English
Conduct of the path means in the four noble paths. Conduct of attainment means in the four fruits of recluseship. Conduct for the welfare of the world means among Tathāgatas, Arahants, Fully Self-Enlightened Ones, and in part among Paccekabuddhas, and in part among disciples. And the conduct of postures is for those endowed with aspiration, and the conduct of sense-bases is for those with guarded doors of the senses, and the conduct of mindfulness is for those dwelling in heedfulness, and the conduct of concentration is for those devoted to higher consciousness, and the conduct of knowledge is for those endowed with wisdom, and the conduct of the path is for those practicing rightly, and the conduct of attainment is for those who have realized the fruits, and the conduct for the welfare of the world is for Tathāgatas, Arahants, Fully Self-Enlightened Ones, and in part for Paccekabuddhas, and in part for disciples. These are the eight kinds of conduct. There are also another eight kinds of conduct – by resolving, one practices with faith, by exerting, one practices with energy, by establishing, one practices with mindfulness, by making undistracted, one practices with concentration, by discerning, one practices with wisdom, by understanding, one practices with the conduct of consciousness. For one practicing thus, wholesome states extend – one practices with the conduct of sense-bases. One practicing thus attains distinction – one practices with the conduct of distinction. These are the eight kinds of conduct. There are also another eight kinds of conduct – and the conduct of vision with right view, and the conduct of applying with right intention, and the conduct of comprehending with right speech, and the conduct of arising with right action. Practice of right intention, purification practice of right livelihood, exertion practice of right effort, establishment practice of right mindfulness, non-distraction practice of right concentration. These are the eight practices. "Like a rhinoceros horn" means: just as a rhinoceros's horn is one, without a second, even so, that Paccekabuddha is like that, similar to that, comparable to that. Just as something very salty is called "like salt," something very bitter is called "like bitter," something very sweet is called "like sweet," something very hot is called "like fire," something very cold is called "like ice," a great mass of water is called "like the ocean," a disciple who has attained great supernormal powers is called "like the Teacher"; even so, that Paccekabuddha there is like that, similar to that, comparable to that, one, without a second, freed from bonds, rightly moves, dwells, acts, conducts himself, maintains himself, lives, passes his life in the world—let him wander alone like a rhinoceros horn. Therefore, that Paccekabuddha said: "Having laid down the rod towards all beings, not harming any one of them; one should not desire a son, much less a companion, let him wander alone like a rhinoceros horn." 122. For one born of association, attachments arise; from attachment, this suffering springs forth. Seeing the danger born of attachment, let him wander alone like a rhinoceros horn. "For one born of association, attachments arise" means: Association refers to two associations—association by sight and association by hearing. What is association by sight? Here, someone sees a woman or a girl, beautiful, lovely, charming, endowed with supreme beauty of complexion. Having seen and observed, he grasps the sign according to the secondary characteristics: whether the hair is beautiful, or the face is beautiful, or the eyes are beautiful, or the ears are beautiful, or the nose is beautiful, or the lips are beautiful, or the teeth are beautiful, or the mouth is beautiful, or the neck is beautiful, or the breasts are beautiful, or the chest is beautiful, or the abdomen is beautiful, or the waist is beautiful, or the thighs are beautiful, or the calves are beautiful, or the hands are beautiful, or the feet are beautiful... Are the fingers beautiful, or are the nails beautiful? Seeing, observing, one delights, one praises, one longs for, one gives rise to, one remembers, one binds with the bond of lust— this is the contact of seeing. What is the contact of hearing? Here, someone hears: “In such and such a village or town, there is a woman or a girl, beautiful, lovely, charming, endowed with supreme beauty of complexion.” Hearing, listening, one delights, one praises, one longs for, one gives rise to, one binds with the bond of lust— this is the contact of hearing. As for attachments, there are two attachments: the attachment of craving and the attachment of views. What is the attachment of craving? Whatever is limited, bounded, defined, circumscribed, grasped, and claimed as “mine” by craving: “This is mine, that is mine, so much is mine, up to this point is mine.” Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, coverings, cloaks, male and female slaves, goats and sheep, chickens and pigs, elephants, cattle, horses, mares, fields, lands, gold, silver, villages, towns, capital cities, kingdoms and provinces, treasuries and storehouses, even the entire great earth— one claims as “mine” by way of craving, whatever is the wandering of the one hundred and eight cravings— this is the attachment of craving. What is the attachment of views? The twenty-fold personality view, the ten-fold wrong view, the ten-fold view of grasping at extremes. Whatever such view, view-point, thicket of views, wilderness of views, perversion of views, agitation of views, fetter of views, grasping, clinging, adherence, prejudice, wrong path, false way, wrongness, heretical ground, perverse grasping, contrary grasping, distorted grasping, wrong grasping, the grasping of “this is real” in what is unreal, whatever are the sixty-two views— this is the attachment of views. For one born of contact, attachments arise: due to the condition of the contact of seeing, and due to the condition of the contact of hearing, the attachment of craving and the attachment of views arise, come into being, are born. They go, they are born, they arise, they are reborn, they appear – for one born of contact, attachments arise. "From attachment, this suffering arises." Attachment means two attachments: attachment of craving, and attachment of views. ... (ellipsis) ... This is attachment of craving. ... (ellipsis) ... This is attachment of views. "This suffering arises" – Here, someone performs misconduct by body, performs misconduct by speech, performs misconduct by mind. He even kills a living being, even takes what is not given, even breaks into houses, even plunders, even commits highway robbery, even stands on the highway, even goes to another's wife, even speaks falsely. Having seized him, they show him to the king: "This, O king, is a thief, a wrongdoer. Inflict upon him whatever punishment you wish." The king then reviles him. He, due to that reviling, experiences suffering and distress. This fear, suffering, and distress – from where did it arose? From his attachment, and from delight, and from lust, and from delight-and-lust, it arose. Even with this, the king is not satisfied. The king has him bound: with a chain, or with a rope, or with fetters, or with a cane, or with a creeper, or by imprisonment, or by encirclement, or by village arrest, or by town arrest, or by district arrest, or by country arrest. Even to the extent of saying: "You are not allowed to leave from here." He, due to that binding, experiences suffering and distress. This fear, suffering, and distress – from where did it arose? From his attachment, and from delight, and from lust, and from delight-and-lust, it arose. Even with this, the king is not satisfied. The king has his wealth confiscated: a hundred, or a thousand, or a hundred thousand. He, due to the loss of wealth, experiences suffering and distress. This fear, suffering, and distress – from where did it ar Whence arisen? From the condition of affection, and from the condition of delight, and from the condition of passion, and from the condition of delightful passion, it has arisen. Even with this, the king is not pleased. The king makes him undergo various tortures: He is beaten with whips, he is beaten with canes, he is beaten with clubs, his hand is cut off, his foot is cut off, his hands and feet are cut off, his ear is cut off, his nose is cut off, his ears and nose are cut off, he is made into a turnip-slice, he is made into a conch-shave, he is made into Rahu's mouth, he is made into a garland of flames, he is made into a hand-torch, he is made into an eraka-bundle, he is made into a bark-robe, he is made into a deer, he is made into fish-hook flesh, he is made into a coin-slice, he is made into an alkali-wash, he is made into a bar-roller, he is made into a straw-mat, he is drenched with hot oil, he is fed to dogs, he is impaled alive on a stake, his head is cut off with a sword. He experiences pain and sorrow due to these tortures. This fear, pain, and sorrow— whence has it arisen? From the condition of affection, and from the condition of delight, and from the condition of passion, and from the condition of delightful passion, it has arisen. The king is master of these four punishments. He, by his own actions, after the breaking up of the body, after death, reappears in a state of loss, a bad destination, a downfall, in hell. There, the guardians of hell inflict upon him a torture called the five-fold binding: They drive a red-hot iron stake through one hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the second hand, they drive a red-hot iron stake through one foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake through the second foot, they drive a red-hot iron stake through his chest. He experiences there painful, sharp, harsh, bitter feelings. And he does not die until that evil kamma is exhausted. This fear... Whence is this suffering, this sorrow?