Aṅguttara Nikāya
IX. Navaka Nipāta
II. Sīhanāda Vagga

IX. The Book of the Nines

Chapter II: The Lion Roar

Sutta 15

Gaṇḍ'Opama Suttaṃ

A Boil

Thus have I heard:

At Savatthī the Exalted One said:

¹Imagine, monks, a boil,
which has been gathering for many years.

It might have nine gaping wounds,
nine natural openings.²

Thence whatever might ooze out,
foulness would certainly ooze out;
stench would certainly ooze out;
loathsomeness would certainly ooze out:

whatever might be discharged,
foulness would certainly be discharged;
stench would certainly be discharged;
loathsomeness would certainly be discharged.

¹ Cf. S. iv, 83; also the Gītā v, 13: 'the nine-gated city ... the body.'