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← Saṃyutta Nikāya

The Garden of Delight

SN 1.11 · Nandanasutta

Fresh saplings growing beneath the spreading canopy of an old fig tree.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. There the Buddha addressed the mendicants, “Mendicants!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied. The Buddha said this:

“Once upon a time, mendicants, a certain deity of the company of the thirty-three was amusing themselves in the Garden of Delight, escorted by a band of nymphs, and supplied and provided with the five kinds of heavenly sensual stimulation. On that occasion she spoke this verse:

‘They don’t know pleasure who don’t see the Garden of Delight! It’s the abode of lordly gods, the glorious host of Thirty!’

When they had spoken, another deity replied with this verse:

‘Fool, don’t you understand the saying of the perfected ones: All conditions are impermanent, their nature is to rise and fall; having arisen, they cease; their settling is such bliss.’”

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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.