The Buddha teaches that possessions, honor, and popularity are grim, bitter, and harsh obstacles to liberation, using the simile of mother to show how they bind and destroy the unwary.

SN 17.37 Mother

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

“Dāruṇo, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya. Idhāhaṁ, bhikkhave, ekaccaṁ puggalaṁ evaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāmi: ‘na cāyamāyasmā mātupi hetu sampajānamusā bhāseyyā’ti. Tamenaṁ passāmi aparena samayena lābhasakkārasilokena abhibhūtaṁ pariyādiṇṇacittaṁ sampajānamusā bhāsantaṁ.

Evaṁ dāruṇo kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ pajahissāma. Na ca no uppanno lābhasakkārasiloko cittaṁ pariyādāya ṭhassatī’ti. Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

Sattamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

At Sāvatthī.

“Dāruṇo, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.

“Possessions, honor, and popularity are grim, bitter, and harsh. They’re an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

Idhāhaṁ, bhikkhave, ekaccaṁ puggalaṁ evaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāmi:

When I’ve comprehended the mind of a certain individual, I understand:

‘na cāyamāyasmā mātupi hetu sampajānamusā bhāseyyā’ti.

‘This venerable would not tell a deliberate lie even for the sake of their mother.’

Tamenaṁ passāmi aparena samayena lābhasakkārasilokena abhibhūtaṁ pariyādiṇṇacittaṁ sampajānamusā bhāsantaṁ.

But some time later I see them tell a deliberate lie because their mind is overcome and overwhelmed by possessions, honor, and popularity.

Evaṁ dāruṇo kho, bhikkhave, lābhasakkārasiloko kaṭuko pharuso antarāyiko anuttarassa yogakkhemassa adhigamāya.

So grim are possessions, honor, and popularity—bitter and harsh, an obstacle to reaching the supreme sanctuary from the yoke.

Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ:

So you should train like this:

‘uppannaṁ lābhasakkārasilokaṁ pajahissāma.

‘We will give up arisen possessions, honor, and popularity, and we won’t let them occupy our minds.’

Na ca no uppanno lābhasakkārasiloko cittaṁ pariyādāya ṭhassatī’ti.

Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti.

That’s how you should train.”

Sattamaṁ.

Qualities:

Safety

Safety

A state of complete security and refuge where there is no threat from defilements or the turbulence of becoming. It is the peace of one who has found shelter from the storms of craving and has nothing left to lose or fear.

Also known as: sanctuary, security, at peace, rest
Pāli: khema
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026