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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Moggallāna’s Practice

AN 4.167 · Mahāmoggallānasutta

A dark coastal rock and tidal hollow overlook a quiet open sea.

Then Venerable Sāriputta went up to Venerable Mahāmoggallāna, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, Sāriputta sat down to one side and said to Mahāmoggallāna:

“Reverend Moggallāna, there are four ways of practice. What four?

  1. Painful practice with slow insight,
  2. painful practice with swift insight,
  3. pleasant practice with slow insight, and
  4. pleasant practice with swift insight.

These are the four ways of practice. Which one of these four ways of practice did you rely on to free your mind from defilements by not grasping?”

“Reverend Sāriputta … I relied on the painful practice with swift insight to free my mind from defilements by not grasping.”

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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.