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Thag 2.2

Bhāradvāja the Alms-Gatherer

Piṇḍolabhāradvājattheragāthā

from: The Book of the Twos

Chapter One

Bhāradvāja the Alms-Gatherer

You can’t live by fasting,
but food doesn’t lead to peace of heart.
Seeing how this bag of bones is sustained by food,
I wander, seeking.

They know it’s just a swamp,
this homage and veneration in respectable families.
Honor is a subtle dart, hard to extract,
and hard for a reprobate to give up.

That is how these verses were recited by the senior venerable Bhāradvāja the Alms-Gatherer.

Translation: German (Ayyā Sabbamittā), English (Bhikkhu Sujato). Source: SuttaCentral / Bilara (public domain, CC0).

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