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Index of Similes

Author | Proper Names | Number | Similes | Subject | Suttas | Title
Contributing authors and translators
Glossary of Pali & Buddhist terms

This is a partial index of the similes and metaphors that appear in the suttas available at Access to Insight. Only the imagery that illustrates points of Dhamma is included here; imagery that serves primarily a literary or narrative function is not included (e.g., Ambapali's description of her long-lost youthful beauty). The subject of each image is given in the braces {}. The tilde (~) stands for the head-word in a given entry.

Suttas without hyperlinks are those not currently available at Access to Insight; they are included here only for reference.


A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ

A

Acrobats {watching after oneself/others} SN XLVII.19
Ancient city {awakening} SN XII.65
Animals bound together by a rope {lack of mindfulness} SN XXXV.206
Archer: {brevity of life; heedfulness} SN XX.6; archer's apprentice {jhana} AN IX.36. See also Arrow, Fletcher.
Arrow: {dukkha} Sn III.8; poisoned {speculative views} MN 63, {craving} MN 105, {contagiousness of evil} Iti 76; person shot with two ~ {physical and mental pain} SN XXXVI.6; in the heart {sensuality} Sn IV.15; piercing a horsehair {subtlety of Dhamma} Thag I.26; removed {greed} SN I.5; shot into the night {bad people} Dhp 304; straightened by a fletcher (see Fletcher). See also Doctor, Fletcher.

B [go to top]

Bamboo: destroyed by its own fruit {evil} Dhp 164, Iti 50; spreading {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3
Bathman or bathman's apprentice {rapture of 1st jhana} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, MN 119, AN V.28
Bandits {external sense media} SN XXXV.197
Barley reaper {defilements} Miln II.1.8
Beast of burden {persistence} Sn I.4
Beauty queen {mindfulness} SN XLVII.20
Bee gathering nectar {sage} Dhp 49
Bird: escaping from net {rarity of heavenly birth} Dhp 174; leaving no track {arahant} Dhp 92; sighting shore {seeking the Buddha; meaning of Tathagata} DN 11, AN VI.54; spattered with dirt {mindfulness} SN IX.1; with wings as its only burden {contentment} DN 2, DN 11
Blindness {ignorance} MN 75
Blind men: row of {ignorance} MN 95; and the elephant {ignorance} Ud VI.4
Blind sea-turtle poking his head up through a yoke {rarity of human birth} MN 129, SN LVI.48
Boat being bailed out {defilements} Dhp 369
Bog {sensuality} Sn IV.15
Boil, festering {the body} AN IX.15
Boiling the River Ganges {speech} MN 21
Bones: chain or heap {sensuality} MN 54, AN V.76; mountain {length of samsara} Iti 24
Bottomless chasm {painful feeling} SN XXXVI.4
Boulder thrown into lake {kamma} SN XLII.6
Bowl of poison {passion} Thig XIV
Branch, man grasping a {self-view} AN IV.178
Bubble on water {appropriate attention} SN XXII.95
Bull: born into a herd of cattle {arahant} AN V.179; yoked to a load {endurance} Thag XIV.2. See also Cow.
Burning ghee or oil {meditation on the fire property} Ud VIII.9, Ud VIII.10
Burning grass or leaves {not-self} SN XXXV.101
Burning refuge {dukkha} Sn III.8
Butcher or butcher's apprentice: {meditation on the four properties} DN 22, MN 119; {trance of non-breathing} MN 36. See also Bull, Cow.
Butcher of goats {kamma} AN III.99
Butter from water{wrong view} MN 126

C [go to top]

