Siṅgālasutta

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati. “Assuttha no tumhe, bhikkhave, rattiyā paccūsasamayaṁ jarasiṅgālassa vassamānassā”ti? “Evaṁ, bhante”. “Eso kho, bhikkhave, jarasiṅgālo ukkaṇḍakena nāma rogajātena phuṭṭho. So yena yena icchati tena tena gacchati; yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha tiṭṭhati; yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha nisīdati; yattha yattha icchati tattha tattha nipajjati; sītakopi naṁ vāto upavāyati. Sādhu khvassa, bhikkhave, yaṁ idhekacco sakyaputtiyapaṭiñño evarūpampi attabhāvapaṭilābhaṁ paṭisaṁvediyetha. Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, evaṁ sikkhitabbaṁ: ‘appamattā viharissāmā’ti. Evañhi vo, bhikkhave, sikkhitabban”ti. Ekādasamaṁ.

At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, did you hear an old jackal howling at the crack of dawn?” “Yes, sir.” “That old jackal has the disease called mange. Yet it still goes where it wants, stands where it wants, sits where it wants, and lies down where it wants. And the cool breeze still blows on it. A certain person here who claims to follow the Sakyan would be lucky to experience even such an incarnation. So you should train like this: ‘We will stay diligent.’ That’s how you should train.”