San Lo Mvu 27The Three Birds

The Sutta of the Three Birds

Background

The Sutta of the Three Birds appears in the Vinaya Piṭaka, specifically in the Sankhittaṃ Lo Mvu, the Brief Vinaya, section 27. It is an excerpt from the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Theravāda Buddha-Dharma tradition, not from the Sutta Piṭaka but from the Vinaya Piṭaka, where rules of virtue, monastic discipline, and illustrative stories of the teaching are recorded.

The story of the three birds was told by the Buddha in order to clarify the nature of greed, hatred, and delusion, the three root poisons of all suffering. Through animal imagery, the Buddha helps his disciples easily visualize and deeply remember the Dharma principles of the causality of action.

Main Content

The discourse tells of three birds, each representing a kind of harmful mental state. The first bird symbolizes greed (lobha), desire and craving. This bird is always flying about in search of food and never knows satisfaction. However much it eats, it still feels lacking and continues searching, leading to wrongful actions that harm itself and others.

The second bird symbolizes hatred (dosa), anger and aggression. This bird is always angry and combative. It attacks other birds; it cannot live peacefully and does not allow others to live peacefully. This anger is a fire within the heart, burning both oneself and those around one.

The third bird symbolizes delusion (moha), confusion and error. This bird is blind and does not see the path ahead clearly. It acts by groping about, without clear wisdom to understand the true consequences of its actions.

These three birds fly together in the sky of the human mind. When they are strongly active, they disturb the mind, lead to evil actions, and finally bring suffering. The Buddha teaches that in order to be liberated from suffering, we must recognize the presence of these three birds in the mind, and then gradually abandon them through the cultivation of wisdom (paññā), loving-kindness (mettā), and equanimity (upekkhā).