Carpenter: {wearing down the effluents} SN XXII.101; {self-control} Dhp 80, Dhp 145; {applied thought} Miln II.3.13
Cart wheel {suffering} Dhp 1
Catching arrows {brevity of life; heedfulness} SN XX.6
Cave {the body; sensuality} Sn IV.2
Cesspool difficult to clean {impurities} Sn II.6
Chaff: {corrupt person} Sn I.5, Sn II.6; {dead body} SN XXXV.69; {others' faults} Dhp 252
Chariot: {anger} Dhp 222; {the body} Dhp 151; {concentration} AN V.28; {mindfulness} MN 119; {world} Dhp 171
Chariots, relay {stages of insight} MN 24
Charioteer {sense-restraint} Dhp 94
Cheater {others' errors} Dhp 252
Children playing with sand castles {aggregates} SN XXIII.2
City of bones {the body} Dhp 150
City superintendent at a crossroads {consciousness} Miln II.3.12
Cleansing of the body with scouring balls and bath powder {cleansing the mind} AN III.70
Cleansing of the head with paste and clay {cleansing the mind} AN III.70
Cloth: person covered with white {4th jhana} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, AN V.28; soiled {conceit} SN XXII.89; to be dyed {defiled and undefiled mind} MN 7, Ud V.3
Cock's feather in fire {unattractiveness} AN VII.46
Conch-trumpet blower {sublime attitudes} SN XLII.8
Constellations {heedfulness} AN X.15
Cotton tuft {rapture} Thag I.104
Couple eating their child {purpose of food} SN XII.63
Cow: butchered {meditation on the four properties} DN 22, MN 119; flayed {contact} SN XII.63; led to slaughter {inevitability of death} AN VII.70, Sn III.8; milked dry {lack of moderation} MN 33, AN XI.18; producing milk, curds, butter, ghee, etc. {practice for oneself and others} AN IV.95; roaming in the mountains {mastery of jhana} AN IX.35; skinned {sensuality} MN 146; that runs away {fool} SN XI.5; udder {brief time} SN XX.4. See also Bull, Butcher.
Cowherd: competent {skillfulness} MN 33, AN XI.18; counting another's cattle {heedlessness} Dhp 19; driving cattle {aging and death} Dhp 135; incompetent {unskillfulness} MN 33, AN XI.18; mindful of his cows {skillfulness} MN 19; prodding and poking his cows {skillfulness} MN 19; reflecting on the places his cattle have wandered {uposatha} AN III.70. See also Bull, Cow.
Crafts, Trades, and Professions. See Archer, Bathman, Butcher, Carpenter, Charioteer, Cowherd, Doctor, Elephant tamer, Fletcher, Goldsmith, Horsetrainer, Irrigator, Ivory carver, King, Magician, Potter, Silversmith, Trader, Turner, Warrior, Weigher.
Creeper pod {future dangers} MN 45
Crooked chariot wheels {faults} AN III.15
Cymbals striking together {contact} Miln II.3.8

D [go to top]

Debt {conviction} AN VI.45
Deer that wanders in the wilderness {solitude} Sn I.3
Dewdrop on tip of grass blade {brevity of life} AN VII.70
Digging in earth {speech} MN 21
Dirt-washer {purifying the mind} AN III.100 (i-x)
Doctor {the Buddha} MN 63, MN 105. See also Arrow.
Dog: chasing swine {gratitude} SN VII.14; gnawing on a chain of bones {sensuality} MN 54; tied to a post {self-view} SN XXII.99, SN XXII.100.
Donkey that thinks it's a cow {insincerity with regard to the Dhamma} AN III.81
Drawing pictures in space {speech} MN 21
Dream, waking from: {sensuality} MN 54; {death} Sn IV.6
Drinking water {subduing hatred}: from a clear pool AN V.162; from a dirty pool AN V.162; from a puddle in a hoofprint AN V.162
Drum peg {listening to Dhamma} SN XX.7
Dry piece of wood {mindfulness} MN 119
Dung beetle {pride} SN XVII.5
Dust: on a fingertip {dukkha} SN XIII.1, {rarity of human birth} SN XX.2; thrown into wind {evil} Dhp 125
Dusty road {household life} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, MN 36, MN 125

E [go to top]

