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Sutta Nipata

# Snp 2.2 Āmagandha Sutta (The Stench of Decomposing Flesh) Snp. 2.2

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    [page 1]
    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

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