sutta » sn » sn20 » Saṁyutta Nikāya 20.5

Sattisutta

A Spear

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.
At Sāvatthī.

“Seyyathāpi, bhikkhave, satti tiṇhaphalā.
“Mendicants, suppose there was a sharp-pointed spear.

Atha puriso āgaccheyya:
And a man came along and thought,

‘ahaṁ imaṁ sattiṁ tiṇhaphalaṁ pāṇinā vā muṭṭhinā vā paṭileṇissāmi paṭikoṭṭissāmi paṭivaṭṭessāmī’ti.
‘With my hand or fist I’ll fold this sharp spear over, crumple it, and bend it back!’

Taṁ kiṁ maññatha, bhikkhave,
What do you think, mendicants?

bhabbo nu kho so puriso amuṁ sattiṁ tiṇhaphalaṁ pāṇinā vā muṭṭhinā vā paṭileṇetuṁ paṭikoṭṭetuṁ paṭivaṭṭetun”ti?
Is that man capable of doing so?”

“No hetaṁ, bhante”.
“No, sir.

“Taṁ kissa hetu”?
Why not?

“Asu hi, bhante, satti tiṇhaphalā na sukarā pāṇinā vā muṭṭhinā vā paṭileṇetuṁ paṭikoṭṭetuṁ paṭivaṭṭetuṁ.
Because it’s not easy to fold that sharp spear over, crumple it, and bend it back with the hand or fist.

Yāvadeva ca pana so puriso kilamathassa vighātassa bhāgī assā”ti.
That man will eventually get weary and frustrated.”

“Evameva kho, bhikkhave, yassa kassaci bhikkhuno mettācetovimutti bhāvitā bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā, tassa ce amanusso cittaṁ khipitabbaṁ maññeyya;
“In the same way, suppose a mendicant has developed the heart’s release by love, has cultivated it, made it a vehicle and a basis, kept it up, consolidated it, and properly implemented it. Should any non-human think to overthrow their mind,

atha kho sveva amanusso kilamathassa vighātassa bhāgī assa.
they’ll eventually get weary and frustrated.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:
So you should train like this:

‘mettā no cetovimutti bhāvitā bhavissati bahulīkatā yānīkatā vatthukatā anuṭṭhitā paricitā susamāraddhā’ti.
‘We will develop the heart’s release by love. We’ll cultivate it, make it our vehicle and our basis, keep it up, consolidate it, and properly implement it.’

Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.
That’s how you should train.”

Pañcamaṁ.