Simile Index – Sutta Friends

On longer suttas, you may need to search on the page of the sutta to find the simile.

A B C D E F G H I K L M O P R S T U V W

archer (1)
- SN 3.24 Giving that is worthwhile
arrows (1)
- Itv 76 Association with bad people
- Dhp v 33 Wise person straightens their mind.
axe (2)
- SN 6.9, SN 6.10 A fool is born with an ax in his mouth

baby (1)
bag (1)
- MN 21 A mind of loving kindness can't be disturbed
ball of earth (1)
- SN 15.2 Fathers in saṁsara
balls of clay (2)
- SN 56.55, SN 56.56 Suffering remaining for a stream-enterer is small.
bamboo (8)
- SN 6.14, Thag 20.1, Thag 3.13 Crush Māra as an elephant crushes a bamboo hut
- Thag 6.5 Uproot craving
- Dhp v337 Don't let Māra crush you like a flood crushes bamboo
- SN 6.12 Honor destroys an inferior person
- Dhp v164 The fool produces fruit that destroys himself,
- Itv 50 Evil person is harmed by greed, hatred, and delusion within
basket (1)
- SN 56.32 Putting an end to suffering through understanding the Four Noble Truths.
bird (3)
- Dhp 92 Arahant cannot be traced
- Dhp 174 Only a few escape
- Thag 17.3 Meditating alone, away from the crowd
blind person (1)
- Arahant Ānanda Theragātha Learned person despising an unlearned person
board (1)
- Itv 78 One sinks when relying on bad people
bubble (2)
- Dhp 170 The world is impermanent.
- AN 7.74 Life is short.
butcher (1)

cartwheel (1)
- Dhp 1 Results of actions follow us in saṁsara
cat (1)
- DN 28 Inferring the greatness of the Supreme Buddha
chariot (1)
charioteer (1)
- Dhp v222 Keeping anger under control
city (1)
- Dhp v150 The body is like a city of bones
clay pot (1)
cliff (1)
- SN 56.42 More dangerous than a cliff is not understanding the Four Noble Truths.
cloth (1)
cloud (1)
- Dhp v172-173 Person who gives up bad and does good
cotton-wool (1)
- SN 56.39 Not understanding the Four Noble Truths
cow (1)
- AN 7.74 (led to slaughter) Life is short.
cowherd (1)
- Dhp v19 Not practicing what you preach

dawn (1)
- SN 56.37 Right view comes first.
dead body (1)
debt (1)
drop of water (5)
- SN 56.52, SN 56.53, SN 56.54, SN 56.57, SN56.58 The suffering remaining for someone with right view, a noble disciple, is small.
dust (1)
- SN 7.4 Anger comes back to the angry person

earth (4)
- MN 21 Trying to remove the earth is like trying to anger a mind of loving kindness
- SN 56.51, SN 56.55, SN 56.56 The amount of suffering removed by a stream-enterer is huge.
elephant (1)
- SN 6.3 The mind without defilements
excrement (1)
- AN 1.328 Even a small bit of rebirth is bad

fingernail (1)
- SN 56.51 The suffering remaining for a noble disciple is very small.
fire (2)
- SN 56.34 We should make great effort to understand the Four Noble Truths
- SN 35.28 Although not a simile, many people will be interested in the Ādittapariyāya Sutta: Things on Fire
firebrand (1)
- Itv 91 The monk life is useless for one who doesn't practice
flame (2)
- Snp 2.1, Khp 6 Like an arahant extinguished
flower (1)
- Many similes in Dhp 1
footprint (1)

horse (2)
- Dhp v 94 Arahants are well trained
horsehair (1)
- SN 56.45 Understanding the Four Noble Truths is most difficult
horses (1)
house (1)
- SN 56.44 We must understand the Four Noble Truths before we can put an end to suffering.
hunter (2)
- Thag v1024 Māra sets the trap of sensual pleasures
- Dhp v252 We hide our faults like a bird hunter

