Aranna Sutta

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Standing to one side, a devata addressed the Blessed One with a verse:


 * Living in the wilderness,
 * staying peaceful, remaining chaste,
 * eating just one meal a day:
 * why are their faces
 * so bright & serene?

[The Buddha:]
 * They don't sorrow over the past,
 * don't long for the future.
 * They survive on the present.
 * That's why their faces
 * are bright & serene.
 * From longing for the future,
 * from sorrowing over the past,
 * fools wither away
 * like a green reed cut down.