MN 131. A Beautiful Day

I heard the following. The Buddha was once staying in Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s park at Savatthi. There he addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants!”

“Venerable sir,” they replied.

The Buddha then said: “Mendicants, I will teach you the recitation passage of A Beautiful Day together with its explanation. Please listen and pay close attention to what I shall say.”

“Yes, sir,” the mendicants replied.

The Buddha then said:

“Do not revive the past
or yearn for the future.
The past is gone;
the future has not yet arrived.

Be aware of whatever
happens in the present.
Practice to know it
unmoved, unshaken.

Apply yourself today, be motivated.
Tomorrow death may come, who knows?
You can’t bargain
with Mortality and his army.

Practice like this day and night,
being motivated, not lazy,
and you'll have a beautiful day,
so the Sage at Peace has said.

And, mendicants, how do you revive the past? Then you're looking for enjoyment there, thinking: ‘In the past I had such a form,’ ‘in the past I had such a sensation,’ ‘in the past I had such a perception,’ ‘in the past I had such a will,’ or ‘in the past I had such a consciousness’. That is how you revive the past.

And how do you not revive the past? Then you're not looking for enjoyment there, thinking: ‘In the past I had such a form,’ ‘in the past I had such a sensation,’ ‘in the past I had such a perception,’ ‘in the past I had such a will,’ or ‘in the past I had such a consciousness’. That is how you do not revive the past.

And, mendicants, how do you yearn for the future? Then you're looking for enjoyment there, thinking: ‘May I have such a form in the future,’ ‘may I have such a sensation in the future,’ ‘may I have such a perception in the future,’ ‘may I have such a will in the future,’ or ‘may I have such a consciousness in the future’. That is how you yearn for the future.

And how do you not yearn for the future? Then you're not looking for enjoyment there, thinking: ‘May I have such a form in the future,’ ‘may I have such a sensation in the future,’ ‘may I have such a perception in the future,’ ‘may I have such a will in the future,’ or ‘may I have such a consciousness in the future’. That is how you do not yearn for the future.

And, mendicants, how are you moved by what is present? Then, as an unlearned ordinary person—who has not seen the worthy people, the noble ones, and is unversed and untrained in their teachings—you regard form to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or sensation to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or perception to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or will to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or consciousness to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self. That is how you are moved by what is present.

And how are you not moved by what is present? Then, as a learned noble disciple—who has seen the worthy people, the noble ones, and is well-versed and trained in their teachings—you do not regard form to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or sensation to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or perception to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or will to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self; or consciousness to be, to be owned by, to be part of, or to contain a self. That is how you are not moved by what is present.

Do not revive the past
or yearn for the future.
The past is gone;
the future has not yet arrived.

Be aware of whatever
happens in the present.
Practice to know it
unmoved, unshaken.

Apply yourself today, be motivated.
Tomorrow death may come, who knows?
You can’t bargain
with Mortality and his army.

Practice like this day and night,
being motivated, not lazy,
and you'll have a beautiful day,
so the Sage at Peace has said.

Mendicants, I said I would teach you the recitation passage of A Beautiful Day together with its explanation, and that was with reference to this.”

That is what the Buddha said. The mendicants were pleased and enjoyed his words.