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- Samyutta Nikaya I.9
- Arañña Sutta
- The Wilderness
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
Standing to one side, a devata addressed the Blessed One with a verse:
Living in the wilderness,
staying peaceful, remaining chaste,
eating just one meal a day:
why are their faces
so bright & serene?
[The Buddha:]
They don't sorrow over the past,
don't long for the future.
They survive on the present.
That's why their faces
are bright & serene.
From longing for the future,
from sorrowing over the past,
fools wither away
like a green reed cut down.