iti.92 Itivuttaka

The Hem of the Robe

This was said by the Lord…

“Bhikkhus, even though a bhikkhu might hold on to the hem of my robe and follow close behind me step by step, if he is covetous for objects of desire, strongly passionate, malevolent, corrupt in thought, unmindful, uncomprehending, unconcentrated, of wandering mind and uncontrolled faculties, he is far from me and I am far from him. What is the reason? That bhikkhu does not see Dhamma. Not seeing Dhamma, he does not see me.

“Bhikkhus, even though a bhikkhu might live a hundred leagues away, if he is not covetous for objects of desire, not strongly passionate, not malevolent, uncorrupt in thought, with mindfulness established, clearly comprehending, concentrated, of unified mind and controlled faculties, he is close to me and I am close to him. What is the reason? That bhikkhu sees Dhamma. Seeing Dhamma, he sees me.”

Though closely following behind,
Full of longings and resentment,
See how far away he is—
The desirous one from the desireless,
One unquenched from the quenched,
A greedy one from the one without greed.

But a wise person who by direct knowledge
Has fully understood the Dhamma,
Becomes desireless and tranquil
Like a calm unruffled lake.

See how close he is to him—
A desireless one to the desireless,
One quenched to the quenched,
The greedless one to the one without greed.

- Translator: John D. Ireland

- Editor: Bhikkhu Sujato

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The Corner of the Cloak

This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
“Mendicants, suppose a mendicant were to hold the corner of my cloak and follow behind me step by step.
Yet they covet sensual pleasures; they’re infatuated, full of ill will and malicious intent. They are unmindful, lacking situational awareness and immersion, with straying mind and undisciplined faculties.
Then they are far from me, and I from them.
Why is that?
Because that mendicant does not see the teaching.
Not seeing the teaching, they do not see me.
Suppose a mendicant were to live a hundred leagues away.
Yet they do not covet sensual pleasures; they’re not infatuated, or full of ill will and malicious intent. They have established mindfulness, situational awareness and immersion, with unified mind and restrained faculties.
Then they are close to me, and I to them.
Why is that?
Because that mendicant sees the teaching.
Seeing the teaching, they see me.”
The Buddha spoke this matter.
On this it is said:
“One full of desire and distress
may follow close behind,
yet see how distant they are—
the stirred from the still,
the burning from the quenched,
the greedy from the greedless.
An astute person who has understood
and directly known the teaching,
grows calm,
like a lake unstirred by the wind.
See how close they are—
the still to the still,
the quenched to the quenched,
the greedless to the greedless.”
This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.