Earth {arahant} Dhp 95
Elephant: and the blind men {ignorance} Ud VI.4; footprint {four noble truths} MN 28, {heedfulness} SN III.17, AN X.15; in battle {patient endurance} Dhp 320, Thag III.8; in battle {sensual passion} AN V.139, {sense-restraint} AN V.140; in rut {self-control} Dhp 324, Dhp 326; in the wild {mature companion} Sn I.3; relieves an itch {solitude in the wilderness} AN IX.40; renouncing its herd {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3; snared {attachments} MN 66; stuck in mud {heedfulness} Dhp 327; tamable {factors for exertion} MN 90; tamed {self-training} Dhp 322
Elephant-tamer {renunciation} MN 125
Embers in a pit {passion} Thig XIV
Empty water pot {mindfulness} MN 119
Executioner: five {aggregates} SN XXXV.197; sixth {passion/delight} SN XXXV.197
Eyes, man opening and closing his {faculties} MN 152

F [go to top]

False path in the forest {wrong eightfold path} MN 19
Farmer's urgent duties {self-training} AN III.91
Field: neglecting one's own {teaching Dhamma} DN 12; spoiled by weeds {passion} Dhp 356
Fire: {clinging} SN XII.52, SN XXXV.28, SN XLIV.9; {heedfulness} Dhp 31; {passion} Dhp 251; {discernment} Thag I.3; fire's destination {nibbana} Ud VIII.10; fire not returning {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3; hidden in ashes {unskillful action} Dhp 71
Fire-stick {sensuality} MN 36
Firebrand with excrement: {practicing Dhamma for no one's benefit} AN IV.95; {failing to practice Dhamma} Iti 91
Fish: caught in net {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3, {sensuality} Thag IV.8; caught in trap {sensuality} Ud VII.4; caught on a hook {six senses} SN XXXV.189; in dried-up puddle {self-view} Sn IV.2, SN V.10; flip-flapping on dry land {unsteady mind} Dhp 34; rising through the water {recognizing a wise person} AN IV.192; rotten and wrapped in grass {associating with fools} Iti 76; struggling in water {quarreling} Sn IV.15
Fisherman {Mara} SN XXXV.189
Flame: overthrown by wind {arahant} Sn V.6; passed from one lamp to another {rebirth} Miln III.5.5; unbinding of {nibbana} Thig V.10;
Fletcher straightening an arrow: {training the mind} Dhp 33, Thag I.29; {restraint} Dhp 145, Dhp 80. See also Arrow.
Flies' eggs {sensuality} MN 33, AN XI.18
Flood {craving, sensuality, becoming, ignorance} SN I.1, SN XLV.171; {greed} Sn IV.15; sweeping away a sleeping village {death} Dhp 47, Dhp 286. See also River, Ocean.
Flower: blossom {speech} Dhp 51; heap {skillfulness} Dhp 53; scent {integrity} Dhp 54. See also Lotus.
Flower-arranger {Dhamma follower} Dhp 44
Foam {the body} Dhp 46
Fords {asking questions} MN 33, AN XI.18
Forest: {desire} Dhp 283; {Dhamma} Sn II.1
Fort {mind} Dhp 40
Fragrances {heedfulness}: flower AN X.15; root AN X.15; wood AN X.15
Frontier fortress: {the body} SN XXXV.204; {seven skillful qualities} AN VII.63; {liberation is not for everyone} AN X.95; {guarding oneself} Dhp 315, Thag 14.1; foundation post {conviction} AN VII.63; moat {shame} AN VII.63; encircling road {concern} AN VII.63; weapons {learning} AN VII.63; army {persistence} AN VII.63; gate-keeper {mindfulness} AN VII.63; ramparts {discernment} AN VII.63; stores of grass {1st jhana} AN VII.63; stores of rice {2nd jhana} AN VII.63; stores of sesame {3rd jhana} AN VII.63; stores of tonics {4th jhana} AN VII.63
Fruit, ripe {death} Sn III.8
Full moon {discernment} Thig I.3. See Moon.
Full water pot {mindfulness} MN 119
Fumigation {teaching Dhamma} MN 33, AN XI.18

G [go to top]

