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AN 11.2 Making a Wish

Cetanākaraṇīya Sutta

 

“Being virtuous, monks, 

 

(1) Endowed with virtue, no need to wish: 

“May I be free from remorse.”

 

It is the Dhamma [1] that, 

By being virtuous, 

Endowed with virtue, 

One is free from remorse. (2)

 

(2) Free from remorse, monks, no need to wish:

“May gladness[2] arise in me.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

Being free from remorse, 

Gladness arises in one. (3)

 

(3) Being glad, monks, no need to wish:

“May joy[3] arise in me.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

By being glad, 

Joy arises in one. (4)

 

(4) Joyful in mind, monks, no need to wish:

“May my body be relaxed.”

 

It is the Dhamma that,

By being joyful in mind, 

One’s body is relaxed. (5)

 

(5) Relaxed in body, monks, no need to wish:

“May I experience happiness.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

By being relaxed in body, 

One experiences happiness. (6)

 

(6) Happy, monks, no need to wish:

“May my mind be collected and harmonious.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

By being happy, 

One’s mind is collected and harmonious. (7)

 

(7) Collected and harmonious in mind [4], monks, no need to wish:

“May I know and see clearly” [5]

 

It is the Dhamma that 

By collected mental harmony, 

One knows and sees clearly. (8)

 

(8) Knowing and seeing clearly, no need to wish:

 “May I disengage completely.”[6]

 

It is the Dhamma that 

By knowing and seeing clearly, 

One disengages completely. (9)

 

(9) Disengaging completely, monks, no need to wish:

“May I be free from Tension.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

By Disengaging completely, 

One is free of Tension. (10)

 

(10) Free from Tension, monks, no need to wish: 

“May I experience Knowledge and Sight of Liberation.”

 

It is the Dhamma that, 

By being Tensionless, 

 

One experiences Knowledge and Sight of Liberation. (11)

 

 

[Reverse Order]

 

So it goes monks,

 

(10) Freedom from Tension is for the sake of 

Knowledge and Sight of Liberation, (11)

Knowledge and Sight of Liberation is its benefit,

 

(9) Disengaging completely is for the sake of 

Freedom from Tension, 

Freedom from Tension is its benefit,

 

(8) Knowing and Seeing clearly is for the sake of 

Disengaging completely,

Disengaging completely is its benefit,

 

(7) Collected mental harmony is for the sake of 

Knowing and Seeing clearly,

Knowing and Seeing clearly is its benefit,

 

(6) Happiness is for the sake of 

Collected mental harmony, 

Collected mental harmony is its benefit,

 

(5) Calm is for the sake of happiness, 

Happiness is its benefit,

 

(4) Joy is for the sake of Calm,

Calm is its benefit,

 

(3) Gladness is for the sake of Joy,

Joy is its benefit,

 

(2) Freedom from remorse is for the sake of Gladness,

Gladness is its benefit,

 

(1) Skillful virtue is for the sake of Freedom from remorse,

Freedom from remorse is its benefit.

 

 

 

“So it goes monks,

One dhamma fulfilling the next, [7]

Each dhamma suffused by the previous one,

Going from this shore to the shore beyond. [8]

 

 


[1] Dhamma: Here as “Nature”, natural law, the way things work.

[2] Pāmojja; Pamodati [pa+mud] to rejoice, enjoy, to be delighted, to be glad or satisfied

[3] Pīti

[4] Samāhita [pp. of samādahati] 1. put down, fitted; — 2. collected (of mind), settled, composed, firm, attentive

[5] ‘Yathābhūtaṃ jānāmi passāmī’ti: Lit.: Knowing and Seeing as it is. Without proliferating or conceptualizing.

[6] Nibbindati

[7] Dhammā dhamme abhisandenti

[8] Nibbāna is the shore beyond.

 

 

 

This is a gift of Dhamma

All Sutta Translations by Ānanda are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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