SN 1.46

Accharā sutta: Nymphs

Accharāsutta

Ādittavagga

To escape from the Forest of Delusion, one needs the vehicle of the Dhamma.

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“It’s resounding with a group of nymphs,
but haunted by a gang of goblins!
This grove is called ‘Deluding’.
How will I keep going?”

“That path is called ‘the direct way’,
and it’s headed for the place called ‘fearless’.
The chariot is called ‘unswerving’,
fitted with wheels of the teaching.

This Sutta contrasts the “direct” way with the “deluding” (mohana) way. This recalls the notion that the teaching shows the way to those who are lost (mūḷhassa vā maggaṁ ācikkheyya, SN 7.1:9.3). This echoes the common description of the Saṅgha as practicing the way that is “direct”, suggesting that they are proceeding directly along a known route (SN 11.3:11.2).

Verses connecting parts of the Dhamma to a chariot are also found at SN 41.5 and SN 45.4. Chariots appear throughout the Vedic literature as vehicles of gods and heroes, and in metaphors especially for the sun and the sacrifice. Rig Veda 10.135.3 speaks of a chariot created by the mind, with a single pole and facing all directions, which connects a grieving son with his departed father.

Normally dhammacakka, the “wheel of the teaching”, is singular, this being a unique plural. The commentary explains as mental and physical energy.

Conscience is its bench-back,
mindfulness its upholstery.
I say the teaching is the driver,
with right view running out in front.

Any woman or man
who has such a vehicle,
by means of this vehicle
has drawn near to extinguishment.”

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Bhikkhu Sujato · CC0

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