Mangala Sutta: the 38 blessings in Pali with translation and meaning

The Mangala Sutta, the Buddha's answer to what the highest blessing is: all 38 blessings with their meaning, and the Pali chant with translation

The Mangala Sutta is the Buddha's teaching on the highest blessings in life, thirty-eight of them in all. It is found in the Sutta Nipāta (Snp 2.4) and in the Khuddakapāṭha, and it is his answer to a deity's question: what is a blessing? His answer is not lucky times or good omens, but things a person can do, from not keeping company with fools to a mind that does not shake when the world's gains and losses strike it. This page gives all 38 blessings with their meaning, and below is the Mangala Sutta chant in Pali with a translation of each verse.

What is the Mangala Sutta, and how did it come about?

The Pali word maṅgala means whatever brings well-being and good fortune. The Mangala Sutta itself begins one night while the Buddha was staying at Jeta's Grove near Sāvatthī: a deity whose radiance lit up the whole grove came to him and said in verse that many gods and humans, hoping for well-being, had pondered what blessings are, and asked him to name the highest blessing.

A later explanation, the commentary, tells how it came about. Before this, people across India had been arguing about what a blessing is. Some held that blessings are things seen, some that they are sounds heard, some that they are things smelled, tasted or touched. The argument went on for a long time without being settled, until it spread to the gods as well, and so a deity came to ask the Buddha. That is how the 38 blessings of the Mangala Sutta came about. What is striking is that he took no side in the argument. He moved the question from outside things to a person's own actions and state of mind.

The 38 blessings of the Mangala Sutta

The Mangala Sutta sets the blessings out in ten verses of three to five items each, and every verse ends with the same phrase, etaṁ maṅgalamuttamaṁ, 'this is the highest blessing'. Here are all 38 blessings in the order of the sutta, with the Pali and a short meaning:

1. Not associating with fools (asevanā ca bālānaṁ): not taking as models people who lead you astray.
2. Associating with the wise (paṇḍitānañca sevanā): staying close to and learning from good, wise people.
3. Honouring those worthy of honour (pūjā ca pūjaneyyānaṁ): showing respect to people of real goodness.
4. Living in a suitable place (patirūpadesavāso): living where it is easy to do good and to learn.
5. Having made merit in the past (pubbe ca katapuññatā): having good deeds already done to build on.
6. Setting oneself on the right course (attasammāpaṇidhi): giving one's life the right aim and direction.
7. Wide learning (bāhusacca): having heard and studied much.
8. A craft (sippa): a skill or trade one can live by.
9. Discipline well trained (vinayo ca susikkhito): self-control.
10. Well-spoken words (subhāsitā ca yā vācā): speech that is true, useful and timely.
11. Caring for mother and father (mātāpitu upaṭṭhānaṁ).
12. Looking after one's children (puttasaṅgaha): raising and educating them.
13. Looking after one's spouse (dārasaṅgaha): caring for and respecting one's partner.
14. Work free of confusion (anākulā ca kammantā): orderly work, not left piling up.
15. Giving (dāna): sharing what one has and one's help.
16. Living by the Dhamma (dhammacariyā): living rightly.
17. Looking after relatives (ñātakānañca saṅgaho).
18. Blameless deeds (anavajjāni kammāni): work that harms no one.
19. Abstaining from evil (āratī viratī pāpā), in body, speech and mind.
20. Restraint from intoxicating drink (majjapānā ca saṁyamo).
21. Heedfulness in good things (appamādo ca dhammesu): not neglecting what is good.
22. Respect (gāravo).
23. Humility (nivāto).
24. Contentment (santuṭṭhi): being satisfied with what one has.
25. Gratitude (kataññutā): knowing what others have done for you.
26. Hearing the Dhamma at the right time (kālena dhammassavanaṁ).
27. Patience (khantī).
28. Being easy to correct (sovacassatā): accepting advice.
29. Seeing those who have gone forth (samaṇānañca dassanaṁ): meeting people of peace.
30. Discussing the Dhamma at the right time (kālena dhammasākacchā).
31. Ardent practice that burns away defilements (tapo).
32. The spiritual life (brahmacariya): a pure way of living.
33. Seeing the noble truths (ariyasaccāna dassanaṁ).
34. Realising nibbāna (nibbānasacchikiriyā).
35. A mind that does not shake when touched by the worldly conditions (phuṭṭhassa lokadhammehi cittaṁ yassa na kampati).
36. A mind free of sorrow (asoka).
37. A mind free of the dust of defilement (viraja).
38. A mind at peace, safe from all bonds (khema).

