Content
It was preached at Jetavana Temple in answer to a question asked by a deva as to which things in this world could truly be considered blessings (mangalāni). The sutta describes thirty-eight blessings in ten sections, as shown in the table below:
| Gp.1 | Not associating with fools | Associating with the wise | Expressing respect to those worthy of respect | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gp.2 | Living in an amenable location | Having meritorious deeds in one's past | Setting oneself up properly in life | ||
| Gp.3 | Learnedness | Artfulness | Self-discipline | Artful speech | |
| Gp.4 | Filial piety | Cherishing one's children | Cherishing one's spouse | Not leaving work undone | |
| Gp.5 | Generosity | Dhamma practice | Caring for extended family | Blameless work | |
| Gp.6 | Avoiding unwholesomeness | Not drinking intoxicants | Non-recklessness in the Dhamma | ||
| Gp.7 | Respect | Humility | Contentment | Gratitude | Listening regularly to Dhamma teachings |
| Gp.8 | Patience | Openness to Criticism | Sight of a True Monk | Regular discussion of the Dhamma | |
| Gp.9 | Practising Austerities | Practising the Brahma-faring | Seeing the Four Noble Truths | Attainment of Nirvana | |
| Gp.10 | Mind free of Worldly Vicissitudes | Sorrowlessness | Free of Subtle Defilements | Blissful Mind |
Read more about this topic: Mangala Sutta
Famous quotes containing the word content:
“I have sometimes seen women, who would have been sensible enough, if they would have been content not to be called women of sense—but by aiming at what they had not, they only proved absurd—for sense cannot be counterfeited.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“A rake is a composition of all the lowest, most ignoble, degrading, and shameful vices; they all conspire to disgrace his character, and to ruin his fortune; while wine and the pox content which shall soonest and most effectually destroy his constitution.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“In America the taint of sectarianism lies broad upon the land. Not content with acknowledging the supremacy as the Diety, and with erecting temples in his honor, where all can bow down with reverence, the pride and vanity of human reason enter into and pollute our worship, and the houses that should be of God and for God, alone, where he is to be honored with submissive faith, are too often merely schools of metaphysical and useless distinctions. The nation is sectarian, rather than Christian.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)