Skip to reading
← Cariyāpiṭaka

Akitti’s Conduct

Cp 1 · Akitticariya

Fresh silver-green shoots growing from an ancient olive tree.

Homage to him, the blessed one, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha!

“For a hundred thousand eons and four incalculable ages, all my conduct in that period ripens in awakening.

Setting aside my conduct in past eons through different lives, I shall speak of my conduct in this eon, hear me.

When I lived having plunged into the formidable jungle of empty thickets and glades, my name was Akitti the mortifier.

Then, burned by the fires of my mortification, the sovereign of the Third Heaven, came to me for alms in the form of a brahmin.

I had gathered leaves from the forest without oil or salt, and seeing him standing at my door, I placed them in his pot.

After giving him the leaves I turned over my plate, and having given up on seeking more food, I entered my hut of leaves.

A second and a third time he came to me. Undisturbed, ungrasping, I gave in just the same way.

That is the reason why my body is not discolored. In rapture and bliss free of relishing I spend the day.

If even for a month or two I were to find a worthy recipient, undisturbed, unattached, I would give the supreme gift.

While giving him that gift I did not wish for fame or profit. Wishing for omniscience I performed those deeds.”

Connections

Collection & context

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.