The 38 blessings with their meaning: from the world around us to the mind within

Read in order, the 38 blessings of the Mangala Sutta are not a scattered list. They run from the most everyday matters to the deepest, and can be read in five stages:

• Items 1 to 6, surroundings and direction: choosing the people we spend time with, respecting those who deserve it, living where good is easy, and giving life the right aim. The people we are with every day shape our thinking and habits more than we realise.
• Items 7 to 10, developing oneself: knowledge, a skill to earn a living, discipline and good speech. The Buddha counts these among the highest blessings just as he does matters of the spirit.
• Items 11 to 18, family and society: caring for parents, children, partner and relatives, giving, living by the Dhamma, and doing work that is orderly and harms no one. Our duties to each group of people around us are set out in detail in the six directions.
• Items 19 to 30, qualities of heart: avoiding evil, not drinking intoxicants, which matches the fifth of the five precepts, heedfulness, respect, humility, contentment, gratitude, patience, accepting advice, and finding chances to hear and discuss the Dhamma.
• Items 31 to 38, practice up to liberation: effort, a pure life, seeing the four noble truths, realising nibbāna, and a mind that does not shake, is free of sorrow, free of defilement and secure, even when struck by the eight worldly conditions.

This order says that the path does not start at the monastery or on the meditation cushion. It starts with choosing friends, working and caring for family, and someone who does the early items well has a mind ready for the later ones. So the Mangala Sutta is a map of a whole life, from schooldays to the highest goal.

Putting the blessings into practice

The 38 blessings of the Mangala Sutta are not only for memorising. Try putting one into practice at a time. For example:

• Associating with the wise: when you face an important decision, ask someone honest and far-sighted, not someone who only says what you want to hear.
• Work free of confusion: keep your work in order, do one thing at a time, and don't put things off until they pile up.
• Well-spoken words: before you speak or type, ask whether it is true, whether it is useful, and whether it is the right time.
• Gratitude: remember the people who have helped you, and find ways to repay them with actions.
• Patience and being easy to correct: when criticised, hear the person out first, then consider how much of it is true.
• A mind unshaken by the worldly conditions: when praised or blamed, remind yourself that both come and both pass.

The Mangala Sutta chant: Pali with translation

The Mangala Sutta is the first of the twelve protective chants and is in the seven-chant set too, so monks chant it at almost every merit-making ceremony, such as house blessings, weddings and birthdays, and many people chant it at home regularly. The chant below begins with evaṁ me sutaṁ, 'thus have I heard', traditionally the words of Venerable Ānanda, then comes the deity's question, the Buddha's ten verses of answer, and a closing verse saying that those who have done these things are undefeated everywhere and go everywhere in safety. Chanting books often put a preface, a later composition, before the sutta. The Pali below is written out as it is read, so you can chant along straight away.

How many times to chant it, and how to make use of it

Some people chant the Mangala Sutta a number of times they have resolved on, a personal custom. The sutta itself mentions no number of repetitions, and the blessings it speaks of do not come from chanting but from doing what the chant describes. So chanting is most useful as a reminder: for example, chant it and then choose one blessing to work on that day.

True blessings lie in what we do

The last verse of the Mangala Sutta says that those who have done these things are undefeated everywhere and go everywhere in safety. These words do not promise that nothing bad will happen. They say that a person with good friends, a skill, a family cared for, honest work, patience and a steady mind can stand firm in any situation. The 38 blessings are not found in objects or auspicious times but in what we do each day. A mind that does not shake is a blessing no one can take away, and the road to the last blessings is the noble eightfold path.

The sutta in translation

Machine translation from: Maṅgala Sutta (SNP 2.4) · Commentary on the Khuddakapāṭha (Paramatthajotikā)