Remove the Arrows Within
Genre: Inspirational acoustic folk with a gentle Buddhist devotional atmosphere
[Intro]
The world keeps turning, day by day,
Our restless hearts can lose their way.
Greed and anger, hidden inside,
Can wound the heart where peace should reside.
[Verse 1]
We see people arguing, hurting each other,
Each holding tightly to what they believe.
Like little fish in waters growing shallow,
They struggle for a peace they cannot achieve.
Fortune and honor may fade like the morning,
Praise may turn to blame before the day is done.
When we understand that all things are changing,
Wisdom can guide us toward a calmer sun.
[Pre-Chorus]
The arrow of craving, the arrow of anger,
Delusion and pride that darken the mind.
Wrong views, grief, and doubt that hold us captive—
With mindfulness, their roots we can find.
[Chorus]
Remove the arrows within,
Don't let your anger make another heart break.
Speak the truth with compassion,
Listen with patience for everyone's sake.
Remove the arrows within,
Release your attachments and let the light begin.
Let peace start with you,
Then let it reach the world we live in.
[Verse 2]
Let there be no deceit, no words that divide us,
Let not resentment decide what we do.
Stand with patience when the road feels lonely,
Let understanding help carry you through.
Do not stand taller by making others smaller,
Do not measure your worth by another's name.
Train in virtue, concentration, and wisdom;
Let a mindful heart become a steady flame.
[Pre-Chorus]
When desire no longer rules us,
When hatred no longer leads,
The heart that once was burning
Can find the calm it needs.
[Chorus]
Remove the arrows within,
Don't let your anger make another heart break.
Speak the truth with compassion,
Listen with patience for everyone's sake.
Remove the arrows within,
Release your attachments and let the light begin.
Let peace start with you,
Then let it reach the world we live in.
[Bridge]
Impermanence reminds us to awaken,
To live with care and not with heedless pride.
Though the road is long, keep on learning,
Let goodness be the light that walks beside.
If each of us begins with our own heart,
And meets another with compassion and grace,
Homes and communities can grow together,
And peace can find its rightful place.
[Outro]
Remove the arrows within,
Let anger fade and kindness begin.
Let wisdom show the way,
And bring us peace with every day.
Buddhist Scripture Warns of the Harm Caused by Our Own Actions: The Attadanda Sutta Niddesa Urges People to Remove the Arrows of Defilement
The Attadanda Sutta Niddesa highlights the dangers of misconduct, conflict, and mutual harm. It describes seven inner “arrows”—craving, anger, delusion, conceit, wrong views, sorrow, and doubt—and encourages people to cultivate truthfulness, diligence, and wisdom as a path toward freedom from suffering and a more peaceful society.
The Attadanda Sutta Niddesa, section 15, appears in the Tipiṭaka, Volume 29, Sutta Piṭaka, Volume 21, Khuddaka Nikāya, Mahāniddesa, Aṭṭhakavagga. It explains the Buddha’s warning that danger can arise from one’s own actions, especially misconduct through body, speech, and mind, as well as from quarrelling and harming others.
The opening passage discusses danger arising from one’s own wrongdoing. Unwholesome actions may bring consequences in the present life, including distress, loss, fear, and mental suffering. The text also describes the consequences of karma in future existences within the Buddhist framework. Its central message is a reminder that actions have consequences and that individuals should take responsibility for their conduct.
Seeing Conflict with Compassion Rather Than Hatred
The Buddha invites people to reflect on those who quarrel, attack one another, retaliate, and harbor ill will. Such conflicts can occur among rulers, within society, and even among family members. The passage reminds readers that violence is not confined to battlefields; it can also arise in everyday life when anger and the desire to defeat others dominate the mind.
Another passage compares struggling beings to fish trapped in shallow water that is drying up. Just as the fish struggle desperately to survive, human beings may struggle under the influence of craving, attachment, wrong views, and many forms of suffering. This simile encourages people to recognize the fragility of life and to develop compassion for the suffering of themselves and others, rather than adding to hatred and conflict.
The World Is Impermanent
The text explains that the world and conditioned phenomena do not remain stable forever. Youth is overtaken by aging, health may be overcome by illness, and life ends in death. Gain can turn into loss, status can disappear, praise can become blame, and happiness can give way to suffering.
Understanding impermanence does not mean rejecting life. Rather, it means learning not to cling to things that continually change. This awareness can help people live mindfully and respond to loss with wisdom instead of allowing distress to lead to harm against themselves or others.
Removing the Seven Arrows of the Mind
One of the text’s central teachings is the metaphor of seven arrows lodged within the mind:
Lust or craving — attachment to desired objects and experiences.
Hatred or anger — resentment, hostility, and ill will.
Delusion — confusion and failure to understand things as they truly are.
Conceit — measuring oneself as superior, equal, or inferior to others.
Views — beliefs and attachments that depart from right understanding.
Sorrow — grief and inner anguish arising from loss.
Doubt — uncertainty and hesitation that obstruct understanding and progress.
When these arrows take hold, people may become restless, repeat harmful patterns, and make decisions driven by emotion, causing suffering to themselves and those around them. Removing the arrows means recognizing and abandoning these mental defilements rather than allowing them to dictate one’s words and actions.
Practising Truthfulness, Restraint, and Diligence
The text encourages people to be truthful, avoid reckless behavior and deception, refrain from divisive speech, and prevent anger from taking control. It also urges them to overcome sleepiness, laziness, and discouragement, to avoid heedlessness, and to direct their minds toward the cessation of suffering.
Regarding learning and daily life, the text advises people to understand the pull of sensual pleasures without allowing desire to dominate their decisions. It recommends training through the three higher trainings: higher virtue, higher concentration, and higher wisdom. These disciplines support inner calm and deeper understanding.
A wise person should not exalt themselves over others or become obsessed with comparisons of superiority, equality, or inferiority. Instead, one should cultivate calmness, freedom from possessiveness, and non-attachment, thereby reducing the conditions that lead to conflict.
From Inner Transformation to Social Peace
The central message of the Attadanda Sutta Niddesa is that peace cannot be achieved merely by stopping outward conflict. It also requires understanding and addressing the inner causes of hostility. When greed, anger, delusion, and attachment diminish, the likelihood of harming others through words and actions can diminish as well.
Applied to families, communities, educational institutions, and wider society, these teachings encourage people to speak truthfully without causing unnecessary harm, listen to differing opinions without seeking to dominate, and accept responsibility for their actions. Removing the arrows of defilement can thus serve as a Buddhist approach to peace that begins with personal development and extends to supportive relationships and a more harmonious society.
Source: Tipiṭaka, Volume 29, Sutta Piṭaka, Volume 21, Khuddaka Nikāya, Mahāniddesa, Aṭṭhakavagga, Attadanda Sutta Niddesa, section 15.
Original Thai text: https://84000.org/tipitaka/read/r.php?B=29&A=9094
Editorial note: This article is a summary and adaptation of the cited Buddhist text, not a word-for-word translation of the Pali original.
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