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Way to Enlightenment

The Mind (Citta Vagga)

Verse 33

Pāli Source

Phandanaṃ capalaṃ cittaṃ dūrakkhaṃ dunnivārayaṃ; ujuṃ karoti medhāvī usukāro va tejanaṃ.

English Translation

The mind trembles and wavers, difficult to guard and hard to hold back. A wise person straightens it, the way a fletcher straightens an arrow shaft.

Way to Enlightenment draft translation — not yet reviewed for accuracy.

Editorial Note

Opens the Citta Vagga (The Mind), a chapter of similes for the mind’s restlessness and how disciplined attention can steady it.

Source

Pali critical edition: O. von Hinüber & K.R. Norman (Pali Text Society, 1995), digitized by the Dhammakaya Foundation via GRETIL, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0