The Young Man Jatukaṇṇī’s Questions (SNP5.12)

“Having heard of a hero who has no desire for sense pleasures,” said venerable Jatukaṇṇī,
“I came to ask that desireless one who is beyond the flood,
please speak of the state of peace, conascent-eye,
as it really is, Gracious One, please tell me this.

“The Gracious One moves about having vanquished sense desires,
as the splendid sun vanquishes the earth with its splendour.
To me of little wisdom, O One of Great Wisdom,explain the Teaching so that I may know
the complete giving up of birth and old age here.”

“Remove the greed for sense pleasures, Jatukaṇṇī,” said the Gracious One,
“having seen there is safety in renunciation;
let there be nothing found in you that has been taken up or put down.

“You should erase that which is past, and have nothing for the future,
if you take up nothing in the present you will live peacefully.

“For one altogether without greed for mind and body, O brahmin,
no pollutants are found whereby he can come under Death’s control.”

The Young Man Jatukaṇṇī’s Questions are Finished

Translated by Ānandajoti Bhikkhu.

Original translation 1999, revised, May 2007.

The text and translation, together with detailed notes and discussions, may be found in multiple formats on the translator’s website, Ancient Buddhist Texts.

Used by kind permission of Bhikkhu Ānandajoti.

The original translation was released under the following licence: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Prepared for SuttaCentral by Bhikkhu Sujato.