Gem with colored thread inside {clear seeing} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Gift of food {good will} SN XX.4
Goat butcher {kamma} AN III.99
Gold: coins raining {sensuality} Dhp 186; ingot {discernment and virtue} Dhp 229; mountain {sensuality} SN IV.20; ornament {arahant} AN IV.28
Goldsmith: purifying gold {purifying the mind} AN III.100 (i-x), AN III.100 (xi-xv); crafting any kind of article {supranormla powers} DN 2, DN 11
Gong {applied and sustained thought} Miln II.3.14
Gourds in autumn {bones} Dhp 149
Grass: with sharp blades {wrong practice} Dhp 311; wild grass after rain {dukkha} Dhp 335
Green reed cut down {foolish person} SN I.10
Ground far from the sky {foolish person} SN V.10
Guest house {feelings in the body} SN XXXVI.14
Guest refusing the host's food {insulting behavior} SN VII.2

H [go to top]

Handful of leaves {Dhamma} SN LVI.31
Hands clapping {contact} Miln II.3.8
Hawk attacking quail {mindfulness} SN XLVII.6
Head of snake {sensuality} Sn IV.1
Head on fire: See Turban on fire
Head sliced open with sword {pain} MN 36
Hell, saved from {Dhamma} DN 12
Hen covering her eggs {virtue, etc.} MN 53, SN XXII.101
Herd of cattle {arahant} AN III.57
Herons wasting away {falling short of celibacy} Dhp 155
Himalayas {good people} Dhp 304
Hog, fat and lazy {foolish person} Dhp 325
Honey ball {flavor of Dhamma} MN 18
Hooks {six senses}: SN XXXV.189
Horse: awakened by the whip {conscience} SN I.18; deprived of fodder {father of fools} SN VII.14; fast {wise person} Dhp 29; stallion {self-training} Dhp 94, Dhp 144, Dhp 380; stirred by a goad-stick {trainable person} AN IV.113; tamed {self-tamed person} Dhp 322; thoroughbred {arahant} Thag II.27, Thig V.10; thoroughbred {jhana} AN XI.10; thoroughbred {qualities of a consummate monk} AN III.94, AN VIII.13; unbroken colt {jhana} AN XI.10
Horsetrainer {trainable person} AN IV.111
House: fireproof {mindfulness/awareness} SN XXXV.202; flammable {mindfulness/awareness} SN XXXV.202; on fire {the body} SN I.41; with poor roof {unguarded mind} AN III.105.

I [go to top]

Illness, man recovering from {hindrances} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Incense wrapped in leaf {associating with people of integrity} Iti 76
Indra's pillar {arahant} Dhp 95
Inscription in rock or water {anger} AN III.130
Insects falling into flame {ignorance} Ud VI.9
Iron ball aflame, eating or swallowing an: {restraint} Dhp 307, Iti 48, Iti 91; {sensuality} Dhp 371
Irrigator {self-control} Dhp 80, Dhp 145
Island {refuge in Dhamma} DN 16, DN 26, SN XLVII.13, Dhp 25, Dhp 236, Dhp 238, Sn V.10
Ivory carver or his assistant {supranormal powers} DN 2, DN 11

J [go to top]

Jackal {the perils of fame} SN XVII.8
Jail, person thrown in {kamma} AN III.99
Jar: filled with water {right concentration} AN V.28; filled with ghee or oil {virtue} SN XLII.6; made of clay {the body} Dhp 40

K [go to top]

King: hearing a lute {not-self} SN XXXV.205; renouncing kingdom {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3, Dhp 329; seeing no danger after victory {virtue} DN 2, DN 11.

L [go to top]

Lake: deep and calm {wise people} Dhp 82; dried-up {virtue} Dhp 155; free of mud {arahant} Dhp 95; person stranded in the middle {clinging} Sn V.10; spring-fed {jhana} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, MN 119, AN V.28; unruffled by wind {arahant} Iti 92.
Lamp: in a dark house {insight} Miln II.1.14; passing its flame to another {rebirth} Miln III.5.5; in the dark {stock exclamation of appreciation of the Dhamma} — see Uprighting what had been overturned
Leaf, yellowed {aging} Dhp 235
Leaky boat {pain} Sn IV.1
Leaves: blown from a tree {unwholesome states} Thag XVII.2; handful of {Dhamma} SN LVI.31
Leper covered with sores {sensuality} MN 75
Lily crushed in hand {self-view} Dhp 285
Limb falling from tree {nibbana} SN XLVII.13
Linchpin in a moving cart {generosity and kindness} AN IV.32
Lion: in the wild {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3, Sn III.1; unstartled by sounds {wise person} Sn I.3, Sn I.12
Line drawn on water {brevity of life} AN VII.70
Loan, man taking out a {hindrances} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Log in a stream {path of practice} SN XXXV.200. See also Stream.
Lost caravan leader {virtue} Snp IV.13
Lotus: pond {jhana} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, MN 119, AN V.28; pond {the world} MN 26; rising above the water {Tathagata} AN X.81; scent of {self-view} SN XXII.89; unsmeared by water {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3, Sn I.12; unsmeared by water {sensuality} Sn IV.9. See also Flower, Water on a lotus.
Lute, disassembled {not-self} SN XXXV.205

