Snp 4.16 — With Sāriputta | Ru-Yi Meditation Center

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Asked how a mendicant training alone in a remote wilderness dwelling should actually manage — physically, emotionally, and ethically — the Buddha answers not with philosophy but with a direct, practical checklist: what fears not to indulge, what hardships to endure, what conduct to maintain, and what small, nagging anxieties about food and shelter to let go of.

Sāriputta’s praise

The discourse opens with Sāriputta speaking in his own voice, and its warmth is immediately distinct from the argumentative tone of the surrounding suttas: “never before have I seen, or heard from anyone, about a teacher of such graceful speech, come from Tusita heaven to lead a community.” To the whole world with its gods, he says, the Buddha appears as “a Clear-eyed One who has dispelled all darkness, and alone attained to bliss.” Only after this praise does Sāriputta explain his purpose: he has come “on behalf of the many here still bound” — not for his own sake alone, but as an advocate bringing a question that will serve mendicants generally.

A monk alone in the wild

The question itself is vividly specific. Sāriputta describes “a mendicant who loathes attachment” and chooses to frequent “a lonely lodging — the root of a tree, a charnel ground, on mountains, or in caves” rather than staying within a settled community. He asks, in careful sequence: how many dangers exist in such lodgings that a mendicant should simply not be afraid of; how many adversities must be overcome on this “journey to the untrodden place”; what manner of speech and alms-conduct suits such a life; what precepts a resolute mendicant should keep; and, in a closing image, what training would let them purge their own stains “like a smith smelting silver” — heat and pressure as the very means of refinement, not an obstacle to it.

Five perils not worth fearing

The Buddha’s answer, addressed to Sāriputta by name, opens with reassurance about scale: a mindful mendicant living on the periphery “should not be afraid of five perils” — flies, mosquitoes, reptiles, encounters with people, and four-legged animals — nor of the threats posed by rival ascetics, however many there are. Real adversity, instead, is named plainly: illness, hunger, cold, and excessive heat, which the homeless one endures by exerting energy and striving firmly rather than by avoiding them. Ethical conduct is stated with equal directness — no stealing, no lying, touching “creatures firm or frail with love” — and any clouding of the mind noticed during training should be dispelled outright, named here as “Māra’s ally.”

The four lamentations, and welcoming reproach

One of the discourse’s most memorable passages names four small, nagging anxieties directly, quoting the very thoughts a lonely, hungry trainee might have: “‘What will I eat? Where will I eat? Oh, I slept badly! Where will I sleep?’” — and instructs the “migrant without abode” to dispel exactly these thoughts, rather than treating them as unavoidable background noise to solitary practice. Guidance continues into daily conduct: moderation in food and clothing for the sake of contentment, restraint while walking in the village, no harsh speech even under provocation, eyes downcast, wakefulness, equanimity. Strikingly, the discourse instructs a mindful mendicant to “welcome reproach” rather than merely tolerate it, and to actively “dissolve hard-heartedness toward their spiritual companions” — solitude in a remote lodging paired, not opposed, with warmth toward whatever community remains in reach. The final verses name five more subtle taints — desire for sights, sounds, flavors, smells, and touches — and close with a mendicant whose heart, freed of these, would “rightly investigate the Dhamma in good time” and “banish the darkness” entirely, closing both this discourse and the whole Aṭṭhakavagga on a note of concrete, achievable practice rather than unresolved argument.

Key terms

Sāriputta — one of the Buddha’s two chief disciples, renowned in the tradition for wisdom; his praise and question, rather than an unnamed questioner’s, give this closing discourse more narrative warmth than most of the Aṭṭhakavagga.

“on behalf of the many here still bound” — Sāriputta’s stated reason for asking — not a private concern, but a question intended to serve mendicants generally, particularly those newly gone forth.

“like a smith smelting silver” — Sāriputta’s closing image for the training he is asking about — heat and pressure treated as the very means of refinement, not an obstacle to be merely endured.

the five perils — flies, mosquitoes, reptiles, human contact, and four-legged creatures — named by the Buddha as dangers a mendicant in a remote lodging should specifically not be afraid of.

the four lamentations — the quoted anxious thoughts “What will I eat? Where will I eat? Oh, I slept badly! Where will I sleep?” — named directly so they can be recognized and dispelled rather than treated as unavoidable.

The text

The discourse in full, all twenty-one verses: Sāriputta’s praise and question, and the Buddha’s extended reply. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Sāriputta’s praise, and his question

Verse 1“Never before have I seen,”
said Venerable Sāriputta,
“or heard from anyone
about a teacher of such graceful speech,
come from Tusita heaven to lead a community.

Verse 2To all the world with its gods
he appears as a Clear-eyed One
who has dispelled all darkness,
and alone attained to bliss.

Verse 3On behalf of the many here still bound,
I have come seeking with a question
to that Buddha, unattached and impartial,
free of deceit, come to lead a community.

