iti.1 Itivuttaka

Greed

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa

This was said by the Lord, said by the Arahant, so I heard:

“Abandon one thing, bhikkhus, and I guarantee you non-returning. What is that one thing? Greed is that one thing, bhikkhus. Abandon that and I guarantee you non-returning.”

This is the meaning of what the Lord said. So in regard to this it was said:

Beings coveting with greed
Go to rebirth in a bad bourn.
But having rightly understood greed,
Those with insight abandon it.
By abandoning it they never come
Back to this world again.

This too is the meaning of what was said by the Lord, so I heard.

- Translator: John D. Ireland

- Editor: Bhikkhu Sujato

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Greed

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
“Mendicants, give up one thing
and I guarantee you non-return.
What one thing?
Greed is the one thing. Give it up,
and I guarantee you non-return.”
The Buddha spoke this matter.
On this it is said:
“When overcome by greed
beings go to a bad place.
Having rightly understood that greed,
the discerning give it up.
Once they’ve given it up,
they never return to this world.”
This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.