“When someone indulges in sex,” said Venerable Tissametteyya, “tell us, good fellow: what trouble befalls them? After hearing your instruction, we shall train in seclusion.”
“When someone indulges in sex,” replied the Buddha, “they forget their instructions and go the wrong way—that is something ignoble in them.
Someone who formerly lived alone and then resorts to sex is like a chariot careening off-track; in the world they call them a low, ordinary person.
Their former fame and reputation also fall away. Seeing this, they’d train to give up sex.
Oppressed by thoughts, they brood like a wretch. When they hear what others are saying, that sort is embarrassed.
Then they lash out with verbal daggers when reproached by others. This is their great blind spot; they sink to lies.
They once were considered astute, committed to the solitary life. But then they indulged in sex, dragged along by desire like a dullard.
Knowing this danger in falling from a former state here, a sage would firmly resolve to wander alone, and would not resort to sex.
They’d train themselves only in seclusion; this, for the noble ones, is highest. One who’d not think themselves ‘best’ due to that has truly drawn near to extinguishment.
People tied to sensual pleasures envy them: the isolated, wandering sage who has crossed the flood, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.”
With Tissametteyya
Snp 4.7 · Tissametteyyasutta
Connections
Collection & context
- Sutta NipātaThe 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 Buddha before Buddhism: Wisdom from the Early TeachingsGil Fronsdal (translator and commentator) · Translation & commentary
- 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.