2.6. Wrong Conduct in the Bhikkhu’s Life (SNP2.6)

The Good Life living, with Dharma accordingly,
they say that this is wealth supreme.
But if one leaves the household life
gone forth from home to homelessness

and then be one of those foul-mouthed,
beast-like, delighted doing harm,
such a one’s of evil life
increasing “dust” within himself,

a bhikkhu delighting in quarrelling
while in delusion wrapped,
knows not the Dharma even when
it’s by the Buddha pointed out;

led along by ignorance so
that one harms those of well-grown mind,
and does not know defilements’ path
that leads to hellish life.

To Downfall going on and on,
from life to life, from dark to dark,
a bhikkhu such as this indeed
hereafter to dukkha descends.

One such with blemishes is like
a public shit-pit filled to the brim,
used for many years,
so very hard to clean.

O bhikkhus, when you come to know
one such attached to household life—
of evil desires and evil thoughts
and of evil ways of behaviour,

all of you united then
should shun, avoid a person such,
blow away these sweepings and
throw away that trash,

and suchlike chaff winnow away—
those sham monks, those conceited monks—
having blown them off, those who are
of evil wants and wrong resorts,

then living in purity with the pure
with mindfulness you will abide,
in concord live, intelligent—
you will arrive at dukkha’s end.

Translated by Laurence Khantipalo Mills.

This translation was edited by Bhikkhu Sujato as part of the full translation of the Sutta Nipāta with commentary prepared from a draft handwritten and typed manuscript of Laurence Khantipalo Mills in 2015. The project was managed by Laurence’s students Michael Wells and Gary Dellora, and initial digitizing of the text was by Sean Read. Full text is available at https://suttacentral.net/downloads

In addition to the suttas noted, Bhikkhu Sujato also translated verses 46, 78, 232, 465, 500, 589–597, 865, 885–890, 894–5, 897–901, 902–916, and 919–921.

This text is released dedicated to the Public Domain by way of Creative Commons Zero. No rights reserved.