The Plough of the Mortal God

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​Words and reading by Ajahn Kalyano.
Background music and editing by Gordon Oaks.

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"The Plough of the Mortal God" was inspired by a section in the Kasi Bharadvaja Sutta. (Sutta Nipata 1.4):

[The Buddha said:]
"Faith is the seed, practice the rain,
And wisdom is my yoke and plow.
Modesty's the pole, mind the strap,
Mindfulness my plowshare and goad.

Body and speech are guarded well,
And food and drink have been restrained.
Truthfulness I use for weeding,
And gentleness urges me on.

Effort is my beast of burden,
Pulling me onward to safety.
On it goes without returning,
Where, having gone, one does not grieve.

This is how I plow my plowing --
The crop it yields is deathlessness!
And when one has plowed this plowing,
One is released from all suffering."

(Translated by Andrew Olendzki)