Udana

Exclamations

(selected passages)

The Udana, the third book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, offers a rich collection of short suttas, each of which culminates in a short verse uttered by the Buddha. Altogether there are eighty suttas, arranged in eight vaggas, or chapters.

The translator appears in the square brackets []. The braces {} contain the starting page number in the PTS romanized Pali edition.

I. Bodhivagga — The Chapter About Awakening

• Bodhi Sutta (Ud I.1) — Awakening (1) {Ud 1} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Bodhi Sutta (Ud I.2) — Awakening (2) {Ud 2} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Bodhi Sutta (Ud I.3) — Awakening (3) {Ud 2} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Shortly after his Awakening, the Buddha contemplates dependent origination.
• Kassapa Sutta (Ud I.6) — About Maha Kassapa {Ud 4} [Thanissaro]. Ven. Maha Kassapa chooses to go on his alsmround among the poor and indigent, rather than among the devas.
• Bahiya Sutta (Ud I.10) — About Bahiya {Ud 6} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. The ascetic Bahiya receives a brief teaching from the Buddha about dispassion towards the senses ("In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen...") and immediately becomes an arahant.

II. Muccalindavagga — The Chapter About Muccalinda

• Muccalinda Sutta (Ud II.1) — About Muccalinda/Mucalinda {Ud 10} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. Muccalinda, king of the protective nagas, visits the Buddha.
• Raja Sutta (Ud II.2) — Kings {Ud 10} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha scolds a group of monks for chattering about politics.
• Danda Sutta (Ud II.3) — The Stick {Ud 11} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha sees a group of boys beating a snake with a stick.
• Sakkara Sutta (Ud II.4) — Veneration {Ud 12} [Thanissaro]. Ascetics from other sects become jealous of the support and respect offered to the Buddha.
• Upasaka Sutta (Ud II.5) — The Lay Follower {Ud 13} [Thanissaro]. A busy layperson finally pays a visit to the Buddha.
• Gabbhini Sutta (Ud II.6) — The Pregnant Woman {Ud 13} [Thanissaro]. A man becomes terribly ill after drinking oil to bring to his pregnant wife.
• Ekaputta Sutta (Ud II.7) — The Only Son {Ud 14} [Thanissaro]. The grieving friends and family of a lay-follower's deceased son pay a visit to the Buddha.
• Visakha Sutta (Ud II.9) — To Visakha {Ud 18} [Thanissaro]. Visakha the laywoman pays a visit to the Buddha.
• Bhaddiya Kaligodha Sutta (Ud II.10) — About Bhaddiya Kaligodha {Ud 18} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. A meditating monk proclaims the blissfulness of life as a forest recluse.

III. Nandavagga — The Chapter About Nanda

• Kamma Sutta (Ud III.1) — Action {Ud 21} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. A meditating monk endures the aches and pains of illness.
• Nanda Sutta (Ud III.2) — About Nanda {Ud 21} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. The Buddha ingeniously dissuades Ven. Nanda, his half-brother, from disrobing.
• Yasoja Sutta (Ud III.3) — About Yasoja {Ud 24} [Thanissaro]. A group of monks, suitably chastened by the Buddha for their raucous behavior, become arahants.
• Sariputta Sutta (Ud III.4) — About Sariputta {Ud 27} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.
• Kolita Sutta (Ud III.5) — About Kolita (Maha Moggallana) {Ud 27} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Maha Moggallana seated in meditation.
• Kassapa Sutta (Ud III.7) — Kassapa {Ud 29} [Thanissaro]. The king of the devas travels in disguise in order to make merit from giving almsfood to Ven. Maha Kassapa.
• Pinda Sutta (Ud III.8) — Alms {Ud 30} [Thanissaro]. A monk should go on almsround for the right reasons.
• Loka Sutta (Ud III.10) — (Surveying) the World {Ud 32} [Thanissaro]. Following his Awakening, the Buddha surveys the world with his mind's eye and sees a world full of ignorance, craving, and suffering.

IV. Meghiyavagga — The Chapter About Meghiya

• Meghiya Sutta (Ud IV.1) — About Meghiya {Ud 34} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. An over-eager monk is assailed by unskillful states of mind, and the Buddha reminds him of the importance of associating with admirable friends.
• Gopala Sutta (Ud IV.3) — The Cowherd {Ud 38} [Thanissaro]. A cowherd invites the monks to a meal at his home.
• Juñha Sutta (Ud IV.4) — Moonlit {Ud 39} [Thanissaro]. A cantankerous yakkha decides to hit Ven. Sariputta over the head, and pays the price for his stupidity.
• Naga Sutta (Ud IV.5) — The Bull Elephant {Ud 41} [Ireland]. The Buddha moves from a noisy, crowded part of the forest to a more secluded one.
• Pindola Sutta (Ud IV.6) — About Pindola {Ud 42} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Pindola seated in meditation.
• Sariputta Sutta (Ud IV.7) — About Sariputta (1) {Ud 43} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.
• Upasena Vangataputta Sutta (Ud IV.9) — About Upasena Vangantaputta {Ud 45} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the attainments of Ven. Upasena Vangataputta.
• Sariputta Sutta (Ud IV.10) — About Sariputta (2) {Ud 46} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Sariputta seated in meditation.

