Itivuttaka 2.3 & 2.4

The Power of Goodness, The Force of Purity

In this issue, I’d like to share two compact but luminous discourses from the Itivuttaka, a lesser-known gem in the Khuddaka Nikāya of the Pāli Canon. The Itivuttaka (“This was said”) is a collection of sayings attributed to the Buddha, reported by the laywoman Khujjuttarā and preserved with a distinctive format: prose and verse.

Today we explore Itivuttaka 2.3 and 2.4, which illuminate the enduring power of kusala (wholesome actions) and the brightness of a mind freed from defilement.

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Itivuttaka 2.3 — The Result of Goodness

Pali Text:

“Dveme, bhikkhave, dhammā. Katame dve? Kusalo ca dhammo, akusalo ca dhammo.
Kusalaṃ, bhikkhave, dhammaṃ bhāvetabbaṃ; akusalo dhammo pahātabbo.
Bhāvitattā ca kusalassa dhammassa, pahīnattā ca akusalassa dhammassa,
naḷo va paṭhamaṃ ūhacca, tato paṭhamaṃ ūhaccāti, evaṃ bhikkhu hoti.”

Iti vuccati.

“Bhāvetabbaṃ kusalaṃ,
Akusalañca pahātabbaṃ;
Bhikkhu bhāvitasantāno,
Nāgo saṅgāmasāri viya.”

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English Translation:

“Bhikkhus, there are these two things: the wholesome and the unwholesome.
The wholesome should be developed, the unwholesome should be abandoned.
Through the development of the wholesome and the abandoning of the unwholesome,
a monk becomes like a great elephant breaking free from its bonds.”

Thus was it said.

“One should develop the wholesome,
And abandon the unwholesome.
The monk whose inner being is developed
Is like a battle elephant breaking its chains.”

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