The Discourse about the Stick (UD2.3)

Thus I heard: At one time the Gracious One was dwelling near Sāvatthī, in Jeta’s Wood, at Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Then at that time many young boys who were between Sāvatthī and Jeta’s Wood were attacking a snake with a stick. Then the Gracious One, having dressed in the morning time, after picking up his bowl and robe, was entering Sāvatthī for alms. The Gracious One saw those many young boys between Sāvatthī and Jeta’s Wood attacking a snake with a stick. Then the Gracious One, having understood the significance of it, on that occasion uttered this exalted utterance:

“He who, while seeking happiness for himself,
harms with a stick Other beings who desire happiness,
will not find happiness after passing away.

“He who, while seeking happiness for himself,
does not harm with a stick Other beings who desire happiness,
will find happiness after passing away.”

Translated by Bhikkhu Ānandajoti from the Buddha Jayanthi Tripitaka text. Version 2.2, revised February 2008.

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.