The qualities of the Sangha — four ways of practising, the four pairs, and the honours due — the third of the evening recollections.
- When chanted
- Chanted in the evening service after the hymn to the Dhamma, as the third recollection.
A note on this chant. The book prints this chant in Pali only, with no Thai translation. The English here is a working translation prepared for this edition — it is not the book's own, and has not yet been checked by a teacher.
Historical background
พระสังฆคุณ is the name in use, and this is the longest of the three recollections. The same words stand in the morning service inside a frame of praise; here they are given plain, with nothing added.
It is longer than the other two for a structural reason rather than an emphatic one, and the fifth line is where the extra length goes.
Meaning and purpose
Four ways of practising open it, and the whole phrase is repeated for each rather than shortened: having practised well, straightforwardly, methodically, masterfully. Four aspects of one practice, deliberately not collapsed into a list.
Then the definition, which is what the other two recollections do not need: that is, the four pairs, the eight types of noble ones. Without that line the word Sangha would mean whatever monks happen to be in the room. With it, the recollection is addressed to those who have reached the stages of awakening, wherever they are.
Only after being defined is it praised — worthy of gifts, of hospitality, of offerings, of respect — and then given the phrase that explains all four: the unexcelled field of merit for the world. The Buddha and the Dhamma can be recollected by naming their qualities. The Sangha has to be said what it is first, because the word is used loosely everywhere else.
The chant
As the book prints it: page 54 →
สุปะฏิปันโน ภะคะวะโต สาวะกะสังโฆ,
Supaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho,
The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples has practised well,
อุชุปะฏิปันโน ภะคะวะโต สาวะกะสังโฆ,
Ujupaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho,
who have practised straightforwardly,
ญายะปะฏิปันโน ภะคะวะโต สาวะกะสังโฆ,
Ñāyapaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho,
who have practised methodically,
สามีจิปะฏิปันโน ภะคะวะโต สาวะกะสังโฆ,
Sāmīcipaṭipanno bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho,
who have practised masterfully,
ยะทิทัง จัตตาริ ปุริสะยุคานิ อัฏฐะ ปุริสะปุคคะลา,
Yadidaṃ cattāri purisayugāni aṭṭha purisapuggalā,
that is, the four pairs, the eight types of noble ones —
เอสะ ภะคะวะโต สาวะกะสังโฆ,
Esa bhagavato sāvakasaṅgho,
that is the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples,
อาหุเนยโย ปาหุเนยโย ทักขิเณยโย อัญชะลีกะระณีโย,
Āhuneyyo pāhuneyyo dakkhiṇeyyo añjalīkaraṇīyo,
worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect,
อะนุตตะรัง ปุญญักเขตตัง โลกัสสาติ.
Anuttaraṃ puññakkhettaṃ lokassāti.
the unexcelled field of merit for the world.