On Fire

SN 1.41 · Ādittasutta

Three birch trunks in an open misty woodland.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.

Then, late at night, a glorious deity, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the Buddha’s presence:

“When your house is on fire, you rescue the pot that’s useful, not the one that’s burnt.
And as the world is on fire with old age and death, you should rescue by giving, for what’s given is rescued.
What’s given has happiness as its fruit, but not what isn’t given. Bandits take it, or rulers, it’s consumed by fire, or lost.
Then in the end this corpse is cast off, along with all your possessions. Knowing this, an intelligent person would enjoy what they have and also give it away. After giving and using according to their means, blameless, they go to a heavenly place.”

Connections

Collection & context

Saṃyutta NikāyaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

Books

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition
Handful of Leaves: an Anthology from the Sutta PiṭakaEarly Buddhist discourses; Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu (translator and compiler) · Included in anthology
On the Path: An Anthology on the Noble Eightfold Path drawn from the Pāli CanonṬhānissaro Bhikkhu · Referenced in this book

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.