sn.2.6 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

The Discourse to Kāmada

At Sāvatthi. While standing to one side, the young deva Kāmada¹ said to the Blessed One, “Hard to do, Blessed one! So hard to do, Blessed One!”

“They do even what is hard to do, Kāmada,” said the Blessed One,
“The trainees with virtue and mental unification²,
“Self-stabilized and committed to homelessness,
“For it is contentment that brings pleasure.”

“It is so hard to get, Blessed One – contentment!”

“They get even what is hard to get, Kāmada,” said the Blessed One,
“Those who enjoy a peaceful mind,
“Those who, by day and by night,
“Enjoy developing the mind.”

“It is so hard to unify³, Blessed One – the mind!”

“They unify even what is hard to unify, Kāmada,” said the Blessed One,
“Those who enjoy peaceful faculties,
“The noble ones proceed
“Having severed the net of mortality, Kāmada.”

“It is so hard to follow, Blessed One – the rough⁴ path.”

“Even though the path is rough,
“The noble ones follow it, Kāmada.
“Those who are not noble fall face down on the rough path,
“But for the noble ones the path is smooth,
“For the noble are smooth amidst the rough.”

- Translator: Suddhāso Bhikkhu

- Editor: Aminah Borg-Luck

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With Kāmada

At Sāvatthī.
Standing to one side, the god Kāmada said to the Buddha,
“It’s too hard, Blessed One! It’s just too hard!”
“They do it even though it’s hard,”
said the Buddha to Kāmada,
“the stable trainees with ethics, and immersion.
For one who has entered the homeless life,
contentment brings happiness.”
“Such contentment, Blessed One, is hard to find.”
“They find it even though it’s hard,”
said the Buddha to Kāmada,
“those who love peace of mind;
whose minds love to meditate
day and night.”
“But it’s hard, Blessed One, to immerse this mind in samādhi.”
“They become immersed in samādhi even though it’s hard,”
said the Buddha to Kāmada,
“those who love calming the faculties.
Having cut through the net of Death,
the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way.”
“But this path, Blessed One, is rough and hard to travel.”
“Though it’s rough, hard to travel,
the noble ones, Kāmada, go on their way.
The ignoble fall headfirst
on a rough path.
But the path of the noble ones is smooth,
for the noble ones are smooth amid the rough.”