如蛇蛻故皮 比丘捨此岸 彼岸亦復捨 如蛇蛻故皮 無瞋亦無慢 超越一切有 如蛇蛻故皮 慈心遍十方 無量無邊際 上下並四維 慈無怨憎意 無敵意而住 立者行者坐 臥時不懈怠 應修此念慈 此梵住最上
rú shé tuì gù pí bǐ qiū shě cǐ àn bǐ àn yì fù shě rú shé tuì gù pí wú chēn yì wú màn chāo yuè yī qiē yǒu rú shé tuì gù pí cí xīn biàn shí fāng wú liàng wú biān jì shàng xià bìng sì wéi cí wú yuàn zēng yì wú dí yì ér zhù lì zhě xíng zhě zuò wò shí bù xiè dài yīng xiū cǐ niàn cí cǐ fàn zhù zuì shàng
Key Message
Just as a snake sheds its old skin without hesitation, a practitioner clings to neither this world nor the next, and dwells in boundless lovingkindness toward all beings.
▸The first chapter of the Sutta Nipāta, 'The Chapter of the Serpent' (蛇品, Uraga-vagga), consists of twelve suttas, the first of which is the 'Sutta of the Serpent' (蛇經, Uraga-sutta).
The first chapter of the Sutta Nipāta, 'The Chapter of the Serpent' (蛇品, Uraga-vagga), consists of twelve suttas, the first of which is the 'Sutta of the Serpent' (蛇經, Uraga-sutta). The verse that a practitioner must abandon all clinging and affliction — just as a snake sheds its old skin without clinging — recurs as a refrain in each verse. Just as a snake moves forward to new life without clinging to the shed skin, a practitioner must abandon anger, greed, conceit, desire, suffering, joy, this world and the next world — without dwelling in any of them. This chapter contains what is regarded as one of the most beautiful suttas in all of Buddhist history, the 'Sutta of Lovingkindness' (慈悲經, Metta-sutta). The Metta-sutta sings of the practice of cultivating boundless lovingkindness toward all living beings, teaching that one must send infinite love to all beings just as a mother would give her life to protect her one and only child. This practice of lovingkindness is declared to be 'the brahma-abiding' (梵住, brahma-vihāra) — the most noble way of living.