Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure |
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation |
One should not neglect one's own spiritual gain. One should
not envy others.
The monk who envies others will not attain concentration.
sa+labhaj
na atimabbeyya na abbesaj
pihayaj care
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Adj. N.m. neg. V.act.
neg. Adj.m. Adj.m. V.act.
| Acc.Sg. |
3.Sg.opt. |
Gen.Pl. Nom.Sg. 3.Sg.opt.
|______| |______|
|_____|________|_______|
|___________|
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|______|
List of Abbreviations
abbesaj
pihayaj bhikkhu samadhij
na adhigacchati
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Adj.m. Adj.m.
N.m. N.m. neg.
V.act.in.
Gen.Pl. Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. Acc.Sg.
| 3.Sg.pres.
|___________|
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| |_______|
|____________|
|__________|
|___________________|
salabhaj:
salabha-, N.m.: one's own profit. It
is a compound of:
sa-, Adj.: own.
labha-,
N.m.: gain, profit. It is derived from the verb root labh- (to obtain).
Acc.Sg. = salabhaj.
na, neg.: not.
atimabbeyya,
V.: [one should] disregard, neglect. The verb root is man- (to think)
with the prefix ati- (over, beyond). 3.Sg.act.opt. = atimabbeyya.
Euphonic combination: na + atimabbeyya
= natimabbeyya.
na, neg.: not.
abbesaj:
abba-, Adj.: other, different. Gen.Pl.m.
= abbesaj.
Euphonic combination: na + abbesaj
= nabbesaj.
pihayaj: pihayant-,
Adj.: envying, coveting. It is an a.pr.p. of the verb root pih-.
Nom.Sg.m. = pihayaj.
List of Abbreviations
care, V.: [one] should act. The verb root is car- (to walk, to act). 3.Sg.act.opt. = care.
abbesaj: see above.
pihayaj: see above.
bhikkhu: bhikkhu-, N.m.: a (Buddhist) monk. Nom.Sg. = bhikkhu.
samadhim: samadhi-, N.m.: concentration, firmness of mind. It is derived from the verb root dha-, to put, with the prefixes saj-, together and a-, towards. Acc.Sg. = samadhim.
na, neg.: not.
adhigacchati, V.: find, obtain. The verb root is
gam- (to go) with the prefix adhi- (above, towards). 3.Sg.act.pres.in.
= adhigacchati.
Euphonic combination: na + adhigacchati
= nadhigacchati.
List of Abbreviations
This verse consists of three syntactically
separate sentences. They are:
1) salabhaj
natimabbeyya
(one should not neglect one's own spiritual gain). The subject is omitted;
the verb implies the third person singular pronoun. The verb is atimabbeyya
(one should neglect, 3rd person, singular, active, optative).
It is negated by the negative particle na (not). The object is the
compound salabhaj
(one's own [spiritual] gain, accusative singular).
2) nabbesaj
pihayaj care (one should not envy others).
The subject is omitted; the verb implies the third person singular pronoun.
The verb is care (one should act, 3rd person, singular,
active, optative). It is negated by the negative particle na (not).
The verb has an attribute, the active present participle pihayaj
(envying, nominative singular). This word has its own attribute, the adjective
abbesaj
(others', genitive singular).
3) abbesaj
pihayaj bhikkhu samadhij
nadhigacchati (the monk who envies others
will not attain concentration). The subject is the noun bhikkhu
(monk, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the active present participle
pihayaj (envying, nominative singular).
This word has its own attribute, the adjective abbesaj
(others', genitive singular). The verb is adhigacchati (attains,
3rd person, singular, active, optative). It is negated by the
negative particle na (not). The object is the noun samadhij
(concentration, accusative singular).
Devadatta was the Buddha's cousin, He envied the Buddha
his position and even though he himself was not an Arahant he tried to
form his own separate school in opposition to the Buddha.
Once a certain monk of the Buddha
went to the Devadatta's monastery and appeared to be very friendly with
the monks who lived there. He went there often, eating and enjoying that
comfortable monastery. But still he claimed he did not become a follower
of Devadatta. When the Buddha heard about this, he summoned the monk and
told him this verse (and the following one, DhP 366) saying that he should
not envy Devadatta's followers their comfort but should rather concentrate
on his own meditation practice.
Word pronunciation:
salabhaj
sa
labhaj
na
atimabbeyya
abbesaj
pihayaj
care
bhikkhu
samadhim
adhigacchati