ vinayassu chandaṁ,
As a person, you should dispel the desire for people.
Remove, man, the desire for people;

Tato sukhī hohisi vītarāgo.
Then you’ll be happy, free of greed.
Then you’ll be happy, devoid of lust.

Aratiṁ pajahāsi sato,
Mindful, give up discontent;
You must abandon discontent, be mindful—

Bhavāsi sataṁ taṁ sārayāmase;
let us remind you of the way of the good.
Let us remind [you] of that [way] of the good.

Pātālarajo hi duttaro,
The dusty abyss is so hard to cross;
Hard to cross, indeed, is the dusty abyss;

Mā taṁ kāmarajo avāhari.
don’t let sensual dust drag you down.
Don’t let sensual dust drag you down.

Sakuṇo yathā paṁsukunthito,
Just as a bird strewn with dirt
Just as a bird littered with soil

Vidhunaṁ pātayati sitaṁ rajaṁ;
sheds that clingy dust with a shake;
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust,

Evaṁ bhikkhu padhānavā satimā,
so too, an energetic, mindful mendicant
So a bhikkhu, strenuous and mindful,

Vidhunaṁ pātayati sitaṁ rajan”ti.
sheds that clingy dust with a shake.”
With a shake flicks off the sticky dust.

Atha kho so bhikkhu tāya devatāya saṁvejito saṁvegamāpādīti.
Impelled by that deity, that mendicant was struck with a sense of urgency.
Then that bhikkhu, stirred up by that devatā, acquired a sense of urgency