M [go to top]

Magic show {the body} Thig XIV
Magician {consciousness} SN XXII.95
Man: burning different kinds of wood {persistence and exertion} MN 90; carrying burning grass torch {sensuality} MN 54; pursuing a woman {unworthy teacher} DN 12; repaid by king {feeling} Miln II.3.9; returning home after long absence {kamma} Dhp 219; seeking heartwood {seeking the Buddha} MN 18, MN 138; seeking heartwood {appropriate attention} SN XXII.95; seeking heartwood {not-self} SN XXXV.193; with borrowed goods {sensuality} MN 54;
Meat thrown into a fire {brevity of life} AN VII.70
Merchant with caravan {avoiding evil} Dhp 123
Middle of the sea {stillness of mind} Sn IV.14
Milk: {evil deed} Dhp 71; from a cow {self-view} DN 9; from a cow's horn {wrong view} MN 126. See also Cow.
Mirage: {the body} Dhp 46, Thig XIV; {perception} SN XXII.95
Mire, person stuck in the {ignorance} MN 8
Mirror of the Dhamma {stream-entry} DN 16
Money {uposatha observance} AN X.46
Monkey: caught in tar trap {mindfulness} SN XLVII.7; in forest {heedlessness} Dhp 334; releasing one branch to grab another {untrained in Dhamma} Sn IV.4
Moon: {arahant} Dhp 413; {good will} Iti 27 (a), (b); {heedfulness} AN X.15; {jhana} Dhp 387; full {arahant} Thig I.3; set free from a cloud {heedfulness, skillfulness} Dhp 172, Dhp 382, Iti 74; waning {unvirtuous person} DN 31, SN V.10; waxing {virtuous person} DN 31;
Morning star {good will} Iti 27
Mother risking life for child {good will} Sn I.8
Mountain: of gold {sensuality} SN IV.20; of solid rock {arahant} Ud III.4, Thag 14.1 of solid rock {imperturbability} AN VI.55; of solid rock {restraint} Dhp 7;
Mountains crushing in from all directions {brevity of life} SN III.25
Mules, tamed {self-tamed person} Dhp 322
Muñja grass {resolve and determination} Sn III.2
Mural painted on wall {the body} Thig XIV
Murderer with sword: {disenchantment} AN VI.103; {heedfulness} AN VII.46
Mustard seed: {passion} Dhp 407; {sensuality} Dhp 401. (Note: the famous parable in which the Buddha instructs a grieving Kisa Gotami to fetch a mustard seed from the first household she can find that has never known death is found in the Commentaries to Thig X.1 (ThigA X.1) and Dhp 114.)

N [go to top]

Noise from a soft catskin bag {speech} MN 21

O [go to top]

Ocean: an abode for mighty creatures {Dhamma-vinaya} Ud V.5; crossing over the {arahant} Iti 69; slope of ~ floor {progress of Dhamma practice} Ud V.5; greatness of {stream-entry} SN XIII.8; intolerance to dead bodies {unvirtuous person} Ud V.5; many treasures of {37 wings to awakening} Ud V.5; middle of ~ is calm {stillness of mind} Sn IV.14; polluted by a pot of poison {abuse towards the Tathagata} Iti 89; salty taste of {release} Ud V.5; stability of {restraint of the Vinaya} Ud V.5; steady level of {nibbana} Ud V.5. See also Flood.
Oil from gravel {wrong view} MN 126
Oil lamp: depends on wick and fuel {feeling} SN XXXVI.7; flickering of {six senses} MN 146
Ornament of gold {arahant} AN IV.28
Ox: {suffering} Dhp 1; {person who doesn't listen} Dhp 152; eating corn {sensuality} SN XXXV.205; joined by a single yoke {sense-bases and their objects} SN XXXV.191

