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Linked Discourses · SN 20.11

  • Linked Discourses 20.11Saṁyutta Nikāya 20.11
  • 1. Similes1. Opammavagga

A JackalSiṅgālasutta

At Sāvatthī.Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

“Mendicants, did you hear an old jackal howling at the crack of dawn?”“Assuttha no tumhe, bhikkhave, rattiyā paccūsasamayaṁ jarasiṅgālassa vassamānassā”ti?

“Yes, sir.”“Evaṁ, bhante”.

“That old jackal has the disease called mange.“Eso kho, bhikkhave, jarasiṅgālo ukkaṇḍakena nāma rogajātena phuṭṭho. Yet it still goes where it wants,So yena yena icchati tena tena gacchati; stands where it wants,yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha tiṭṭhati; sits where it wants,yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha nisīdati; and lies down where it wants.yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha nipajjati; And the cool breeze still blows on it.sītakopi naṁ vāto upavāyati. A certain person here who claims to follow the Sakyan would be lucky to experience even such an incarnation.Sādhu khvassa, bhikkhave, yaṁ idhekacco sakyaputtiyapaṭiñño evarūpampi attabhāvapaṭilābhaṁ paṭisaṁvediyetha.

So you should train like this:Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘We will stay diligent.’‘appamattā viharissāmā’ti. That’s how you should train.”Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

Similar passages elsewhere

Found by meaning, not by citation: the passages in other texts whose wording sits closest to a passage here.

  1. SN 17.8 A Jackal 0.68near 0.1Linked Discourses 17.8 Chapter One A Jackal At Sāvatthī. “Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim … Mendicants, did you hear an old jackal howling at the crack of dawn?” “Yes, sir.” “That old jackal has the disease c…
  2. SN 20.12 A Jackal (2nd) 0.68near 0.1Linked Discourses 20.12 1. Similes A Jackal (2nd) At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, did you hear an old jackal howling at the crack of dawn?” “Yes, sir.” “There might be some gratitude and thankfulness in that old jackal, but th…