English
Coming from the western direction, a pair of swift messengers would say to that doorkeeper thus – ‘Where, good sir, is the lord of this city?’ He would say thus – ‘He, sirs, is seated at the central crossroads.’ Then that pair of swift messengers, having conveyed the lord of the city's true message, would return by the way they came. Coming from the northern direction, a pair of swift messengers would say to that doorkeeper thus – ‘Where, good sir, is the lord of this city?’ He would say thus – ‘He, sirs, is seated at the central crossroads.’ Then that pair of swift messengers, having conveyed the lord of the city's true message, would return by the way they came. Coming from the southern direction, a pair of swift messengers would say to that doorkeeper thus – ‘Where, good sir, is the lord of this city?’ He would say thus – ‘He, sirs, is seated at the central crossroads.’ Then that pair of swift messengers, having conveyed the lord of the city's true message, would return by the way they came. ‘This simile, bhikkhu, has been made for the understanding of the meaning. And this is the meaning here – ‘City’, bhikkhu, is a designation for this body, composed of the four great elements, born of mother and father, nourished by rice and gruel, subject to impermanence, anointing, massage, breaking up, and disintegration. ‘Six doors’, bhikkhu, is a designation for the six internal sense bases. ‘Doorkeeper’, bhikkhu, is a designation for mindfulness. ‘Pair of swift messengers’, bhikkhu, is a designation for tranquility and insight. ‘Lord of the city’, bhikkhu, is a designation for consciousness. ‘Central crossroads’, bhikkhu, is a designation for the four great elements. A designation – for the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element. 'Speech as it is,' indeed, monk, this is a designation for Nibbāna. 'The path as it has come,' indeed, monk, this is a designation for the Noble Eightfold Path, namely – right view... and so on... right concentration. The eighth. 9. The Lute Simile. "Whatever monk or nun, mendicants, for them, in forms cognizable by the eye, should desire arise, or lust, or hatred, or delusion, or even mental aversion, from that, one should restrain the mind. For this path is fearful, and full of danger, and thorny, and dense, a wrong path, a bad path, and with two dangers. This path is frequented by ignoble ones, this path is not frequented by noble ones. 'You are not worthy of this!' From that, one should restrain the mind from forms cognizable by the eye. ...and so on... Whatever monk or nun, mendicants, for them, in tastes cognizable by the tongue, ...and so on... in mental phenomena cognizable by the mind, should desire arise, or lust, or hatred, or delusion, or even mental aversion, from that, one should restrain the mind. For this path is fearful, and full of danger, and thorny, and dense, a wrong path, a bad path, and with two dangers. This path is frequented by ignoble ones, this path is not frequented by noble ones. 'You are not worthy of this!' From that, one should restrain the mind from mental phenomena cognizable by the mind. "Just as, mendicants, a field of grain is ripe. And the field-guard is negligent, and a grain-eating ox, having entered that field of grain, would indulge in pride and heedlessness as much as it desires; Even so, mendicants, the uninstructed ordinary person, acting unrestrained in the six sense-bases, indulges in pride and heedlessness as much as they desire in the five strands of sensual pleasure. "Just as, mendicants, a field of grain is ripe. And the field-guard is diligent, and a grain-eating ox would enter that field of grain. That field-guard... He should seize it firmly by the nose. Having seized it firmly by the nose, he should tie it tightly to the upper post. Having tied it tightly to the upper post, he should beat it well with a stick. Having beaten it well with a stick, he should release it. A second time, monks... a third time, monks, if that crop-eating ox were to enter that crop. Then the crop-guardian should seize it firmly by the nose. Having seized it firmly by the nose, he should tie it tightly to the upper post. Having tied it tightly to the upper post, he should beat it well with a stick. Having beaten it well with a stick, he should release it. Thus, monks, that crop-eating ox, whether it goes to the village or to the forest, whether it stands much or sits much, would not enter that crop again— remembering that former stick-contact. Just so, monks, when a monk's mind, regarding the six sense-bases, is well-straightened, well-straightened indeed, it stands firm within, it settles down, it becomes unified, it becomes concentrated. Just as, monks, a king or a royal minister might hear a lute sound never heard before. He would hear that lute sound. He would say, 'Oh, whose sound is this, so delightful, so charming, so intoxicating, so enthralling, so binding?' They would say to him, 'Venerable sir, this is called a lute, whose sound