P [go to top]

Painting of a woman or man: {not-self} SN XXII.100; {nutriment} SN XII.64
Palm leaf dropping away {aversion}: Iti 88
Palm tree: with top cut off {awakening} MN 105; uprooted {awakening} SN XXII.3, SN XLI.7, SN XLIV.1.
Pastures {mindfulness} MN 33, AN XI.18
Peacock {jhana} Sn I.12
Peg in drum {listening to Dhamma} SN XX.7
Person looking down from a rocky crag {wise person} Iti 38
Person reflecting on another {higher knowledges} AN V.28
Person riding a small wooden plank in the great ocean {laziness} Iti 78
Pillar at a bathing ford {wise person} Sn I.12
Pit of embers: {intellectual intention} SN XII.63; {sensuality} MN 54, Thig XIV
Plow {discernment} Sn I.4. See also Yokes.
Poison {evil deeds} Dhp 123
Poison, man drinking: {restraint} MN 105; {volition} Miln II.3.11
Polished shell {life as a bhikkhu} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12, MN 36, MN 125, Ud V.6
Pond {integrity}: delightful, SN III.19; haunted, SN III.19
Pool of water in a mountain glen {arahant} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Poor person: {fetters} MN 66; {speech} AN X.24
Pot: flattened metal {nibbana} Dhp 134; of pickled greens {passion} Thig I.1; smashed by stone {delusion} Sn III.2
Potter or potter's apprentice {supranormal powers} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Potter's clay vessels {inevitability of death} Sn III.8
Princes of wattle-and-daub towns {heedfulness} AN X.15
Prison, man released from {hindrances} DN 2, DN 11 DN 12
Propagation of plants {aggregates} SN XXII.54

Q [go to top]

Quail snared by a rotten creeper {attachments} MN 66

R [go to top]

Rabbit caught in snare {fetters} Dhp 342
Raft {eightfold path}: MN 22, SN XXXV.197, Sn I.2
Rafters of house: {defilements} Dhp 153; {heedfulness} AN X.15
Rag, saving the good part of a {subduing hatred} AN V.162
Rain: {austerity} Sn I.4; entering hut {passion} Dhp 13; from a cloud {generosity} Iti 75; from a thunderhead {discernnment} AN IV.102; sent by devas {brevity of life} AN VII.70; stilling a cloud of dust {silencing one's thoughts} Iti 87, Thag XV.1
Rams butting heads {contact} Miln II.3.8
Reeds or rushes: destroyed by their own fruit {defilements} SN III.23; drawn from their sheaths{supranormal powers} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12; matted {craving} AN IV.199.
Reflection of one's face in mirror {mind-reading} DN 2, DN 11 DN 12
Reservoir with four inlets and outlets {virtuous conduct} AN VIII.54
Rhinoceros horn {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3
Rich person {speech} AN X.24
Riddle tree {purity of vision} SN XXXV.204
Ridge-pole of house {ignorance} Dhp 153
River: {craving} Dhp 251, Iti 109; flow down to the sea {heedfulness} AN X.15; carrying everything with it {brevity of life} AN VII.70; swift current {hunger} Sn IV.15, {hindrances} AN V.51; gives up its name upon reaching the sea {going-forth} Ud V.5; person swept away by a {not-self} SN XXII.93. See also Flood.
Road: {eightfold path} MN 33, AN XI.18; dangerous {evil deeds} Dhp 123
Rock: broken in two {spehere of nothingness} MN 105; in wind {wise person} Dhp 81
Roots, medicinal {craving} Dhp 337
Rubbish pile with lotus {Buddha} Dhp 58
Rust eating iron {evil deeds} Dhp 240

S [go to top]