V. Sonavagga — The Chapter About Sona

• Raja Sutta (Ud V.1) — The King {Ud 47} [Thanissaro]. Queen Mallika and King Pasenadi inquire of each other, "Is there anyone more dear to you than yourself?"
• Appayuka Sutta (Ud V.2) — Short-lived {Ud 47} [Thanissaro]. Life is short; practice ardently!
• Kutthi Sutta (Ud V.3) — The Leper {Ud 48} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha instructs a leper, who soon attains stream-entry.
• Kumaraka Sutta (Ud V.4) — The Boys {Ud 51} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha comes upon two boys catching fish, and speaks to them about physical pain.
• Uposatha Sutta (Ud V.5) — The Observance {Ud 51} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. The Buddha compares the wonderful qualities of the Dhamma to the qualities of the ocean.
• Sona Sutta (Ud V.6) — About Sona {Ud 57} [Thanissaro]. A devoted lay follower recognizes the drawbacks of the householder's life and decides to become a monk.
• Revata Sutta (Ud V.7) — About Revata {Ud 60} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Revata seated in meditation.
• Saddayamana Sutta (Ud V.9) — Uproar {Ud 61} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha reflects on the empty words of a nearby group of boisterous youths.
• Panthaka Sutta (Ud V.10) — About Cula Panthaka {Ud 61} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Cula Panthaka seated in meditation.

VI. Jaccandhavagga — Blind from Birth

• Jatila Sutta (Ud VI.2) — Ascetics {Ud 64} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha explains to King Pasenadi how another's virtue, purity, endurance, and discernment may be known.
• Ahu Sutta (Ud VI.3) — It Was {Ud 66} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha reflects on the unskillful qualities he has abandoned and the skillful ones he has perfected.
• Tittha Sutta (Ud VI.4) — Various Sectarians (1) {Ud 66} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. The Buddha uses the famous simile of the blind men and the elephant to illustrate the futility of arguing about one's views and opinions.
• Tittha Sutta (Ud VI.5) — Various Sectarians (2) {Ud 70} [Thanissaro]
  Tittha Sutta (Ud VI.6) — Various Sectarians (3) {Ud 70} [Thanissaro]
  The Buddha overhears some heated arguments between various speculative philosophers.
• Subhuti Sutta (Ud VI.7) — About Subhuti {Ud 71} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha praises a monk for practicing jhana.
• Ganika Sutta (Ud VI.8) — The Courtesan {Ud 71} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by reports of deadly battles over the affections of a certain courtesan.
• Adhipataka Sutta (Ud VI.9) — Insects {Ud 72} [Olendzki | Thanissaro]. We are drawn by sense desire to our doom, like moths to the flame.

VII. Culavagga — The Minor Chapter

• Bhaddiya Sutta (Ud VII.1) — About Bhaddiya the Dwarf (1) {Ud 74} [Thanissaro]. Ven. Sariputta helps guide Ven. Bhaddiya to the brink of arahantship.
• Bhaddiya Sutta (Ud VII.2) — About Bhaddiya the Dwarf (2) {Ud 74} [Thanissaro]. Ven Sariputta, failing to see that Ven. Bhaddiya is now an arahant, continues instructing him.
• Kamesu Satta Sutta (Ud VII.3) — Attached to Sensual Pleasures (1) {Ud 75} [Thanissaro].
  
• Kamesu Satta Sutta (Ud VII.4) — Attached to Sensual Pleasures (2) {Ud 75} [Thanissaro]. Two occasions in which the Buddha is inspired by the sight of laypeople and their addictions to sensuality.
• Tanhakhaya Sutta (Ud VII.6) — The Ending of Craving {Ud 76} [Thanissaro]. The Buddha is inspired by the sight of Ven. Añña Kondañña seated in meditation.
• Udapana Sutta (Ud VII.9) — The Well {Ud 78} [Ireland | Thanissaro]. In a rare display of his supernatural powers, the Buddha makes a point of Dhamma to Ven. Ananda.
• Udena Sutta (Ud VII.10) — About King Udena {Ud 79} [Thanissaro]. 500 women, all of whom had attained at least stream-entry, perish in a fire.

VIII. Pataligamiyavagga — The Chapter About Patali Village

• Nibbana Sutta (Ud VIII.1) — Total Unbinding/Parinibbana (1) {Ud 80} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Nibbana Sutta (Ud VIII.2) — Total Unbinding/Parinibbana (2) {Ud 80} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Nibbana Sutta (Ud VIII.3) — Total Unbinding/Parinibbana (3) {Ud 80} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Nibbana Sutta (Ud VIII.4) — Total Unbinding/Parinibbana (4) {Ud 81} [Ireland | Thanissaro]
  Four suttas in which the Buddha describes the nature of Nibbana.
• Visakha Sutta (Ud VIII.8) — To Visakha {Ud 91} [Thanissaro]. The laywoman Visakha, grieving over the death of a grandchild, receives a powerful teaching concerning clinging and death.
• Dabba Sutta (Ud VIII.9) — About Dabba Mallaputta (1) {Ud 92} [Thanissaro]
  Dabba Sutta (Ud VIII.10) — About Dabba Mallaputta (2) {Ud 93} [Thanissaro]
  The Buddha is inspired by Ven. Dabba Mallaputta's spectacular death and attainment of Parinibbana.