<p>You're probably thinking about <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.11.than.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Dhammapada 155-156</a> (translated by Ven. Thanissaro):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Neither living the chaste life<br />
nor gaining wealth in their youth,<br />
they waste away like old herons<br />
in a dried-up lake<br />
depleted of fish.</p>
<p>Neither living the chaste life<br />
nor gaining wealth in their youth,<br />
they lie around,<br />
misfired from the bow,<br />
sighing over old times.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Alternative translation <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.11.budd.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a> by Ven. Buddharakkhita:</p>
<blockquote>
<ol start="155">
<li><p>Those who in youth have not led the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, languish like old cranes in the pond without fish.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Those who in youth have not lead the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, lie sighing over the past, like worn out arrows (shot
from) a bow.</p>
</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>
<p>Additional references include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/iti91/en/ireland" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Iti 91</a>: so by such a simile do I speak about this person: he has missed out on the enjoyments of a householder, yet he does not fulfil the purpose of recluseship.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn22.80/en/sujato#sn22.80:7.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN22.80:7.4</a>: I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T16:06:05.783Z
I'm pretty sure there is at least another one, more plainly stated not in verse, elsewhere in the suttas. But this ref. is great! It is definitely an answer to the question.
frankk
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T16:23:36.310Z
Also: 
[iti91:2.10](https://suttacentral.net/iti91/en/sujato#iti91:2.10): I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.  
[SN22.80:7.4](https://suttacentral.net/sn22.80/en/sujato#sn22.80:7.4): I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.
OyaMist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T16:28:12.020Z
@OyaMist Please add them into an answer. Thanks. I also found Iti 91 [here](https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/iti/iti.3.050-099.than.html#iti-091).
ruben2020
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T17:00:24.853Z
Thanks. Added references.
OyaMist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T17:24:33.020Z
@OyaMist I mean you can create a new answer and add to it.
ruben2020
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-04T15:18:25.823Z
Oh. I actually liked your answer and was just adding more to it. Please edit your answer as you see fit.
OyaMist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T03:12:47.080Z
2021-02-04T03:06:45.197Z
2021-02-04T03:06:45.197Z
ruben2020
<p>A reddit commenter found the sutta I was thinking of, which is <a href="https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN22_80.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 22.80</a> (quoted below).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“And although this son of a good family has gone forth in this way, he
is covetous, with strong passion for sensual desires, with a mind of
ill will, of corrupt resolves, his mindfulness muddled, unalert,
unconcentrated, his mind distracted, loose in his sense faculties.
Just as a log from a funeral pyre, burning at both ends, smeared with
excrement in the middle, fills no use as timber either in the village
or in the wilderness: I speak of this person with this comparison. He
has missed out on the enjoyments of the householder, and yet does not
fulfill the goal of the contemplative life.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But there probably are more references too, I'll post a summary when we collect them all.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-03T16:12:49.143Z
2021-02-03T16:19:08.470Z
2021-02-03T16:19:08.470Z
frankk
<p>Which pali sutta is this?
I think it's in MN somewhere.</p>
<p>The Buddha says monks missing out on pleasures of lay life and the pleasures of holy life.</p>
<p>The idea being that their practice is such that they're not getting jhana (pleasures of holy life), and they're deprived of the pleasures of the lay life (food, sex, etc), so they're just suffering.</p>

<reference-request><pali-canon><lay-buddhism><monasticism><layman>
Which sutta? The Buddha says monks missing out on pleasures of lay life and pleasures of holy life
# Which sutta? The Buddha says monks missing out on pleasures of lay life and pleasures of holy life

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-02)

Which pali sutta is this?
I think it's in MN somewhere.

The Buddha says monks missing out on pleasures of lay life and the pleasures of holy life.

The idea being that their practice is such that they're not getting jhana (pleasures of holy life), and they're deprived of the pleasures of the lay life (food, sex, etc), so they're just suffering.

**Tags:** reference-request, pali-canon, lay-buddhism, monasticism, layman


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2021-02-03. Score: 3

You're probably thinking about [Dhammapada 155-156](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.11.than.html) (translated by Ven. Thanissaro):

> Neither living the chaste life  
> nor gaining wealth in their youth,  
> they waste away like old herons  
> in a dried-up lake  
> depleted of fish.
>
> Neither living the chaste life  
> nor gaining wealth in their youth,  
> they lie around,  
> misfired from the bow,  
> sighing over old times.

Alternative translation [here](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.11.budd.html) by Ven. Buddharakkhita:

> 155. Those who in youth have not led the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, languish like old cranes in the pond without fish.
> 156. Those who in youth have not lead the holy life, or have failed to acquire wealth, lie sighing over the past, like worn out arrows (shot
>      from) a bow.

Additional references include:

> [Iti 91](https://suttacentral.net/iti91/en/ireland): so by such a simile do I speak about this person: he has missed out on the enjoyments of a householder, yet he does not fulfil the purpose of recluseship.  
> [SN22.80:7.4](https://suttacentral.net/sn22.80/en/sujato#sn22.80:7.4): I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I'm pretty sure there is at least another one, more plainly stated not in verse, elsewhere in the suttas. But this ref. is great! It is definitely an answer to the question.  
> **username_2**: Also:  [iti91:2.10](https://suttacentral.net/iti91/en/sujato#iti91:2.10): I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.   [SN22.80:7.4](https://suttacentral.net/sn22.80/en/sujato#sn22.80:7.4): I say that person is just like this. They’ve missed out on the pleasures of the lay life, and haven’t fulfilled the goal of the ascetic life.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Please add them into an answer. Thanks. I also found Iti 91 [here](https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/iti/iti.3.050-099.than.html#iti-091).  
> **username_2**: Thanks. Added references.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 I mean you can create a new answer and add to it.  
> **username_2**: Oh. I actually liked your answer and was just adding more to it. Please edit your answer as you see fit.  

---

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-02-03. Score: 0

A reddit commenter found the sutta I was thinking of, which is [SN 22.80](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN22_80.html) (quoted below).

> “And although this son of a good family has gone forth in this way, he
> is covetous, with strong passion for sensual desires, with a mind of
> ill will, of corrupt resolves, his mindfulness muddled, unalert,
> unconcentrated, his mind distracted, loose in his sense faculties.
> Just as a log from a funeral pyre, burning at both ends, smeared with
> excrement in the middle, fills no use as timber either in the village
> or in the wilderness: I speak of this person with this comparison. He
> has missed out on the enjoyments of the householder, and yet does not
> fulfill the goal of the contemplative life.

But there probably are more references too, I'll post a summary when we collect them all.


---

