SN 7.21

CDB i 278

Sangaarava Sutta: Sangaarava

translated from the Pali by

Maurice O'Connell Walshe

The Pali title of this sutta is based on the PTS (Feer) edition.

[ At Saavatthii ] At that time the brahman Sangaarava was living there, a "purity-by-water" man who believed in purification by water: his practice was to go down into the water every evening and every morning. Now the Venerable Aananda, rising early, took his robe and bowl and went into Saavatthii for alms. [ Returning he went to the Blessed One and said: ] "It would be well, Lord, if the Blessed One were to visit the dwelling of Sangaarava the Brahman, out of compassion for him."

The Blessed One silently consented. [ Having visited him, the Blessed One said: ] "Is it true, brahman, that you are a 'purity-by-water' man... that you go down to the water every evening and morning?"

"Yes, good Gotama."

"What benefit do you expect from [ this practice ]?"

"It is like this, good Gotama. The evil deeds that I do in the day I cause to be borne away in the evening, and the evil deeds that I do in the night I cause to be borne away in the morning. That is the benefit I expect from [ this practice. ]"

[The Blessed One said:]

Dhamma is a lake, virtue's the ford, [1] Undefiled, which good men praise to others: Men of wisdom come and bathe therein, Then, clean of limb, they reach the Other Shore.

At these words the Brahman Sangaarava said to the Blessed One: "Excellent... [ as in SN 7.1 , but ending: ] I go to the Lord Gotama for refuge, to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of monks. May the Lord Gotama accept me as a lay-disciple who has taken refuge in him from this day forth as long as life shall last."

Notes

1 .: Tittha "ford" also means "bathing-place." There is an intentional play on both meanings of the word here.

You may copy, reformat, reprint, republish, and redistribute this work in any medium whatsoever, provided that: (1) you only make such copies, etc. available free of charge and, in the case of reprinting, only in quantities of no more than 50 copies; (2) you clearly indicate that any derivatives of this work (including translations) are derived from this source document; and (3) you include the full text of this license in any copies or derivatives of this work. Otherwise, all rights reserved. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. From Samyutta Nikaya: An Anthology (WH 318-321) , by M. O'C. Walshe (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1985). Transcribed from the print edition in 2007 by a volunteer, under the auspices of the Access to Insight Dhamma Transcription Project and by arrangement with the Buddhist Publication Society. Minor revisions were made in accordance with the ATI style sheet. Pali diacritics are represented using the Velthuis convention. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 November 2013.

How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Sangaarava Sutta: Sangaarava" (SN 7.21), translated from the Pali by Maurice O'Connell Walshe. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition) , 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn07/sn07.021.wlsh.html .