“What is sovereignty in the world?
What ranks as the best of goods?
What in the world is a rusty sword?
What in the world is considered a plague?“Whom do they arrest when he takes away?
And who, when he takes away, is dear?
In whom do the wise take delight
When he returns again and again?”“Mastery is sovereignty in the world;
A woman ranks as the best of goods;
In the world anger is a rusty sword;
Thieves in the world are considered a plague.“They arrest a thief when he takes away,
But an ascetic who takes away is dear.
The wise take delight in an ascetic
When he returns again and again.”
sn.1.77 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)
Sovereignty
- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi
- Editor: Blake Walsh
Authority
when they come again and again.”“What is authority in the world?
What’s the best of valuables?
What in the world is a rusty sword?
Who is a plague on the world?
Who gets arrested when they take things away?
And who is loved when they take things away?
And who is approved by the astute
when they come again and again?”
“Power is authority in the world.
A woman is the best of valuables.
Anger in the world is a rusty sword.
A bandit is a plague on the world.
A bandit gets arrested when they take things away.
And an ascetic is loved when they take things away.
An ascetic is approved by the astute