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Seven Verses on Knowing How to Be Satisfied with Little
A bhikshu who receives little and easily attains non-accumulation means taking just enough, receiving only a small amount of offerings, not storing up; knowing what is enough, content, thus happiness arises and is praised by gods and humans alike. Simplicity (poverty), celibacy, and spiritual practice (meditation) are the three marks of a monastic’s life: having no personal account, not sharing in possessions, letting go of sensual desire to attain inner freedom.
The seven verses from 7–11 guide the mendicant practitioner as follows:
- Verse 7: “receiving little, easily attaining non-accumulation”—take just enough to use, do not be greedy or hoard; “knowing enough” is the way to happiness.
- Verse 8: the bhikshu practices loving-kindness, cherishes and reveres the Buddha’s teachings, deeply enters concentration and insight, calms all formations—practicing compassion, honoring the Dharma, entering samatha-vipassanā, quieting all saṅkhāra for peace and joy.
- Verse 9: bailing the boat to remove the three afflictions—sensual desire, anger, and ignorance are scooped out so the boat is light; this is nirvāṇa.
- Verse 10: letting go of the five, cutting off the five, contemplating the five faculties, able to distinguish the five, thus crossing the deep river—letting go of the five poisons (greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt), nurturing the five faculties (faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, insight) to generate the five powers, crossing over the flood of suffering.
- Verse 11: meditation without heedlessness, do not let desire disturb, do not burn oneself in sensual craving, learn to enter emptiness—practice meditation without negligence, do not let wrong desire disturb the mind, do not burn oneself in sensual craving, attain wisdom, approach nirvāṇa, and enter suññā-āgāra through solitude and single-minded contemplation of the Dharma.