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# SN 1:17 · Hard to Do (Dukkara Sutta)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-1-17/
- Published: 2026-06-01T00:06:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:54:59.000Z
- Description: Saṁyutta Nikāya · SN 1:17. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Saṁyutta Nikāya, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:31

For the inexperienced,
the contemplative life is
	hard to do,	
	hard to endure,
for	many are the confinements there
in which a fool sinks.
How many days can you follow
the contemplative life
if you don’t block the mind?
Step by step you’d sink
under the sway of your resolves.[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1%5F17.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

As a tortoise would draw
	its limbs
	into its shell,
so a monk should—
	the thoughts of his heart.
Independent, not mistreating others,
totally unbound,
he shouldn’t disparage
  anyone at all.

Note

1. The passion for his resolves is a man’s sensuality,
not the beautiful sensual pleasures
		found in the world.
The passion for his resolves is a man’s sensuality.

The beauties remain as they are in the world,
while, in this regard,
		the enlightened
    subdue their desire. *— [AN 6:63](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-6-63/)*

See also: [Dhp 183–185](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dhp-14/)

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*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1%5F17.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*