Sack full of grains {the body} DN 22, MN 119
Salt: in water {evil deed} AN III.99; taste of ocean {Dhamma} Ud V.5
Sand castles {aggregates} SN XXIII.2
Saw used by an attacking bandit {patient endurance} MN 21, MN 28
Seed: {conviction} Sn I.4; bitter {wrong view} AN X.104; capable of sprouting {kamma} AN III.33; mustard ~ {sensuality} Dhp 401; mustard ~ {passion} Dhp 407; rotting in a field: SN V.10; sweet: AN X.104. See also Mustard seed.
Seizure {anger} Dhp 251
Servant murdering his master {not-self} SN XXII.85
Shack, flammable {mindfulness/awareness} SN XXXV.202. See also House.
Shadow that never leaves {kamma} SN III.4, SN III.20, Dhp 1
Sheaf of barley thrashed repeatedly {foolish person} SN XXXV.207
Sheaves of reeds {dependent co-arising} SN XII.67
Ship left ashore over winter {fetters} SN XXII.101
Shore: far {nibbana} SN XXXV.197; far {external sense media} SN XXXV.200; near {self-view} SN XXXV.197; near {internal sense media} SN XXXV.200. See also Stream.
Shot by arrow {craving} Sn II.10, Sn IV.1
Shuttle {wise person} Sn I.12
Silversmith {purifying the mind} Dhp 239, Sn IV.16
Sick man, taking pity on a {hatred} AN V.162
Slavery, man freed from {hindrances} DN 2, DN 11 DN 12
Snake: giving one's hand to a poisonous ~ {sense-restraint} MN 105; pulled from its slough {mind-made body} DN 2, DN 11; shedding its skin {defilements} Sn I.1; water-snake bites man {wrong grasp of Dhamma} MN 22
Snapping one's fingers {equanimity} MN 152
Snare {delusion} Dhp 251
Sound of drums {clairaudience} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Soup tasted by ladle {wise person and fool} Dhp 64
Space gathered under the term "house" {form} MN 28
Spear {good-will} SN XX.5
Spider snared in its own web {passion} Dhp 347
Spitting {equanimity} MN 152
Spring-fed lake: See Lake.
Staircase build at a crossroads {wrong view} DN 9
Stallion. See Horse.
Stick thrown up into the air {rebirth} SN XV.9
Stone ball thrown into wet clay {mindfulness} MN 119
Storekeeper {perception} Miln II.3.10
Storm cloud {evil} Thag 14.1
Stream: sinking in the middle of {passion} SN XXXV.200; snared by a whirlpool {sensuality} SN XXXV.200; washed up on high ground of {conceit} SN XXXV.200; See also Shore.
String, ball of {craving} AN IV.199; thrown against a door {mindfulness} MN 119; unwinding to its end {end of suffering} DN 2.
Strong man: nourished on royal food {foolish person} Sn IV.8; extending his arm {appearance/disappearance of devas} DN 20, SN VI.1, SN VI.2; extending his arm {equanimity} MN 152;
Suckling calf going to its mother {desire} Dhp 284, Ud VII.4. See also Cow.
Sun: dispelling the dark {absence of delusion} Iti 88; filling the sky {heedfulness} AN X.15; filling the sky {awakening} Ud I.3; speed of {death} SN XX.6
Sunlight: {merit} Iti 27; {virtue/concentration/discernment} Iti 59; not landing on ground {consciousness} SN XII.64
Surgeon: see Doctor
Swans: flying {enlightened ones} Dhp 175; taking off from a lake {mindful ones} Dhp 91.
Swift pair of messengers {samatha-vipassana} SN XXXV.204
Sword drawn from its scabbard {mind-made body} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12

T [go to top]

