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Sn 2.2 
Sutta Nipāta 
Cūḷa Vagga 
 
Āmagandha Sutta 
“The Stench of Decomposing Flesh” 
 
Translated by Bhikkhu Candana 
 
Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023 
 
 
239. “The good who eat millet, chickpeas, newly sprouting greens, fallen fruits, wild grains, and 
roots, having received their meal without harming others, do not speak falsely nor consume them 
for the enjoyment of sense pleasures. 
 
240. “Eating and drinking the finest and exquisitely prepared delicacies, with delicious food and 
drinks offered by those, who go through so much trouble to bring them to you, sitting there 
Kassapa, you eat amidst the stench of decomposing flesh. 
 
241. “The stench of decomposing flesh is not appropriate for me,’ you stated, O kinsman of 
Brahmā. Yet, I see you partaking of food that includes fine rice, and dishes carefully prepared 
with the flesh of birds. Tell me Kassapa, what do you consider to be partaking of food that has 
‘the stench of decomposing flesh?’ 
 
242. “Harming and killing living beings, abusing, and mutilating them, beating and torture, 
fraud, lying, cheating and being deceitful, adultery, hypocrisy, going to others’ mates, engaging 
in the practice of charms and spells to influence others. All that, I consider to be partaking of 
food that has ‘the stench of decomposing flesh.’ 
 
243. “Having no restraint whatsoever when it comes to experiencing all kinds of sense pleasures, 
always hungry for more tastes, and being impure themselves, they enjoy being surrounded by 
filth. Those who are drenched in wrong views thinking that there are no outcomes to wholesome 
actions nor that there could be another world waiting for them once they die, it is this that I 
consider to be partaking of food that has ‘the stench of decomposing flesh.’ 
 
244. “Heartless backbiting, viciously ruthless and cunning betrayers of friendship, conceited and 
lacking any compassion, those misers who never give anything away to others, it is they, whom I 
consider to be partaking of food that has ‘the stench of decomposing flesh.’ 
 
245. “Angry and full of hostility in their pitch-black hearts, contentious, hateful, stubborn, 
deceitful, jealous, and arrogant, who think so highly of themselves, who put others down, yet 
remain boastful of their empty accomplishments, those who keep associating with their wicked

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friends, it is they, whom I consider to be partaking of food that has ‘the stench of decomposing 
flesh.’ 
 
246. “Those with evil behaviors, who run away when it is their turn to repay, the worst of men 
who enjoy cunning people out of their wealth, taking from the needy the little that they have, it is 
they, whom I consider to be partaking of food that has ‘the stench of decomposing flesh.’ 
 
247. “Such people as these, who live unrestrained, destroying living beings, the inconsiderate 
ones who make others’ lives miserable; those evil and cruel ones, with their bloody hands and 
malicious speech, it is they, whom I consider to be partaking of food that has ‘the stench of 
decomposing flesh.’ 
 
248. “Those with voracious appetites, with the intent to kill others, addicted to doing evil; those 
who at their moment of death, will open their eyes next, having fallen head-first into the 
miserable hells, as if immediately deposited there, it is they, whom I consider to be partaking of 
food that has ‘the stench of decomposing flesh.’ 
 
249. “It is, therefore, NOT the eating of fish or meat, nor fasting, nor going naked, nor the 
shaven head or matted hair, nor the wearing of rough animal hides, nor the pulling out of one’s 
hairs, nor observing the fire sacrifice, nor the muttering of verses and mantras, nor engaging in 
various austerities, ceremonies or oblations to somehow gain immortality, nor the keeping of 
seasonal observances and other monthly rituals and gatherings that will ever purify and somehow 
cleanse the heart of an ordinary person, who has not yet crossed beyond all doubt. 
 
250. “So, guard well and protect the gates of your mental faculties, while living your life gently 
and honestly, with senses restrained, in accordance with the Dhamma. It is in this manner, that 
the wise ones give up all the shackles that bind, and thus eliminate all suffering from their lives, 
by not clinging to anything, whether they witnessed them or not.” 
 
252. In this way, The Blessed One explained to the brahmin, again and again, until the master of 
the Vedic chants finally understood the meaning of these words, as the unfettered and taintless 
Great Teacher taught him through the use of beautiful and hard-to-fathom verses that revealed 
the true meaning behind the words: ‘partaking of food that has ‘the stench of decomposing 
flesh.’ 
 
253. By listening to the encouraging words of The Blessed One, that are stainless and leading to 
the cessation of suffering, the brahmin was humbled as he fell at the feet of the Tathāgata with 
tears of joy, as he paid homage to The Blessed One and begged to receive the Going Forth, to 
end all suffering. 
 
Sādhu  
Sādhu 
 Sādhu
