Let our hands be kind in all we do,
Let every word bring peace and light.
Let our thoughts be warm and true,
With love before us, day and night.
[Verse 2]
Share what we have with open hearts,
Keep our lives sincere and strong.
Walk together in the Dhamma's path,
Where wisdom teaches right from wrong.
[Pre-Chorus]
When the world is filled with anger,
Let compassion light the way.
When the heart is burning with resentment,
Let the Dhamma calm the flame.
[Chorus]
Let loving-kindness lead the way,
Let every heart learn how to care.
No more hatred, no more harm,
Let peace arise from everywhere.
Let loving-kindness lead the way,
Let generosity fill our lives.
Life is fragile, life is brief,
So let us do good while we are alive.
[Verse 3]
Do not waste this precious moment,
Chasing things that fade away.
Remember death, remember change,
And make good use of every day.
[Bridge]
One day we all must leave this world,
Nothing lasts forever here.
What remains is what we've given,
Love and wisdom, bright and clear.
[Final Chorus]
Let loving-kindness lead the way,
Let compassion fill our hearts.
Keep our conduct pure and honest,
Let wisdom guide our every step.
Let loving-kindness lead the way,
From this moment until the end.
With every breath, with every day,
Let us live as friends of peace.
[Outro]
Kind in body, kind in speech,
Kind in thought and generous heart.
Walk with wisdom, live awake,
And let each moment be a noble start.
The Teachings of the Saranīyaṭṭha Chapter: Six Principles for Harmony and a Mindful Life
The Tipitaka presents six principles of harmony, emphasizing loving-kindness, generosity, morality, right understanding, non-attachment, and mindfulness of death.
The Saranīyādi Vagga, found in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, Chakkanipāta, First Fifty, Tipitaka Volume 22, contains ten discourses: two Saranīya Suttas, the Mettā Sutta, Bhaddaka Sutta, Anutappiya Sutta, Nakula Sutta, Kusala Sutta, Maccha Sutta, and two discourses on mindfulness of death. Together, they present a practical path for harmonious relationships, mental cultivation, and a life guided by wisdom and heedfulness.
The Six Principles of Harmony
The first Saranīya Sutta teaches six principles that make people remember and care for one another, creating affection, respect, mutual support, freedom from conflict, and unity.
The first is loving-kindness in bodily action—acting with goodwill toward others both in their presence and in their absence.
The second is loving-kindness in speech—speaking with kindness rather than using words that create hostility or division.
The third is loving-kindness in thought—maintaining benevolent intentions toward others.
The fourth is sharing what has been rightly acquired. Even something as simple as food received through alms should be shared with fellow practitioners.
The fifth is equality in moral conduct—maintaining virtuous conduct that is respected by the wise.
The sixth is sharing noble understanding—holding a view that leads toward the ending of suffering.
These principles are not merely relevant to monastic communities. They can also be applied to families, workplaces, communities, and societies, especially where disagreements over opinions, resources, and interests can easily become conflicts.
Loving-Kindness as a Way Beyond Hostility
The Mettā Sutta presents mental cultivation as a means of overcoming harmful tendencies. Loving-kindness counteracts ill will, compassion counteracts cruelty, appreciative joy counteracts resentment, and equanimity helps free the mind from attachment.
The important point is that genuine spiritual practice must transform the mind. Merely claiming to practice a particular virtue is insufficient if the opposing defilement continues to dominate the mind.
A Good Life Is a Life Free from Needless Delay
The Bhaddaka Sutta and Anutappiya Sutta warn against ways of living that cause spiritual delay—excessive attachment to work, idle conversation, sleep, social distraction, and other forms of delay.
The teaching attributed to Venerable Sāriputta distinguishes between a life that remains attached to what delays liberation and a life that abandons such distractions and turns toward Nibbāna.
The Nakula Sutta: Releasing Anxiety Through Trust and Dhamma
The Nakula Sutta tells of Nakulapitā, who was seriously ill. His wife, Nakulamātā, encouraged him not to die consumed by anxiety. She assured him that she could care for the family, maintain virtue, remain devoted to the Buddha and the Saṅgha, and cultivate inner peace.
The story illustrates an important dimension of loving relationships: true care does not deepen attachment and fear. Instead, it strengthens another person's confidence, virtue, inner stability, and ability to face change.
Choosing a Life That Will Not Bring Regret
The Anutappiya Sutta asks practitioners to examine how they live and to distinguish between habits that lead to future regret and practices that lead toward peace.
Its central message is to abandon activities and attachments that unnecessarily delay spiritual progress and to cultivate a life oriented toward freedom and liberation.
Mindfulness of Death
The final two discourses of the chapter concern mindfulness of death.
Mindfulness of death is not intended to create fear. Rather, it reminds people that life is uncertain and therefore encourages urgency, diligence, and wise use of the present moment.
Death becomes a teacher: because life is impermanent, one should not postpone goodness, wisdom, reconciliation, or spiritual practice.
A Timeless Message for Modern Society
Taken as a whole, the Saranīyādi Vagga presents three interconnected dimensions of human development: developing relationships, developing the mind, and developing one's way of life.
At the relational level, people are encouraged to act, speak, and think with loving-kindness, share what they have, and maintain ethical conduct.
At the mental level, they cultivate loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity while reducing hostility, cruelty, resentment, and attachment.
At the level of life practice, they are encouraged to avoid heedlessness, recognize what truly matters, abandon unnecessary distractions, and use mindfulness of death as a reminder to live meaningfully.
The teachings therefore remain highly relevant to contemporary society. As technology and social complexity increase, humanity needs not only greater intelligence but also greater compassion, ethical responsibility, generosity, wisdom, and mindfulness.
The message of the Saranīyādi Vagga can be summarized simply:
“Live with kindness, share what is good, uphold virtue, cultivate wisdom, abandon heedlessness, and make every moment of life meaningful.”
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