10.
The Discourse on the Forest
10.
At Sāvatthī.
Standing to one side, that deity addressed the Blessed One in verse -
"For those dwelling in the forest, peaceful, living the holy life,
Eating one meal a day, by what does their beauty become clear?"
"They do not sorrow over the past, nor do they long for the future;
They sustain themselves with the present, therefore their beauty becomes clear.
Through longing for the future, through sorrowing over the past,
By this fools wither away, like a green reed that is cut."
The Chapter on a Reed is first.
Its summary:
The Flood, Release, Being Swept Along, Passing By, and How Many to Cut;
Being Awake, Not Fully Known, Very Confused, One Fond of Conceit;
The Forest is spoken as the tenth, by that the chapter is called.