1. alpecchu

1. Small Desire

appiccha

alpecchu

少欲

(sho-yoku; small desire)

The Tibetan translation of Aśvaghoṣa's Buddhacarita Canto 26:

| gaṅ źig rgya chen rnams las sdug bsṅal oṅs pa ste | | ñuṅ du dod la oṅ ba ma yin de daṅ bral |
| de yi phyir yaṅ ñuṅ du dod ñid bsñen bya ste | | gaṅ źig yon tan rnams kyis rdzogs byed kye ma ci |  54
| gaṅ źig thos nas med ces mya ṅan med pa ste | | gaṅ gis ñuṅ ṅu ’dod de de yi thar pa min |  55

| de ni bkren pa’i lta ba rnams la mi ’jigs śiṅ | | dbaṅ po rnams las gaṅ źig cuṅ zad ’jigs min la |

EH Johnston's translation from the Tibetan:

EHJ54. The suffering which comes to him whose desires are great does not come to him whose desires are small. Therefore smallness of desire should be practised, and especially so by those who seek for the perfection of all the virtues. 

EHJ55. He who does not fear the rich at all is not afraid of the sight of stingy people. For he obtains salvation whose desires are small and who is not cast down on hearing that there is nothing for him.

The Chinese translation of Aśvaghoṣa's Buddhacarita Canto 26

多求則爲苦　少欲則安隱

Seeking much is suffering itself; small desire, wanting little, is happiness itself.

爲安應少欲　況求眞解脱

If small desire is for the sake of happiness, how much more is it for the seeking of true freedom!

慳吝畏多求　恐損其財寶

The stingy are afraid to seek for more, for fear of losing their wealth.

好施者亦畏　愧財不供足

He who likes to be generous is afraid too, ashamed of his riches, of which he may not provide enough [to others].

是故當小欲　施彼無畏心

Therefore, one should practise small desire and give to others with a confident mind –

由此少欲心　則得解脱道

From this mind that wants little, one attains freedom's path.

Anuruddha Sutta

“When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one with small desire (appicchassa), not for one with strong desire (mahicchassa),’ with reference to what was this said?

Here, when a bhikkhu is one with small desire (appiccho samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be one with small desire.’ (“appiccho ti maṁ jāneyyun” ti na icchati) When he is content (santuṭṭho samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be one who is content.’ When he resorts to solitude (pavivitto samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be one who resorts to solitude.’ When he is energetic (āraddhaviriyo samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be energetic.’ When he is mindful (upaṭṭhitasati samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be mindful.’ When he is composed (samāhito samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be composed.’ When he is wise (paññavā samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be wise.’ When he delights in not being wordy (nippapañcārāmo samāno), he does not desire: ‘Let people know me to be one who delights in not being wordy.’ When it was said: ‘This Dhamma is for one with small desire, not for one with strong desire,’ it is with reference to this that this was said.

Yuikyo-gyo (Bequeathed Teaching Sūtra)

汝等比丘。當知多欲之人。多求利故苦惱亦多。少欲之人無求無欲則無此患。 直爾少欲尚應修習。 何況少欲能生諸善功徳。 少欲之人則無諂曲以求人意。 亦復不爲諸根所牽。 行少欲者心則坦然無所憂畏。 觸事有餘常無不足。 有少欲者則有涅槃。 是名少欲。

Nishijima-Cross translation from Master Dogen's Shobogenzo Chapter 95:

You bhikṣus should know that people of abundant desire abundantly seek gain, and so their suffering also is abundant. People of small desire, being free of seeking and free of desire, are free of this affliction. You should practice and learn small desire just for itself. Still more, small desire can give rise to all virtues: people of small desire never curry favor and bend in order to gain the minds of others. Further, they are not led by the sense organs. Those who practice small desire are level in mind; they are without worries and fears; when they come into contact with things they have latitude; and they are constantly free from dissatisfaction. Those who have small desire just have nirvana. This is called “small desire.”