What exactly does “appamada” mean?
At Savatthi. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: “Is there, lord, any one quality that keeps both kinds of benefit secure — benefits in this life & benefits in lives to come?”
“There is one quality, great king, that keeps both kinds of benefit secure — benefits in this life & benefits in lives to come.”
“But what, lord, is that one quality…?”
“Heedfulness, great king. Just as the footprints of all living beings with legs can be encompassed by the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant’s footprint is declared to be supreme among them in terms of its great size; in the same way, heedfulness is the one quality that keeps both kinds of benefit secure — benefits in this life & benefits in lives to come.”
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:
For one who desires long life, health, beauty, heaven, & noble birth, — lavish delights, one after another — the wise praise heedfulness in performing deeds of merit. When heedful, wise, you achieve both kinds of benefit: benefits in this life, & benefits in lives to come. By breaking through to your benefit, you’re called enlightened, wise.
Appamada Sutta: Heedfulness
Appamada Sutta: Heedfulness
The most nuanced answer that I came across was that it is a multi-valent word with multiple meanings such as:
- without delay (non-procrastination, proactivity)
- without confusion (non-confusion, clarity)
- practice (perhaps the practice of the Dhamma or Dhamma-Vinaya?)
The reason why I am still confused is because might have been that person’s thesis topic.
Thus, they seem to have provided me a good, nuanced, complex, but “academic” answer.
In this discourse, Pasenadi asks for literally “one quality” only - he didn’t ask for three.
In a different sutta, he was told about three qualities that arise for the harm of others
(Loka Sutta: (Qualities of) the World).
So if the Buddha meant to say three different qualities, he seems like he would have directly specified three separate qualities.
Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi offered the following explanation:
This is a commentarial definition of appamada:
“Working carefully, working consistently, working persistently, for the development of wholesome qualities; doing one’s duty, not relinquishing desire, not relinquishing the task….”
Buddha’s last words seem to be:
vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā”ti.
Conditions fall apart. Persist with diligence(?).’”
https://suttacentral.net/dn16/en/sujato#dn16:5.30.10
Diligence, heedfulness, etc. are all synonyms with different connotations.
I.e. not exactly the same word.
Saying that there is no exact English translation may be correct, but it is not helpful either.
Perhaps it would be more helpful to explain what exactly the word “appamada” means in the context of these discourses in as many words as is necessary to convey the meaning.
What exactly does “appamada” mean?
What exactly is this one and only one quality?
Is it possible to choose the one most suitable English translation that the Buddha might have told Pasenadi in just one word and one word only had he spoken in English?