Poetry of the Pāḷi Canon
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Mostly for the canonical poetry collections of the Khuddakanikāya, but also for the miscellaneous poetry found throughout The Pāḷi Canon.
A Tang-dynasty sculpture of an ox pulling a cart, courtesy of The Met, calls to mind the opening verse of the Dhammapada and one of the most famous similes in Buddhist literature.
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Books (9)
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Readings (6)
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The notion of poetry I have in mind relates not so much to its formal properties, but to the realms of experience or types of consciousness it involves.
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… the original composer of the gāthās was likely aware of and comfortable with the polyvocal nature of the teachings, which added a richer and deeper dimension to the teaching.
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Two places in the Pāli Tipiṭaka (one in the Dīgha Nikāya and the other in a Jātaka) with erotic poetry.
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Audio/Video (3)
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A few songs from two albums setting some verses from the Pāḷi Canon to music in the Western style.
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In the Library (81)
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The first book of the Khuddaka Nikāya, the Khuddakapāṭha was, in ancient times, a daily liturgy for novice monks.
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Even if a thousand mighty princes and great archers,
well trained, with strong bows,
were to completely surround me;
I would never flee. -
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They had come to him glittering with beauty—
Taṇha, Arati, and Raga—
But the Teacher swept them away right there
As the wind, a fallen cotton tuft. -
But by fully understanding what is expressed
One does not misconceive the speaker.5 pages -
Learn the recitation passage and analysis of One Fine Night, mendicant, memorize it, and remember it. It is beneficial and relates to the fundamentals of the spiritual life.
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Abstaining from perceptions of sensuality,
overcoming all fetters,
having totally ended delight in becoming,
one doesn’t sink
into the deep. -
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Those who thus abide, ever remain invincible, in happiness established. These are the greatest blessings.
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As I strove to subdue myself
beside the broad Nerañjarā… -
See this fancy puppet,
a body built of sores… -
The various actions and attitudes that lead to spiritual decline.
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What is this body full of piss and shit?
I wouldn’t even want to touch it with my foot. -
Some ascetics and brahmins regard the attainment of the meditation on universal water to be the ultimate.
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It seems that we are actually impermanent, though we thought ourselves permanent; it seems that we are actually transient, though we thought ourselves everlasting
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Suppose, bhikkhus, a man was being borne along by the current of a river…
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A female spirit hushes her children as she listens to the Dhamma.
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A deva gently encourages a group of wayward monks.
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Then Mara the Evil One, in the presence of the Blessed One, recited these verses of disappointment…
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Tell me how you’re a farmer when asked:
how am I to recognize your farming? -
Again & again farmers plow the fields.
Again & again grain comes to the kingdom. -
Possessions, honor, and popularity came to Devadatta for his own ruin and downfall.
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No ties torment one who has nothing
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What is the abode of wealth?
What drags a person around? -
The nights and days do not afflict me,
I see for myself no decline in the world. -
Live like a suckling babe,
for Death has not come for you. -
The compassionate one, who sees the ending of rebirth,
understands the one-way path. -
relying on my youth,
I despised anyone who was not my equal… -
False pundits, totally muddled…
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Then at that time the Gracious One was sitting reflecting on his own abandonment of countless bad, unwholesome things, and how through development countless wholesome things had come to fulfilment.
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