English
addressed the elephant trainer: 'Come, good elephant trainer, tame the forest elephant for the suppression of its forest habits, for the suppression of its forest thoughts and intentions, for the suppression of its forest distress, weariness, and fever, for its delight in the village vicinity, for its training in human-pleasing habits.' 'Yes, O King,' Aggivessana, the elephant trainer, having assented to the anointed khattiya king, drove a large post into the ground and tied it to the neck of the forest elephant for the suppression of its forest habits, for the suppression of its forest thoughts and intentions, for the suppression of its forest distress, weariness, and fever, for its delight in the village vicinity, for its training in human-pleasing habits. Then the elephant trainer addressed it with such words: gentle, pleasant to the ear, affectionate, reaching the heart, polite, pleasing to many, agreeable to many. When, Aggivessana, the forest elephant, being addressed with such words — gentle, pleasant to the ear, affectionate, reaching the heart, polite, pleasing to many, agreeable to many — listens, lends an ear, and applies its mind to understanding; then the elephant trainer further provides it with grass, fodder, and water. When, Aggivessana, the forest elephant accepts the grass, fodder, and water from the elephant trainer, then the elephant trainer thinks: 'It will live, indeed...' Now, he is a forest elephant. Then the elephant trainer trains him further: “Take, sir, put down, sir.” When, Aggivessana, the forest elephant is obedient to the elephant trainer in taking and putting down, and responsive to instruction, then the elephant trainer trains him further: “Advance, sir, retreat, sir.” When, Aggivessana, the forest elephant is obedient to the elephant trainer in advancing and retreating, and responsive to instruction, then the elephant trainer trains him further: “Stand up, sir, sit down, sir.” When, Aggivessana, the forest elephant is obedient to the elephant trainer in standing up and sitting down, and responsive to instruction, then the elephant trainer trains him further with a training called "steadfastness." He binds a large plank to its trunk. A man with a goad is seated on its neck. Men with goads stand surrounding it. And the elephant trainer stands in front, holding a long goad-stick. While undergoing this training of steadfastness, it does not move its front feet, nor its hind feet, nor its front body, nor its hind body, nor its head, nor its ears, nor its tusks, nor its tail, nor its trunk. That forest elephant becomes enduring of spear-blows, of sword-blows, of arrow-blows, of javelin-blows, of the sounds of drums, kettledrums, flutes, conches, and cymbals. All crookedness and faults are removed, he is purified, worthy of a king, fit for a king, and is reckoned as a king's asset. 218. In the same way, Aggivessana, here a Tathāgata arises in the world, an Arahant, a Fully Self-Awakened One, endowed with knowledge and conduct, a Fortunate One, a Knower of the Worlds, an unsurpassed Trainer of persons to be tamed, a Teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha, a Blessed One. He having himself understood and realized, he proclaims this world with its devas, with its Māras, with its Brahmās, with its recluses and brahmins, with its devas and humans. He teaches the Dhamma lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, with meaning and with phrasing, he proclaims the utterly complete and purified holy life. A householder or a householder's son, or one born in some other family, hears that Dhamma. Having heard that Dhamma, he gains faith in the Tathāgata. Endowed with that faith, he reflects thus: 'Confining is household life, a path of dust. Open is the going forth. It is not easy for one living at home to lead the holy life utterly complete, utterly purified, polished like a conch shell. What if I were to shave off my hair and beard, put on saffron robes, and go forth from home to homelessness?' So, at a later time, having abandoned a small or large fortune, having abandoned a small or large circle of relatives, he shaves off his hair and beard, puts on saffron robes, and goes forth from home to homelessness. To this extent, Aggivessana, the noble disciple has gone to the open. For this, Aggivessana, devas and humans cling: these five cords of sensual pleasure. Then the Tathāgata further trains him: 'Come, bhikkhu, be virtuous. Dwell restrained by the Pātimokkha, endowed with good conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults, undertake and train in the training rules.' When, Aggivessana, the noble disciple is virtuous, dwells restrained by the Pātimokkha, endowed with good conduct and resort, seeing danger in the slightest faults, undertakes and trains in the training rules, then the Tathāgata further trains him: 'Come, bhikkhu, be a guardian of the doors of your senses. Having seen a form with the eye, do not grasp at its features... (as in the Gaṇakamoggallāna Sutta, so it should be elaborated) ni.) 219. "He, having abandoned these five hindrances, the defilements of the mind, which weaken wisdom, dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure concerning the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings... mind in mind... mental states in mental states, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure concerning the world. Just as, Aggivessana, an elephant trainer plants a great post in the earth and binds a wild elephant by the neck for the suppression of its wild habits, for the suppression of its wild thoughts and intentions, for the suppression of its wild distress, weariness, and feverishness, for its delight in the village, for its establishment in human-pleasing habits; even so, Aggivessana, these four foundations of mindfulness are a binding for the noble disciple's mind for the suppression of householder's habits, for the suppression of householder's thoughts and intentions, for the suppression of householder's distress, weariness, and feverishness, for the attainment of the path, for the realization of Nibbana. 220. "Then the Tathagata further trains him: 'Come, bhikkhu, dwell contemplating the body in the body, and do not engage in thoughts connected with sensuality. Dwell contemplating feelings... mind... mental states in mental states, and do not engage in thoughts connected with sensuality.'" "He, with the fading away of thought and examination, with internal purification and unification of mind, enters and dwells in the second jhana, which is without thought and examination, born of concentration, filled with rapture and pleasure... ...the third jhana... ...the fourth jhana. When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid of defilements, malleable, wieldy, steadfast, imperturbable, he directs it to the knowledge of the recollection of past lives. He recollects his manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births... ...thus he recollects his manifold past lives, with their aspects and details." Joylessness. 221. When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge of the passing away and reappearance of beings. With the divine eye, purified and surpassing that of humans, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate… he understands beings as they fare according to their kamma. When his mind is thus concentrated, purified, cleansed, without blemish, rid of defilements, pliant, workable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines his mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the taints. He understands: ‘This is suffering’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the origin of suffering’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering’ as it really is. He understands: ‘These are the taints’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the origin of the taints’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the cessation of the taints’ as it really is; he understands: ‘This is the way leading to the cessation of the taints’ as it really is. When he knows and sees thus, his mind is liberated from the taint of sensual desire, his mind is liberated from the taint of becoming, his mind is liberated from the taint of ignorance. With liberation, there comes the knowledge: ‘Liberated’. He understands: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what was to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being’. That bhikkhu is patient with cold, heat, hunger, thirst, with the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and creeping things, with ill-spoken, ill-addressed words. He is one who endures arisen bodily feelings that are painful, sharp, severe, acute, disagreeable, unpleasant, and life-threatening. He has laid aside and cast out all defilements of lust, hatred, and delusion; he is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, worthy of reverential salutation, an unsurpassed field of merit for the world. 222. Even if, Aggivessana, an old royal elephant, untamed, undisciplined, dies, it is an untamed death An old royal elephant dies, it is reckoned as such. Even if a middle-aged royal elephant, Aggivessana. Even if a young royal elephant, Aggivessana, untamed, undisciplined, dies, it is reckoned as: 'an untamed death, a young royal elephant has died'. Just so, Aggivessana, even if an elder monk, whose taints are not destroyed, dies, it is reckoned as: 'an untamed death, an elder monk has died'. Even if a middle-aged monk, Aggivessana. Even if a newly ordained monk, Aggivessana, whose taints are not destroyed, dies,