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Sutta Nipāta 4.7

Tissametteyyasutta

To Tissametteyya on the Dangers of Sex · Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato, SuttaCentral

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when someone indulges in sex“Methunamanuyuttassa,
said(iccāyasmā Tissatisso Metteyyametteyyo)
what troubleVighātaṁ tellbrūhi good fellowmārisa;
after hearingSutvāna yourtava instructionsāsanaṁ,
in seclusionViveke we shall trainsikkhissāmase”.

“When someone indulges in sex,” said Venerable Tissametteyya, “tell us, good fellow: what trouble befalls them? After hearing your instruction, we shall train in seclusion.”

for one devoted to sexual intercourse“Methunamanuyuttassa,
Metteyya(metteyyāti the Blessed Onebhagavā)
one forgetsMussate indeedvāpi the teachingsāsanaṁ;
wronglyMicchā andca one practicespaṭipajjati,
thisEtaṁ in that onetasmiṁ ignobleanāriyaṁ.

“When someone indulges in sex,” replied the Buddha, “they forget their instructions and go the wrong way— that is something ignoble in them.

aloneEko formerlypubbe having livedcaritvāna,
sexmethunaṁ whoyo resorts tonisevati;
like a chariotYānaṁ careening + likebhantaṁva that onetaṁ in the worldloke,
low, they callhīnamāhu an ordinary personputhujjanaṁ.

Someone who formerly lived alone and then resorts to sex is like a chariot careening off-track; in the world they call them a low, ordinary person.

fameYaso reputationkitti andca whichyā formerlypubbe,
falls awayhāyate alsovāpi of himtassa thatsā;
this·tooEtampi having seendisvā one should trainsikkhetha,
sexmethunaṁ to give upvippahātave.

Their former fame and reputation also fall away. Seeing this, they’d train to give up sex.

by thoughtsSaṅkappehi forth·movepareto heso,
like a wretchkapaṇo likeviya broodsjhāyati;
having heardSutvā of othersparesaṁ the talknigghosaṁ,
embarrassedmaṅku ishoti such·kindtathāvidho.

Oppressed by thoughts, they brood like a wretch. When they hear what others are saying, that sort is embarrassed.

thenAtha verbal daggerssatthāni they makekurute,
other·speechparavādehi reproachedcodito;
thisEsa indeed + for·themkhvassa great·greedmahāgedho,
to liesmosavajjaṁ forth·sinkpagāhati.

Then they lash out with verbal daggers when reproached by others. This is their great blind spot; they sink to lies.

as wise onePaṇḍitoti was consideredsamaññāto,
one·conductekacariyaṁ was committed toadhiṭṭhito;
but thenAthāpi in sexmethune indulgedyutto,
dullard + likemandova is dragged alongparikissati.

They once were considered astute, committed to the solitary life. But then they indulged in sex, dragged along by desire like a dullard.

this·dangerEtamādīnavaṁ having knownñatvā,
a sageMuni falling from a former statepubbāpare hereidha;
one·wanderingEkacariyaṁ firmlydaḷhaṁ would resolvekayirā,
notNa down·resortnisevetha sexmethunaṁ.

Knowing this danger in falling from a former state here, a sage would firmly resolve to wander alone, and would not resort to sex.

seclusion + onlyVivekaññeva let them trainsikkhetha,
thisetaṁ noble·highestariyānamuttamaṁ;
notNa due to thattena bestseṭṭho would thinkmaññetha,
onesa indeedve extinguishment·nearnibbānasantike.

They’d train themselves only in seclusion; this, for the noble ones, is highest. One who’d not think themselves ‘best’ due to that has truly drawn near to extinguishment.

of the isolated oneRittassa of the sagemunino of the wandering onecarato,
in sensual pleasuresKāmesu not·concernedanapekkhino;
flood·crossedOghatiṇṇassa they envypihayanti,
in sensual pleasuresKāmesu tiedgadhitā peoplepajā”ti.
Tissa·Metteyya·suttaTissametteyyasuttaṁ seventhsattamaṁ.

People tied to sensual pleasures envy them: the isolated, wandering sage who has crossed the flood, unconcerned for sensual pleasures.”

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