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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Keen

AN 3.49 · Ātappakaraṇīyasutta

Maple leaves and moss beside an old tree trunk.

“In three situations, mendicants, you should be keen. What three? You should be keen to prevent bad, unskillful qualities from arising. You should be keen to give rise to skillful qualities. And you should be keen to endure physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, life-threatening. In these three situations, you should be keen.

It’s a mendicant who is keen to prevent bad, unskillful qualities from arising. They’re keen to give rise to skillful qualities. And they’re keen to endure physical pain—sharp, severe, acute, unpleasant, disagreeable, life-threatening. This is called a mendicant who is keen, alert, and mindful so as to rightly make an end of suffering.”

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Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.