Gatha | Sentence Translation | Sentence Structure
Vocabulary&Grammar | Commentary | Pronunciation

List of Abbreviations

# kayena sajvaro sadhu sadhu vacaya sajvaro

# manasa sajvaro sadhu sadhu sabbattha sajvaro

# sabbattha sajvuto bhikkhu sabbadukkha pamuccati

# (DhP 361)

Sentence Translation:

Restraint over the body is good. Good is restraint over the speech.
Restraint over the mind is good. Good is restraint everywhere.
The monk who is restrained everywhere will be freed from all suffering.

Sentence Structure:
List of Abbreviations

kayena sajvaro sadhu sadhu vacaya sajvaro
| | | | | |
N.m. N.m. Adv. Adv. N.f. N.m.
Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg. | | Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg.
|_________| | | |______|
|___________| |_________|

List of Abbreviations

manasa sajvaro sadhu sadhu sabbattha sajvaro
| | | | | |
N.n. N.m. Adv. Adv. Adv. N.m.
Ins.Sg. Nom.Sg. | | | Nom.Sg.
|__________| | | |_______|
|___________| |__________|

List of Abbreviations

sabbattha sajvuto bhikkhu sabba+dukkha pamuccati
| | | | | |
Adv. Adj.m. N.m. Adj. N.n. V.pas.in.
| Nom.Sg. Nom.Sg. | Abl.Sg. 3.Sg.pres.
|___________| | |______| |
|____________| |___________|
|______________________|

Vocabulary and Grammar:
List of Abbreviations

kayena: kaya-, N.m.: body. Here as "bodily action". Ins.Sg. = kayena.

sajvaro: sajvara-, N.m.: restraint. It is derived from the verb root var- (to cover) with the prefix saj- (together). Nom.Sg. = sajvaro.

sadhu, Adv.: well, good.

vacaya: vaca-, N.f.: speech, voice. Ins.Sg. = vacaya.

sajvaro: see above.

manasa: manas-, N.n.: mind. Inst.Sg. = manasa.

sajvaro: see above.

sadhu: see above.

List of Abbreviations

sabbattha, Adv.: everywhere, in every place.

sajvaro: see above.

sabbattha: see above.

sajvuto: sajvuta-, Adj.: restrained, governed, guarded. It is a p.p. of the verb var- (to obstruct) with the prefix saj- (together, completely). Nom.Sg.m. = sajvuto.

bhikkhu: bhikkhu-, N.m.: a (Buddhist) monk. Nom.Sg. = bhikkhu.

sabbadukkha: sabbadukkha-, N.n.: all suffering. It is a compound of:
sabba-, Adj.: all.
dukkha-, N.n.: sorrow, pain, suffering.
Abl.Sg. = sabbadukkha.

pamuccati, V.: to be released, to be freed. The verb root is muc- (to be released) woth the strengthening prefix pa-. 3.Sg.pas.in.pres. = pamuccati.

List of Abbreviations

This verse consists of five syntactically separate sentences. They are:
1) kayena sajvaro sadhu (restraint over the body is good). The subject is the noun sajvaro (restraint, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun kayena (by body, instrumental singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adverb sadhu (good, well).
2) sadhu vacaya sajvaro (good is restraint over the speech). The subject is the noun sajvaro (restraint, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun vacaya (by speech, instrumental singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adverb sadhu (good, well).
3) manasa sajvaro sadhu (restraint over the mind is good). The subject is the noun sajvaro (restraint, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the noun manasa (by mind, instrumental singular). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adverb sadhu (good, well).
4) sadhu sabbattha sajvaro (good is restraint everywhere). The subject is the noun sajvaro (restraint, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the adverb sabbattha (everywhere). The verb is omitted, implying the verb "to be". The object is the adverb sadhu (good, well).
5) sabbattha sajvuto bhikkhu sabbadukkha pamuccati (the monk who is restrained everywhere will be freed from all suffering). The subject is the noun bhikkhu (monk, nominative singular). It has an attribute, the past participle sajvuto (restrained, nominative singular) with its own attribute, the adverb sabbattha (everywhere). The verb is pamuccati (is freed, 3rd person, singular, passive, indicative, present tense). It has an attribute, the compound sabbadukkha (from all suffering, ablative singular).

Commentary:

The story for this verse is identical with the one for the previous verse (DhP 360).
Restraint over the six senses (in Buddhist psychology, the mind is counted as the sixths sense) is one of the basic requirements for really beneficial meditation practice. Without this control, the meditation cannot progress, because we will always be distracted from it by input from these very six senses. Therefore we must practice concentration and mindfulness in our daily lives and then apply this tool in our meditation practice.

Sentence pronunciation:

Sentence pronunciation

Word pronunciation:

kayena
sajvaro
sadhu
vacaya
manasa
sabbattha
sajvuto
bhikkhu
sabbadukkha
sabba
dukkha
pamuccati