| title | translator | slug | external_url | reader | formats | drive_links | course | tags | status | year | minutes | parallels | ||||||||||
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MN 21 Kakacūpama Sutta: The Simile of the Saw |
sujato |
mn021 |
Roland Kitchen |
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problems |
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featured |
2018 |
20 |
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‘What the hell, Kāḷī!’
Mendicants, there are these five ways in which others might criticize you. Their speech may be timely or untimely, true or false, gentle or harsh, beneficial or harmful, from a heart of love or from secret hate. When others criticize you, they may do so in any of these ways. If that happens, you should train like this: ‘Our minds will remain unaffected.’
Even if low-down bandits were to sever you limb from limb, anyone who had a malevolent thought on that account would not be following my instructions.
If you frequently reflect on this advice--the simile of the saw--do you see any criticism, large or small, that you could not endure?"
A discourse full of vibrant and memorable images on the importance of patience and love even when faced with abuse and criticism.