is so delightful, so charming, so intoxicating, so enthralling, so binding.' He would say, 'Go, sirs, bring me that lute.' They would bring him that lute. They would say to him, 'Venerable sir, this is that lute whose sound is so delightful, so charming, so intoxicating, so enthralling, so binding.' He would say, 'Enough for me, sirs, with that lute; just bring me that sound!' They would say to him, 'Venerable sir, this is called a lute... Many components, great components. It speaks, made up of many components, that is, dependent on the body, dependent on the skin, dependent on the stick, dependent on the supports, dependent on the strings, dependent on the plectrum, and dependent on the appropriate effort of a person. Thus, venerable sir, this lute is called many components, great components. It speaks, made up of many components. He would split that lute into ten or a hundred pieces. Having split it into ten or a hundred pieces, he would make it into splinters. Having made it into splinters, he would burn it with fire. Having burned it with fire, he would make it into ash. Having made it into ash, he would scatter it in a strong wind, or float it away in a swift-flowing river. He would then say this: ‘Indeed, sirs, this thing called a lute is non-existent, just as anything called a lute. And yet, this folk is excessively heedless and infatuated.’ Even so, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu investigates form as far as the range of form, investigates feeling as far as the range of feeling, investigates perception as far as the range of perception, investigates volitional formations as far as the range of volitional formations, investigates consciousness as far as the range of consciousness. As he investigates form as far as the range of form, as he investigates feeling… perception… volitional formations… consciousness as far as the range of consciousness, whatever thought he has of ‘I am’ or ‘mine’ or ‘I exist’ that too does not exist for him. The Ninth. 10. The Discourse on the Simile of the Six Animals 247. Just as, bhikkhus, a man with a wounded body, a festering body, might enter a reed thicket. Thorns would pierce his feet, and reed leaves would scratch his body. Even so And so, monks, a person would experience even greater suffering and sorrow on that account. In the same way, monks, some bhikkhu here, whether gone to a village or gone to a wilderness, receives a speaker who says: ‘This venerable one is such a doer, such a practitioner, an impure village thorn.’ Knowing him to be a thorn, restraint and non-restraint should be understood. And how, monks, is there non-restraint? Here, monks, a bhikkhu, having seen a form with the eye, becomes attached to pleasing forms, becomes averse to unpleasing forms, and dwells with unestablished mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind. He does not understand as it really is that liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom whereby those evil unwholesome states that have arisen in him cease without remainder. Having heard a sound with the ear… having smelled a smell with the nose… having tasted a taste with the tongue… having felt a tactile sensation with the body… having cognized a mental phenomenon with the mind, he becomes attached to pleasing mental phenomena, becomes averse to unpleasing mental phenomena, and dwells with unestablished mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind. He does not understand as it really is that liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom whereby those evil unwholesome states that have arisen in him cease without remainder. Just as, monks, a man might take six animals of different ranges, of different feeding grounds, and bind them with a strong rope. He might take a snake and bind it with a strong rope. He might take a crocodile and bind it with a strong rope. He might take a bird and bind it with a strong rope. He might take a dog and bind it with a strong rope. He might take a jackal and bind it with a strong rope. He might take a monkey and bind it with a strong rope. Having bound them with a strong rope, he might make a knot in the middle and let them go. Then, monks, those six animals, of different ranges, of different feeding grounds, would pull towards their own respective feeding grounds and ranges. The snake would pull, ‘I will enter the anthill.’ The crocodile would pull, ‘I will enter the water.’ The bird would pull, ‘I will fly into the sky.’ The dog would pull, ‘I will enter the village.’ The jackal would pull, ‘I will enter the charnel ground.’ The monkey would pull, ‘I will enter the forest.’ When, bhikkhus, those six creatures were exhausted and weary, then whichever of those creatures was stronger, to that one they would follow, they would conform, they would come under its sway. Even so, bhikkhus, for any bhikkhu whose mindfulness of the body is undeveloped, is not cultivated, the eye pulls him to agreeable forms, disagreeable forms are repulsive…