lake (1)
- AN 1.45 A cloudy lake is like a distracted mind
lamp (3)
- Snp 2.1, Khp 6 Like an arahant extinguished
- Thag v1031 Criticizing one with little Dhamma knowledge
leaf (3)
- Itv 76 Others good qualities wear off on us.
- Itv 88 Greedless person does not cling, like a water drop.
- SN 56.31 (simsapa) What the Buddha knows is much more than what he shared.
line (1)
- AN 7.74 (drawn in water) Life is short.
lion (1)
lotus (1)
- SN 6.1 Different people have different chances for enlightenment

meat (1)
- AN 7.74 Life is short.
milk (1)
- Dhp v71 Result of one’s evil does not ripen immediately
moon (2)
- Dhp v172-173 Person who gives up bad and does good
- SN 56.38 As long as a Buddha doesn’t appear, no great light appears.
mother (2)
- Khp 9, Snp 1.8 A mind of loving kindness to all beings.
mother’s milk (1)
- SN 15.4 Long time in saṁsara
mountain (8)
- SN 3.25 Old age and death are approaching.
- SN 6.1 A wise person sees the world as if standing on a mountain.
- SN 15.5 Length of an eon
- Dhp v. 8 Person who can’t be shaken
- SN 56.49, SN 56.50, SN 56.59, SN 56.60 The amount of suffering removed by a stream-enterer is huge.
mustard seed (1)
- SN 15.6 Length of an eon

palm fruit (1)
- Itv 88 Hatred falls away
pebble (4)
- SN 56.49, SN 56.50, SN 56.59, SN 56.60 The amount of suffering remaining for a stream-enterer is small.
pillar (2)
- SN 56.39, SN 56.40 Stability of understanding the Four Noble Truths
plow (2)
- SN 7.11, Snp 1.4 Wisdom
poison (1)
- Itv 89 Abuse has no effect on the Buddha.
pond (3)
- SN 56.52 The amount of suffering removed by a stream-enterer is huge.
pot (2)
- Pv 1.12 Shattered pot and mourning a death.

salt (1)
seed (3)
- SN 7.11, Snp 1.4 Faith is the seed
- AN 1.314–15 One’s view, right or wrong, determines results of actions.
sesame seeds (1)
- SN 6.10 Length of life in Abbuda hell
sick person (1)
skeleton (1)
- SN 15.10 In saṁsara we create a mountain of skeletons.
skilled turner (2)
- MN 10, DN 22 Mindfulness of breathing
sky (1)
- MN 21 Trying to paint in the sky is like trying to anger a mind of loving kindness
snake (1)
- Pv 1.12 Just as a snake sheds its skin, humans also abandon their bodies.
soil in fingernail (4)
- SN 56.61–70 Good rebirth is rare.
- 56.71–80, 56.81–90, 56.91–101 Virtue and restraint are rare.
spear (1)
- SN 56.35 If pain could bring enlightenment would it be worth it?
spit (1)
- AN 7.74 Life is short.
stick (4)
- SN 15.1 How long is saṁsāra?
- SN 15.9 , SN 56.33 We pass through many lives in saṁsāra.
- SN 56.36 Number of beings in the ocean
stone post (2)
- Snp 2.1, Khp 6 One who sees the Noble Truths cannot be shaken.
storm (1)
- Dhp vv. 7–8 One with guarded senses cannot be overthrown by Māra.
streams (2)
- Khp 7, Pv 1.5 Merit flows to departed relatives.
sun (1)
- SN 56.38 As long as a Buddha doesn’t appear, no great light appears.
sunrise (1)
- Itv 88 Putting an end to delusion.

thief (1)
treasure (1)
- Dhp v. 76 Faults as a hidden treasure
turtle (3)
- SN 56.47 Human birth is rare.
- SN 56.48 The arising of a Tathāgata is rare.

water (1)
- AN 7.74 (line drawn on ~) Life is short.
water drop (2)
- Itv 88 Greedless person does not cling, like a water drop.
- Dhp v121–122 Good and bad karma accumulates
water in the ocean (2)
- SN 15.3, SN 15.13 The suffering of saṁsāra.