English
respected, esteemed, revered, and properly and happily maintained. “And what, brahmin, is the fire worthy of gifts? Here, brahmin, those ascetics and brahmins who have ceased from other doctrines, who are established in patience and gentleness, one They tame themselves, they calm themselves, they attain final Nibbāna for themselves. This is called, brahmin, the fire worthy of offerings. Therefore, this fire worthy of offerings, having been honored, respected, esteemed, and worshipped, should be properly and happily maintained. Indeed, brahmin, these three fires, having been honored, respected, esteemed, and worshipped, should be properly and happily maintained. "But this, brahmin, the wood-fire, from time to time should be kindled, from time to time should be attended to, from time to time should be extinguished, from time to time should be put away." When this was said, the brahmin Uggatasarīra said to the Blessed One: "Excellent, Master Gotama! Excellent, Master Gotama! ... May Master Gotama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge from today onwards, for as long as life lasts. I, Master Gotama, release five hundred bulls, I give them life. I release five hundred male calves, I give them life. I release five hundred female calves, I give them life. I release five hundred goats, I give them life. I release five hundred rams, I give them life. Let them eat green grass, and drink cool water, and let cool breezes blow upon them." The Fourth. 5. The First Discourse on Perceptions 48. "Monks, these seven perceptions, when developed, and frequently practiced, are of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless. Which seven? The perception of impurity, the perception of death, the perception of repulsiveness in food, the perception of non-delight in the entire world, the perception of impermanence, the perception of suffering in impermanence, the perception of non-self in suffering. Indeed, monks, these seven perceptions, when developed, and frequently practiced, are of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless." The Fifth. 6. The Second Discourse on Perceptions 49. "Monks, these seven perceptions, when developed, and frequently practiced, are of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless. Which seven? The perception of impurity, the perception of death, the perception of repulsiveness in food, the perception of non-delight in the entire world, the perception of non- the perception of impermanence in what is permanent, the perception of suffering in what is impermanent, the perception of non-self in what is suffering. These seven perceptions, monks, when developed and frequently practiced, are of great fruit, of great benefit, leading to the Deathless, ending in the Deathless. “‘The perception of impurity, monks, when developed and frequently practiced, is of great fruit, of great benefit, leading to the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.’ This has been said. And in reference to what was this said? When a monk, monks, dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of impurity, his mind recoils, shrinks back, turns away from the thought of sexual intercourse; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established. Just as, monks, a chicken feather or a piece of sinew, when thrown into a fire, recoils, shrinks back, turns away, it does not expand. Even so, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of impurity, his mind recoils, shrinks back, turns away from the thought of sexual intercourse; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established. “If, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of impurity, his mind inclines to the thought of sexual intercourse, and non-revulsion becomes established; then that monk, monks, should understand: ‘My perception of impurity is undeveloped, there is no distinction for me from before, the power of development has not been attained by me.’ Thus he is clearly comprehending there. But if, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of impurity, his mind recoils, shrinks back, turns away from the thought of sexual intercourse; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established; then that monk, monks, should understand: ‘My perception of impurity is well-developed, there is a distinction for me from before, the power of development has been attained by me.’ Thus he is clearly comprehending there. ‘The perception of impurity, monks, when developed and frequently practiced, is of great fruit, of great benefit, leading to the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.’ ...thus, what was said, this was said with reference to this. ‘The perception of death, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.’ This was said, but with reference to what was it said? When a monk, monks, dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of death, his mind shrinks back, recoils, and turns away from the craving for life; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established. Just as, monks, a chicken feather or a sinew-ball, when thrown into a fire, shrinks back, recoils, and turns away, it does not expand. Even so, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of death, his mind shrinks back, recoils, and turns away from the craving for life; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established. If, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of death, his mind flows along with the craving for life, and non-revulsion becomes established; then that monk, monks, should understand: ‘My perception of death is undeveloped, there is no distinction for me from before, the power of development has not been attained by me.’ Thus, he is clearly comprehending in that. But if, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of death, his mind shrinks back, recoils, and turns away from the craving for life; it does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established; then that monk, monks, should understand: ‘My perception of death is well-developed, there is a distinction for me from before, the power of development has been attained by me.’ Thus, he is clearly comprehending in that. ‘The perception of death, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.’ Thus, what was said, this was said with reference to this. ‘The perception of revulsion in food, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit, of great benefit, immersed in the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.’ Thus, indeed... This was said, and what was it said in reference to? When a monk, monks, dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of repulsiveness in food, his mind shrinks back, shrivels, curls up, does not spread out, or equanimity or repulsiveness becomes established. Just as, monks, a chicken's feather or a piece of sinew thrown into a fire shrinks, shrivels, curls up, and does not spread out. Even so, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of repulsiveness in food, his mind shrinks back, shrivels, curls up, does not spread out, or equanimity or repulsiveness becomes established. If, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of repulsiveness in food, his mind flows along with the craving for tastes, and non-repulsiveness becomes established; then, monks, the monk should understand this: 'The perception of repulsiveness in food has not been developed by me, there is no distinction for me between before and after, the power of development has not been attained by me.' Thus, he is clearly comprehending there. But if, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of repulsiveness in food, his mind shrinks back, shrivels, curls up, does not spread out, or equanimity or repulsiveness becomes established; then, monks, the monk should understand this: 'The perception of repulsiveness in food has been well developed by me, there is a distinction for me between before and after, the power of development has been attained by me.' Thus, he is clearly comprehending there. 'The perception of repulsiveness in food, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit, of great benefit, leading to the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.' This, which was said, was said in reference to this. 'The perception of non-delight in the whole world, monks, when developed and cultivated, is of great fruit, of great benefit, leading to the Deathless, ending in the Deathless.' This, indeed, was said. And what was it said in reference to? When a monk, monks, dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of non-delight in the whole world, his mind shrinks back from the world's allurements, just as, monks, a chicken's feather or a piece of sinew thrown into a fire shrinks, shrivels, curls up, and does not spread out. ...it shrinks. Just so, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of disenchantment with the entire world, his mind shrinks, shrivels, recoils, does not expand, and equanimity or revulsion becomes established towards the world's allurements. If, monks, when a monk dwells much with a mind familiar with the perception of disenchantment with the entire world, his mind flows towards the world's allurements, and non-revulsion becomes established; then, monks, that monk should understand: 'The perception of disenchantment with the entire world is not developed in me, there is no distinction for me between before and after, the power of development has not been attained by me.' Thus, he is clearly comprehending there. But if, monks, when a monk dwells much