Skip to reading
← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Elements

AN 6.111 · Dhātusutta

A single dew drop hangs beneath a slender blade of grass.

“Mendicants, there are these three things. What three? The elements of sensuality, malice, and cruelty. These are the three things. To give up these three things you should develop three things. What three? You should develop the element of renunciation to give up the element of sensuality, the element of good will to give up the element of malice, and the element of harmlessness to give up the element of cruelty. These are the three things you should develop to give up those three things.”

Connections

Collection & context

Books

About this edition

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.