Verse 4Suppose a mendicant who loathes attachment
frequents a lonely lodging—
the root of a tree, a charnel ground,
on mountains, or in caves.

Verse 5In these many different lodgings,
how many dangers are there
at which a mendicant in their silent lodging
ought not tremble?

Verse 6On their journey to the untrodden place,
how many adversities are there in the world
that must they overcome
in their remote lodging?

Verse 7What ways of speech should they have?
Of what kind is their alms resort?
What precepts and vows
should a resolute mendicant uphold?

Verse 8Having undertaken what training,
unified, alert, and mindful,
would they purge their own stains,
like a smith smelting silver?”

The Buddha’s reply

Verse 9“If one who loathes attachment frequents a lonely lodging,”
said the Buddha to Sāriputta,
“in their search for awakening—as accords with the teaching—
I shall tell you, as I understand it,
what is comfortable for them.

Verse 10An attentive one, a mindful mendicant living on the periphery
should not be afraid of five perils:
flies, mosquitoes, reptiles,
human contact, or four-legged creatures.

Verse 11Nor should they fear followers of other teachings,
even having seen the many threats they pose.
And then one seeking the good
should overcome any other adversities.

Verse 12Afflicted by illness and hunger,
they should endure cold and excessive heat.
Though afflicted by many such things, the homeless one
should exert energy, firmly striving.

Verse 13They must not steal or lie;
and should touch creatures firm or frail with love.
If they notice any clouding of the mind,
they should dispel it as Māra’s ally.

Verse 14They must not fall under the sway of anger or arrogance;
having dug them out by the root, they would stand firm.
Then, faced with likes and dislikes,
they would surely overcome.

Verse 15Putting wisdom in the foremost place, rejoicing in goodness,
they would put an end to those adversities.
They’d vanquish discontent in their remote lodging.
And they’d vanquish the four lamentations:

Verse 16‘What will I eat? Where will I eat?
Oh, I slept badly! Where will I sleep?’
The trainee, the migrant without abode,
would dispel these lamentable thoughts.

Verse 17Receiving food and clothes in due season,
they would know moderation for the sake of contentment.
Guarded in these things, walking restrained in the village,
they wouldn’t speak harshly even when provoked.

Verse 18Eyes downcast, not footloose,
devoted to absorption, they’d be very wakeful.
Grounded in equanimity, serene,
they should cut off worrisome habits of thought.

Verse 19A mindful one would welcome reproach,
and would dissolve hard-heartedness toward their spiritual companions.
They may utter skillful speech, but not for too long,
and they shouldn’t provoke people to blame.

Verse 20And there are five more taints in the world,
for the removal of which the mindful one should train,
vanquishing desire for sights,
sounds, flavors, smells, and touches.

Verse 21Having removed desire for these things,
a mindful mendicant, their heart well freed,
rightly investigating the Dhamma in good time,
at one, would banish the darkness.”

· · ·

Self-check quiz

Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 10

How does Sāriputta open the discourse, before asking his question?

Correct: B. This warmth distinguishes the discourse’s tone from the more argumentative suttas around it.

Question 2 of 10

On whose behalf does Sāriputta say he has come with his question?

Correct: D. This frames his question as advocacy rather than personal curiosity.

Question 3 of 10

What kind of mendicant does Sāriputta describe in his question?

Correct: A. The whole discourse addresses this specific, recognizable situation of solitary wilderness training.

Question 4 of 10

What image closes Sāriputta’s question, describing the training he is asking about?

Correct: C. This treats hardship as integral to the refining process, not merely an obstacle to endure.

Question 5 of 10

What five perils does the Buddha say a mendicant living remotely should not be afraid of?

Correct: B. These are named as perils not worth fearing, distinct from the real adversities named just after them.

Question 6 of 10

What does the Buddha identify as real adversities to be endured through effort rather than avoided?

Correct: D. These are treated as genuine hardships requiring active endurance, unlike the five perils dismissed just before.

Question 7 of 10

What does the Buddha say should be done with “any clouding of the mind” noticed during training?

Correct: A. The directness of this instruction matches the discourse’s overall practical, concrete tone.

Question 8 of 10

What are the “four lamentations” the discourse names directly so they can be dispelled?

Correct: C. Naming these small anxious thoughts directly makes them recognizable and easier to dispel rather than treating them as inevitable background noise.

Question 9 of 10

How does the discourse instruct a mindful mendicant to respond to reproach?

Correct: B. This pairs solitude in a remote lodging with active warmth toward whatever community remains in reach.

Question 10 of 10

What five further taints does the discourse name in its closing verses?

Correct: D. Removing desire for these five is described as letting a mendicant’s heart become well freed and banish the darkness entirely, closing both the discourse and the whole Aṭṭhakavagga.

Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

With Sāriputta

Why this discourse, the sixteenth and last of the Aṭṭhakavagga