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# Snp 5:10 · 5:10 Kappa’s Question
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/snp-5-10/
- Published: 2026-06-01T01:04:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:49:30.000Z
- Description: Sutta Nipāta · Snp 5:10. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Sutta Nipāta, Verse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:29

For one stranded in the middle of the lake,

in the flood of great danger—birth—

overwhelmed with aging & death:

Tell me the island, dear sir,

and show me the island

so that this may not happen again.

The Buddha:

For one stranded in the middle of the lake,

in the flood of great danger—birth—

overwhelmed with aging & death,

Kappa, I will tell you the island.[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp5%5F10.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

Having nothing, free

of clinging:

That is the island,

there is no other.

That’s unbinding, I tell you,

the total ending of aging & death.

Those knowing this, mindful,

fully unbound

in the here-&-now,

don’t serve as Māra’s servants,

don’t come under Māra’s sway.[2](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/StNp/StNp5%5F10.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co)

vv. 1092–1095

Notes

1\. On the Dhamma as an island, see [DN 16](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dn-16/).

2\. On Māra’s sway, see [SN 4:19](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-4-19/), [SN 35:115](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-35-115/), [SN 35:189](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-35-189/), and [SN 35:199](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-35-199/).

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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/KN/StNp/StNp5%5F10.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*