Tall building in central square {passing away and re-appearance of beings} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Tangle: SN VII.6
Tangled skein {craving} AN IV.199
Tank filled with water {supranormal powers} AN V.28
Tendon in fire {perception of the unattractive} AN VII.46
Thief shot with spears {consciousness} SN XII.63
Thoroughbred. See Horse.
Thundercloud: {conviction} SN III.24; {discernment} AN IV.102
Tortoise evading a jackal {sense-restraint} SN XXXV.199
Track of ox {kamma} Dhp 1
Trades. See Crafts and Trades.
Trader watching over a fine steed {self-training} Dhp 380
Trail in space {arahant} Dhp 254
Travel: from vilage to village {recollection of past lives} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12; in desolate country {hindrances} DN 2, DN 11, DN 12
Treasure, doorways leading to {doors to the Deathless} MN 52, AN XI.17
Tree: changing {inconstancy} MN 146; growing back after having been cut {craving} Dhp 338; growing on mountain {craving} AN III.48; haven for birds {conviction} AN V.38; killed by vine {vice} Dhp 162; gold {the body} Thig XIV; overcome by wind {restraint} Dhp 7; shedding its leaves {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3 (a, b); with delicious fruit {sensuality} MN 54; with roots cut {aggregates} Thig V.8
Tuning a stringed instrument {right effort} AN VI.55
Turban or head on fire, person with {aroused persistence} AN VI.20 (a, b), AN X.51, Thag I.39
Turban tightening around one's head {pain} MN 36
Turner or turner's apprentice {mindfulness} DN 22
Tusker: see Elephant.

U [go to top]

Uprighting what had been overturned {stock exclamation of appreciation of the Dhamma} DN 2, DN 12, DN 16, DN 31, MN 4, MN 41, MN 57, MN 58, MN 72, MN 75, MN 107, MN 135, SN III.1, SN VII.2, SN VII.6, SN VII.14, SN VII.17, SN XII.48, SN XXXV.127, SN XLII.2, SN XLII.3, SN XLII.6, SN XLII.8, SN XLII.9, SN LI.15, AN III.65, AN III.72, AN IV.111, AN IV.184, AN X.176, AN X.177, Ud V.3

V [go to top]

Village: empty {internal sense media} SN XXXV.197; leaving one's {jhana} MN 105
Vine: creeping {craving} Dhp 334; killing a tree {vice} Dhp 162
Vipers {elements} SN XXXV.197
Vomit, person eating his or her own {fetters} MN 105
Vulture forced to drop his prey {sensuality} MN 54

W [go to top]

Warrior: {celibacy} AN V.75, AN V.76; {Buddha} Dhp 387; untrained {hindrances} SN III.24, {worthy monk} AN IV.181
Waste-water pool {ignorance} AN IV.178
Water: container filled to brim {mindfulness} MN 119 (a, b); drawn from a pond {stream-entry} SN XIII.2; drops in a hot pan {mindfulness} MN 66, {equanimity} MN 152; filling a jar {evil} Dhp 121; person sinking in {factors of awakening} AN VII.15; ripples {preoccupations} Sn IV.15; rolling off a lotus leaf {equanimity} MN 152, {dukkha} Sn IV.6, Dhp 336, {sensuality} Dhp 401, {greed} Iti 88;
Weigher holding a scale {virtuous conduct} AN VIII.54
Well in desert {nibbana} SN XII.68
Wet piece of wood {mindfulness} MN 119
Wheels: four {prosperity} AN IV.31; of cart {kamma} Dhp 1
Wild deer: {arahant} Ud II.10, {sensuality} MN 26
Wind: blowing across the sky {feeling} SN XXXVI.12; blowing cotton fluff {dukkha} Sn III.8; blowing leaves from a tree {awakening} Thag XVII.2; coming out of bellows {exertion} MN 36; overcoming a tree {restraint} Dhp 7; unsnared by a net {solitude in the wilderness} Sn I.3, {wise person} Sn I.12
Winnowing {faults of others} Dhp 252
Woman meeting her father-in-law {urgency} MN 28
Wood scrap {the body} Dhp 41
Wounded man wandering in jungle {restraint} SN XXXV.206
Wounds, dressing {restraint} MN 33, AN XI.18

XYZ [go to top]

Yellow leaf: {aging} Dhp 235; turning green {imperturbable} MN 105
Yokes: {sense-bases and their objects} SN XXXV.191, {rarity of human birth} SN LVI.48, {sensuality, becoming, etc.} AN IV.10, {discernment} Sn I.4

Revised: Friday 2005-07-22
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/index-similes.html